Artists and Creatives Recommend Botanical Films That Influence Their Work

Ten creative professionals working at the intersection of art and botany have selected flora-focused films that have impacted their artistic practices. The 2018 film "Border" by Iranian-Swedish director Ali Abbasi, set in a mossy forest, was recommended by artist and designer Katie Stout, 37, for its exploration of gender, nature versus civilization, and beauty versus grotesqueness. Stout noted the film's environmental reflection in the characters' bodies and its connection to her own work with imagined flowers that navigate between nefarious and optimistic forms. Perfumer and author Mandy Aftel, 78, praised Pierre Pinaud's 2020 film "The Rose Maker," about French rose breeder Ève Vernet, which inspired Aftel to create a perfume based on her best-smelling rose. The article mentions Jean Cocteau's 1960 film "Testament of Orpheus" and Lars von Trier's 2011 film "Melancholia" as additional cinematic references with botanical elements. Visual artist Jenna Gribbon commented on flowers' metaphorical ease in film, capable of foretelling sexual awakening or despair. The selections highlight how botanical imagery in cinema informs creative processes across design, perfume-making, and visual art.