'I am a tree, ... bend'

A boy and a tree grow old together.

A short film version of Shel Silverstein's 1964 book with the same title. The film is entirely composed of appropriated public domain footage from online sources such as Prelinger Internet Archive or POND5 and is accompanied by a faithful narration (additionally sourced via Prelinger) that is stripped directly from the book. Created in February 2024 for the ADVANCED EDITING course at the University of Pittsburgh.

Nature, to be commanded, must be obeyed », Francis Bacon. Around a low tree with twisted branches, a man seeks to rest. He doubles up. One lifts its paw, clings to a branch, the other sits on an uncomfortable curve, like a monkey trying to make its nest. There are three now, then four to explore the possibilities for action offered by the plant. This tree was waiting for him. The character stretches, hangs, lengthens. He becomes one with the tree and settles there, promising to visit it without hurting it. Of course, the tree is instrumentalized by becoming a chair or a bed, but no one cuts off its branches or assembles them to make them useful. The tree remains a tree, it becomes a temporary shelter, the act is reversible and, once the visitor has left, it will resume the course of its peaceful life, living being among the living.