You are here:

Awaken

Name: Awaken
Director: Tom Löwe
Released: 2021
Duration: 74 min

2021

Director

Tom Löwe

Runtime

74 minutes

Average Rating

No ratings yet

Synopsis

A documentary film exploring humanity's relationship with technology and with the natural world. Shot over a 5-year period in more than 30 countries, the film pioneers new timelapse, time-dilation, underwater, and aerial cinematography techniques to give audiences new eyes with which to see our world.

Where to Watch

Diversity & Representation

Overall Score

4.9/10

Fair

Category Breakdown

LGBTQ+ Representation

Minimal

The film prioritizes ecological and technological landscapes over human-centric social narratives. There are no LGBTQ+ characters or narratives exploring identity within the work.

Gender Representation

Fair

The documentary maintains a neutral stance regarding gender hierarchies. It avoids traditional domestic or leadership roles, focusing instead on natural and technological processes.

Racial & Ethnic Diversity

Good

Spanning over 30 countries, the production offers high visual diversity. This global scope disrupts Western-centric lenses by capturing a vast array of international landscapes.

Religious & Cultural Diversity

Good

The film moves away from Western exceptionalism toward a holistic, globalized understanding of existence. It emphasizes the interconnectedness of the planet and its diverse ecosystems.

Disability Representation

Minimal

The subject matter centers on environmental and technological phenomena. Consequently, the film does not feature characters with visible or invisible disabilities.

Strengths

The global production scale across 30 countries provides a broad, inclusive view of the planet.
The film avoids Western-centric biases by focusing on international landscapes and ecosystems.
The non-anthropocentric approach offers a holistic perspective on the interconnectedness of the world.

Areas for Improvement

The focus on nature and technology leaves no room for LGBTQ+ or disability representation.
The lack of human-centric narratives prevents the exploration of specific social or identity-driven themes.
The film relies on environmental observation rather than explicit discourse on cultural or political issues.

AI Analysis

Awaken is a technical masterpiece of cinematography that favors environmental phenomena over human agency. Because the narrative is non-anthropocentric, it lacks the traditional character arcs necessary to explore identity-based representation. While the film fails to address specific social categories like LGBTQ+ or disability, it succeeds in de-centering a single geographic perspective. Its global scale provides a macro-view of the world that challenges localized viewpoints. The documentary functions as a sensory exploration of the tension between technology and nature. Its inclusivity is found in its breadth of scenery rather than its depth of human social discourse.

How are these scores produced? →