Flying Scents - Of Plants & People
A cinematic journey into the world of invisible scents and chemical signals that shape plant life. In Zurich, a research team led by renowned neurobiologist and chemist Consuelo De Moraes is on the verge of discovering florigen – the legendary substance responsible for the instant flowering of plants, sought by scientists worldwide for decades. The film reveals that plants are far from passive organisms: they communicate with each other and with insects through volatile scent compounds. Writer and researcher Florianne Koechlin uncovers a surprising “language” of scents through which plants warn one another of danger or precisely attract pollinators. The artist duo Gerda Steiner and Jörg Lenzlinger create immersive installations that challenge the boundaries between nature and artificiality, translating complex biological processes into the language of contemporary art. Visually striking, the film reveals an unseen layer of reality and becomes a reflection on the relationship between humans and nature in the age of climate change. It raises an ethical question: how will these discoveries affect fragile ecosystems, and can humanity apply them without harming the shared world of plants, animals, and people?
