Herbaria

How are the world of botany and that of film preservation related? The second feature film by Leandro Listorti explores a possible link—both plants and films deteriorate with the passing of time; investigators from different parts of the world work to get better acquainted with what doesn’t exist anymore and preserve what hasn’t yet been destroyed. Shot in 16mm, Herbaria is built from visits to archives and museums, old films in decay, machines from the analog world and early-20th-century botany documentaries. The presence of filmmakers Narcisa Hirsch and Claudio Caldini also allows for a dialogue with Argentine experimental film. But in Herbaria there’s no room for nostalgia—the past lives on in the present through people whose work involves knowing and preserving for the future.