Single Channel Video. 6:03 minutes. 2022.

Site-specific choreography embodies the Yi Jin Jing movement form while responding to it from a contemporary perspective, creating a visual poem with dancers solidly rooted in the ground while embracing emptiness; a yin and yang of holding firm and opening up.

The piece begins inside a hollow of tree roots, where soil erosion has formed a small, dry – but not barren – cave. From there a dancer emerges enticed by the presence of another. Against a backdrop of broken farm machinery and dead grass they echo each other’s movements as the dancer leads the viewer from beneath to on top of the tree, culminating in a visual escape into the treetop’s lush foliage. This piece questions how our farming practices impact the nature around us.

Produced & Directed by Jessica Gomula-Kruzic
Performances by Nicole Zvarik & Brandon Guerra
Choreography by Nicole Zvarik & Brandon Guerra
Audio Design by Sean Clute
Cinematography by Christopher Gomula-Kruzic

• 2025: Complex Ecologies. University Art Gallery, CSU Stanislaus. Turlock, CA
• 2023: Oz Indie Film Festival. St. Kilda, Melbourne, VIC. Nominee.
• 2023: Sensei Film Fest. Online. Quarter-Finalist.
• 2023: Cine Paris Film Festival. Paris, France. Award Winner.
• 2023: Kalakari Film Festival. Dewas, Madhya Pradesh, India.
• 2023: LOGIHQ International Happiness Film Festival & Exhibition. New Delhi, India.
• 2023: Mannheim Arts and Film Festival. Mannheim, Germany. Award Winner.
• 2023: Madonie Film Festival. Sicily, Italy. Award Winner.
• 2023: The North Film Festival. Stockholm, Stockholm
• 2023: Kiez Berlin Film Festival. Berlin, Germany. Award Winner. 
• 2023: Berlin Indie Film Festival. Berlin, Germany.
• 2022: Play Short International Film Awards. Online. Nominee.
• 2022: Your Way International Film Festival. Paris BKR
• 2022: 17th Cyprus International Film Festival. Larnaca, Cyprus.
• 2022: Delight of Hidden Spaces. Faculty Development Center, Stanislaus State. Turlock, CA.
• 2022: Reel East Texas Film Festival. Kilgore, Texas.
• 2022: Vesuvius International Film Festival. Campania, Italy.
• 2022: Mokkho International Film Festival. Pondicherry, India. Award Winner.
• 2022: Zensa Media International Film Festival. Montréal, Québec, Canada. Finalist