International Competition
A Person of the Forest
Miranda Pennell / UK, Holland / 2026 / 34′
A message from the backroom of a museum: the ghost of an orangutan returns to narrate early twentieth-century propaganda films about plantations in Sumatra. The animal recounts the acts of resistance by those, human and otherwise, who came before and after her. A Person of the Forest is a ghost story of the colonial past conjured up to disturb the present.
Director Miranda Pennell
Screenplay Miranda Pennell
Editing John Smith
Music Simon Fisher Turner
Mix Miranda Pennell
Archives Eye Filmmuseum
INTRASTEVERE CINEMA – Room 1, May 30, 3 p.m.
Q&A with the author
Miranda Pennell
Miranda Pennell is a London-based filmmaker. Her films often rework materials from British colonial archives to reflect on the contemporary. Her work emphasizes the role of imagination in the interpretation of historical documents. His films have screened at the New York Film Festival, Berlinale, FID Marseille, Viennale, Open City Documentary Festival, and many other festivals. His short film Man Number 4 was selected for an award at the European Film Academy Awards.