Collaborating with the environmental organization LandPaths and the dance company Fog Beast, filmmaker Lindsay Gauthier is creating the short narrative film Wild, a visual, emotional, and kinesthetic journey following the experience of someone who is having an unexpected encounter with a wild space for the first time. Conveyed with dance as a major component, this film will be developed through rigorous research by the artists, engagement with the LandPaths community and programs, and immersion in wild spaces together. Gauthier and Fog Beast will focus their artistic lenses on the human/land relationship, making a paradigm shift from separation and dominance to relevance and stewardship.
Filmmaker Lindsay Gauthier, a former professional dancer, has collaborated with many choreographers over the years, and her dance films have screened nationally and internationally at numerous festivals. For 13 years, she has been the creative producer of Dance Film SF’s annual Co-laboratory project. Fog Beast, led by Melecio Estrella and Andrew Ward, is a 10-year-old dance-based live art collaborative. Their work, which has been commissioned by The Headlands, Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, and others, uses dance theater tactics to create site- responsive, context-specific performances.
LandPaths is one of Sonoma County’s leading public access and environmental education organizations. Each year, it engages approximately 6,700 individuals, primarily Sonoma County residents, in activities that allow them to experience the beauty, understand the value, and participate in the healing of the land. Research and development for Wild will embed the artists in LandPaths’ programs and spaces, including work with 12 young artists in LandPaths’ teen program. The finished film will be screened by LandPaths and submitted to festivals.