IN SHORT

Tracing the transforming Californian desert in the past and present, Two Deserts is a 25’ documentary that playfully explores the relationship between human and nature. A combination of analog film and photography, stop-motion animation, paintings, letterpress printing, scale models, and built sets create a rich visual universe in which the story unfolds.

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In 1936 editor Randall Henderson publishes the Desert Magazine. Fighting the era’s stigma, he presented his readers with a romanticized version of the desert. Something he called the “real desert”.
When the loss of his son confronts him with the harsh reality, he decides to escape into his self-created dream world. Set against the rapidly changing California desert, Randall searches for answers to existential questions. But where does reality end and imagination begin in a landscape of false perspective?

NICE TO KNOW

Two Deserts is currently in production. For further information about this production, please get in touch with Marijn van der Ploeg.

Creative Concept Short Film

Mailboxes in Joshua Tree

Opening editorial "There Are Two Deserts", Desert Magazine, 1936

"But the stranger and the uninitiated see only the mask. The other Desert—the real Desert —is not for the eyes of the superficial observer, or the fearful soul or the cynic. It is a land, the character of which is hidden except to those who come with friendliness and understanding."