underneath it flickers

© underneath it flickers (lau persijn, 2024)

underneath it flickers

The jay, the train, the moss, the trembling soil. How to listen to a space considered empty? underneath it flickers suggests different perspectives on La friche Josaphat, a verdant fallow land in Brussels threatened by real estate development. By questioning our ways of looking and listening, the film seeks to connect with the land as a single body inhabited by many creatures.

“By focusing on the cinematic interpretation of la friche, without losing sight of the specific urban environment, underneath it flickers becomes something universal. The filmmakers add a courageous chapter to the book of anthropocene cinema and make a powerful statement to the political world,” Jannes Callens writes.

The film is part of CUT TO: GENT’s short film programme “Garden Shorts”, in collaboration with Kuleshov.