Gunda

Shot in black-and-white and without dialogue, Gunda chronicles the unfiltered lives of a mother pig, some chickens and a herd of cows with masterful intimacy. Using transcendent cinematography and the farm’s ambient soundtrack, director Kossakovsky invites the audience to slow down and experience life as his subjects do, taking in their world with a magical patience and an other worldly perspective. What is not shown, what is not said, is as much a part of this film as any character. The human presence is so prevalent, in terms of how the sequences were filmed, but more importantly in the lives of the animals who live on farms and who have been specifically bred and raised by and for humans. Gunda asks us to meditate on the mystery of animal consciousness, and the role played by humanity.