By Liz Marshall

The Ghosts In Our Machine was nominated for a whopping 4 Canadian Screen Awards. This blog focuses on just some of the creative and editorial decisions that went into the film. Of the 60+ screenings I  attended around the world between 2013 – 2014, audiences consistently expressed (and continue to express) appreciation for the film’s gentle dramatic effect, character-driven approach, its cinematography, photography, music, sound design, and more.

The themes and questions explored in The Ghosts In Our Machine incubated for many years.
I grappled and marvelled and searched for a compelling angle. In 2006, as I was getting to know Jo-Anne McArthur (Jo) and her photographic work We Animals, cinematic ideas began to stir. Jo’s images invite us to see all animals as individuals. Her intimate photos transport us to the front-lines where we lock eyes with helpless creatures trapped within the machinery of our consumer-driven world.

In 2010, off the heels of my previous film Water On The Table, I was ready to formally commit to the development of The Ghosts In Our Machine and saturated myself with reading materials and animal rights films. I realized I needed a sympathetic and relatable human subject to anchor the issues. I asked Jo if she would consider being featured in the film, and explained that her presence would be a powerful narrative device to help us creatively access the lives, emotions and predicaments of the animals. She immediately understood, and agreed.

More than any other filmmaking journey, I committed myself to a long personal process of reflection; to peel back my own blinders and to face some deeply held prejudices. As a social-issue filmmaker, and an animal lover, I realized I had much to learn about the moral significance of non-human animals, and this precise discovery helped to shape the direction I wanted for the film.

The film needed to reach a wide audience without compromising truth or integrity. The film needed to gently remove people’s blinders to reveal the ghosts; the billions of individual animals hidden from our view, and to inspire deep and lasting reflection, for a diverse global audience.

How could The Ghosts In Our Machine elevate this marginalized social justice issue? This occupied me, always.

I carefully selected an accomplished team of cinematographers, editors, composer, sound recordist, sound editor, and sound mixer to help achieve the seemingly impossible goals of the film.  An open heart and mind, passion and perseverance was essential.

In conversation with some of the film’s creative team, this blog lifts the veil to reveal techniques and reflections. Hope you enjoy.

PHOTOGRAPHY & CINEMATOGRAPHY

LIZ: Jo’s photographs provided the main pillars:
eye-level; close proximity; naturalism; equality.

Normally I work with one cinematographer on a film, but for this film I wanted to blend some different influences with the intention of creating one cohesive voice. The subject matter is so intensely personal for everyone, I was interested in the creative journey, for all of us.

Jo, I wanted the film to be a seamless visual world between your photos and the moving images. The editors applied so much skill and effort to find the right rhythm and balance. Do you think the film achieves this? Do you wish we had utilized more of your photos in the film? Or, some different ones? If so, which ones come to mind?

JO: You really did labour over this! And you really achieved what you set out to do. To illustrate this: I asked many people how many photographs they thought were incorporated into the film. They all guessed WAY UNDER the actual amount. That’s because the weaving of stills into the moving pictures was seamless, and this seamlessness is a compliment I often hear about the film. I don’t wish other or more images were used. If I were unhappy with the film then perhaps I’d have a different answer! The only image I would have worked with differently was the poster! I still suspect that the poster was a bit too dark/foreboding. There’s a lot of hope and light in the film, and showing that might have made the film more inviting at first glance. I had to make the same decision w/ the We Animals book.


LIZ: John Price is a magician. I’ve had the pleasure of working with him since 2008. Expressing interior space of the protagonist is what I strive for, and John helps to achieve this brilliantly. I like (love) the interplay of light and dark and John is unafraid of the dark, he shapes it masterfully to illuminate the light. John was the main cinematographer for the film. I wanted his continuity while filming with Jo, which included our big trips to Farm Sanctuary, to New York City, and to Europe for the undercover fur investigation, and the zoo and marine theme park. Two other brilliant cinematographers contributed to the film, Iris Ng and Nick de Pencier. And, I shot approximately 20% of the film, mostly as the B-camera, with John in the field.

JOHN: I like shooting actuality with people that are socially, politically and artistically engaged. I mean, I love it. I think the transformational qualities of the cinema are so frequently ignored, wasted or overlooked and to work on projects that have both an artistic and humanist compass are a gift. It’s easy to commit to something that I can relate to and that is such an important discussion for us at this point. It’s also important that it’s not propaganda… less journalistic and sensationalist. That it creates an opening for the audience to locate themselves and find some kind of connection with the subject… empathize. That’s my preference as a viewer really and it’s naturally instinctive to try and record moments this way. It’s just very very lucky and rare when you are afforded the opportunity to participate in this kind of project.

LIZ: In finding and refining the visual language of the film in various locations over the course of the production year, what was your strongest instinct?

JOHN: In general the idea of naturalism was a strong guide from a conceptual and practical point of view. I find that working with and shaping available light – and in particular natural sources of daylight – humanizes the subject somehow. I think the ‘artifice’ in artificial lighting effects the way an audience interprets things subconsciously. When you start throwing in backlight, rim light, kick light for interviews it can’t help but to take things into the realm of theatre and ‘acting’. Of course there are ways to achieve naturalism with artificial lighting but generally this approach requires larger light sources further away from the subject that are diffused or bounced through various material / textile. This is impractical when you are travelling with a very small crew and budget is a factor.

You and I had discussions at the beginning about trying as much as possible to humanize the animals and what that meant visually. Being with them at eye level was a starting point. Being physically close to Jo and the animals was also important. Fortunately Jo was easy with that presence from the beginning no doubt because she completely trusted you and believed in the project. I think that once the subject gets used to the presence of the camera that it (the camera) becomes more invisible and so what happens in front of the lens becomes less performative and more natural. It does not hold true in every case but if the subject is open and honest it’s transparent and creates the space for empathy, which is so important for documentaries like this.

I was moved most intensely trying to record the experience of the ‘non-human’ animals held captive. I don’t know if there is anything more tragic than looking into the eyes of a primate behind bars who has committed no crime and has so little space, privacy, or hope. You know there is so much going on inside and the energy of unhappiness seems so plain and so raw. The fur farms were another site of unthinkable suffering. The repetitive obsessive behavior, the screaming, and the filth… it’s just so dark. How we as a culture have arrived at this moment where what used to be needs have become wants… and how deeply destructive (and ultimately unnecessary) their production and distribution have become. The only counterweight to this darkness is to engage with other individuals who are asking these fundamental questions and looking for clarity. That and bringing up my kids so they are aware of these things so they can make better choices and with any luck be part of a positive change.

