The Mountain and her Children

The project, “Mettere le Mani nella Terra” spoke to me not only on the level which addresses environmental issues but also made me think about my own roots. Because “Mettere le mani nella Terra” conveys a strong image of connecting with ones basis, this was the opportunity go further into the past.
This project combines my present environment with aspects of me that I seldomly get in contact with, my indonesian heritage. I like to think of this film as a snapshot of my state at the point in time where i had the idea to create such a film. The style of the puppets is based on the traditional shadow puppets of javanese wayang theatre. Also the personification of the plants into spiritlike creatures is a story trait that is very typical for southeast-asian folk tales. The environment in which the story takes place, however, is approximately South-Tyrolean. It can be seen as an accumulation of the cultural environments that lead up to my current perspective.
However personal the concept of the art style and story are, the message that this story tries to convey is universally applicable. Appreciate your natural environment and give to it, as it gives to you. The children (the plants) who are the lead characters are the manifestation of the use that humanity takes out of nature – and also a manifestation of the reasons we should fight to keep nature inact.