In a Canadian ghost town, the two remaining residents manage ominous dunes of slag left behind by last century’s copper smelting. This debut feature from Jessica Johnson and Ryan Ermacora is a postindustrial portrait of an abandoned British Columbia. Their measured study utilizes 35mm and 65mm cinematography and a trove of archival records to explore the intersecting histories of labor, immigration, and extractive capitalism that have marred this mountainous coastal landscape. 2022, Canada, DCP, in English and Croatian with English subtitles, 87 min.
BIO
Jessica Johnson and Ryan Ermacora are award-winning filmmakers based in Vancouver. Their work investigates ways that humans have engraved their histories into natural spaces and is informed by an interest in avant-garde depictions of landscape and labor. Their style is defined by a self-reflexive and structural approach to cinema. Their work has screened at festivals such as Cinéma du réel, EIFF, Festival du Nouveau Cinéma, Open City, DOXA, and VIFF.