LIZ: Iris Ng –  can you tell us what it was like for you to focus almost exclusively on capturing the details and emotions of Maggie and Abbey? What were the challenges and joys, both technically and creatively?

IRIS: Following the movements and emotions of non-human subjects called upon me to somewhat temper my doc shooting instincts. Liz, you emphasized in our early conversations, the importance of focusing on Maggie (and eventually Abbey’s) world by physically getting down to their level to honour their perspective. This meant holding composition on them and allowing the human characters to fall outside of the frame, cropping their bodies and faces which felt unnatural at first.

It was also challenging technically, to stay at the height of Maggie and Abbey’s eye-level as they moved sometimes frantically and excitedly throughout their world. But it was also joyful to follow their impulses and observe their reactions to each other and to objects and people around them. Generally, we had to let go of expectations and accept a higher degree of unpredictability of how a given scene would play out. In retrospect, it required a kind of heightened version of how I aspire to approach the variety of subjects in my other work, and this experience has taught me a great deal.

I’m very honoured to be part of this cinematography team by the way, it created a unique and unexpected balance between the film’s aesthetic and powerful message.

LIZ: Nick de Pencier, I wanted you as a cinematographer on this film because of your extensive experience shooting with 2k and 4k formats, and because you have filmed so much with wild animals. Can you share some of your acquired knowledge about filming with animals?

NICK: Working on the images in Ghosts, and in the discussions we had leading up to filming, I found myself thinking a lot about time. Of course all films are time capsules where the filmmaker collects disparate moments and puts them together for a viewer to experience later in their own time, but I find that filming animals brings an entirely unique time-dynamic to the production process. When I first started filming nature documentaries I had to completely re-calibrate my expectations and approach because the rhythms of filming people and cities just do not apply when you’re trying to synchronise with the natural world. In our constructed societies, it’s possible to force things to happen and manufacture moments through a variety of means. None of this manipulation works in the natural world. I learned that if I brought any frenetic, urban mindset to filming animals, not only would I have very little success in being reactive and sensitive to the animals I was trying to film, but the authenticity of the moment would be lost. There was a divide that I was not bridging: I would be moving too much, or in the wrong way, my presence would cause disruption or fear, and of course the results and the experience were frustrating. Over time I worked to change my approach, and to try and integrate myself with my surroundings. This of course yielded much better results, but was also an incredibly welcome change in perspective and in just simply being. Feeling that evolutionary connection with the animals and a non-constructed environment profoundly re-affirms my belief that this is the healthiest mode of existence for humans and all beings. It was such a pleasure to have been able to achieve this state while we were filming together, and to recognise that it was shared amongst all the collaborators.

LIZ:  I wanted to bookend the film with an essay-style contemplation for audiences. Extreme close-ups and slow motion footage of animals invite viewers into the visceral sensory worlds of horses, cows, sheep, cats, dogs, pigs, primates, a guinea pig and a dolphin. You composed these images on your Epic RED camera at ultra high speed (slow motion) at 4K resolution. Audiences marvel at the intensity of these images. The opening and closing sequences of the film are accompanied by a minimalist soundscape, including the disembodied drifting voices of scientists, lawyers, professors and activists, who ruminate on the animal issue. What is the power and significance of slow motion in film?

NICK: Another part of the time equation perceived working on Ghosts was that we talked a lot about filming the animals in slow-motion. For me, cinematic tricks used gratuitously always deflate the power of a film, but you were convinced – and you were right – that certain images of animals in slow motion would be a powerful addition to what you were trying to accomplish in Ghosts. If one of the goals of the project was to get people to think about animals differently, I think making time elastic and slowing down certain key moments with the animals was a great choice. I think as viewers, it let us consider them in a more contemplative way – a more existentially charged instant where because, being slowed down, they are out of their time continuum, they pop out of time for us too and so we can examine them more minutely, while being more aware of ourselves in that moment. This is a rare and precious thing in film, and a real accomplishment.

SOUND RECORDING

LIZ: Jason Milligan – as a documentary location sound recordist, you have traveled far and wide and worked on many different kinds of productions (including films with me since 2006). Gathering the sounds of the animals up-close during the fur investigation and at Farm Sanctuary was especially important for the film. What were the challenges and highlights?

JASON: I love animals so working on a film that showcased the plight of non-domestic animals was very important to me.  The fur investigation was difficult.  The sounds of the animals were quite depressing.  Locked up and mistreated they could barely manage a yelp.  You hope working on a project like this that after watching the film, people will understand that fur coats and fur trim are extremely unethical and choose to purchase something with a synthetic alternative instead. Farm sanctuary is an incredible place staffed by incredible people.  I loved it so much there that I returned with my wife for our honeymoon.  It was great seeing all the animals living freely and at peace.  The sound highlight for me was capturing the snoring of Teresea the pig as she slept under the blanket on a freezing day at Farm Sanctuary! Clearly she was relaxed and calm and free from the abuse and confinement it once knew on a factory farm.

NARRATION VS. INTERIOR DIALOGUE

LIZ: Jo, rather than having formal narration or filming sit-down interviews with you, I wanted more of an interior diary/journal voice that would help inform the film’s tone and structure. We recorded several in-depth and very personal conversations/interviews with you in a small cozy recording studio, periodically, spanning early 2011 to late 2012. What was this process like for you? Was it helpful, effective, awkward, ineffective?

JO: Yes, it was very personal but I trusted that you would use personal information in a way that helped and complimented the message of the film. As much as you made studio recordings feel safe and comfortable, I at times struggled with self-consciousness. It took some work to “get over myself” and take confidence in knowing that what would make it to the film would serve a specific purpose and that ultimately, it was not about me, but about animals, and helping animals, and the journey of something trying to do that. The studio recordings we did were used sparsely and that narration definitely loaned itself beautifully to the film.

PICTURE EDITING

LIZ: Roland Schlimme – when I contacted you in 2011, what was it about this project that convinced you to commit yourself as editor? And, throughout the epic process of editing the film’s Assembly, what did you discover?

ROLAND: It’s a real privilege and pleasure to talk to filmmakers about their projects – even ones that I don’t end up editing. In terms of deciding what to take on, there are always many factors – both interesting and mundane.

