Alternative Nonfiction Filmography

Six Boulders | 2024 | 3:03

The ambiance of six vacant artificial climbing rocks located in Bozeman Montana. Taking strong inspiration from James Benning’s Ten Skies, this film examines six fake climbing boulders and their lack of frequent usage. Contrasting the ever-present mountain skyline of Bozeman with these artificial replications, the film considers questions of infrastructure, outdoor recreation, and the artificial separation between natural and build landscapes.

This project was the first I ever used 16mm film. While I had shot super 8mm before, it was on a fully automatic camera, which differed substantially from the far more complicated mechanisms of a Bolex H-16. Yet, having used fully mechanical still photography cameras, the Bolex reminded me substantially of my Rolleicord and I felt extremely comfortable with it, once I learned the basic mechanisms. A professor of mine in undergrad once described digital cameras as computers, contrasting them to the timeless mechanics of film photography, and that mindset has stuck with me ever since. I loved using the Bolex and intend to shoot more on 16mm in the future.

Progress Parade | 2024 | 2:59

Exploring the American ideals of progress and freedom through the historic Prelenger Archive. This film recontextualizes many of the blatantly pro-capitalist and patriotic films of the early Cold-War era, seeking to showcase the dangers of rampant nationalism and the underlying assumption that American ideals are inherently good for the both the nation and the world.

I was somewhat apprehensive about this project. I feel most comfortable when behind the camera and creating something visually that can later be turned into something more. To relinquish control of what is filmed is not something I would have said I found enjoyable. Somewhat unfortunately, the act of creating has, in my mind, always been tied to the making of new images. Thus I was surprised when I sat down with a drive full of footage from the Prelenger Archive and quickly began to string out sequences where I felt like I was saying something. I would love to continue to work on this project, but for now I am happy with the state where it’s at.

Ghost Lands | 2024 | 7:36

A film following the meandering Harriet Tubman historical byway, reflecting on the the natural and unnatural infrastructure of the marshlands and forests Tubman would have encountered. From the farm she was raised on to the marshes she trapped muskrats in, Ghost Lands returns to the lower Eastern Shore of Maryland and questions how the natural world and physical infrastructure would have influenced Minty Ross, later known as Harriet Tubman. In the talks she gave and writings she dictated, Tubman often compared herself to a bird and the mobility they have through flight. This film is not meant to be a reflection of her perspective or lived experience, but rather a pondering of what we can understand about our shared past when we visit these spaces. Much of modern history is didactical and places little emphasis on the sensorial aspects of previous generations’ lived experiences. This film seeks to better understand Harriet Tubman and her contemporaries, not through facts or analysis, but through the feeling of the spaces she inhabited. Yet there are many obstructions to this, time and decay, as well as invasive species such as phragmites and snakeheads are present where they would not have been 175 years ago. Yet to attempt to mask the present and hide in the past felt like an inauthentic sensorial experience.

Much about time could be delved into with this film, yet it was an area I was not particularly interested in exploring in this film. Yes, it does attempt to reach into the past, but not at the expense or masking of the present. This is very much a film about the sensorial experience of historical sites and how this can help us better consider the past (and thus also our future). The title of the film comes from a recent book I read called Night Flier, by Tiya Miles, which focuses on how Harriet Tubman’s spiritual and ecological worldviews strongly influences her ideology and actions. In the book, Miles once refers to states which enslaved people as Ghost Lands. This resonated strongly with the idea of deep time and the ghosts left upon the landscape ecologically as well. These two aspects are inherently intertwined. Settler colonialism was responsible for both the destruction of the local culture and ecosystem on the landscape, as well as for the kidnapping and forced enslavement of millions of people. This film was my attempt to return to these places, in an ecosystem I feel very comfortable, and contemplate these connections.

Ermine | 2024 | 2:12

A portrait of a dead Short-Tailed Weasel, also known as an Ermine. I accidentally killed this Ermine with a trap while attempting to catch a particularly troublesome pack rat. After the rat was killed in a trap, the ermine came in, ate the rat’s body, then got caught in another set trap. It was not an easy sight to discover and I still feel a fair bit of responsibility for the result. Despite the commonness of Ermines, it is still unpleasant to kill an animal with no good rationale behind it, even if it was accidental. Yet I don’t feel the same for the rat, who I am also responsible for killing. This film attempts to touch on these ideas and extend our feelings of kinship with our non-human neighbors.

I created this film over a very short period of time. I filmed for approximately 30 minutes before the light dropped to a level that rendered any potential footage far more grainy than that collected at the start of filming. In hindsight, this may have been an interesting idea, to have the light slowly diminish and drop into grainy darkness. But this was one of those instances where I stopped filming not when I had enough footage, but when I just felt ready to be done. I could feel myself loosing the drive to continue filming and just allowed that to happen.