Film Screenings / Programs / Retrospectives
THE FILMS OF JESSICA SARAH RINLAND
November 5 – November 7
Jessica Sarah Rinland’s body of moving-image work has taken shape over a period of only ten years or so, but already comprises more than a dozen short films and installations. Though the techniques she adopts have varied widely, her films demonstrate a strong, highly distinctive preoccupation with the intersection between the natural world, the natural sciences, and social and economic history. Her moving-image work is rife with animal and plant life, as well as with related human endeavors from whale-hunting and logging to the activities taking place at natural history museums and labs. Rinland’s profound sensitivity to the mysteries and textures of natural phenomena (including the textures of the 16mm film medium), and her genuine engagement with the methods of scientific inquiry, combine with an incisive and even satirical questioning of the ways in which the authors of documentary and educational films have conventionally conveyed their messages. Her films call attention to and sometimes parody the detached tone, faux authority, and supposed scientific objectivity that defines the typical nature documentary. By mimicking this approach – but with narrators and “facts” that may not be as reliable as they seem – she opens up a fascinating space between an investigation into nature and an investigation into humanity’s relationship to the natural world.
We intended to host Rinland here at Anthology in May 2020, for screenings of her new feature film, THOSE THAT, AT A DISTANCE, RESEMBLE ANOTHER, as well as a selection of her earlier work. Though we did end up presenting THOSE THAT virtually after the pandemic intervened, it was always our intention to schedule theatrical screenings, with Rinland in person, when it became possible. We’re overjoyed finally to be able to make good on that plan, with a weekend of screenings this November.
