Stormy Weather (MP4 4:07min)

Stormy Weather (MP4 4:07min) is a film poem conveying the domestic experience of an extreme weather event on 14th February 2023, as Cyclone Gabrielle tracked across North Island, New Zealand.

 

Stormy Weather creates a pause to reflect on human behaviour and our interactions with nature and weather at a time of climate change. In the beginning, the windows are used as a framing device to shut out the weather, nature and climate change. Yet, the illuminated darkness forces us to observe the wildness taking place outside while the shadows and reflections of the interior action show in some way the bizarre continuation of everyday lives in the face of such powerful forces: a subtle dig at our lack of willingness to face up to climate reality (dancing while the land is sliding). Afterwards, the windows are open. A threshold is created that accommodates our appreciation and desire for nature but only in certain conditions. Sounds and images provide reflective space in contrast to the earlier dramatic scenes. Yet the gentleness of these are in stark contrast to the horror expressed in the selected texts that appear randomly across the screen. The final extract stays with the viewer as the film ends.

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