With Ghosts, subject matter was maybe more of a consideration than usual – I was interested in and largely ignorant about questions around animal rights. So it was an opportunity for me to broaden my awareness around a subject (as many of the films that I work on are). But subject matter is only one aspect to consider – as we hadn’t worked together before, it was a question of feeling out that collaboration in our first meetings: whether there was some rapport creatively and otherwise. I don’t really know how those decisions get made, but on some level it’s a question of faith in the project and faith in the relationship. I think I was struck by your commitment, focus and openness in approach. And you already had great collaborators on board, shooting with you.

There are also simple practical considerations – and on this project I was already committed to start Watermark in the fall of 2012; so it was great that we could work out a schedule where I worked on the assembly with you (before Rod came on) and I could go on to my commitment with Jennifer Baichwal. I think it helped that Rod and I had worked together before.

In terms of our work together and the assembly, it’s hard to sum it up; the discoveries are often pretty specific to the material and scenes. On the question of animal rights, I was doing my own research on a more philosophical level – reading perspectives on the question. But it was clear that the film wasn’t philosophical on the question. The strength of the film was more subjective – being able to see the world through Jo-Anne’s eyes and work. One common question on issue-oriented films is how it’s possible to effect change – what is it that might change someone’s thinking or beliefs? Empathy is a powerful tool in that respect. It was clear from the outset that we had to find the strongest moments in her experience (in your experience together, filming) that could crystallize that in some way.

Ultimately, I think that’s the strength of the film – illuminating an issue through Jo-Anne’s specific perspective.

LIZ:  Roderick Deogrades – What was it like for you, both technically and creatively, coming into this project 4-months into post-production?

ROD: Starting the project after all the work that you and Roland had put in was certainly daunting and overwhelming. As an editor, I am used to being familiar with all the footage going in. Shifting from my usual approach took a little bit of time. But soon enough, owing much to how Roland organized the footage along with your extensive familiarity with where all the pieces were, I got past the slight disadvantage of not seeing everything and was able to effectively do my work as an editor. Despite the fact that it was in assembly stage, it was also very liberating going into a film that already had a direction structurally. Much of what Roland did was so great. And using that as a jumping point for inspiration to try different approaches was a lot of fun. Knowing that if anything we tried didn’t work, we always had the original cut to draw from. This I feel, allowed for more experimentation, especially when trying to shape the film’s final structure.

This is the second film that Roland and I had handed off to each other. The previous instance, it was Roland that took over after my assembly. And it once again proves that two heads are better than one (well… three really. Two editor’s work would mean nothing without the director beside them).

LIZ: Rod, we then worked closely from October to December to shape and refine and lock the film. What was your strongest instinct during this intensive process? And, what was your greatest take away in helping to create a film that is changing the world for animals?

ROD: When I edit a scripted film, I always try to make sure that the audience can connect with the characters in the film.  The actors’ performances play a huge role in accomplishing this. Without it, there’s a disconnect between the viewer and the people on screen, resulting in a less successful film. When editing documentaries, I’ve always applied the same approach with the doc’s main characters. In TGIOM, these are the animals. So treating them as any character I would normally edit was a real pleasure – to help highlight their personalities, emotions, etc. and show them as living and feeling beings is part of the reason, I feel, TGIOM works so well. It was a crucial tool to show audiences that animals were sentient beings, deserving of rights. My strongest instinct was to always be aware of this throughout.

My greatest takeaway is the amount of pride I have in being involved in such an important cause. It has changed me in the ways I approach living on this planet and sharing it with our animal friends. It has been a couple of years since we finished the film, yet the lessons still resonate. I only hope that my contributions have done the same to everyone who has seen the film.

MUSIC SCORE

LIZ: Bob Wiseman – our creative process was unique because you didn’t mind us (me and Rod) playing around with the music stems you created. Sometimes I wanted a very stripped down and understated ambience. Your versatile unconventional sensibility provided many options for us. Can you tell us about your process?

BOB: As a composer I see myself as responsible to help the director get whatever their vision is so if I make music and it has separate tracks it’s totally fair for the director or editor to fuck around in any way they wish. My job is to try and do that without complaining.

POST PRODUCTION SOUND EDITING

LIZ:  Garrett Kerr – the most fundamental aim of the film is to give cinematic agency to the animals through sound and picture, and to push the envelop past the point of discomfort, if need be, to make the point that animals are conscious living beings. What I love about working with you Garrett is that you approach sound in a deeply philosophical way. What was it about Ghosts that inspired you? And, can you reveal a conceptual signature that you applied to the film’s overall sound design?

GARRETT: I have to preface this response by saying that I’ve never worked on a film that presented the kind of challenge that Ghosts did. As a sound designer, it’s not uncommon to search for interesting ways to tell a story through the soundscape, of course. When done at its best, this is usually executed in ways that are subtle and which engage the audience in a subconscious way. Generally speaking, I usually try to err on the side of a subtlety in which these design elements may be lost on the audience rather than risk becoming obvious or apparent thus distracting the audience and pulling them out of the film. Ghosts presented many opportunities to do this, but, as a team, we found ourselves struggling with the dilemma of how to engage these. I’ve never worked on a film where the “voice” of the subject was so important. In discussing the approach to the sound of the film with Liz, there was a clear understanding of the need to help supply the voice to these living creatures who are not necessarily voiceless, but who lack a means of communicating effectively to those that currently hold dominion over them — ineffective not due only to proximity, but even those close enough to hear their screams are rarely moved to try to help them …  In searching for sounds to fill in the landscape and project the calls for help from the animals on screen, we focused on two things:

First, we tried to find authentic and legitimate sounds for the animals being shown, but that spoke to us most effectively. Admittedly, it was unpleasant to comb through recording after recording of animals in various degrees of distress, anguish and terror, searching for sounds that would have the greatest impact (I know that was just a mere shadow of what it is surely like for Liz and Jo-Anne to walk into the midst of the abuse searching for the most effective images and storylines to connect with the audience). When we found the most powerful sounds that we could, we would build the landscape and then play it for Liz to get her take on its authenticity and honesty. For us, that was the balance — trying to make the soundscape as uncomfortable and resonating as possible, without crossing the line of truth. In the end, I suppose that only ones who would truly know if we’ve done justice in our work is the animals themselves, but, on some level, if the soundscape provoked anyone to sense the injustice, to feel a wave of compassion and a desire that the situation to be corrected, then something good has happened.

