While the Green Grass Grows: A Diary in Seven Parts (parts 1–4)

synopsis

While the Green Grass Grows: A Diary in Seven Parts will be screened over two days — the first half of the film on 29.10. and the second half on 30.10. We kindly ask to book tickets for both screenings. The total runtime of the film is 7 hours.

The author’s film diary is a personal, profound meditation on human existence, time, and the places we inhabit. Set in the American wilderness, from canyons and deserts, to forests and caves, it reveals universal experiences of life and death through the individual fates of its characters. It observes how the human mind structures stories and perceives the passage of time: microseconds unfold into entire scenes, months pass in seconds. This visual odyssey alternates between spectacular landscape images and intimate details of everyday life, blurring the boundaries between nature and civilization, and showing humans as their intersection. Through the intimate testimonies of the protagonists, the viewer gradually penetrates their lives, and reveals their interconnectedness. Layers of meaning are revealed through the juxtaposition of different shots, from plains to urban scenes, to the interior of the director’s mother’s living room, whose departure is one of the film’s central motifs. Watching the film is an almost psychedelic experience that offers a profound philosophical view of existence, death, and the value of the present moment.

“It’s a thinking person’s film, and each chapter meanders down its own rabbit hole.” — Pat Mullen

Source: POV: Canada’s Documentary Magazine.

biography

Swiss-Canadian filmmaker Peter Mettler (b. 1958) is renowned for his elusive documentaries that blur the lines between essay, travelogue, and feature film. He also devotes himself to audiovisual performances, and has won numerous festival awards. His films Becoming Animal (2018) and While the Green Grass Grows (2023) have been screened at Ji.hlava.

film details

director:	Peter Mettler
producer:	Peter Mettler, Cornelia Seitler, Brigitte Hofer
script:	Peter Mettler
photography:	Peter Mettler
editing:	Jordan Kawai, Peter Mettler
sound:	Peter Mettler
sound design:	Jordan Kawai, Peter Mettler, Peter Bräker
executive producer:	Alexandra Rockingham Gill, Atom Egoyan

contact

Marlene Maggi/maximage
mmaggi@maximage.ch