Planktonium is a short film about the unseen world of living microscopic plankton. It is a voyage into a secret universe, inhabited by alien-like creatures. These stunningly beautiful, very diverse and numerous organisms are unknown to most of us because they are invisible to the naked eye. However, they are wandering beneath the surface of all waters around us and they are of vital importance for all life on earth.
Jan van IJken filmed the plankton through his microscopes, revealing the beauty and delicate structures of the minute organisms in the finest detail. The film is without any voice-over or explanation.
Renowned Norwegian artist Jana Winderen made a sound composition for the film. She is recording audio environments and creatures which are hard for humans to access, both physically and aurally – deep under water, inside ice or in frequency ranges inaudible to the human ear.
Phytoplankton (small plant-like cells) are producing half of all oxygen on earth by photosynthesis, like plants and trees do on land. Zooplankton (animal-like critters) are eating the phytoplankton, and are on the menu of larger animals in the water. So plankton is forming the base of the food chain of aquatic life. Plankton are also playing an important part in the global carbon cycle. The plankton are threatened by climate change, global warming and acidification of the oceans.
Filmed, directed and produced by Jan van IJken
Sound composition by Jana Winderen
Edited by Jan van IJken and Metje Postma
Produced with generous financial support of Gemeente Leiden, Stichting Oog op de Natuur and The Netherlands Film Fund.
2021, 4K, color, 15:23 min
Buy or rent Planktonium (full version)
Planktonium had its world premiere at Ji.hlava Documentary Film Festival, CZ and was screened at many international film festivals and art galleries:
The Dutch Museum De Lakenhal in Leiden acquired one copy of the short film Planktonium for its collection and the film has been part of Leiden European City of Science 2022 program.
The film received the J. B. CZECZ AWARD FOR BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY at Włodzimierz Puchalski International Nature Film Festival, Łódź, PL 2022
A short sequence of plankton footage was featured in BBC Planet Earth III, Ocean Episode, narrated by Sir David Attenborough.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/5mkz46vC74JXyMq4F1rMsP7/plankton-an-unseen-universe
In 2024, I was invited to take part in an epic journey to film plankton at the North Pole onboard of the luxury icebreaker Le Commandant Charcot for National Geographic’s Pole to Pole series with Will Smith and Allison Fong.
https://www.natgeotv.com/nl/programmas/natgeo/pole-to-pole-with-will-smith
Planktonium Live Performances
In these live performances, I am screening plankton videos, improvising with musicians and sound artists.
2025 Inscience Film Festival, Nijmegen, NL (2 performances, with John van Oostrum)
2025 Mu Hybrid Art House, Eindhoven, NL (with John van Oostrum)
2024 IDFA on Stage, Eye Filmmuseum Cinema 1 (with Jana Winderen)
2024 Kunstroute, Auditorium Museum De Lakenhal (with John van Oostrum)
2024 Glastonbury Festival, Tree Stage, UK (with Steve Everitt / Entity)
2024 International Film Festival Rotterdam, Art Directions program, Worm, NL (with Vitja Pauwels)
2023 ‘O’ / Videodroom for Viernulvier & Film Fest Gent, De Vooruit, Gent, BE
(with musicians Naima Joris, Niels van Heertum and Vitja Pauwels)
Director Statement
Publications
