International Documentary Film Festival
March 30 - April 6, 2025
Kaptol Boutique Cinema, Zagreb

The End of Time

Peter Mettler

The End of Time

Working at the limits of what can easily be expressed, filmmaker Peter Mettler takes on the elusive subject of time, and once again turns his camera to filming the unfilmable in The End of Time. From the CERN particle accelerator in Switzerland, where scientists seek to probe regions of time we cannot see, to lava flows in Hawaii which have overwhelmed all but one home on the south side of Big Island; from the disintegration of inner-city Detroit, to a Hindu funeral rite near the place of Buddha’s enlightenment, Mettler explores our perception of time. He dares to dream the movie of the future while also immersing us in the wonder of the everyday. The End of Time is at once personal, rigorous and visionary. Peter Mettler has crafted a film as compelling and magnificent as its subject.

Switzerland, Canada 2012, '114

DIRECTOR: Peter Mettler

SCENARIO: Peter Mettler

CAMERA: Peter Mettler

MONTAGE: Peter Mettler, Roland Schlimme

MUSIC: Gabriel Scotti and Vincent Hänni

PRODUCERS: Cornelia Seitler, Ingrid Veninger, Brigitte Hofer, Gerry Flahive

PRODUCTION: maximage, Grimthorpe

FESTIVALS & AWARDS:

Locarno IFF: Environment Is Quality of Life Prize (2012) 
Toronto IFF (2012)
CPH:DOX (2012)
Vancouver IFF (2012)
DOK Leipzig (2012)
Busan IFF (2012)
Cinéma du Réel (2013)
Ji.hlava (2012)
IDFA (2012)
Sitges - Catalonian IFF (2013)
Palm Springs IFF (2013)
Montreal IDF (2012)
Visions du Réel (2020)

Peter Mettler

Peter Mettler

Throughout his extensive career, Peter Mettler has created films deemed impossible to make, yet readily appreciated once they exist. A restless cinematic adventurer, Mettler’s body of work is characterized by hybrid forms and a sense of wonder. Frequently visiting themes of transcendence and the relation between nature and technology, Mettler’s films combine travelogue, essay, interview, fiction and critique. They are guided by instinct yet grounded in discipline, structure, craft, and a knack for capturing stunning images and great stories. Mettler’s work holds a unique position not only for its innovation within the realm of documentary cinema, but also in new art forms where cinema and other disciplines merge. His collaborators include David Abram and Emma Davie, Atom Egoyan, Bruce McDonald, Fred Frith, Robert Lepage, Jim O’Rourke, Jennifer Baichwal, Edward Burtynsky, and Jeremy Narby. Mettler’s films have been the focus of multiple retrospectives, including at BAFICI, Lincoln Centre, Jeu de Paume Paris, and Cinematheque Suisse, and have received awards from TIFF, the Academy of Canadian Cinema, Locarno Film Festival, Visions du Réel, and Hot Docs. In 2017, Picture of Light was selected by TIFF as one of Canada’s Essential 150 Canadian Films.

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