The second way we tried to entreat to the audience has less to do with the animals’ voices and more with the environment around them. We tried to draw attention to either the disconnect between the animals’ actual environment and their natural environment (by placing an abundance of technology such as cell phones and intercoms in the zoo scenes, etc.) or by embedding the sounds of the animals themselves in the mechanisms of our human environment (the ghosts in the machines!). Listen for the cat screech in the espresso machine, the dog yelps in the milking machines, the pig squeals in the transport trucks, the chimpanzee scream in the subway car etc. These sounds are subtle, and hopefully not noticed as one watches the film, but our hope was that they would embed a sense of … what’s the word? I want to say ‘humanity’ but that’s not it, of course — we need a word like humanity which addresses all living beings. Life! Sentience! Whatever that thing is, we wanted to embed that in the environment, to help us to remember that sentient, feeling creatures are living and dying in the fabric of the machinery that makes our human lives as luxurious and privileged as they are. The sounds of the ghosts that are in our machines.

POST PRODUCTION SOUND MIX

LIZ:  Daniel Pellerin AKA: Mix Master, I adore working together. I refer to the mix process as the ‘jewel of the crown’. It’s the final phase of a very long and exhausting journey. Being in the mixing theatre with you is like being at the top of the mountain. The air is clean, and the view is expansive. You mix huge budget films over months, and low budget indie films and documentaries over weeks or days. With a nuanced film like Ghosts, we had just a couple of precious weeks in the mixing theatre, with 80+ layers of sound to make sense of, what was your guiding principal and wisdom? And, what is your acquired wisdom as a result of mixing a film that has such a positive impact in the world for animals?

DANIEL: As with the “larger” projects we are often involved with in designing and mixing sound for, “The Ghosts in Our Machine” is no less complex and no easier to execute than any of these. Simple narrative projects and even intricate visual stories are no less complex in finding a language that is compatible. The challenge with doing sound that does justice to Liz’s motion pictures is formidable. As with all that Liz Marshall directs and produces that we have collaborated with her on, the picture editing and music / sound editing / mixing has offered us many opportunities to create a sound design and mix style that will be supportive of her initial concepts and in full accord with her vision. That being said, it is not as simple as it seems. And in my estimation, the material and the concept of this project were conducive to a very bold and immersive style in conjunction with  an engaging contemplative approach in the quieter passages, which requires a richer aural tapestry than most documentaries and actually most features for that matter.

What made this sound treatment engaging and effective in every respect, in my extensive experience, is an exciting blend of both the contemplative abstract musical and sound passages combined with a very bold visual style that brings you to experience internal moments from the animal’s perspective, in a most meaningful way. Quite a formidable approach, and as with everything we work on together, very effective to bring the audience to experience the subject matter in a more cinematic fashion. It creates a rich tapestry of sound and meaning that meshes perfectly with the strong and sturdy yet haunting and lyrical  visual style that she embraces, expressing her concepts clearly and with purpose. Working with her and all our collaborators that have had the good fortune to work on her projects has been an extremely rewarding and fulfilling experience. It has in significant ways changed our lives forever and the way we perceive the natural world around us.

LIZ: Jo, being filmed in various locations over 1.5 years, to seeing pieces of the editorial process along the way, to then experiencing the full film at a private screening in a beautiful theatre with the Ghosts team and with your dad present – what was it like for you to see it all come together with yourself and your work elevated on the big screen? Can you recall the thoughts and emotions then (early 2013), compared to now?

JO: Then and now I just feel damn grateful that the We Animals work could be used and shared in such a hugely impactful way. I trusted you Liz from the beginning to present all of the work beautifully and honourably. I cried in the theatre at that first viewing –  a lot! Seeing the culmination of years of work, put together so beautifully on a big screen is a rare experience; truly a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. The whole experience of being a part of the film was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. A rich learning experience, with the added bonus of forming bonds with you, the director, and the crew while working on such heart-wrenching and uplifting subject matter. Lucky me! I’m grateful for the experience on both a personal and professional level.

(Published 01.23.15. Updated 05.20.15)

###

View film credits
Watch The Ghosts In Our Machine anywhere in the world.

Director and producer Liz Marshall is an award-winning Canadian documentary filmmaker. 

 .

The post The Look and Feel of Ghosts appeared first on The Ghosts In Our Machine.

We are excited to announce that for the next 6-months we have permission, gratis, by Warner/Chappell Music and Radiohead to publicly stream the film credits from The Ghosts In Our Machine documentary. The song “Give Up The Ghost” by Radiohead characterizes the film’s credits – which interlace the names and titles of those who made the film, and those who are featured in the film (nonhuman and human animals), with several staggering statistics about the animal industries revealed in the film.

You might be wondering: How did you get permission to use such an iconic song by one of the biggest and coolest bands on earth? The short answer – with the help of my friend, Music Supervisor Amy Fritz, who also helped secure music rights for my last film Water On The Table.

It also helped that Thom Yorke of Radiohead is sympathetic to animal issues, loves film, and is vegan. Also, our awesome contact at Warner/Chappell Music, Laura Masseria, loves the film and has been a true advocate.

Below is an excerpt from the letter (pitch) I wrote to Radiohead back in 2012. My fellow producer Nina Beveridge and I designed the little package and sent it off. Within a few weeks Radiohead gave “two thumbs up, artist approval”. What an exuberant moment to learn that one of my biggest dreams for the film had come true. My partner Lorena Elke turned me on to the song, and I knew we had to have it for the film. #DreamComeTrue.

GIVE UP THE GHOST is a reflective and haunting song that speaks perfectly to the tone, mood and message of THE GHOSTS IN OUR MACHINE documentary. We would like to respectfully license your song for the end of the film – to play during the credit sequence. Placed within the context of our film I know that your song will inspire audiences … GIVE UP THE GHOST will help to elevate the meaning of The Ghosts In Our Machine ….

Audiences everywhere comment on the emotional impact and effectiveness of the song in the film.
Thanks Thom, Radiohead, Warner/Chappell Music, and of course Amy Fritz.

For the Ghosts,

Liz Marshall
Director, Producer

.

The post Radiohead “Give Up The Ghost” Film Credits appeared first on The Ghosts In Our Machine.

Please visit our online photo gallery to view
“Sonny and Fanny’s Story“.

Please watch the film to meet Fanny and Sonny.

Photos © 2011 – 2012. Jo-Anne McArthur / We Animals for The Ghosts In Our Machine.

A Bit of History

Sonny and Fanny’s rescue marked the very first film shoot we conducted with Farm Sanctuary in upstate New York, during the summer of 2011. Officially, this was “Phase II Development”, supported by Canada’s documentary channel. “Phase I Development” spanned 2010 – spring 2011.

