Hey Maan, if you are the moon, am I the sun?
— Yes you are…who moves faster then, you or me?
Does that matter? As long as we stay connected to each other..
Maan Methven & Louisiana Mees Fongang
VISION
“We need to unearth the old stories that live in a place and begin to create new ones, for we are storymakers, not just storytellers.” ― Robin Wall Kimmerer,
The Ground is a development, production and distribution platform for film, art, media and education. It connects a desire to create and share artistic, diverse, at times challenging work where imagination and diversity can flourish.
The Ground is rooted in a paradigm shift away from a reductionist, mechanical worldview. We embrace our role as human beings, belonging to a large ecosystem where mutual responsibility and interdependence are vital. Through our films, art projects and workshops we aim to encourage ecological and social regeneration.
The Ground recognizes the importance of healing of individual and collective trauma as a way to reconnect to ourselves, the other and the natural world. By integrating research from consciousness studies, storytelling and somatic practices, The Ground’s artistic and educational initiatives form a foundation for personal and shared transformation.
The Ground encourages awareness of our senses as central to self-development. Our senses can guide us, providing an anchor in an often disconnected world. Developing sensory consciousness and embodiment allows us to reconnect with ourselves and each other, guiding us through life’s complexities with mindfulness and intention.
The Ground is a shared learning process and encourages space for experiments, trial-and-error and reflection.
We are grateful to our board members for being part of this adventure: David Slotema, Mira de Boose and Viktor Swillens.
FOUNDERS
Louisiana Mees Fongang is an award winning Belgian film director.
Both in fiction and documentary Louisiana is known for making raw yet intimate portraits of youth. Her research focuses on the different forces that are at play within youngsters that are uprooted, missing guidance, disconnected or have uncertainties about their futures.
She uses film and storytelling as an poetic, transformative tool that simultaneously approaches complex themes in a more holistic way.
Louisiana’s creative prowess was lauded when her second short film ‘Waithood’ secured the esteemed VAF Wild card prize for Best Fiction. ‘How Do You Spell Home?,’ premiered at the prestigious International Documentary Festival of Amsterdam, world’s largest A-list documentary film festival. Simultaneously, her third short fiction, ‘Fikri’ premiered at the 40th Interfilm Berlin Festival.
Maan Methven is an audio/visual artist, film director and sound artist based in Brussels. She studied film at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Ghent and developed a multidisciplinary artistic practice.
Through film, photography, text and sound compositions she seeks dialogue with the more-than-human world. Nurtured by embodied voice work and somatic experiencing therapy, her recent work centers on the restoration of intimacy and the regeneration of the landscape on an emotional and sensory level. In the search for new rituals and collective mourning practices, she is currently developing a vocal sound sculpture and experimental film, in collaboration with her partner, musician and sound designer Victor Goemaere.