"The Arc of Oblivion", A Film Screening and Q&A with Director Ian Cheney

Yale Peabody Museum

The Arc of Oblivion explores a quirk of humankind: in a universe that erases its tracks, we humans are hellbent on leaving a trace.

OC Marsh Lecture Hall

<a href="https://nam12.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2F2024%2F02%2F15%2Fmovies%2Fthe-arc-of-oblivion-review.html&data=05%7C02%7Cmaddison.willauer%40yale.edu%7Cf4f66ba3b2cb48bff3ac08dd583e8aa8%7Cdd8cbebb21394df8b4114e3e87abeb5c%7C0%7C0%7C638763747809598555%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=OyLnxiSsijK1csQ4FteBclSIyTmWMfbkPG7AtVNom2k%3D&reserved=0" title="https://nam12.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2F2024%2F02%2F15%2Fmovies%2Fthe-arc-of-oblivion-review.html&data=05%7C02%7Cmaddison.willauer%40yale.edu%7Cf4f66ba3b2cb48bff3ac08dd583e8aa8%7Cdd8cbebb21394df8b4114e3e87abeb5c%7C0%7C0%7C638763747809598555%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=OyLnxiSsijK1csQ4FteBclSIyTmWMfbkPG7AtVNom2k%3D&reserved=0" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">New York Times Critic’s Pick</a> 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 fields of science, culture and art – including documentarians Werner Herzog and Kirsten Johnson – The Arc of Oblivion reveals how nature inspires the human drive behind filmmaking. “Cheney unearths something beautiful: We want to remember not just ourselves, but other people … He sees this as hopeful, a core part of what it really means to be human,” according to the New York Times.