Sundance 2021: Alisi Telengut
Alisi Telengut speaks to us about her film The Fourfold and how it was inspired by animistic beliefs and shamanic rituals from Mongolia and Siberia. She also talks to us about her thoughts on virtual festivals, along with her thoughts on what she wants audiences to take away from her film.
What was the inspiration behind The Fourfold?
My short film The Fourfold is based on the animistic beliefs and shamanic rituals from Mongolia and Siberia. When I was a child, I heard about the rituals from my grandparents who used to live as nomads on the Mongolian grassland. After I grew up, I learned that these beliefs and rituals are called animism, which is a term from a 19th-century British anthropologist. He described that Western European have advanced to the highest stage of science, while the rest of the world’s people were still “primitive”; and animistic. Of course, this out-dated colonialist notion was long shunned. However, in the past twenty years, the idea of animism has been reconsidered and has become self-description among indigenous populations for land rights, the protection of natural resources, and environmental ethics.
What was the biggest challenge during production?
The film was entirely painted on a single background/piece of paper and by the end of an artist residency in Montreal I was done animating just half of the film so I had to carefully carry the same painting and move to Toronto to participate in another artist residency in order finish the film. After I got there, I had to arrange the animation setup in a very similar setting and continue from there.
Who has inspired you in your filmmaking journey?
When I started my formal training at a film school, I was very inspired by the works of the South African artist William Kentridge and the Russian animation filmmaker Yuri Norstein. In contrast to the hyper-realistic and super “clean” looking mainstream animations, I was particularly influenced by the under-camera technique from Kentridge as he animated over the same drawing, leaving the traces from previous frames.
What was your first ever short film?
My first ever short film was a collaborative work shot on a Bolex camera. We filmed with the pixelation technique by staging and animating ourselves and some graffiti paintings on various walls in an abandoned industrial area in Montreal.
What are your thoughts on the transition to virtual film festivals?
I think the focus of festivals would be definitely more on the film’s side rather than other aspects when they become virtual events. But at the same time, with so many events, talks and meetings constantly happening online, it’s possible that people could be tired of watching even more content on their screen.
The pandemic has affected the industry in many ways, how have you kept motivated during the past year?
I’m doing research on the animistic traditions of the indigenous Buryat people near Lake Baikal in Siberia for an upcoming project. I had planned a research trip in 2020 for it, but obviously, I’m not going to be able to travel for the foreseeable future. So I would have to find an alternative way to continue my research and creativity, such as starting the animation without having interviews.
What do you hope audiences will take away from your film?
The main theme is that there are other ways for humans to relate to nature outside of the Eurocentric point of view since the time of modernity and colonialism. In many indigenous cultures around the world, nature is not considered as a static “environment” nor a Galilean object to be exploited, instead, is considered as alive and is worshipped as a deity/deities.
What are you hoping to achieve in the next five years for your career?
Make two short animated films, publish a book on my research, create a large-scale installation.
Lastly, what are two pieces of advice you would give to young filmmakers starting out?
Keep experimenting and keep carrying on.