Nina Beveridge, fellow producer, and I had recently established Ghosts Media, the production company to produce The Ghosts In Our Machine project. As the project’s director, my mission was to shoot and edit a new trailer that would convince documentary channel that The Ghosts In Our Machine needed to be funded as a feature length documentary. I chose to feature a rescue mission by Farm Sanctuary, the rest is history.

The rescue was life saving for Fanny and Sonny, important for the film, and significant for me personally. I had been vegetarian since 1989, and while I respected veganism as a concept, I didn’t fully understand it. That changed for me when I met Fanny and Sonny. They became the face; the reason to make the transition and to stop supporting the dairy industry. To this day, when I think of Fanny and Sonny and when I visit them at Farm Sanctuary, I am reminded of who they are, and what they have come to represent for so many people around the world who have been impacted by their story of rescue and rehabilitation. Thank you Fanny and Sonny, you are forever in our hearts.

The Rescue

Susie Coston, National Shelter Director for Farm Sanctuary, led an expert rescue mission. Fanny and Sonny were at a dairy auction, being disposed of, for cheap meat.  Susie managed to rescue them both and transport them to Cornell University’s Animal Hospital. “Spent” by industry standards (fragile, dehydrated, sick, arthritic), and severely neglected, Fanny could barely stand up, and Sonny was at deaths’ door. Jo-Anne McArthur, human protagonist in the film, photographer and founder of We Animals, documented the mission, and I filmed her and Susie, and of course Fanny and Sonny. This “scene” would become a featured storyline in the full-length documentary.

Fanny, en route to Cornell Animal Hospital 

After 24 hours of treatment at Cornell Animal Hospital
she was released into the care of Farm Sanctuary.

This arresting photo of Sonny has became an iconic image, featured on our theatrical movie poster. Jo took this captivating photograph en route to Cornell University Hospital for Animals. Upon arrival, Sonny was administered lifesaving medical treatment and then released to Farm Sanctuary to live out his life.  Sonny’s medical care included a blood transfusion, ultrasound, IV, and he was bottle fed milk with colostrum. All of these measures saved his life.

 Sonny’s Rescue Day.

Sonny en route to the intensive care unit at Cornell University Animal Hospital. 

Sonny with Susie Coston, Intensive Care Unit.

Please visit our online photo gallery to view
“Sonny and Fanny’s Story“.

Learn about the dairy industry, and about the many yummy and nutritious alternatives to dairy products.
Visit our GET INVOLVED section.

For the Ghosts,

Liz Marshall
Director/Producer
LizMars Productions / Ghosts Media

 .

The post Fanny and Sonny’s Story appeared first on The Ghosts In Our Machine.

For me, the day began arriving in Boston from Toronto and making my way to the NEAVS’ office on the metro. The NEAVS’ office is located in an old-world New England jewelers building, so I immediately felt a sense of  history. There, I met up with Jo-Anne McArthur (Jo) and with Dr. Capaldo, CEO of NEAVS,  and with the staff. We were given a tour of the offices, and marveled at some century-old historical artifacts, such as original NEAVS’ documents, books and a wax seal.  NEAVS was founded in 1895.

From the NEAVS’ website:

Since its inception, NEAVS has used a variety of means toward ending the oppression of animals in science including:

• Cultivating public outreach and education
• Encouraging purchase of cruelty-free products
• Exposing animal research, labs or companies
• Funding the development and validation of non-animal testing
• Helping to pass laws that protect students’ rights to dissection choice
• Supporting animal sanctuaries
• Working with federal agencies for policy change that mandates alternatives to animal use
  

  An annual membership 1960 – 1961: $1.00

This Boston screening of The Ghosts In Our Machine was in the works for a year, since Dr. Capaldo  introduced our World Premiere at the Hot Docs Film Festival in Toronto on April 28th 2013!  It didn’t happen during our limited US theatrical release in the fall of 2013 because the theatre would not book the film, so we decided to wait until the spring of 2014, and NEAVS would officially host/sponsor our Boston Premiere.

Boston Premiere of The Ghosts In Our Machine

I interviewed Dr. Capaldo in 2012 during production. I was struggling with the “purpose-bred beagle” story. I had my beagle rescue story of Maggie and Abbey in the can, but needed some hard hitting context about the use of beagles within the biomedical research industry — information that is difficult to access.

The film features Dr. Capaldo’s voice explaining why the research industry breeds and uses beagles, her voice punctuates a clandestine scene (undercover footage provided by PETA) where we see tail-wagging beagles carted down a sterile chamber into a lab.

There is so much gold (content) that didn’t make the final cut. Here’s an excerpt from the interview transcript – bold parts were noted for possible use:

[01:04:40.20] CAPALDO: Beagles are typically used in vet schools for two reasons: one was called terminal lab which was where students practiced their surgical skills and in the old days they would use a beagle throughout the semester for repeated use, for what was called recovery surgery. They would practice breaking and setting a bone and the dog would recover and then three weeks later they would practice a gastropexy on the dog – which is where you staple the stomach to the abdominal wall because some dogs can get that twisting which is potentially fatal to them and then the dog would recover [01:05:25.04],  we put an end to that. We put an end to what was called recovery surgery and multiple use, so what vet schools started to do was: you had a beagle you were assigned to in the morning, you did various procedures on him/her and then that afternoon you euthanized him/her. Another use of dogs in veterinary schools is to teach clinical skills, so you learn how to insert an IV, take blood, do dental work, do an anal exam etc. The change that has happened in veterinary schools is quite impressive and it began somewhere in the late 80s early 90s, the first was here in New England, we (NEAVS) were a part of that campaign. [01:06:19.23]

Q&A with Director/Producer Liz Marshall

Moderated by Dr. C,  with myself and photographer/protagonist Jo-Anne McArthur, our post-screening Q&A was thoughtful and engaged (we wouldn’t expect anything less from such an uber smart town), with an audience comprised of lawyers, students, activists and families, and of course many NEAVS’ supporters.

Q&A with Photographer/Protagonist Jo-Anne McArthur

Please spend a few moments, you will thank me for it, to explore the NEAVS’ website. It is one of the most educational, well thought through, researched and  eye-opening websites I have visited. Everything you want and need to know, to have in your arsenal for a good debate with those who argue in favour of animal testing. It is well presented and undeniably authoritative.

WWW.NEAVS.ORG

For the Ghosts,

Liz

Liz Marshall
Director/Producer
LizMars Productions / Ghosts Media
.

