What awaits us at the end of our lives? Science offers many answers to this eternal question. Here on earth, we can look forward to the renewing release of nutrients during decomposition to, while, taking a broader view, we can consider the ultimate persistence and continual transformation of all energy in the universe. At least until entropy spreads all energy into an even, immobile layer at the end of time, or (following the opposing theory) the universe constricts and collapses to a superheated point. Closer to the present (it is October, afterall) other theorists may say: "more life" claiming death to be in fact be a curable disease. If not now, then after a few hundred years in sub-zero frozen storage, perhaps (say the cryonicists). This months program considers many such possible fates after death, from forms of remembrance and memorial (even taxidermy-- immortality for homes and museum collections!), to the surface of an autopsy table, to the mysterious mechanisms of rebirth.
Welcome to the weird and wonderful world of stuffing animals. The compulsion to keep animals intact after death goes back to ancient Egypt, where animals of all description were mummified. Though the methods and motivations have changed, the desire has remained pretty constant. Meet Beth Beverly, a
At the core of this film collage is the artist's search for the face of her deceased twin brother, who died without leaving behind any photographic record. Using archive footages and her own home movies, paradoxically his absence is rendered perceptible through a profusion of images. An indirect por
Amy Karle is an artist who has always been fascinated with mysteries of the body. ( http://www.amykarle.com ) Her most recent work uses the building blocks of life: cells. As an Artist in Residence at Pier 9, Amy collaborated with Autodesk to create "Regenerative Reliquary," a sculpture consisting o
When a whale dies, the story has just begun. A video compliment to Radiolab's 'Loops' episode, in collaboration with producer Lynn Levy [radiolab.org] sweetfernproductions.com
Iryna Myenova decided to go to the transhuman company to sign a contract to froze her 98-year old mother. This process should happen when heart stops beating but the brain is still alive for a few minutes. She did that in hope that in the future technology would be so advanced that it will be possib
In a lifeless urban landscape where time itself has stopped its crawl, a mad ballet is commencing and a newly hatched butterfly is about to die. This tragic story was constructed using dead insects gathered from forgotten attics and tool sheds, between window panels and cobwebs. It combines a number
Working from his ramshackle home studio in rural France, taxidermist Jacques Gilbert breathes new life into dead skin.
Korea has had hands off approach to depression and suicide. Historically, such talk is considered shameful. But Taiyun is part of a new generation attempting to confront the issue. A recent trend toward "healing" spotlights mental health with unique coping methods — such as the simulation of o
A 92-year-old french woman is desperately hoping to die of natural causes or, if necessary, of unnatural ones. Whatever comes first.
Do you have to be alive to be considered part of a neighborhood? This short black and white film shot on Super 16mm explores the concept of death through the eyes of Emmitt Waston, the long-time caretaker of thousands of cremated remains at the Neptune Society Columbarium of San Francisco, and how w
"The Clone Returns Home" is a compelling meditation on the paradox of life and death, and the meaning of love and family. Set in an imaginary - yet utterly imaginable - future, this quietly provocative film skillfully transposes complex emotional drama into the realm of science fiction by exploring
'Spirit of a Dissection' is a journey to the limits of our existence started at the Anatomical Institute of Halle (Saale) in Germany. Anatomy claims to be the place "where death is pleased to help the living." This inscription at the entrance of many anatomical institutes explains the special relati
We live today in a globalized world, and although we are aware of where a product is from, we don't know where it has been. Due to the low cost of shipping it pays to outsource production to wherever in the world production is cheaper. Shipping emits globally twice as much CO2 as aviation, but CO2 e
How can we remember or envision animals that have died out? The unique zoological collection of the Martin-Luther University in Halls (Saale) provides the chance to look history and extinct animals in the (glass) eye. The collection is still expanding. By following taxidermists and entomologists at
Fièvre, an enigmatic woman, collects dead animals in the wild. She brings them back to life through animated films. One day, a man comes to see Fièvre: his wife is dead…
"One must never forget that one dies not from disease, but from life," wrote the philosopher Michel de Montaigne. Five centuries later, cancer surgeon Casper van Eijck arrives at the same conclusion: "You get cancer because you're alive." This film follows Van Eijck as he goes about his daily tasks
The bonds that form between humans and their pets, the dimensions of grief people experience when they lose a pet, and the lengths to which they'll go to preserve more than a memory...FUREVER.
Weaving around a theory of immortality based on the premise that our lives are a summation of all the information we consume and process, gleaned from existing theories from a number of scientific disciplines, the film draws on my personal history's brush with a global nuclear disaster, to precipita
An anthropological peepshow of Kingdom Animalia's current state-of-affairs via frame-by-frame Super 8. This animal's history of wreck and ruin is the catharsis of a (formerly) lapsed vegetarian, brought to life with open exposure photography, light table animation and in-camera editing.
Light from molecules creates a spectrum (a 'spectre' or 'ghost') that can be recorded with sensitive detectors in our laboratory. The word 'spectrum' is derived from a time when light dispersed through a prism was called a 'spectre' or 'ghost'. This movie visualises spectra or light energy patterns
During the Real-time monitoring, we can observe the typical morphological cellular changes as blebbing, cell shrinkage and chromatin condensation. Sample: Apoptosis of T685A human melanoma cancer cell. Protocol: The cells were grown to 60% confluency in complete RPMI medium in ibidi 35mm glass botto
What is your number? How many rodents have you used? Do you keep track? Could you keep track? What stops you? Number 32 asks neuroscience researchers, who are just starting their careers, to confront the psychological and ethical responsibility of animal experimentation. Some are devoted to their pr
He dresses as a surgeon. He rearranges the kitchen into a operation room. He takes out the organs from the refrigerator and turns on the electric knife. He starts stitching together flesh. Directed by Mael Le Mée Cinematography: Denis Louis Editing : Vincent Lefort Technical Assistance : T&ec
An old woman attends classes of digital photography and editing. It is not a late hobby, but a project undertaken with a clear aim in mind. The woman wants to be able to preserve the memory of her deceased husband Guido, the biggest private collector of fossils in Latin America. "Dinosaur Eggs in th
We Will Live Again looks inside the unusual and extraordinary operations of the Cryonics Institute. The film follows Ben Best and Andy Zawacki, the caretakers of 99 deceased human bodies stored at below freezing temperatures in cryopreservation. The Institute and Cryonics Movement were founded by Ro