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PMA Films: The Arc of Oblivion

  • Portland Museum of Art 7 Congress Square Portland, ME, 04101 United States (map)

SCREENING IN THE BERNARD OSHER FOUNDATION AUDITORIUM


[I]n his attempt to imagine why, and how, we try to preserve memories, Cheney unearths something beautiful.
— Alissa Wilkinson, New York Times

98 minutes. Not Rated. Directed by Ian Cheney. In English. DCP.

NOTE: Director Ian Cheney will be in attendance at the Sunday, April 28 screening of this film.

The Arc of Oblivion explores 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 the field of science, culture and art – including documentarians Werner Herzog and Kirsten Johnson – Ian Cheney’s The Arc of Oblivion reveals how nature inspires the human drive behind filmmaking.

Official Website