Do plants have a consciousness? Not if you look at it from a human scale. But maybe it is about time we stopped always doing just that. LIGHT NEEDS is a generous, thought- provoking and artistically inventive film that literally expands one’s consciousness and creates a space for empathy with other life forms – namely the houseplants that most of us live with. In an unpretentious but serious and empathetic exploration of the symbiotic relationship between human and non-human beings, we learn, among other things, what it feels like to turn sunlight into glucose from the inside. But we also meet a diverse range of people who let us in on their close and often deeply personal relationship with the plants they share their homes with. Visual artist Jesse McLean has previously shown several of her short works at CPH:DOX and has made a free and open-minded contribution to the great current within contemporary culture which has turned to biology and the living to find new ways forward for both thought and action.

-- Dir. Jesse Mclean - 74 min - 2023 - USA --

"Light Needs is immaculately filmed with lenses that capture the finest textures on every organism’s surface, be it skin or leaf. A thoughtful electronic score adds a playful touch throughout, and this works as a coherent film despite its fragmentary parts. Immaculate" - Guardian

"a generous, thought-provoking and artistically inventive film that literally expands one’s consciousness and creates a space for empathy with other life forms – namely the houseplants that most of us live with" - CPH:DOX

"sublime insight into the secret life of plants, those who care for them and the special relationship they share. It is a film packed with love, humour and a sensuous attention to detail" - Business Doc Europe

"a multifaceted inquiry into the consciousness of plants; by taking us on a journey into the many forms and methods of plant care and ownership, the film arrives not at a new discovery or revelation of, but at a refreshingly lucid argument for, the unknowability of plant life" - Little White Lies