EcoCultureLab–Warsaw was officially established on November 26, 2024, at the University of Warsaw (Warszawa), Poland. The group brings together scholars working at the intersection of ecology, media, aesthetics, and culture. Its founding members are Maria Boguszewicz (Coordinator), Mateusz Salwa, Zuzanna Grębecka, Aitor Arruza Zuazo, and Michalina Czerwońska.

The group’s first major initiative is the research project EcoFilmLab: Eco-Critical Thinking in Cinema, funded by the University of Warsaw’s Tandems for Excellence program. The project is carried out in collaboration with Adrian Ivakhiv (Simon Fraser University, Canada), whose book Ecologies of the Moving Image: Cinema, Affect, Nature (Wilfrid Laurier University Press, 2013) serves as a core theoretical inspiration.

EcoFilmLab investigates the full life-cycle of audiovisual works—from conception to afterlife—through the lens of Ivakhiv’s model of the three ecologies: material, social, and perceptual. Each stage of the moving image production is explored in terms of its ecological entanglements, ethical implications, and cultural significance.

Project Advisors

We are grateful for the support and insight of an outstanding group of project advisors:

  • Daniel Ares-López – San Diego State University, USA

  • Asia Bazdyrieva – Independent Researcher

  • Sean Cubitt – University of Melbourne, Australia

  • Tiago de Luca – University of Warwick, UK

  • Ursula Heise – University of California, Los Angeles, USA

  • Antonio Lopez – John Cabot University, Italy

  • Janine Marchessault – York University, Canada

  • Svitlana Matviyenko – Simon Fraser University, Canada

  • Salma Monani – Gettysburg College, USA

  • Adam O’Brien – University of Reading, UK

  • Maitane Ostolaza – University of Perpignan, France

  • Katarzyna Paszkiewicz – University of the Balearic Islands, Spain

  • Seth Peabody – Carleton College, USA

  • Stephen Rust – University of Oregon, USA

  • Robert Sinnerbrink – Macquarie University, Australia

  • Miriam Tola – John Cabot University, Italy

Collaborating Institutions

We collaborate with institutions committed to sustainability, creative practice, and ecological awareness, including:

  • Human Impacts Institute (USA)

  • CREA: Asociación Galega de Profesionais da Dirección e Realización (Galicia, Spain)

  • Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Master in Creative Documentary (Barcelona, Spain)

  • Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw (Poland)

Fieldwork & Collaborations

  • Michalina Czerwońska traveled to New York City to participate in the Creative Climate Awards, hosted by the Human Impacts Institute.

  • Maria Boguszewicz and Aitor Arruza Zuazo conducted fieldwork in Galicia, Catalonia, and the Basque Country, working with CREA, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Bilibin, as well as filmmakers Eva Vila and Iratxe Fresneda.

  • Maria Boguszewicz and Mateusz Salwa carried out a collaborative project with Piotr Welk and his students at the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw, focusing on audiovisual representations of ecological issues.

May 2025 EcoFilmLab Events

As part of the Tandems for Excellence program, Adrian Ivakhiv will visit Warsaw in May 2025. The following public events will be held during his visit (all times listed are in local time, CEST – Central European Summer Time):

Wednesday, May 21, 6:00–8:00 pm: Seminar with EcoFilmLab Project Advisors, University of Warsaw, Faculty of Modern Languages, 55 Dobra St.

Thursday, May 22, 9:30–11:30 am: Open Lecture by Adrian Ivakhiv, “The Lives and Ecologies of Images” (lecture begins at 9:45 am), University of Warsaw, Faculty of Modern Languages.

Friday, May 23, 1:15–2:45 pm: Seminar with Spanish Filmmakers, University of Warsaw, Faculty of Modern Languages. 6:00–9:00 pm: Short Film Festival + Discussion with Directors, Centre for Contemporary Art – Ujazdowski Castle, Cinema Hall, 2 Jazdów St.