glacier lake | moth

‘moth’ is the first film in my new short poem short film series ‘glacier lake’ and starts out with signs of fall, of transition, and of longing. And moths.

‘moth’ was the proof of concept film. I had the linked poems already written, I knew that they belonged together, and I wanted to turn them into a film series. However, before I could even start storyboarding or filming, I had one big problem. Where do I find a moth? I have rarely seen them in my area, and even then, only for a brief time. Would I be lucky enough to catch the footage I needed? Probably not. And I didn’t want to leave my filming schedule to chance. I thought about going to a university or a museum to find some specimens in cabinet displays, visiting a zoo with a butterfly exhibit, and even buying a fake toy moth. But none of those ideas felt right for the film. Then, one day, I was staring at the bookshelf next to my desk, admiring these tiny little origami books that I’d made for book swag. Then it hit me. Maybe I could make an origami moth!

After scrolling through YouTube, I found simplest one to fold. I made it, and then tried it out with some test footage. I loved how it looked. Suddenly, I had this idea that all of the films should have their own little unique origami character. The rest, as they say, is history.

Please enjoy!

These poems were first published as "Fragments of Autumn at Glacier Lake" - IceFloe Press - Geographies Series, April 2024.