Humboldt USA (forthcoming)

HUMBOLDT USA
Documentary Feature, in production, 4K Video
Director: G. Anthony Svatek

Humboldt USA is an experimental documentary about conservation, technological mediation of nature, and American environmental history. Set in three distinct locations across the U.S. named ‘Humboldt,’ the film paints a far-ranging portrait of Americans using technologies to try to understand and respond to their rapidly changing environments. These interwoven, often-contradictory narratives raise the question: in the face of ecological collapse and increasing virtualization of life, how do the tools of the modern world change our relationship to nature? The project has been pitched at Gotham Week,  Ji.hlava New Visions Forum, & Dok.Forum Munich.

Set in three distinct locations across the U.S. placed-named ‘Humboldt,’ we follow a group of individuals whose attempts at doing conservation work are often labyrinthine, ever-changing, and increasingly technologically-tailored. Using 19th-century naturalist Alexander von Humboldt as dots on a map and an anchor in time, the film explores what it means to be an ‘environmentalist’ in America today.