Biography
Karly Noetzel is a Hawaiʻi-born documentary filmmaker who creates poetic films that challenge human perceptions of ecology, time, and technology. While pursuing her MFA from Montana State University’s Science and Natural History Filmmaking program, Karly interned for a year at Goddard Space Flight Center, directing and producing broad-audience, science-driven short-form films for the James Webb Space Telescope social media in collaboration with world-renowned scientists and Goddard’s Office of Communications.
With a passion for storytelling that delves into ecological crises, indigenous knowledge systems, and history, Karly’s work seeks to explore the diverse and complex relationships between humans and non-humans amidst the Anthropocene. Her film, Water Bodies, was an official selection at Maui Film Festival, Hawaiʻi International Film Festival, and Big Sky Documentary Film Festival.
Artist Statement
My process of filmmaking is grounded in an exploration of seeking meaning through sensory experiences to tell more-than-human stories. My films engage in a multimedia approach by experimenting with analog film, digital, and cyanotype to involve the intrinsic qualities of each medium with the content of the film. Having been raised on the Big Island of Hawai`i within a community that deeply values the interconnectedness of humans and non-humans, my practice of filmmaking is inspired by topics of ecology, cosmology, and indigenous knowledge systems that challenge how we participate in material extraction and consumption on Earth.
Approaching each subject with kindness and openness, I foster an environment of collaboration to unravel multiple layers of narrative. Through a poetic framework, my filmmaking technique reveals a sense of place through a meditation on texture, landscape, and sound. Through my experimentation with form, I aim to amplify stories that invite audiences toward a more compassionate and curious world.