7TH BALKAN CAN KINO

FILM SYMPOSIUM

At PEDION AREOS and ZOETROPE

In this workshop, we explored ways to connect more deeply with the inhabitants of Pedion tou Areos park. Through walking, drawing, storytelling, and observation, we used our senses to find new ways to know and relate to the more than human entities with whom we share the city. Engaging our senses unlocks the potential to perceive things we cannot fully understand or directly see.

Inspired by readings from Kriya for Cultivating Your Inner Plant by Natasha Myers and Wild: An Elemental Journey by Jay Griffiths, we began to imagine how our bodies and lives are part of the ecological system. Plants, insects, animals, rocks, earth, sky, and sun can be experienced as sentient beings. Once in the park we opened ourselves to the call of an object, so that it could choose us just as much as we chose it. We explored different ways to engage with the objects. This inspired the sharing of beautiful drawings, poems, and stories. We danced together.

One participant shared her surprise at how quickly her perception of nature—and her relationship to it—transformed during this experience.

At the closing, we reflected on questions such as, “Why did this object call to you? What message or meaning does it hold for you now?” Each person was invited to place their chosen object somewhere special, where it could continue to inspire and nurture a newfound connection.

Thanks to Balkan Can Kino Film Symposium and Zoetrope Athens