Event Proposal - Critical Synopses
Written/Analytical | 2025-2026 | Creative, Written, Critical, Project Management
Political Cinema module. Excerpts from a (theoretical) creative film exhibition proposition, and parts of critical synopses on films.
Exhibition
Proposal
Blending film, audience engagement and immersive techniques in a self-referential manner relevant to ecocinema, my project will bring together environmentalists and (political) film enjoyers alike to the increasingly important common ground of ecocinema.
In the first section, I mentioned the Natural History Museum as an ideal location, partly because of it’s relevance to the topic of environmental cinema, but also due to it’s atmospheric impact, crucial to immersivity. The museum, with it’s vast installations and large skeletal showcases, self-described as “awe-inspiring”,[1] evokes a sense of the Sublime, the concept that the vastness and power of nature invokes both fear and wonder, which leads the individual to reflect on both nature and themselves.[2] This further highlights the creative rationale behind the scale and location of this exhibition, rooted in creative theory
I aim to create an immersive experience surrounding human interaction with the environment, and hence its wider interpersonal and political implications. Therefore, participants will be invited to interact with the works through a range of accessible and age-friendly activities, which will be incorporated into the exhibition. The films selected for screening are as follows:
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All That Breathes (Sen, 2022)
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Koyaanisqatsi (Reggio, 1982)
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Okja (Joon Ho, 2017)
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Waste Land (Walker, Jardim, Harley, 2011)
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Princess Mononoke (1997)
Each film will play in a temporary room space which will be decorated thematically to maximise immersion, as each encapsulates an important topic and environmental focus, allowing variety. This is apart from Koyaanisqatsi, which will be projected on the ceiling of the space, as it is a non-narrative film without a conventional plot, focusing on humanity’s interactions with the world.
The use of visual breaks (frequent cuts to black) has a dichotomous effect. On one hand, the ‘visual silence’ provides a moment for the viewer to absorb the chaotic scenes shown, but on the other hand, it is visually jarring. It’s like blinking; immersing the audience as bystanders, but is also disorientating, especially when combined with the overlapping background noise. Additionally, the use of monochromatic film heightens the visual dissonance; scenes are more striking and may suggest the ‘black-and-white’ view of a clear enemy- the elites. The cinematography also increases the visual confusion. Close-up shots, shaky camerawork, raw footage and repeating shots likely puzzle the audience, but perhaps also cause them to pay more attention to fully understand the message. Therefore, the visual dissonance creates an immersive experience of the depicted inequality, fostering a disconcerting atmosphere that subconsciously shifts the viewer’s alignment to the oppressed class, pointing to the film being agit-prop.
-On La Hora De Los Hornos
This exhibition will essentially bring to a live audience and participants what critics like Leimbacher mention the film does; a clashing of the “domestic, political, and ecological”, in a microcosmic immersive exhibition that “enmeshes” participants in this representation of the environment and how it is increasingly politically relevant. The exhibition is an ecosystem of merging sound, visuals, and interactivity, causing attendees to reflect on the politics of ecocinema both through watching the films, and experiencing the rest of the immersive exhibition.
The exhibition would collaborate with creatives, including projection and installation artists, filmmakers, and those with relevant visual and written pieces that can be exhibited alongside the film screenings, for example, short spoken word poetry installations on political issues and textile pieces by Mexican artists, to showcase alongside Waste Land. To a certain extent, showcasing lesser-known creatives could be seen as a political act, due to the exclusivity of the art world, seen by many to be a “site of status or prestige contestation” (MacKay)[1]. Therefore, this project can be seen as political in both topic and execution.
Critical Responses
The animated film 'Flee' can be seen to use the contrast of animated techniques to effectively convey depth of emotion and complexity.
The main way in which this is achieved is through the use of charcoal-like animations included throughout the film, especially in scenes which are hazy due to Nawabi's foggy memory of the events or moments which are emotionally confusing and painful for him to recall. The use of visual messiness, shown by the sketch-like depictions, smudged blending and more fluid, dream-like animation, implies an emotional turmoil which makes the memories difficult to remember and recall. The lack of colour in these monotone scenes also creates a depressive, dark atmosphere, especially in contrast to the use of colour in the usual animated style of the film. Hence, the messiness of the animation used to depict Nawabi's difficult memories can be seen as very effective in conveying the emotional pain, and perhaps fogginess of these memories, which is enhanced by the lack of colour.