Thought & Image: Processes of Reciprocity – Erin Espelie

Erin Espelie will talk about her current work in progress, the final short film in the trilogy “Out of Character” that began with A Net to Catch the Light.  She will discuss her practice within the broader context of moving-image practice as it is situated in the Anthropocene, with concomitant ethical dilemmas around representations of the natural world.

Of particular concern here are the practical methodologies at play when using scientific research, drawing from her background in molecular and cell biology. She will discuss how that kind of strategy relates to the history of “experimental” cinema. Her scientific, experimental practice bring broader issues around documentary, with its particular textual and sonic strategies, to the fore and open up ground for new conversation.
Erin Espelie is a filmmaker, writer, researcher, and editor, whose science-based experimental and poetic documentaries have shown at the New York Film Festival, the International Film Festival Rotterdam, the Natural History Museum in London, CPH:DOX, the Copernicus Science Center in Warsaw, the Full Frame Documentary Film Festival, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, and more. She has degrees in molecular biology from Cornell University and the experimental and documentary arts from Duke University. She currently serves as Editor in Chief of Natural History magazine, and works at the University of Colorado Boulder as an assistant professor in Film Studies & Critical Media Practices and co-director of NEST (Nature, Environment, Science & Technology) Studio for the Arts.