IN THE GARDEN OF FORKING PATHS
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.
“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)
“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)
“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