Ecotone | Short Film Showcase

National Geographic Explorer Rüdiger Ortiz-Álvarez is a biologist and filmmaker with a Ph.D. in ecology. Thanks to the field of soundscape ecology, he was able to merge his scientific expertise, musical training, and storytelling ability to create his first documentary, Ecotono, with the overarching goal of connecting people with nature.

Here, the concept serves as a metaphor for humans and nature as separate entities but still thriving together through sound. In La Gomera in the Canary Islands, people use an ancient whistling language known as Silbo to communicate messages through the landscape, blending with the rest of the sounds of the island. In a hyperconnected digital world, this place encourages us to stop and listen, just like our ancestors, and reflect on our place within the ecosystems.

Special thanks go to Marta García-Puig, Luis López Pinto, Ángel B. Fernández, and Eugenio Monesba.