Fort York
SATURDAY, june 24, 2023

Jurassic Park

With the short film Lichen

30 years ago this summer, Steven Spielberg’s Jurassic Park redefined the dinosaur adventure film, and it endures as a popular classic today. The towering dinosaurs of the ill-fated prehistoric amusement park look as spectacular as they did in 1993, brought to life fictionally by advanced DNA research and cinematically by state-of-the-art practical and computer-generated special effects. However, it is the memorable performances of the film’s dynamic cast (including Sam Neill, Laura Dern, Jeff Goldblum, Richard Attenborough, Samuel L. Jackson, and Wayne Knight) and the earnest found-family drama at the heart of the thrill ride that makes this modern monster movie more than the sum of its fossilized parts. When confronted with the sublime majesty and terror of nature unleashed, we have no choice but to heed the movie’s call to “hold onto your butts!”

In Lichen, Toronto-based Anishinaabe filmmaker Lisa Jackson (Savage, Biidaaban: First Light VR) takes the audience inward to the otherworldly realm of lichen. An ancient and diverse symbiotic life form that thrives in even the most unforgiving environments, lichen is proof of Jurassic Park’s famous claim that “life finds a way,” even as many aspects of its existence remain a scientific mystery. Jackson uses macro IMAX lenses to shoot dramatic extreme closeups of these miniature alien landscapes, with atmospheric music and scientific-philosophical musings from lichenologist Trevor Goward reflecting on what these unique organisms can teach us about being in relationship with nature and one another.

Next door to Fort York at The Bentway, Lichen has been reimagined as a public art installation, as part of The Bentway’s summer season, “Beyond Concrete,” which invites visitors to explore the nature of the Gardiner through free installations, performances, celebrations and more.