Planette is the combination of a science-fiction epic, a gothic fairy-tale, and a romantic ballet. My brother and I play astronauts who are the first explorers of a planet that resembles Earth. [1] Upon separation, each confronts his/her own world of despair and solitude, the threshold of which are the geographical landscapes of this foreign world. For my brother, an ancient city flanked by great waterfalls preclude dementia and confusion as he becomes increasingly lost. For me, (the female lead character), a dark forest beckons my entry, and I wander into the path of an alien creature who is part business man, part beast. Upon my death, a stranger emerges from the landscape who, like a prince, believes his kiss will bring me back to life. But in a parallel time/space, my brother carries my dead body to the edge of a lily pond where I am put to eternal rest.
Planette was filmed entirely with super8 and was made in Dallas, TX, Kittery Pt., Maine, the Redwood National Forest in CA, and the Jesuit Missions and Iguazu Falls in Paraguay. The sound is a combination of up to ten different tracks playing at one time— most of which are from Russian ballets, including Tchaikovsky’s Sleeping Beauty, Prokofiev’s Cinderella, and Spartacus by Khachaturian. The soundtrack also includes Saint-Saens’ Carnival of the Animals and Debussy’s La Mer.
[1] This was inspired by a true fact, as scientists have recently found a star in a distant galaxy with a planet that could sustain liquid water and possibly life similar to Earth. The planet’s name is Gliese-581 g.