“Imagine that you are a jellyfish,” says the voice of Oscar nominee Isabella Rossellini at the start of a trailer for Unanimal, a new documentary by directors Tuva Björk and Sally Jacobson, which The Hollywood Reporter can exclusively reveal. In the movie, Rossellini’s voice leads viewers through “a self-reflecting journey into the complex relationship between humans and other animals.”
The film will world premiere in the Next:Wave Competition lineup of CPH:DOX, the Copenhagen International Documentary Film Festival.
With humor and curiosity, the doc looks to “uncover animals’ astounding adaptations to our urban, modern lives” and invite the audience to think about “our shared presence in a world dominated by man,” according to a synopsis. It moves “from the living conditions of inner city rats and pigeons to absurd spectacles by which we are surrounded under hypercapitalism: three goldfish being sold for the price of one, monkeys negotiating a deal on coca cola with the zookeepers and horses being transported across the globe on jumbo jets.”
One key question explored is what we can learn about ourselves “by looking at other animals.” Or: “What can we learn about ourselves by looking at the line that separates us from the rest of the living?” as narrator Rossellini puts it in the film
“To stimulate an active, reflective reading, we have worked together with famous Swedish writer Zara Kjellner and, with input from narrator Isabella Rossellini, added a series of philosophical, historical anecdotes between the chapters,” the filmmakers said. “Since Isabella boarded the project, she has been an important co-creator of the script with a unique ability to make complex topics available for a broader audience and her humor and playfulness