The Cinematheque

“Arguably serves as the filmmaker’s most personal work to date. It ranks among his most rewarding films, too … A rich and philosophical documentary that challenges a viewer, but invites one to marinate in some of life’s deeper questions. Accept the experiment and anticipate rewards.”

Pat Mullen, POV Magazine

Filmed over three years—a period which included the death of both his parents, a pandemic, and an eerily mysterious illness—Mettler’s magnum opus is a sprawling, yet intimate, intercontinental epic that embraces coincidence and elevates the film diary to new heights of innovation. From the Canary Islands to Killarney Provincial Park, from forking Alpine caverns to a quarantine hotel, from New Mexico to Cuba, this peripatetic improvised film finds Mettler exploring his familial past while remaining steadfastly present, connecting with his newly widowed father or collaborating with fellow filmmakers on formally adventurous flights of cinematic expression. A durational work that quickly draws you into its groove, While the Green Grass Grows follows tributaries both literal and figurative as it wends its way through life’s hardships and bliss, flowing toward a generative state where artistry and spirituality intermingle.

In English, Swiss German, and Spanish with English subtitles