In the film, we follow a group of individuals who look to be human but whose behavior suggests something else. They seem to be connected to each other through a sort of network or root system. Through sessions reminiscent of psychological personality tests, their perceptions and orientation abilities are evaluated. Together, they perform different examinations to approach an understanding of humanity.

Other main characters are the bog and the fly orchid, a wild and very unusual orchid species that thrives in damp soil. The fly orchid, which grows in certain places in Scania, has insect-like flowers and lives in symbiosis with another species; to a male thread-waisted wasp, the fly orchid appears to be a female thread-waisted wasp. Ignorant of the fly orchid’s true nature, the male wasp believes it is mating with the flower, thus contributing to pollination.

Philosopher Gilles Deleuze and psychoanalyst Félix Guattari describe this process in their book “A Thousand Plateaus”, saying the boundaries between insect and flower are unlocked; the flower becomes more like an insect and the insect becomes more like a flower. “The Human Orchid” is about this dissolution of the lines between forms of existence, about mimicry and, through these methods, becoming a bit of something different.

Text: Ellen Klintenberg

Cast
LORIEN: Corrado Di Lorenzo
ADIRA: Annie Eliasson
YAMAR: Johan Lundin

Voices
LORIEN: Corrado Di Lorenzo
ADIRA: Ava
Z: Ahmed
YAMAR: Christian
RADIO 1: Sigrid Holmwood
RADIO 2: Nathalie
RADIO 3: Anet
RADIO 4: Hope
Script, direction, cinematography, editing, animation, production: Lena Bergendahl
Grade: Nils Fridén
Sound Design and Sound Mix: Jakob Erlandsson
Swedish to english translation: Lucy Smalley
Graphic design: Marianne Heed Miskar
Advisor: Max Ockborn



With support from

Still images from video

Installation views: The Human Orchid, Ystads Konstmuseum, Ystad, 2025

Installation views: The Human Orchid, Gislaveds Konsthall, 2025