Created in collaboration with the Visible Poetry Project 2020.
Our lives are but a blip on the face on the earth, yet to us it's all the time we have. When we take a moment to stand back from ourselves, to see all the events that have occurred over millennia leading to our existence, it is truly mesmerizing and inconceivable. We are so, so small. Life comes, and life goes. Earth nurtures, and Earth destroys.
Based on the poem by New York writer Leena Soman Navani. 'A Scale for Hurt' touches upon that childlike ability to deeply experience what's in front of us, yet simultaneously be so aloof to the bigger perspective of existence. During our youth, there's only the now, that moment, under a magnifying glass, whilst the expansiveness of time remains out of our grasp. Childhood is transient, and so is life on this planet.
In a broader sense, it's becoming more and more apparent that our species is facing an uncertain future. In 2020 wildfires burned 3 million acres across California, and 46 million acres in Australia. Covid-19 has killed over 4 million people globally, and sea levels rise at a rate of 3.3 mm a year. A third of the carbon dioxide pumped into the air by humans is trapped in the oceans and as it dissolves it turns the oceans acidic. In the history of our planet, there have been 5 mass extinctions, and there's growing evidence that we could be facing a sixth. Our time here on earth is limited, but that idea is hard to fully perceive.
'A Scale For Hurt' explores the question: How can we comprehend a scale that is so much bigger than us – one that is far too big to feel?
POEM BY
Leena Soman Navani
DIRECTED + EDITED BY
Julia Ngeow
STARRING
Pippa Dauven
NARRATION
Mischa Ipp
CINEMATOGRAPHY
Lewis Potts
EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS
Katina Mercadante
Jennifer Mathy
LOCATION SOUND
Richard Giannotti
PRODUCTION ASSISTANT
Jordan Paolillo
RE-RECORDING MIXER
Brian Goodheart
COLORIST
Eunah Lee
CASTING
Filmbites
MUSIC
Keith Kenniff 'Backward From 10'
ADDITIONAL FOOTAGE + PHOTOGRAPHY
Simon Matzinger
Steve Johnson
Kristoffer Brink Jonsson
Egor Kamelev
Jay Mantri
Harrison Candlin
Islem Benzegouta
Putulik Jaaka
Anubhav Rana
The Element
Lay-Z Owl
SPECIAL THANKS
Robyn & Frederick Ngeow
Lee Dauven
Matt Willemsen
Soniya Sapre
Neil Navani
Leena Soman Navani
Steve Browne
Zoe Edelman
Alley Leinweber
Raz Media
Leslie Yoon