BECOMING is a short film by Jan van IJken about the miraculous genesis of animal life. In great microscopic detail, we see the 'making of' an Alpine Newt in its transparant egg from the first cell division to hatching. A single cell is transformed into a complete, complex living organism with a beating heart and running bloodstream.
The first stages of embryonic development are roughly the same for all animals, including humans. In the film, we can observe a universal process which normally is invisible: the very beginning of an animal's life.
Filmed, produced and edited by Jan van IJken
The film has been selected at more than 20 international film festivals and won the award for Best short documentary at Innsbruck Nature Film Festival 2018, Austria.
Jan van IJken is a photographer / filmmaker from the Netherlands. He is self-taught and is working mainly autonomously on long-term projects. As a photographer, he developed a strong eye for natural light, composition and detail. Lately he has become more and more interested in human-animal relationships, nature and microscopy.