I collaborate with young children to make films with stories that depend upon their authentic spontaneous imaginative play. These poetic narratives serve to archive “lost moments” of childhood and raise questions about the interconnectedness of all people, children’s thought-processes and relationship to the natural world, and the potential of children and adults to make art together.  I make mysterious-looking objects that I hide in the landscape to inform the children’s play.  I rarely use a script, so my work depends completely on children’s spontaneous interaction with the premise I give them.  By extension, the videos are “happenings” in which the children and myself play the role of artist-spectator.  I use the children’s voiceover commentary to maintain continuous, yet spare, poetic narration filled with unusual turns of phrase characteristic of the young child’s mind.  Mysteries in the Woods (work-in-progress) documents groups of children around the world (NY, GA, CT, Japan, Switzerland) discovering and playing with mysterious objects in diverse natural landscapes. The separate groups of children will not see each other until the video is complete, at which time the scenes will come together as parts of an interconnected whole, complete with common props and similar costumes. 

                                                                                              -  Kristin B. Eno
                                                                                                 Director, Little Creatures

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  Spirit Ship (2008-09): the mysterious story of a shipwreck as discovered and explored by three children. Through a series of events, particularly the discovery of many strange and haunting personal artifacts strewn along the sea shore, the children eventually come to see beyond the living world, into the spirit realm, where three young victims of a shipwreck are also wandering. The story takes place against the backdrop of several untouched historic and natural environments along the Red Hook waterfront. Proof-of-concept for Little Creatures Film Company...coming to a theatre, home, school or museum near you in Spring 2009.

See production stills.

In production (2009)
Kristin B. Eno: DIrector/Producer
Damaris Cozza: Assistant Director/Producer, Improv Coach
Sean Eno: Super 8, Score
Roman Jaquez: DP
Henri Falconi: 1st AD, 2nd Camera
John Moros: Sound Recordist
Lainie Anderson: PA
Shariffa Martinez: Improv Coach
Kristy Van Alstyne: Props Manager
Liz Eno: Still Photographer
Sarah Hoit: Costume Design
Kathy Malone: Costumes
Elisha Georgiou: Costumes, Props

Post-production (2010)


Mysteries in the Woods (2006-09): a feature-length video featuring five groups of young children from around the world who discover and develop stories about unusual organic objects.  As in the story of Ark, children in one scene of Mysteries find objects that other children from other scenes have also discovered.  The places and times of each scene are not necessarily connected, nor are the children themselves (except by their costumes which are all similarly organic, and each scene featuring a different color).  The objects, mostly derived in some way from seeds, draw the children together, as can been seen through the progression of the video, shot on location in Georgia, New York, Connecticut and Switzerland. Camera: Kristin and Sean Eno.  
 
Mystery Castle with a Lot of Treasures (2006). Four separate groups of six-year-old children playing outdoors discover a strange box made of seeds and explore its meaning and uses. Prop created by 8-9 year old children, using seeds found in their East New York neighborhood. Camera: Sean Eno. Funding provided by the Brooklyn Arts Council's Community Arts Regrant (Individual Artist's Tier & Program B).
   
 
Ark (2002-04): A girl is walking in the woods and finds a mysterious box. She places a seed inside the box and hides it. Time passes, and children playing in the woods, by a lake and at the ocean, come upon the same box. In each of four scenes, the box holds more and more strange small beings, little people who need the children so that they can gain new life. Play collaboration with eight children in Brooklyn, NY. Camera/Co-direction/co-editor: Sean Eno.

Screened at the 39th Annual BAC Film Festival, 2005 and the 2007 Kids First! Film Festival.
Subject of KBE's Ed.M. qualitative research study on children's media.

 
Sophie in the Trees (2001): A girl walks in the woods in Vermont. Children in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, narrate, with phrases such as "Sometimes you gotta walk slow for a reason" and "She's looking at something that we can't see." Videographer/co-director/editor: Sean Eno. See complete 2 minute video on Videatives.