Jean-Jacques Martinod and Bretta C. Walker: Into the Ether

To enter into the ether is to enter into the unknown. In this program, viewers enter into forests, lakes, uranium mines, the New Mexican desert, and the ether of filmmakers Jean Jacques Martinod and Bretta C. Walker. For Martinod and Walker, the paranormal, UFOs, uranium, and power of the natural elements all share the quality of supernaturality. In Before the Deluge (2019), Martinod dives into the depths of the abandoned mines of Uranium City in northern Saskatchewan and into the archives. Taking a “fly on the wall” approach, he unearths the otherworldly substance that is uranium, as well as the devastating effects of resource extraction and its exploitation of the land. In Datura’s Aubade (2021), Bretta C. Walker and Martinod use experimental methods to present a retelling of two subjects’ encounters with paranormal beings in the New Mexican desert. In both works, Martinod invites viewers to consider the consciousness and intelligence of nature, unexplained phenomena, and the position of humanity within the natural world.

Originally from Ecuador, Jean-Jacques Martinod is a filmmaker, film curator, and media artist living and working in Boulder, Colorado. His films have been screened in festivals, museums, and cinematheques across the world, including the International Film Festival Rotterdam, the PHI Centre (Montreal), The Museum of the Moving Image (New York), Cinemateca do MAM Rio (Rio de Janeiro), Cinemateca de Bogotá, Cinemateca Nacional del Ecuador (Quito), Images Festival (Toronto), and the European Media Arts Festival (Osnabrück), among others. He has an MFA from Concordia University and is currently a PhD candidate in the Emergent Technologies and Media Art Practices department at the University of Colorado.

Bretta C. Walker is a photographer and filmmaker living and working in Boulder, Colorado. Originally from North Carolina, Walker’s work has been shown in galleries and festivals across North America, Asia, and Europe. Her work is held in several collections, including: International Center of Photography (New York), Brown University (Providence), and Libera Accademia di Belle Arti di Firenze. She is currently pursuing her board certification in Vitalist Herbalism, Field Botany, and Integrated Nutrition at the Colorado School of Clinical Herbalism.