Stellar Festival Trailer for Herzog-Produced Doc ‘The Arc of Oblivion’
by Alex Billington
March 8, 2023
Source: YouTube
“We’re are all asking, in some form: what, in this world, is worth saving?” It’s almost time for SXSW, and trailers are arriving for all kinds of films. Here is one for a documentary called The Arc of Oblivion, the latest from doc filmmaker Ian Cheney. It’s premiering at the 2023 SXSW Film Festival this month playing in the Documentary Spotlight category. The Arc of Oblivion illuminates the strange world of archives, record-keeping, and memory through a filmmaker’s quixotic quest to build an ark in a field in Maine. In a universe that erases its tracks, we humans are hellbent on leaving a trace. Set against the backdrop of Ian Cheney’s attempt to build an ark, the film heads far afield – to salt mines in the Alps, fjords in the Arctic, and ancient libraries in the Sahara – to illuminate the strange world of archives, record-keeping, and memory. Executive produced by Werner Herzog, who also appears in the film, it’s a fascinating high concept doc about how we archive humanity. This looks GREAT. I’m completely sold by this trailer alone, I really want to watch it.
Here’s the festival trailer (+ poster) for Ian Cheney’s doc The Arc of Oblivion, direct from YouTube:
Exploring a quirk of humankind: in a universe that erases its tracks, we humans are hellbent on leaving a trace. Set against the backdrop of the filmmaker’s quixotic quest to build an ark in a field in Maine, the film heads far afield – to salt mines in the Alps, fjords in the Arctic, and ancient libraries in the Sahara – to illuminate the strange world of archives, record-keeping, and memory. Playfully weaving stop-motion animation, spellbinding cinematography, and fascinating interviews from the director’s inner circle and experts in science, culture and art – including documentarians Werner Herzog and Kirsten Johnson – The Arc of Oblivion reveals how nature inspires the human drive behind filmmaking. The Arc of Oblivion is directed by award-winning filmmaker Ian Cheney, of the doc films King Corn, The Greening of Southie, The City Dark, The Search for General Tso, The Most Unknown, The Emoji Story, Thirteen Ways, Picture a Scientist, and The Long Coast previously. Produced by Meredith DeSalazar, Manette Pottle, and Rebecca Taylor. This is premiering at the 2023 SXSW Film Festival. No release date is set yet – stay tuned. Curious?
