Sankofa Flora by Alisi Telengut
On the Digital Screens from May 1 to 31, 2025
In these two short videos presented at Sankofa Square, Montreal-based artist Alisi Telengut animates photographs of plant environments ranging from an underwater ecosystem to flower shops, public parks, and botanical gardens. Loosely translating to “go back and get it,” “Sankofa” is a Twi word from Ghana suggesting a return to one’s roots. In this context, the images remind us of nature’s richness and our need to reconnect with it, even amid an industrial, urban space. This contrast highlights plant life’s coexistence with—and challenge to—human-made environments, conveying a theme of interdependence, and reflecting on our relationship with the natural world.
Presented by CONTACT Photography Festival & Toronto Reel Asian Film Festival, supported by Sankofa Square.
Artist Bio
Alisi Telengut is a Canadian artist and filmmaker of Mongolian roots. Her work has been screened and exhibited internationally, including at the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures (USA), Whitney Biennial (USA), Sundance Film Festival (USA), TIFF and TIFF Canada's Top Ten, Annecy International Animation Festival (France), Biennial VIDEONALE at Museum of Painting and Contemporary Art Bonn (Germany), OSTRALE Biennale (Germany), Anthology Film Archives (USA), CICA Museum (South Korea), UNESCO World Heritage Site Zollverein (Germany), Images Festival (Canada), Image Forum (Japan), among others. Telengut is currently an assistant professor in Film Animation at Concordia University in Montreal (Canada).
AlisiTelengut, Sankofa Flora, 2025, Digital Still Photo. Courtesy of the artist
