Liminal: Indiana in the Anthropocene

Hoodox is proud to partner with Indiana Humanities and the filmmakers behind LIMINAL: Indiana in the Anthropocene to bring this stunning and unique, meditative aerial film to Hoosiers across the state. LIMINAL is a powerful exploration of our relationship with the environment, with a particular focus on Indiana. The film challenges us to consider our impact on the the state we call home and the ways we can strive for a more sustainable future. Hoodox Executive Director Rocky Walls says, “This film represents the same kind of Hoosier filmmaking spirit that inspired the founding of Hoodox - that a few creative individuals saw something incredible on a global scale and said, ‘We should make something like that here, just for Indiana.’”

Wait, so what is it? LIMINAL is a non-narrative, meditative film comprised entirely of stunning drone film from over 40 locations across Indiana and accompanied by an original score written by Ft. Wayne composer Nate Utesch of Metavari. Liminal reveals a compelling and uncanny view of Indiana in all its features and forms. “This is an experience,” explains Walls, “as much as it is a documentary film to be watched, it’s an immersive experience to really make you think.”

Our friends at Indiana Humanities have partnered with the the filmmakers and several venues across the state to host live screenings of the film, many of which will include a live score by the film’s composer, Nate Utesch. Check liminalmovie.com for information on the upcoming live screenings. Later this year, LIMINAL will stream exclusively on Hoodox for subscribers to enjoy at home.

As we approach the world premiere in South Bend on Earth Day 2023, along with a series of screenings across the state, we wanted to go behind the scenes and hear directly from the filmmakers about how this film came to be and what they hope it means to Hoosiers.

The following is a short Q&A with two of the filmmakers, Zach Schrank and Aaron Yoder. Enjoy learning more about the film. We hope to see you at an upcoming screening!

1)  What inspired you to make this film?

Zach Schrank, Director

Zach: I am a Sociologist at Indiana University South Bend interested in consumerism, environmental sociology, and our interconnected relationships with the planet. The concept of the Anthropocene - a human dominated planet and our indelible impact on it – has fascinated me for more than a decade. In 2020 Edward Burtynsky made the film Anthropocene: The Human Epoch and I was captivated by the surreal imagery and brilliant cinematography that captured human activity around the planet in ways that looked alien or otherworldly.

The imagery of climate change or the Anthropocene we see is often from distant locations most of us will not get a chance to visit. The lithium pools in the Atacama Desert, the Amazon or Indonesia’s rainforests, coal mines in Germany or cobalt mines in the Congo, the coastline of Bangladesh, or the smog skies of New Delhi. Because the visual association is so far away it is easy for most of us to assume the Anthropocene is just somewhere else. But what Burtynsky’s film inspired me to try to do was find ways we might be able to see the Anthropocene in the places we live. And so Liminal was born out of the attempt to convey the essence of the Anthropocene within a bounded location as a microcosm. I wanted to share a different perspective of Indiana in an unfamiliar way; one that aligned with the type of imagery Burtynsky shares on a global scale but condensed within our state. The idea is that the Anthropocene isn’t just out there somewhere, but it is right here too.

Stylistically, I was inspired by Ron Frick (Koyaanisqatsi 1982 & Samsara 2011) and early on we decided we wanted Liminal to be a non-narrated film just like Frick’s.

Aaron Yoder, Editor/Cinematographer

Aaron: I’ve thought a lot about our place in the world, who and what we are, and our care or lack of it for the rest of the world that exists outside of our built environment. It’s not something most people think about in our society. Often people tend to ignore the larger global stories about climate change, or our effect on the world overall. The idea of making something presentable and tangible and touchable to people who actually live in our little corner of this global society felt like a really exciting idea and the project grew.

2) What's it been like working with the team?

Zach: We have never worked on a project together before, so you never know how something like this will turn out. But it has been a great experience because we each brought something idiosyncratic, and Aaron and Nate are both truly nice people and very talented at what they do. When I approached them about the project idea in 2020, they were enthusiastic about joining and contributed valuable perspectives. Since we are all from Indiana we felt a strong affinity for the concept, too.

Aaron is an FAA certified drone pilot and has a great eye for picking up compelling arrangements in landscapes. He was also willing to travel all around the state for a few months to capture images from more than 45 locations, which was just amazing. And Nate is an incredible artist, graphic designer, and composer who has already rescored several silent films (Metropolis and a set of David Lynch’s short films). There simply is not a better person who could have scored Liminal and designed the artwork. And once we got going and each had our roles, most of our work as a team took place remotely, over Zoom, and through shared files in the cloud.

Aaron: It’s been fun brainstorming with Zach about concepts and ideas we wanted to present and location hunting. I know I personally discovered many very interesting locations in my own home state I may never have had I not worked on this project. It’s also been a lot of fun watching what Nate has been able to come up with for a soundtrack to the film.

3) What do you hope Hoosiers experience while watching the film?

Zach: I hope people watching the film feel immersed and mesmerized as they float around on a strange and unfamiliar tour of Indiana with music accompanied to bring it to life in striking ways. It would also be great if Hoosiers come away thinking, “Wow, I can’t believe that was all in Indiana” and begin to see where we live in a different way.

Nate Utesch, Film Composer

Aaron: I hope that we can at least grab their attention for a little while and inspire them to take pause and think about the power we humans have over our environment and how we want to wield that power. Maybe make them ask “Are we the only thing that matters on this planet, or does the planet and it’s other life forms worth respecting a little more than we have thus far?” 

Zach says the team originally intended for the film to take about 18 months to complete, but it ended up taking twice that. He says, “This delay ended up benefiting us, though, because we met a bunch of great people at Indiana Humanities and Hoodox who took an interest in what we were doing and have helped us share it with a wider audience in Indiana.” Zach encourages viewers to learn about the additional great work Nate and Aaron have accomplished. Check out Nate’s musical world as Metavari www.metavari.com, and design work at utesch.xyz, and Aaron’s drone work with Indiana Aerials www.indianaaerials.com