An Invocation to the Earth (2020)
Deep in the tropical rainforest of Southeast Asia, a series of incantations invoke the spirits of yore, including those of the nimble, tricksy Kancil (mouse-deer) and the ferocious Buaya (crocodile). The ancient animals enact their folkloric vendetta in a furious dance of dominance, yet long-overdue vengeance is shrouded in smoke. Meanwhile, an effigy of a tree is burning, summoning a whole other host of spectres and ancestors. Conceived during the month of the Hungry Ghost Festival in 2019, while large-scale fires were consuming the forests of Indonesia, Yeo Siew Hua’s An Invocation to the Earth confronts climate collapse through the lens of pre-colonial folktales and animistic rituals. Through spoken spells and bodily entanglements, the video conjures up the fallen environmental defenders of a region ridden with ecological threats in the hope that their spirits will be reborn once again.
Director: Yeo Siew Hua
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Eng Kai Er as Buaya |
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Chloe Chotrani as Kancil |
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Zarina Muhammad as (Voice Over) |
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Tini Aliman as (Voice Over) |
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Marco Viaña as (Voice Over) |
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K. Rajagopal as (Voice Over) |
| Camera | Russell Adam Morton | Director of Photography |
| Sound | Yen Yu Ting | Sound Mixer |
| Art | Mike Chang | Props |
| Writing | Yeo Siew Hua | Writer |
| Crew | Zarina Muhammad | Additional Writing |
| Sound | Yen Yu Ting | Sound Designer |
| Camera | Zhang Yuanhui | Grip |
| Camera | Eric Lee | Camera Operator |
| Art | Tricia Lim | Art Direction |
| Production | Dan Koh | Researcher |
| Camera | Calvin Pua | Camera Production Assistant |
| Editing | Daniel Hui | Editor |
| Directing | Yang Yanxuan Vicki | Assistant Director |
| Art | Nicole Ho | Art Direction |
| Directing | Yeo Siew Hua | Director |
| Sound | Hussain Ismail | Location Sound Recordist |