vulture sets its sight on farm animals and their surrounding flora. Static shots and slow moving zooms, follow the grazing animals in their minute inter-species exchanges. When left to roam together the sensibilities of these "beasts" are allowed to surface.

The film was shot and processed with various means including flower/plant processing carried out as blooming occurred, from 2016-18. In some cases a salt bath was used for fixing the film which was left soaking in the dark for 3 days.

"vulture is a beautiful and contemplative study of interspecies co-existence, where farm animals roam freely and the camera patiently observes their various interactions. Shot on 16mm film and partially processed with plants and flowers, it's also an exercise in eco-sensitivity on so many levels." -- Kim Knowles Edinburgh Film Festival 2019

"To hear Hoffman tell it, his analog approach to cinema is part and parcel of a universal cycle of survival and sustainability; like a vulture, his film feasts on the very elements of its production, finding aesthetic nutrients in its every ingredient." -- Jordan Cronk, "Off the Grid," Cinema Scope

"Sections of the film were processed and tinted with a variety of flowers, fruits and plants from around the farm -- magnolia, hyacinth, hydrangea, daffodil, rhododendron, pond algae, hosta buds, wild garlic seeds, tansy, aster, echinacea, sunflower and walnut. From this perspective, vulture, is more than just a visual appreciation of the land; it is a complex material engagement with an ecosystem that draws out the expressive possibilities of living things beyond conventional forms of representation. Over a shot of a flying bird, we hear a child relating fragments of information about vultures and their hunting habits. `Vultures live together, and they don't fight, they help each other', says the child. `I didn't know that' replies Hoffman. Behind this simple exchange lie multiple layers of signification that testify to the intellectual and spiritual depth of the film, and, at the same time, point towards a philosophy of collective nurturing that quietly runs under the surface of the Independent Imaging Retreat (aka Film Farm)." -- Kim Knowles, Experimental Film and Photochemical Practices

Film by Philip Hoffman
Cinematography by Philip Hoffman
Editing by Philip Hoffman & Isiah Medina
Sound by Isiah Medina, Clint Enns, Luca Santilli, Kennedy

Production format: 16mm

Selected Screenings and Awards
Ann Arbor Film Festival (World Premiere) - received the Kodak Cinematic Award, 2019
Documenta Madrid, Fugas International Jury Best Film Award, 2020
Docpoint Film Festival, Helsinki - received Environmental Certificate for Eco-Sensitivity, 2020
16mm Film Festival, Mumbai, India, 2022
Edinburgh International Film Festival, curated by Kim Knowles, 2019
Doclisboa, Lisbon curated by Cíntia Gil 2019
MDFF Presents, TIFF Bell Lightbox, Toronto, 2020
Strangloscope Experimental Film Festival, Brasil 2021