Homing
2023, 34min

Centuries prior to the colonization of the Americas, Purple Martins began to nest in gourds that people hung to store food and water and became companion species for many tribes. The birds that European settlers brought with them drove Purple Martins out of their wild habitats so that now they can only nest in birdhouses that people build to prevent their extinction. Homing follows the migration of Purple Martins from the Amazon to the Great Lakes, between the conservationists who study them and to the houses they are dependent on for survival.

“ Using words to describe this film might go against its very essence, breaking its spell, making it rigid. We would be lucky to reach it in silence. The film moves forward without a text, a voice or clear human presence to guide it, and this narrative nudity is its main strength and drive. All our attention is thereby captured by sustaining the time it takes to film these creatures in the different spaces and architectures where they live. Great learning underlies these images, that does not need to be explained. The filmmaker only shows, sets a pace and a suggestive thread of sequences. They do this freely and mysteriously: combining human and animal aspects without categorising or imprisoning anything. ” 
Anna Brufau, Punto de Vista


Screenings/Exhibitions:

Critical Media Lab, McGill University, Montréal, 2024
The Clouds They Look Like Mountains, Articule, Montréal, 2024
Viennale, Vienna, 2024
CorsicaDoc Documentary Film Festival, Corsica, 2024
Black Canvas Film Festival, Mexico City, 2024
Vilnius Documentary Film Festival, Vilnius, 2024
Labocine, online, 2024
Dokufest, Prizren, 2024
Prismatic Ground, New York, 2024
Cinéma du Réel, Paris, 2024
Punto de Vista, Pamplona, 2024