Jan van Ijken

BECOMING

Netherlands 2018 6′ 15′

BECOMING
Short film about the miraculous genesis of animal life. In great microscopic detail, we see the ‘making of’ an Alpine Newt in its transparent egg from the first cell division to hatching. A single cell is transformed into a complete, complex living organism with a beating heart and running bloodstream. The first stages of embryonic development are roughly the same for all animals, including humans. In the film, we can observe a universal process which normally is invisible: the very beginning of an animal’s life.

Jan van IJken
Documentary photographer and filmmaker from the Netherlands. He is self-taught and is working mainly autonomously on long-term projects. As a photographer, he developed a strong eye for light, composition and detail. Lately he has become more and more interested in human/animal relationships and nature. He is developing himself as a microscopist. In recent years, he developed himself as an independent filmmaker. He produced, filmed and edited 4 short films: Becoming (2017) about the miraculous genesis of animal life, The art of flying (2015) about starling murmurations (more than 50 screenings at international film festivals, biennales, etc), Nevermore (2013) about the process of action painting, Facing Animals (2012) about the complex human-animal relationship (grand prix short films at Split Film Festival, Croatia).

7/10 Zlatna vrata 19:00