Olive meditation eleven forty seven

A meditation on human identity, nature, capitalism, and technology that starts with an olive tree stranded in the off-center universe of a corporate campus. My initial inspiration was the picture of capital-driven alienation that Antonioni painted in "L'Eclisse" and in much of his other work-- a concern only more urgent today in the face of robotics, artificial intelligence, block chain, and other technologies that call into question the degree to which human beings can remain protagonists of their own destiny.

  • derek frost
    Director
  • derek frost
    Writer
  • Project Type:
    Short
  • Runtime:
    11 minutes 28 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    March 8, 2019
  • Country of Origin:
    United States
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital (iPhone)
  • Aspect Ratio:
    varied
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    Yes
  • Student Project:
    No
  • Best Shorts Competition
    La Jolla, CA
    United States
    September 15, 2020
    Official Selection
Director Biography - derek frost

In addition to writing fiction and poetry, I create short films on iPhone. The films are highly personal and idiosyncratic meditations inspired in part by the work of my favorite director, Michelangelo Antonioni. I have a doctorate in comparative literature from the University of Connecticut.

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Director Statement

This short film is a meditation on consciousness, nature, capitalism, and artificial intelligence that starts with an olive tree stranded in the off-center universe of a corporate campus that is devoid, for the most part, of human beings. And yet, there is life, if you know where to look for it. My initial inspiration was the picture of capital-driven alienation that Antonioni painted in "L'Eclisse" and in much of his other work-- a concern only more urgent today in the face of robotics, artificial intelligence, and other technologies that call into question the degree to which human beings can remain protagonists of their own destiny.