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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.

A documentary about building an ark turns into a funny, thoughtful rumination on the nature of human preservation.
— Critic's Pick, The New York Times
Compelling and intelligent... A very humanistic film.
— FirstShowing.net
Fascinating. A sweeping, often playful Odyssey.
— The Film Stage
Magical. Charming. Likeably offbeat and disarmingly self-aware.
— Screen International
Deeply philosophical, poignant, and profound.
— Film Threat
Its embrace of the unknown is liberating, and leaves viewers space to draw their own conclusions.
— In Review Online