The post NEAVS – A Featured Partner appeared first on The Ghosts In Our Machine.

AN OPEN LETER 
By Liz Marshall 
01.25.14

Robert, thanks for presenting your experience and analysis of the Grandin scene in the film. Overall, the film is not prescriptive, telling people what to think or feel. Instead, it is created to inspire self-reflection about a big and complex issue, and to reach a broad audience. When speaking with people about the film, some don’t understand the meaning or purpose of the Grandin scene, and they are upset that she is in it. Others appreciate the gravity of the scene, and the inclusion of her ideas for a variety of reasons. It has been suggested that I write an open letter explaining why I included Grandin in the film, to unpack the sequence for people, explaining its purpose and meaning. I have been pondering this, although I believe the film should speak for itself. When making a film like this, nothing is random, every moment, transition, word and image is deeply considered to support the thesis. The thesis of The Ghosts in Our Machine is that all animals are sentient.
– Liz Marshall / Facebook. December 7th, 2013.
(In response to a post by activist Robert Grillo, Free From Harm)

On a few occasions I’ve been asked about the following scene in THE GHOSTS IN OUR MACHINE documentary, a scene that has puzzled and roused feelings of concern for some activists. It features Temple Grandin’s Center Track Restrainer and Curved Chute System.

I believe a film speaks for itself without the need for explanation. That said, in light of my responsibility as a social-issue documentary filmmaker, I agree it’s a good idea to unpack the scene for you. I hope this helps.

About three quarters of the way through THE GHOSTS IN OUR MACHINE there is a sequence where cattle are led through a maze, and we see macro close ups of detailed hand-drafted designs of a carefully constructed labyrinth called the Center Track Restrainer and Curved Chute System. To accompany these images we hear the voice of its architect Dr. Temple Grandin, Professor of Animal Science at Colorado State University. Grandin describes the functionality of this system, and archival video footage is seen of many cows being led to slaughter, it concludes with the brief yet harrowing ritual slaughter (halal) of two of the cows. The stock footage is excerpted from Grandin’s educational DVDs entitled “Cattle Handling Principles to Reduce Stress” and “Cattle Handling in Meat Plants“.

This sequence is an intimate window into the rationale and efficiency of the world’s largest slaughter system, employed largely in parts of North America and in Australia. I could have sought out the goriest footage imaginable to prove the point that all slaughter, whether “humane” or not, is morally corrupt. Instead, I found it much more relevant and compelling to the film’s thesis to include the voice and work of a highly regarded innovator within today’s global meat industry. I chose to place Grandin’s ideas and designs within the context of the film’s thesis – at this juncture in the film the audience has been led on a point-view journey through the lens and heart of activist photographer Jo-Anne McArthur, and are attuned to the sensory conscious and feeling worlds of a colourful cast of nonhuman animals. The Grandin scene is a jolt away from this worldview, back to a normalized accepted way of seeing animals as production units. This abrupt shift in perspective is part of why the scene is shocking. As a note, for those who have witnessed brutal images of widespread primitive forms of slaughter through the internet or elsewhere, this footage is relatively sanitized, hence the title of the film The Ghosts In Our Machine.

To contextualize this scene, it’s important to mention what comes before and after ~

Before is a point-of-view sequence which follows Jo-Anne McArthur through the streets of New York. We see meat everywhere: on the grill; in shop windows, on billboards. By conveying the normalcy and scale of meat consumption juxtaposed by a committed hopeful vegan activist walking amidst a sea of people, this scene has David and Goliath allegorical overtures: the big guy and the little guy (it’s one of my favourite scenes). From there we transition to the interior of a sanitized meat packing plant where we see slabs of animal parts hanging from hooks, being cut into pieces by workers, and then to Grandin’s Center Track Restrainer and Curved Chute System.

Immediately following the Grandin sequence there is release. The film cuts back to Farm Sanctuary in upstate New York where rescued elderly cows walk peacefully up a hill, an old wise goat with a long beard chews his cud, and Jo walks up an adjacent gravel road with a spring in her step carrying her farm boots. We know she has returned to her heavenly refuge for a visit with animal friends, and with her pal Susie Coston, the National Shelter Director for Farm Sanctuary. This is the third and final scene at Farm Sanctuary, where the scenes are crafted as magical (yet very real) departures; transporting audiences to ancient deep memories of childhood and storybooks where all animals are friends with names and stories.

It was early January 2012, when I found myself en route to Colorado with Cinematographer John Price and Sound Recordist Jason Milligan, to spend the day with Temple Grandin, to interview her about her Center Track Restrainer and Curved Chute System. It was preplanned that she would describe the details of her drawings for me. By the end of the day, after an interview in our hotel she invited us back to her home to show us her plaques and awards from McDonald’s and other clients. Her home was dusty and cluttered with books and images of animals; especially cows and western cowboy iconography, and there were paintings of animals, statues of animals, and books about animals everywhere. Her parting words to me were that she hoped I had learned something from her, and I asked her what she would like me to have learned, and she explained that she is a pragmatist;  most people in the world eat animals, and so she sees her work as helping to improve things.

I left with a stack of DVDs given to me with the rights to use the footage and an interview in the can. While traveling home I wondered how I would make sense of it all. It wasn’t until the summer (5 months later) that Editor Roland Shlimme and I started to deeply consider the footage and its meaning and intent for the film (I had since viewed it a few times and had edited a rough interview sequence). In September 2012 I viewed Roland’s first edit,  and remarkably it didn’t change much after that.

Documentary films and photographs inspire people to see the world differently.

THE GHOSTS IN OUR MACHINE  contrasts  an accepted way of seeing animals as food, with a new way of seeing animals as friends, which is why I feel the Grandin sequence is powerful and effective within the context of the film’s thesis.

For The Ghosts,

Liz Marshall
Director, Producer, Writer
Toronto

Director’s Statement
About the film

 .

The post A WINDOW INTO THE MACHINE appeared first on The Ghosts In Our Machine.

January 1^st, 2014
By Liz Marshall

Setting clear intentions and goals at the onset of a project is crucial. Revisiting them frequently is important to realizing them.  This conscious exercise creates, and then continuously clarifies, a specific roadmap for your project. You can then build everything else around it…

I write this blog on new years day, 2014. The film I directed, wrote, and co-produced, THE GHOSTS IN OUR MACHINE, just enjoyed a busy and successful 9-month release:  from its World Premiere in April to the conclusion of a U.S. Oscar Qualifying Theatrical Release in December.

