Picture of Light

A film by Peter Mettler
Switzerland/Canada 1994

A mesmerizing tale about a filmmaker's journey to Canada's arctic in search of one of Earth's greatest natural wonders: the «aurora borealis», or northern lights. While combining glimpses of the characters who live in this remote environment with the crew’s comic and absurd attempts to deal with the extreme cold, the film reveals the paradoxes involved in trying to capture the natural wonder of the northern lights on celluloid. Exploring the tension between nature and technology and between science and myth, Picture of Light reveals how our increasingly connected world threatens to render obsolete our individual and authentic experiences.

«An extraordinary piece of filmmaking. In an era when only one movie in a hundred has a single moment of visionary power, Peter Mettler's Picture of Light is bursting with them… this is a film that takes you places you have never been.» John Powers, Vogue

Edition Look Now!
Language OV english Subtitles deutsch, français
Length 83 min. Screen 16/9 PAL, color Sound DD 1.0 FSK 14 Region code 0
Bonus Photo gallery | Press reviews | Excerpts from other filmy by Peter Mettler