Coming to theatres today, Friday, January 10:
EARTH
Director:
Nikolaus Geyrhalter
World Premiere:
Berlin 2019
Select Festivals:
IDFA, Sheffield, Docaviv, Docs Against Gravity, Dokufest, BAFICI, Guanajuato, Camden, Hamptons, Diagonale, Moscow, San Francisco Green
About:
An exploration of terrestrial locations impacted by humanity in the Anthropocene.
Geyrhalter’s work is known for its careful composition and static camera, creating often breathtaking tableaux. In his latest film, he visits seven sites of large-scale mining and construction in the US, Canada, and various locations in Europe, including a salt mine turned into a radioactive waste storage repository. In addition to capturing the massive nature of these locations, and the dramatic changes wrought by humanity on their landscapes, Geyrhalter zeroes in on a more microlevel, interviewing various construction workers, engineers, and, in the final stretch, an indigenous Canadian protestor, about their roles relative to this transformative – and largely destructive – activity. Through his gentle probing, he yields philosophical and ethical reflection, in addition to frankly practical acknowledgement of the world’s insatiable desire for more as the main driving force for the scale of such work.
what (not) to doc 