FILM: Last Things (2023)

Last Things (2023) by director Deborah Stratman

Last Things looks at evolution and extinction from the perspective of the rocks and minerals that came before humanity and will outlast us.

With scientists and thinkers like Lynn Margulis and Marcia Bjørnerud as guides and quoting from the proto-Sci-fi texts of J.H. Rosny, Deborah Stratman offers a stunning array of images, from microscopic forms to vast landscapes, and seeks a picture of evolution without humans at the centre.

The human race is old, but rocks are timeless.

Weaving stunning imagery with evocative text and interviews, Last Things observes the history of all of us and this planet Earth through the most essential parts — evolution and extinction, from the POV of rocks.

The immensity of our existence is hard to fathom, and we are obsessed with our past, looking for reasons. A huge journey we should take on a cinema screen. Hypnotising imagery is accompanied by a meditative experimental score.

In a distinctive style seen throughout her long career, Deborah Stratman skillfully combines pure science with speculative fiction, not to give you an answer to the meaning of life, but to provide sounds, images, and ideas to contemplate.

Using both microscopic and landscape photography, we see the luscious textures of rocks and matter and our handprints on it. Texts from writers enhance the journey, ranging from the creators of the science fiction genre to experts of stream-of-consciousness reflections.

Stratman blurs the borders of poetry, narrative, and fact in an ethereal adventure. As one interviewee states, “Rocks have a history, but they don’t remember it.”

Tickets £3 or pay what you can.

Timings:

Saturday 20th June

19:00pm doors. Films start 19:30pm.

Access information for the screening:

If you have any access requirements please email [email protected]

Advance visits to Piel View House:

If this is your first time to the venue and you are nervous about attending you can arrange to come and see the venue prior to the event to get used to it. If you would like to arrange a visit and meet some of our staff please contact: [email protected].

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