The Cinematheque

“The most beautiful fusion of art and science I’ve seen since Michael Snow’s La région centrale.”

Jonathan Rosenbaum, Chicago Reader

A journey to civilization in extremis, Picture of Light follows Mettler and a small crew to Churchill, Manitoba, on a pre-digital expedition to photograph the aurora borealis. Visions of the sought-after meteorological phenomena arrive first in fleeting glimpses and, eventually, in sustained apparitions roiling with supernatural dazzle. Mettler’s voiceover poses more questions than answers, cognizant of the distance dividing lived experience from media-as-surrogate, leaving us with a lingering sense that some crucial element in all this remains tantalizingly elusive. A motel owner watches videotapes of past parties to keep him company. A wall is perforated by a rifle shot. Toes are amputated. Cars don’t start. Prompted by a serendipitous encounter with Andreas Züst, the enigmatic Swiss polymath who provided Mettler with both the challenge and financing, this is the film that clarified the Mettler project—“the pursuit of wonder”—opening a door for everything that followed.

The opening-night screening on February 19 will be introduced by curator José Teodoro. Copies of Teodoro’s book Nothing But Time: Conversations with Peter Mettler on Life and Cinema (Anvil Press) will be available to purchase.

“Original and breathtaking … One of this country’s most immaculate image makers points his camera toward the most spectacular special effect the natural world has to offer, and brings back a piece of heaven.”

Geoff Pevere, The Globe and Mail

“Masterful … A breathtaking investigation of the powers and limits of film language … Mettler should assume his rightful, prominent place in contemporary Canadian cinema.”

Tom McSorley, Take One