Ginkgo and Other Times

2023

4K UHD, color, sound, 15:00 minutes

 

Humans live on the same planet with ginkgo—a living fossil that has been around for 200 million years. However, ginkgo may be nothing more than a street tree, integrated in the city; as urban planners often choose it because of its prominent ability to adapt to various climates and resist pollution and pests. Through the exploration of the ginkgo tree and inspiration from ecological ethics in nature writing and Ancient Chinese folk tales, this film critically examines shifting human greed, the interconnectedness between humans and nonhumans, and con- templates the continuity of life and the temporality of the ginkgo in relation to that of other existences. Trees act as witnesses, conveying different dimensions of the story through the different cycles of life.