IN THE GARDEN OF FORKING PATHS

A project of the (vertical)
Centre for Imaginative Ethnography
IN THE GARDEN OF FORKING PATHS film poster

Just before conditions on Planet Earth became unsuitable for human life, a small group of children received a message from a faraway galaxy: an ancient civilization’s plea for notes describing life on Planet Earth. In The Garden of Forking Paths is made from all that is left of those notes.

Simone Rapisarda Casanova 

& Dara Culhane

Canada, 2021

70 min, Colour, Stereo

“one of the most unique film experiences I’ve ever seen, the film is […] a contemplative journey that lets me see the world through the eyes of a kid again”

‑ Paul R. Sell (The Spokesman-Review)


“dystopic and yet full of hope and humor […] the perfect pedagogical dose for coping with colonialism, capitalism and climate change on an individual and community level”

‑ Rajat Nayyar (Freiburger Filmforum)


“exemplary”

‑ Peter Dickinson (Anthropologica)


“exceptionally beautiful, commanding to watch […] invoke[s] the cinematic tradition of faith in the image, convincing the viewer to invest in what they see”

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“formally inventive and philosophically engaged realization of a collaborative ethos that still retain the capacity to surprise and delight—a difficult balance to achieve”

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“[the directors have] eliminated the common subject-object dichotomy that dominates much of the film world  (and much of the world)”

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“astute in the stream of consciousness assemblage as its own form and deconstruction of conventional echo-ethnography methods”

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“the film is an exercise in yielding. […the directors] yield space to the children’s keen grasp of their region and its human and nonhuman inhabitants, their knowledge of First Nations stories and mythologies, and perhaps most importantly, to their profound sense of ecological justice. […] formally, too, the decision to invite the children to film with omnidirectional cameras […] produces an aesthetic of yielding.”

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Made with the support of the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada

Créé avec le soutien du Conseil de Recherches en Sciences Humaines du Canada

Awards and honours

2023    Best Non-Fiction Film Award, Kanchenjunga International Film Festival

            Best Feature Film, Brussels Capital Film Festival 

            Best Non-Fiction Film Award, Everest International Film Festival

            Honorable Mention, Quatre Bornes Phare International Film Festival

2022    Best Experimental Film Award, Bihar Gully International Film Festival

            Festival Special Mention - Documentary, Kota Chambal International Film Festival

            Honorable Mention - Experimental Film, Mannheim Arts and Film Festival

            Best Experimental Feature Film, Bettiah International Film Festival

            Best Experimental Feature Film Bronze Award, Izmir International Smyrna Movie Festival

            Best Documentary Film Special Jury Award, Pondicherry Mokkho International Film Festival

            Best Experimental Film Award, Rameshwaram International Film Festival

            Best Feature Documentary Cinematography, Bucharest Wallachia International Film Festival

            Best Experimental Film Award, Jaisalmer International Film Festival

            Best Documentary Award, London Falcon International Film Festival

            Best Experimental Film Award, Gangtok International Film Festival

            Best Experimental Film Award, Cine Paris Film Festival

            Best Documentary Feature Film Award, Tamizhagam International Film Festival

            Best Experimental Feature Award, Nawada International Film Festival

            Best Experimental Film Award, Wales International Film Festival

            Best Documentary Feature Film Award, Karaiyur Sittannavasal International Film Festival

            Nominee, Best Experimental Film Award, Swedish International Film Festival

            Best Experimental Film Award, Birbhum Tagore International Film Festival

            Nominee, Best Documentary Feature Film Award, Brighton Rocks Film Festival

            Best Environment/Nature Film Award, Aranthanki Athvikvaruni International Film Festival

            Best Experimental Feature Award, Best Poster Award, Rancagua South Film and Arts Academy Festival

            Best Experimental Film Award, Kolkata Sundarban International Film Festival

2021    Outstanding Achievement Award - Experimental Film, Paro Druk International Film Festival


Screenings (selected)

2023    Freiburger Filmforum - Festival of Transcultural Cinema 

            Maharashtra International Film Festival

            Kanchenjunga International Film Festival

            Everest International Film Festival

            Caracas Iberoamerican Film Festival 

            Brussels Capital Film Festival

            Kalakari Film Fest

            Quatre Bornes Phare International Film Festival

            Mumbai Bharat International Film Festival

            Kota Chambal International Film Festival

            Pambujan International Film Festival

2022    Abadan International Moving Film Festival

            Bettiah International Film Festival

            Switzerland International Film Festival

            Bihar Gully International Film Festival

            Mannheim Arts and Film Festival

            Luleå International Film Festival

            Pondicherry Mokkho International Film Festival

            Rameshwaram International Film Festival

            Bucharest Wallachia International Film Festival

            Izmir Smyrna International Movie Festival

            Tamizhagam International Film Festival

            Nawada International Film Festival

            Karaiyur Sittannavasal International Film Festival

            Rancagua South Film and Arts Academy Festival

            Aranthanki Athvikvaruni International Film Festival

            Wales International Film Festival

            Kolkata Sundarban International Film Festival

            Boden International Film Festival

            Belgrade VIZANTROP Engaged Ethnographic Film Festival

            Jaisalmer International Film Festival

            London Falcon International Film Festival

            Cine Paris Film Festival

            Gangtok International Film Festival

            Swedish International Film Festival

            International Documentary Festival of Ierapetra

            Birbhum Tagore International Film Festival

            Brighton Rocks Film Festival

            Darbhanga International Film Festival

            Filmfest Bremen

            Buenos Aires International Film Festival

            Spokane International Film Festival

            Bayamón International Film Festival

2021    Muestra de Antropología Audiovisual de Madrid

            Cannes World Film Festival

            Paro Druk International Film Festival