Reveling in micro-movement and lingering in moss-time, this dance film embodies gratitude to moss as beloved elder, as teacher of lessons in crip survivance: celebrate smallness. Practice patience. Grow only when there is enough resource. Nestle in the warmth and safety of the boundary layer. Survive in the most unexpected places. Contains experimental audio description and open captions.

Credits:

Directed, choreographed, and performed by Cynthia Ling Lee

Videography, edit, and graphics by Chisato Hughes

Sound composition by Anna Friz

Costume design and construction by Pamela Rodríguez-Montero

Audio description and voiceover by Cynthia Ling Lee, Anna Friz, Chisato Hughes, Nicky Martinez, and Pamela Rodríguez-Montero

Creative captions by Anna Friz and Cynthia Ling Lee

Production assistance by Nicky Martinez (the “Charioteer”) and Lara Saab

Land Acknowledgment:

The land on which we gathered to film is the unceded territory of the Awaswas-speaking Uypi and Sayante Tribes. The Amah Mutsun Tribal Band, comprised of the descendants of indigenous people taken to missions Santa Cruz and San Juan Bautista during Spanish colonization of the Central Coast, is today working hard to restore traditional stewardship practices on these lands and heal from historical trauma.

Image Descriptions (clockwise from upper left corner):

All images are video stills from “moss time, crip time.” Videography by Chisato Hughes.

Close-up of a light brown hand resting deeply on a velvety green mossy log. A tousle of black hair sprinkled with white in the upper left corner.

Cynthia, a Taiwanese American person with short black hair and an olive complexion, lies on concrete, eyes closed, her hands delicately touching her face. Overlaid are moss growing in a branch and redwood leaves in the forest. The images seem to refract in and out of each other. The text “live in two realities at once” appears in the upper left corner, while “[ambient traffic and bird sounds]” appears in the lower right corner.

Cynthia lies cradled in a mossy redwood stump, eyes closed with a smile, hand touching her chin in a sensual gesture.

A pair of light brown legs bent in soft triangle shapes, one pair of toes touching the concrete, the other lifted and reaching mid-air. Skin dry. In the background, a crack in the concrete is green with living moss.