Short documentary essay film Arabidopsis thaliana (dir. Toma Peiu, Nicholas DelRose, 2016) will premiere internationally at the 6th Iran International Green Film Festival in Tehran. The festival runs September 9th – 16th.
The film was produced in the frame of the Symbiosis Competition at the Imagine Science Film Festival in New York in October 2016. It is the result of a collaboration between filmmakers Toma Peiu and Luiza Pârvu, and biologist Nicholas DelRose, a Ph.D. candidate in NYU’s biology department.
Arabidopsis thaliana juxtaposes the implications of injury, development and regeneration for plants, humans and cities, with a nod to one of the most popular plant model organisms in biology and genetics. It draws upon research on plant root regeneration conducted in Dr. Kenneth Birnbaum’s Lab, as well as anthropological observation of the migrant fabric woven into the public urban space of New York – from Jamaica Bay to Midtown Manhattan.
The film is also a meditation on the nature of the moving image and the gaze - in cinema and in science. Over a 3-day shoot, the filmmakers combined digital 4k cinematography with 16mm footage and microscop imagery recorded on an iPhone.
Nicholas DelRose is also an accomplished graphic artist. When he is outside the lab, he is usually working on designing, producing or distributing greeting card through his label, Damaged Goods.