Research Interests
Feral filmmaking was devised as a form of documentary practice that produces engagement with place via both traditional and nontraditional research approaches. As a wilding of cinema, this approach borrows the idea of permaculture, from her earlier work in landscape architecture. Permaculture is the intentional cultivation of diverse plants that work in tandem to reduce insect infestation, encourage pollinators, and increase crop yields. Monoculture is its exact opposite, used to describe the planting of a single crop that must rely on pesticides and human intervention to succeed, and in so doing is devastating for both soil and food quality. As a permacultural practice, feral filmmaking understands the importance of community partnership and working within sustainable systems. It intends to fill in the gaps of the cannon and the archive. As a German/American now living in Asia, Wilkerson is particularly interested in is bridging the ellipses between east and west through research in cultural mythologies and storytelling, methods for both small scale and large scale food production, and overlaps in traditional uses of plant medicine. Work she hopes will function much like a weed: persistent, spreading, and refusing to remain within boundaries.