Lichens

The internationally acclaimed film Lichens approaches these overlooked organisms not as objects of study, but as a way of thinking.

Lichens are not a single organism. They are a coexistence of fungus and alga, a shared body. What at first appears to be a marginal form of life slowly becomes a model: life as relationship, as contact, as a surface where different beings meet and hold together. Much like queer identities and relationships.

Shot on 16mm film, the work unfolds slowly, through attention rather than explanation. At its center are Trevor Goward and Curtis Randal Björk, a gay couple of lichenologists living in Canada. Conversations with them, and with the lichens themselves, unfold without urgency. The film stays with them long enough to ask: what if life is not what it is, but something that happens in between?

A discussion with director Ondřej Vavrečka follows the screening.

Admission – 120 CZK

Accessibility – suitable for teens as well

Vibe check – involves interaction with the audience or other participants, seating available, indoor venue

Hosted by – Ondřej Vavrečka Ondřej Vavrečka is a filmmaker, visual artist, musician, and educator. He originally worked in programming, later turning to philosophy and linguistics. He studied film at FAMU in Prague and at VGIK in Moscow. His work draws from shared everyday life as well as from theoretical thought and literature, developed through documentary, fictional, performative, and essayistic approaches.

His films have received several awards and have been screened abroad. A close relationship to material and physical experience plays an important role in his practice. This is reflected in his work with analogue 16mm film, collage, and the recycling of materials. Alongside his films, he also exhibits his visual works. He teaches as an associate professor at FAMU, focusing on both teaching and artistic research, and publishes theoretical and "filmosophical" texts.