A nonverbal and nonfiction cinematic project exploring the humanity of the Anthropocene.
Homo Sapiens is a species of bipedal primates characterised by dependence upon language and complex tools. Homo Sapiens (latin: Wise Man) has become the most influential biological species and a geological force on Earth, engendering a new epoch known as the Anthropocene: the age of the New Humans.
The Anthropocene is the unprecedented current epoch marked by mass human presence and activities, and is defined by accelerated change, unimaginable possibilities and complex uncertainties.
With a profound and expansive look at the human world full of crowds, spectacles and machines, 20-22 Omega – shot with a BOLEX camera on Kodak B&W film over 5 years across 100 locations – gives exclusive access to popular as well as rarely seen places, spectacular events and fascinating characters as the film shows a wide and diverse range of human environments, moments and operations.
Featuring a hypnotic soundtrack of Cathedral organ music, choir songs, Inuit throat singing, and without dialogue, this experiential/meditative documentary film offers us a unique cinematic symphony of evocative imagery and music, transcending the human language to reveal the new human reality known as Posthumanism.
As a postmodern take on the Early Avant-garde documentaries of the 1920s such as Man with a Movie Camera (1929) by Dziga Vertov and Berlin: Symphony of a Great City (1927) by Walter Ruttmann, a century later 20-22 Omega reprises that early cinema language/genre to bring us an abstracted portrait of the contemporary Western human world captured through the lenses and filmmaking techniques of the past.
Production notes, 20-22.com
20-22 OMEGA
Director: Thierry Loa
© HelloHello Productions
A Production by: HelloHello Productions
Funding from: Canada Council for the Arts, Conseils des Arts et des Lettres du Québec, Ontario Arts Council
Producer: Thierry Loa
Associate Producers: Forbes Campbell, Ryan Jakubek
NFB-ONF Producer: Johanne Bergeron
Project Coordinator: Marie-Christine Guité
Cinematographer: Thierry Loa
Picture Editor: Ray Shine
Post-production Assistant: Jade Mathieu
Composers: Ida Toninato, Guillaume Martineau, Philippe Le Bon, P.B.
Busic Supervision: Philippe Béland
Solo Singers: Ivaluarjuk Kathleen Merritt, Marie-Annick Béliveau, Nils Brown
Sound and Music Postproduction: NFB-ONF
Canada 2021©
111 mins
BFI SOUTHBANK
Welcome to the home of great film and TV, with three cinemas and a studio, a world-class library, regular exhibitions and a pioneering Mediatheque with 1000s of free titles for you to explore. Browse special-edition merchandise in the BFI Shop.We're also pleased to offer you a unique new space, the BFI Riverfront – with unrivalled riverside views of Waterloo Bridge and beyond, a delicious seasonal menu, plus a stylish balcony bar for cocktails or special events. Come and enjoy a pre-cinema dinner or a drink on the balcony as the sun goes down.
BECOME A BFI MEMBER
Enjoy a great package of film benefits including priority booking at BFI Southbank and BFI Festivals. Join today at bfi.org.uk/join
BFI PLAYER
We are always open online on BFI Player where you can watch the best new, cult & classic cinema on demand. Showcasing hand-picked landmark British and independent titles, films are available to watch in three distinct ways: Subscription, Rentals & Free to view.
See something different today on player.bfi.org.uk
Join the BFI mailing list for regular programme updates. Not yet registered? Create a new account at www.bfi.org.uk/signup
Programme notes and credits compiled by the BFI Documentation Unit
Notes may be edited or abridged
Questions/comments? Contact the Programme Notes team by email