D. Scott Hessels and P. James Keitel in Person Preceded by short: Torrid Zone (David Bunn, USA, 1987). The equator proves to be a forbidding zone as political cartography meets tepid romance. (13 mins, Color, 3/4" video, From artist) Nature calls in this raucous, outright peculiar ecologue. A dynamic duo from So Cal, the Damaged Californians have come up with a fictive form that has depth and plenty of altitude. Imagine a story in which two of the characters are the mountains and the sea, parted lovers who yearn to be reunited. Their "unheard dialogue" winds through the spiritual reconciliation of close friends on a weekend camping trip. Bivouacked in the Sierras, Robert, Wendy and Michael mull over the quirky luck of their lives. Subtly, new "voices" arise as the elemental wilderness woos its lost partner. The trio of hikers are slowly pulled into this conversation which uncannily calms their spirits. After all, what could be wiser than an ancient dirt clod? This unique work combines pumped-up poetics, twenty-something wit, and a sly environmental message. The exquisite footage, shot in the High Sierra and the reefs off Belize, is held aloft by an eclectic soundtrack ranging from neo-synth to power-funk. Rarely has anything sunk to lower depths or risen to greater heights than Below 30/Above 10,000.-Steve Seid