POV: Fauna

By Jennifer Robinson / Web Producer

Published July 25, 2024 at 12:50 PM PDT

Two older white men sit in a pasture watching a flock of sheep with a dog lying nearby. The individuals wear jackets, one dark, one purple, and caps, with their backs to the camera, giving an over-the-shoulder view of the pastoral scene.

Premieres Monday, Aug. 5, 2024 at 10 p.m. on KPBS TV / Download the free PBS app

POV poetically and playfully contrasts humanity’s complex and contradictory relationship with nature in the dreamy and lyrical pastoral tale "Fauna". Directed by Pau Faus and produced by Sergi Cameron and Ventura Durall, the film, set amidst the hunt for a COVID-19 vaccine in a high-tech research lab, explores the role of animal experimentation in the advancement of modern medicine.

A white man and woman wearing blue scrubs, masks and white boots stand on opposite sides of an open metal doorway looking into a small chamber filled with a group of black and white goats. The woman holds a large metal door open for the goats and the man opposite her holds a red foam board. The goats stare out of the chamber, caught in a moment of confusion.

Additionally, "Fauna" will be accompanied by the POV Shorts film, “American Seams,” directed by Carly Jakins; another movie with a distinctive approach. In “American Seams,” the disparate stories of three quilters combine to reveal an intimate and poetic portrait of rural women in the American West. Featuring Brenda Bailey, Sara Buscaglia, and Susan "Traditional Woman" Hudson.

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Carly Jakins "American Seams" Trailer - GFX Challenge Grant Program 2022 / FUJIFILM

In director Pau Faus’ second feature film, he goes to a forest on the outskirts of Barcelona where Valeriano, an old shepherd afflicted with a bone disease, and his flock live alongside CReSA (Animal Health Research Center), a high-tech laboratory for animal experimentation. Valeriano raises goats to sell to research labs that use the animals to create medication needed to rid him of the pain he suffers after years of goat-herding. The two opposite worlds are also playfully interconnected.

In a verdant green valley between two hills, a large herd of white sheep converge towards a single man who stands on a thin dirt path. In the foreground, thin green trees lean in the hazy glow of the afternoon sun.

Faus’ spirited exploration of deeply serious themes helps guide reflections on the limits of modernity – when a small bug is discovered inside the maximum sterile lab chaos ensues; lab workers discuss yoga and bachata while incinerating the animal test subject remains; and Valeriano jokes about a future when iPads will be used to replace shepherds. The director juxtaposes two realms that rarely intersect, and where individuals strive to navigate and endure both personal and global crises.

Two large pigs walk down a long and narrow hallway towards an open metal door and a figure in blue scrubs and a mask standing outside it. In the foreground to the left, we see the torso of another figure wearing blue scrubs. On either side of the hallway are closed metal doors. The floor is a blue linoleum and the fluorescent lights overhead give the scene an otherworldly feel.

Filmed over two years with exclusive access to CReSA’s laboratory—similar to the one in Wuhan, China—"Fauna’s" poetic style and deadpan humor contrast the two drastically different realities between ultra-modernity and a vanishing traditional way of life, offering a poignant reflection on the tangled relationship between humanity, animal, and science.

Two individuals wearing full hazmat suits work back to back in a laboratory. One stands and the other sits at a desk, looking through a microscope. Behind them, a large window stretching the width of the image shows a brilliantly green forest and blue sky outside the laboratory.

Filmmaker Quote:

“I was fully aware that talking about animal testing would bring enormous contradictions for both myself and the viewer,” said Pau Faus, director of "Fauna." “So, I made two decisions. First, I chose to showcase these contradictions without taking sides, allowing the audience to draw their own conclusions. Second, I reminded myself that behind any great human contradiction, there are always great stories full of humanity. This was the main challenge of the film: to talk about animal testing without giving up on poetry, lightness, and even humor. What could have been a frivolous decision turned out to be the film's greatest success and main contribution.”

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Reviews:

“A coexistence between dystopia and everyday life.”-Marta Balaga, Variety

“A fascinating contradiction that makes us who we are.”-Jonathan Holland, Screen Daily

Watch On Your Schedule: "Fauna" will be available for streaming concurrently with broadcast on all station-branded PBS platforms, including PBS.org and the PBS Video App, available on iOS, Android, Roku streaming devices, Apple TV, Android TV, Amazon Fire TV, Samsung Smart TV, Chromecast and VIZIO.

In addition to standard closed captioning for the films, POV, in partnership with audio description serviceDiCapta, provides real-time audio interpretations for audiences with sensory disabilities.

The camera looks down the several mechanical and concentric circles of a large MRI machine to a lone figure in the middle. The figure lies on their back, everything obscured except their hands, which press together towards the camera, above the figure's head. Red lights create a bull's eye on the figure's hands, giving the entire image a science-fiction feel.

Film Awards:

"Fauna" made its world premiere at Visions du Réel 2023 (Switzerland), its U.S. premiere at Camden International Film Festival 2023 and was an official Selection – 2023 Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival. The film won the In Vivo Award at the 2023 Science New Wave Fest (US); Best Documentary at Festival Cinespaña 2023 (France), and Pau Faus took home the Best Director Award at the 2023 Guadalajara International Film Festival (Mexico). Other 2023 festival participation incudes DocsBarcelona International Documentary Film Festival (Spain), Krakow Film Fest (Poland), Shanghai International Film Festival (China), Doku Fest (Kosovo), MIBDO - Bogota International Film Festival (Colombia), RIDM - Montreal International Film Festival (Canada), FIPADOC (France), Antenna Documentary Film Festival (Australia), DOCVILLE - International Documentary Film Festival (Belgium), One World (Czech Republic), and Hong Kong International Film Fest (China).

Credits: Nanouk Films, Corporació Catalana de Mitjans Audiovisuals, Institut Català de les Empreses Culturals, Instituto de la Cinematografía y de las Artes Audiovisuales and American Documentary | POV co-production. Pau Faus is the director and Sergi Cameron and Ventura Durall are the producers. Carlota Serarols is the cinematographer, and Júlia R. Aymar is the editor. The writers are Pau Faus, Júlia R. Aymar and Sergi Cameron. The executive producers are Marina Jover and Sergi Cameron for Nanouk Films; and Erika Dilday and Chris White for American Documentary | POV.

POV: Fauna

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