The Creeping Garden
They look like something from outer space or from the film The Blob, a paranoid sci-fi classic from 1958. The truth is they really exist. Slime molds – branched rosettes, tubers on leg-like-stands, phosphorescent vines, gelatinous bubbles – were once considered mushrooms, but they are in fact closer to simple animal forms. They have preferences in terms of diet and where they live, and have a type of will. Slime molds inspire scientists studying other forms of intelligence and artists as well. They form networks and act like a very slow computer. It is possible to connect them to a device that translates their movement into sounds, just as composer Eduardo Miranda has been doing. Reminiscent of a science-fiction thriller, The Creeping Garden is an eccentric documentary that reveals some of the most creative people from the worlds of contemporary science and art. It is an experimental film with an esoteric soundtrack by Sonic Youth’s Jim O’Rourke. If you are interested in the brave new world of unorthodox science, philosophical science fiction, and psychedelic pop art, then this will be your film of the year.
awards
Austin Fantastic Fest 2014 – Best Documentary Directors; Morbido Film Fest 2014 – Bronze Skull; Outlier FF 2014 – Best Documentary
Tim Grabham
A director, visual artist, and animator. For years, he was involved in musical performance art, as well as source recordings and composition. Soundtracks play a vital role in his work. He has made numerous audiovisual installations and short films, has directed video clips, and has worked as a film editor. He is one of the co-authors of the award-winning children's book Movie Maker: The Ultimate Guide to Making Films, and has also illustrated a book series called Stickerbomb.
Selected filmography
2009 1000 voices (anim.)
2011 KanZeOn
2014 Pełzający ogród / The Creeping Garden
Jasper Sharp
A curator and film critic specializing in Japanese cinema. He was responsible for the review of Pinku eiga films during the 11th edition of the New Horizons International Film Festival. He is the author of Behind the Pink Curtain: The Complete History of Japanese Sex Cinema (2011), The Midnight Eye Guide to New Japanese Film (2003), and the Historical Dictionary of Japanese Cinema (2011). He has also written for Sight and Sound, Variety, The Japan Times, Film International and 3d World. He is an amateur mycologist.
Filmography
2014 Pełzający ogród / The Creeping Garden