No Two Plants

To know every plant, even when time is of the essence. To produce careful work, even in the face of systemic, external, and internal pressures. To maintain joy, even when the future looks bleak. To know and love corn. A journey across time, space, and along the history of the maize plant, No Two Plants explores resilience and different ways of knowing.

  • Nora Long
    Director
  • Penelope Lindsay
    Director
  • Nora Long
    Producer
  • Emma Patton
    Key Cast
  • Penelope Lindsay
    Composer
  • Project Type:
    Documentary, Experimental
  • Genres:
    Experimental
  • Runtime:
    5 minutes 54 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    November 22, 2024
  • Country of Origin:
    United States
  • Country of Filming:
    United States
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    2:1
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
  • Digital Cinema Package:
    Unavailable
Director Biography - Nora Long, Penelope Lindsay

Penelope Lindsay is fascinated by the way plant stem cells are organized to produce the wide variety of plant forms we see in nature. She uses maize as a model system to see how changing stem cell architecture through CRISPR results in changes in maize ear architecture. She is currently a Postdoctoral Fellow at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory and obtained her PhD in Plant Biology at Cornell University, where she studied the molecular dialogue established between plant roots and arbuscular mycorrhical fungi to enable arbuscular mycorrhizal symbiosis. When not in the lab, she loves experimenting with sound, creating subversive pop music and making mixes.

Nora Jane Long uses her lens to tell real stories about the most important issues you’ve never heard about. Equally, excessively passionate about humans, critters, and plants, her work explores the intersection of all three. An Emmy-nominated, multi-hyphenate filmmaker, her issue-focused work has screened at film festivals around the world, been broadcast on PBS and Good Morning America, and used as an advocacy tool by dozens of non-profit organizations and community groups. Her films have received support from PNC Bank, the Saul Zaentz Innovation Fund, Southern Exposure, and more. She holds an MFA in Film and Television Production from the Savannah College of Art and Design, where she was an honors scholar.

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Director Statement

Creating No Two Plants was a deeply collaborative and serendipitous journey. Penelope and I met on the first day of the Symbiosis Film competition, yet within hours, we discovered our shared passions for plants, storytelling, and exploring humanity’s connection to the natural world. Our collaboration grew organically, much like the maize that became central to our story.

Penelope’s work at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory introduced me to the extraordinary legacy of Barbara McClintock, a scientist whose groundbreaking discoveries about DNA rearrangement were ahead of their time. McClintock’s dedication to observing and understanding every individual plant resonated with us, not just as a metaphor for scientific curiosity but as a reflection of resilience and care in a world that often overlooks the slow, deliberate work of discovery.

We sought to bring McClintock’s perspective to life alongside the experiences of contemporary women in science, weaving together the past, present, and an imagined future. Through a dreamlike narrative, we explore the isolation, perseverance, and joy of women who push boundaries and challenge conventions in their fields.

Our process was immersive and intuitive, with cinematography, editing, and scoring becoming tools to capture both the frustration and the wonder of scientific exploration. Every frame was a meditation on the beauty and individuality of plants—and people—and a tribute to the importance of representation in innovation.

No Two Plants invites viewers to see the world through the eyes of those who nurture discovery, even in the face of challenges. It is a love letter to science, to creativity, and to the simple but profound joy of truly knowing and understanding something—whether it’s a plant, a story, or an idea.

— Nora Long & Penelope Lindsay