I was chosen to be apart of the Imagine Science Competition 2018
Six scientists and six filmmakers have been chosen to create genre-bending works during the 11th Imagine Science Film Festival in NYC this fall.
I was paired with Scientist/Engineer Tracy Fanara, who to me is a real life superhero and is currently battling the Red Tide issue in Florida. If you don’t know what that is please read about it. It’s frightening and, well here: “…this bloom, like many HABs, is caused by microscopic algae that produce toxins that kill fish and make shellfish dangerous to eat. The toxins may also make the surrounding air difficult to breathe. As the name suggests, the bloom of algae often turns the water red.”
I was inspired by what Tracy did for a living and also because of the timing, I just read this article in the NYT. I was also invited to the filming of Josh Fox’s new film about Climate Change and the Environment, etc. We were prompted to make a film in a week with the theme of: SURVIVAL. We were in Brooklyn. I thought, what could we make? Ah. A film, a portrait film about the pollution in Brooklyn but used as a metaphor for something bigger, something I myself could attempt to articulate in a week using Brooklyn, using my amazing cinematographer and Sundance Award Winning Short Film, Hairwolf badass lady, Charlotte Hornsby, using movement by Guggenheim grant recipient Rosane Chameki and Sleep No More dancer Brian Castillo and sounds that would scare the bajeezus out of you that are inspired by the environment made by my friend Johnny Woods, and my RISD roommate who production designed the film, Nicole Heraty…Producer. Sound. Mixing. PA’s,and so on with my amazing crew.
Tracy was an integral role, analyzing our locations, researched what happened and why they were polluted. We talked about how people would react if they ingested carcinogenic or if they had ingested fracked liquids or if they realized you lived outside a warehouse with a literal Nuclear Bomb waiting to happen and so on. It was certainly a wonderful collaborative journey with a terrific team. I feel so thankful for the support! We decided to call the film EXTREMOPHILES.
Extromophiles are organisms that exist when nothing else can survive. The earth finds a way to balance change, but will humans be able to adapt to the change which they are creating?
We would absolutely love to share this film with you, world. If you are interested in a genre bending hybrid film. An Horror-Activist-Scifi-Short-Doc with the themes of Pollution, Climate Change, Politics and more…
THANKS! Symbiosis Grant! Thank you Simons Foundation Grant! Thank you to all of the other Filmmakers and Scientists that competed during the week! XO
Leah Shore's Blarg 