In this beautiful short trailer of 'The Oldest Living Things in the World' by filmmaker Jonathan Minnard offers glimpse of Rachel Sussman’s extraordinary world.
Interwoven with Sussman’s photographs and essays, brimming with equal parts passion and precision, are the stories of her adventures, and misadventures, as she trekked the world in search of her ancient subjects.
From a broken arm in remote Malaysia to a heart-wrenching breakup to a well-timed sip of whisky at polar explorer Shackleton’s grave (Grytviken), her personal stories imbue the universality of the deeper issues she explores with an inviting dose of humanity — a gentle reminder that life, for us as much as for those ancient organisms, is often about withstanding the uncontrollable, unpredictable, and unwelcome difficulties the universe throws our way, and that resilience comes from the dignity and humility of that withstanding.
“Our overblown intellectual faculties seem to be telling us both that we are eternal and that we are not,” philosopher Stephen Cave observed in his poignant meditation on our mortality paradox
And yet we continue to long for the secrets of the secrets of that ever-elusive eternity.
Bristlecone Pine: White Mountains, California |
Brain Coral: Speyside, Tobago |
Fortingall Yew: Perthshire, Scotland |
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