2014 will be another active and important year for the film, globally. Read our 2013 Year in Review – Looking Ahead blog here.

A victory worth elaborating on is the realization of an intention and goal that was set over three years ago. Read on. 

When THE GHOSTS IN OUR MACHINE was imagined in early 2010, its defining framework was: a cross-platform documentary, to be accessible and targeted to a broad and diverse audience. This framework has always informed my every step, and by the way, being “accessible” has not detracted from the integrity and fundamental need to tell the truth and bear witness. A significant audience to reach was/is the green movement – those who care about the natural world. Early on, Jo-Anne McArthur, the film’s protagonist, said something astute that always stuck with me:

Issues of animal rights lag far behind the environmental movement when in fact the two are entwined.

My last feature documentary, WATER ON THE TABLE, focuses on the global water crisis, specifically, the struggle to have water declared a human right, protected from privatization. Prior to making WATER ON THE TABLE  I made several international films about human rights issues. It made perfect evolutionary sense for me to turn my attention to a film about animal rights – and I felt especially motivated because it is such a complex and marginalized issue. Therefore, the goal of attracting a broad and diverse audience, including environmentalists, made a lot of sense.

Increasingly, since the 90s, many consumers have become accustomed to making more informed conscious decisions when purchasing cleaning and industrial supplies, beauty products, toys for their children, food and much much more, to reduce their “environmental footprint”. Many young people are committed to active stewardship: caring about the food, water and air we eat, drink and breathe. Yet, the billions of animals used annually for food, fashion, entertainment, biomedical research and product testing have largely been left out of this equation. Animals are referred to as things; numbers and products, and this only perpetuates their assigned function as invisible members of society; the Ghosts.

Slowly but surely, this is starting to change.

In 2013 THE GHOSTS IN OUR MACHINE was honoured with three environmental awards by two critically acclaimed international film festivals:

Best Nature/Environmental Documentary at the Yorkton Film Festival, Canada.

Best Canadian Feature Documentary at the Planet in Focus Environmental Film Festival, Canada.

2^nd Place in the Green Screen Award Competition, Planet in Focus Environmental Film Festival.

The Green Screen Award  is granted to film productions committed to reducing their environmental footprint. The following proves that the definition of “green” is changing to include animals. Here is the submission that Planet in Focus received, which I view as more of a case that I presented, for the jury to consider. By awarding THE GHOSTS IN OUR MACHINE  with 2^nd place status, it is a progressive message for all: the new green has a face.

THE GREENING OF THE GHOSTS IN OUR MACHINE
To: Planet in Focus Environmental Film Festival
2013
By: Liz Marshall

THE GHOSTS IN OUR MACHINE is committed to reducing its ‘environmental’ and ‘animal’ footprint. We believe they go hand-in-hand.

Too often animals are left behind (ignored) when defining what it means to be an environmentalist. For example, we look for non-toxic cleaning supplies but we don’t look to see if those ‘green’ supplies are tested on animals, or whether they contain animal byproducts. Animal issues are gaining momentum, on the heels of the environmental movement. Part of our message is that these issues belong together, for a few reasons: Firstly, it’s a moral issue – animals are part of nature as are humans (we are animals too), therefore our nonhuman animal cousins deserve acknowledgement and respect. The moral intersectionality between humans, the planet, and animals is important to identify. There is a cognitive disconnect between our love and concern for wolves and whales in the wild, and our lack of concern for the multitude of species bred and used by the billions within global industries; the ghosts are the animals trapped within the machine of our modern world, and they are largely hidden from our view. Secondly, factory-farming practices, whether agricultural, for fur production, the tannery industry, and more,  is wreaking havoc on the planet; poisoning our soil, water and air, and human health is at stake. These industries are devastating for animals and the facts are staggering: 72 billion animals are farmed for food worldwide every year – the vast majority of them reared intensively in systems that seriously impact on their welfare. (HSU). For all of these  reasons, and more, it was important that my crew and the production’s resources, engage in responsible practices throughout the course of production and post-production. We aimed to walk our talk, to have as little impact as we possibly can.

– Zero Tolerance For Bottled Water: We all brought reusable water bottles on the road, to shoots and to the edit suite. We drank tap water only in Canada, the U.S. and in Europe. This was a note on all production Call Sheets and it quickly caught on to became the norm for crew and all team members. As a note, during the making of WATER ON THE TABLE, I learned the importance of this issue and upheld the same principals on this production as well.

– Zero Tolerance For Animal Products: Production only paid for vegan meals and vegan craft services (no animal products, including dairy and eggs). We paid for organic when possible.  (Crew was of course free to purchase what they wanted with their own per diem, but the amazing thing is that everyone during production and post chose to eat vegan when we are were working together.) We were a Vegan Production!
(postscript: the creative team I chose to work with were chosen for their talent sensitivity and openness, several I worked with on my other films. Some are vegan and vegetarian, some aren’t. Everyone made significant (and lasting) changes during the course of making the film, and several of us became vegan.)

– Responsible Packaging: We were mindful of excessive packaging and plastic when shooting and traveling.  When getting meals to go, we would choose paper bags or cloth bags over plastic.

– Eco-friendly Batteries: Sound recordist Jason Milligan only uses re-useable, chargeable batteries.

– Eco-friendly Travel Considerations: We did fly and drive, but for local shoots we car-pooled as much as possible, took public transit in NYC and Toronto, walked a lot to find interesting shooting locations (rather than cabbing it) and cinematographer John Price rode his bike often for local Toronto shoots.

THE GHOSTS IN OUR MACHINE  has had a much smaller than average ‘footprint’, and a greater than average “compassionate footprint”.
Thank you for your consideration.

—

Yes indeed, thank you Planet in Focus for your forward-thinking; for setting an example.

Happy 2014 to all.

For The Ghosts,

Liz Marshall 

 .

The post The New Green Has A Face appeared first on The Ghosts In Our Machine.

– Liz Marshall

Photo courtesy of Kate Vogel.
From left to right: Actor James Cromwell; Director Liz Marshall; Protagonist Jo-Anne McArthur

.

The post James Cromwell Attends Chicago Premiere appeared first on The Ghosts In Our Machine.

I had the pleasure of being in Vancouver during the LUSH Vancouver Ghost-Free Journey event that took place between Monday May 13th – Friday May 17th. I spent a day in the field with some LUSHies on Day-4 of their 5-Day Journey. It was fun!

