Last Things

Long before humans existed there were rocks. And rocks will remain long after humans are gone. In this experimental collage film, filmmaker Deborah Stratman examines evolutionary processes from the perspective of Earth itself, inviting the viewer to see life through the “eyes” of minerals.

The beginning and the end of time merge in a nonlinear narrative, with the multi-vocal voiceover intertwining the writings of scientists, essayists and speculative fiction authors. Here, it is rocks that bring together past and future, fact and fiction, poetry and analysis.

At the heart of this speculative documentary is the idea that minerals preserve an archive of their many forms. It presents a vision of life in which humans are not the center; in which stones can remember and communicate, even worship. With images ranging from the microscopic to the majestic—from intimate close-ups to shots of immense caves and mountains—the film provides a mesmerizing audiovisual experience of the world of rocks and minerals.