Four moments from the history of The World Trade Center set to the 4 movements of Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov’s symphony “Scheherezade”.

"Living Lessons in the Museum of Order" examines the carceral logics of the Orca Encounter at SeaWorld San Diego and the “Doing Time” tour of the former Alcatraz prison in the San Francisco Bay. Alcatraz is part of a larger industry of prison tourism that treats prisons and jails as real-life haunted houses. Through an immersive audio tour with stories from prisoners and guards, “Doing Time” reinforces racist beliefs that police and prisons “keep us safe.” Gently challenging this narrative, Alcatraz has recently hosted art and educational exhibitions that question the prison industrial complex. Likewise, Alcatraz’s buildings are permanently marked with evidence of Indigenous resistance to settler colonialism during the Occupation of Alcatraz from 1969 to 1971. In contrast to the empty prison cells and crumbling buildings at Alcatraz, SeaWorld is full of marine life in above ground tanks with see-through walls. Under pressure from activists and exposés on the cruelty of their practices, SeaWorld’s marketing focuses on their habitat conservation and animal rescue efforts, as well as hyperbole about how their scientific research and education materials help marine animals – both captive and wild. Juxtaposing original 16mm footage, promotional VHS and 16mm footage, and analog video feedback, Living Lessons in the Museum of Order explores the tensions between public fantasies and exploitative practices, as well as between rhetorical and cultural changes, within:

Eastern white pines submerged under the waters of a hydroelectric reservoir on unceded Innu territory transform into flames. This exploration between water and fire illustrates our current climate emergency through multiple stories about the relationship between a community and it's land.
In a dark, ambiguous environment, minuscule particles drift slowly before the lens. The image focuses to reveal spruce trees and tall pines, while Innu voices tell us the story of this territory, this flooded forest. Muffled percussive sounds gradually become louder, suggesting the presence of a hydroelectric dam. The submerged trees gradually transform into firebrands as whispers bring back the stories of this forest.

A series of executions of Iranian political prisoners began in the summer of 1988, following the end of the eight-year war between Iran and Iraq. For nearly three decades, I have been preoccupied with the coincidence of this massacre and my birth in August 1988. The prisoners had no specific graves and were all buried in mass graves, and the most significant mass grave was called Khavaran. The mothers of these prisoners are a symbol of resistance and freedom, and they are called the mother of Khavaran. This film is an experimental documentary and a personal essay based on these events.

This experimental documentary film explores the unique personality and intellectual brilliance of Canadian media theorist Marshall McLuhan, including his uncanny predictions regarding the effects of communication technologies on culture and society.