To begin, I dropped by the LUSH store on Robson street and saw Kelly Davidson, Store Manager, a former Ghost-Free Journey participant, getting a facial.  I had to snap this photo with my iphone.

Then, I was offered a facial by Ghost-Free Journey participant Nicole Kaczorek.
Nicole is a “Key Holder” at LUSH, which means she is a leader in the store. She became vegetarian 8-years ago, because she loves animals, and had watched some PETA videos about factory farming. She chose to embark on the 5-Day Ghost-Free Journey because she was ready to make a shift and wanted the support.

Nicole attended the Vancouver Premiere of THE GHOSTS IN OUR MACHINE at the DOXA Documentary Film Festival, and in her own words: “The film facilitated the change to veganism for me. The film allowed me to see in a way that wasn’t pushy, and I could make the connection between the dairy and veal industry. The film is philosophical and that was very effective for me, it made me think about animal use and animal rights.”

After a couple of hours at the LUSH store with some of the friendliest humans I have ever met (seriously, they are hired based on their ability to genuinely and positively interact with and inspire others), a few of us went to NICE SHOES – the only vegan shoe store in Canada. It is owned by two friends of mine, Glenn and Joanne.

Before the LUSHies came into the store, they went next door to FAIRY CAKES and bought gooey ghost-free cupcakes.
At NICE SHOES we tried shoes on, looked at vegan books, bags, belts and tshirts. We hung out with Joanne, the very nice owner. I got a new pair of very stylish boots but I don’t have a photo, sorry. By the way, you can purchase our FOR THE GHOSTS tshirts at NICE SHOES.

My final destination was GRAZE, the new fabulous sumptuous over-the-top-delicious plant-based organic local restaurant. They grow herbs out back and collect and use rainwater too.

At 7pm about 40 of us all gathered at GRAZE: LUSH employees on the 5-Day Ghost-Free Journey; Jennie Ridler, a LUSH leader we adore and respect who is one of our esteemed Animal Ambassadors, and Tricia Stevens, a LUSH leader mover and shaker who makes a difference in the world for humans, the environment and for animals. We dined and hung out and discussed issues and ideas for a few hours. We ate several exciting dishes, including almond kale cheese, which is my favourite thing on the menu. I met and spoke with each of the GFJ participants. For some the GFJ was a brand new way of seeing the world, it was enriching and challenging. For others it was a significant step they had been wanting to take already, and our Ghost-Free Journey facilitated the opportunity. Thank you to the wise counsel of our Ghost-Free Journey Coaches Rosemary and Donna.

Check out the LUSH Vancouver Ghost-Free Journey photo album to see an assortment of images from my day with these wonderful people.

Check out the LUSH Vancouver Ghost-Free Journey

For the Ghosts,

Liz

.

The post LUSH Vancouver Ghost-Free Journey field notes appeared first on The Ghosts In Our Machine.

02.13

DIRECTOR’S NOTES

This month marks the end of a giant marathon. 2.5yrs to be exact. We are emerging from the bowels of a cavernous mountain and can smell the ocean air … there is a great speckled owl gazing down from her perch, and we can hear a warm buzzy choir of sparrows in the wind.

The epic process of completing a theatrical and broadcast cross-platform project involves mountainous minutia and careful abiding love that is poured into each frame, pixel and sonic note. Hey, we could write a manifesto – chalk full of epic imagery: a menagerie of animals, rubble, urban skyscrapers, graffiti, waterfalls, flowers, desert and mountains called: 
The Eco-System of Documentary.

I have had the good fortune of working with an A-team of collaborators, from our picture editors to cinematographers, composer, sound team and interactive directors (several were with me on the journey of my last film).  And, please help me in saluting these three significant women, without whom
THE GHOSTS IN OUR MACHINE would not be what it is:

LORENA ELKE – quite simply, without you this project wouldn’t exist. You inspired me to tackle this complex subject of animal rights years ago, and you have been a moral compass, always reminding me of the circle of life. Thank you from my heart and soul.

JO-ANNE MCARTHUR – your bravery, radiance and unique body of work (www.weanimals.org) inspired the approach I wanted to take with this film. Thank you sister Jo. May this project take your important work to new heights. May your work be seen far and wide, for the ghosts, (and may you sign many autographs).

NINA BEVERIDGE – your steadfast commitment, remarkable patience, good spirit, support, proficiency and hard hard work has fueled the engine. Thank you for holding the ship down and taking this journey. May the film be seen far and wide, and may we make a lot of sales!

The journeys’ path is changing course, towards all of you, with jewel in-hand.
Well, you will be the judge as to what sort of jewel this is: Do you fall in love with it?
Does it sparkle enough to change your life, or your day? Are you afraid of it? Do you want to share it?

We will be announcing our festival Premier dates in the coming weeks!
Onward we go!

FOR THE GHOSTS,

Liz Marshall 
director, writer, producer.

The post The Eco-System of Documentary filmmaking appeared first on The Ghosts In Our Machine.

DIRECTOR’S BLOG – 11.12
ROUGH CUT

We recently completed the ROUGH CUT of the documentary. What a feat! It’s been a long journey to get to this point: a year of filming and over 4 months of editing from 160 hours of gathered material! The artistry and sensitivity that our team has contributed to this project is palpable: cinematography, editing and music – beautiful and haunting.  Editor Rod Deogrades and I begin the next editing phase imminently.

Something I really look forward to is the audio design and mix. Sound will be a critical aspect of the final film, to help accentuate the animal characters, their experience, predicament and the environments they inhabit. It will add a very strong dimension to the viewing experience – helping to bring the animals into the room.

One scene where sound will be especially significant is an investigation that is featured in the film. We filmed fox, raccoon-dog and mink fur farms during the spring season when large litters of babies are born. We witnessed their living conditions and the suffering they endure  confined to small pathetic crowded and dirty wire-mesh cages, the piercing sounds of incessant crying, mutilation injuries and repetitive circling motions. Tragically, their mothers are breeding machines until they are no longer useful to the system. Later this month these babies we met will be slaughtered for their soft commoditized pelts.  The pelts are sold as luxury goods for fur trims, coats, hats … It is shocking but true, fur fashion is on the rise around the world.

The Ghosts In Our Machine has forever captured their soulful questioning tormented eyes, to share with the world.

For the ghosts,

Liz  Marshall
DIRECTOR // PRODUCER

Liz Marshall films in a fox fur farm. Photo by Jo-Anne McArthur for The Ghosts In Our Machine.

 .

The post November Director’s Blog appeared first on The Ghosts In Our Machine.