Homo Sapiens (film)

Homo Sapiens consists of static shots showing derelict spaces. No people are seen or heard in the film.{{cite web |url=http://theseventhart.org/nikolaus-geyrhalter-interview-homo-sapiens/ |title=Nikolaus Geyrhalter Interview (Homo Sapiens) |last=Heron |first=Christopher |date=19 October 2017 |website=The Seventh Art |access-date=31 May 2022}} Brief intervals of blackness divide the footage into chapters.{{cite web |url=https://www.slantmagazine.com/film/homo-sapiens/ |title=Review: Nikolaus Geyrhalter's Homo Sapiens |last=Lattimer |first=James |date=26 July 2016 |website=Slant Magazine |access-date=31 May 2022}}

The film opens with a scene showing the Buzludzha monument. Earlier scenes show building interiors, such as offices, churches, hospitals, and cinemas. As the film progresses, more outdoor scenes appear and signs of human presence become less conspicuous. It closes with the Buzludzha monument again, seen from outside as it is engulfed by white fog.{{cite journal |last=de Luca |first=Tiago |year=2019 |title=The End of the World Viewed, or The Wind in the Things: On Nikolaus Geyrhalter's Homo Sapiens |journal=Discourse |volume=41 |issue=1 |pages=115–123}}

File:DFW39-7143.jpg in 2015]]

Filming took place over the course of four years, at over 100 sites.{{cite web |url=https://psmag.com/news/can-post-apocalyptic-art-be-a-force-for-social-change |title=Can Post-Apocalyptic Art Be a Force for Social Change? |last=King |first=Matthew |date=16 December 2016 |website=Pacific Standard |access-date=31 May 2022}} During pre-production research for the film, the crew found locations through urban exploration photography online. They used funding for the research to start visiting sites and immediately begin shooting scenes there. As this progressed, Geyrhalter identified topics that he wanted to cover and focused on looking for specific locations that could illustrate them. Locations included Europe, the United States, Argentina, Namibia, and Japan. Wide-angle lenses were used to produce exaggerated perspectives.

Geyrhalter assembled a rough edit of the film using half-minute durations for each shot and placeholder audio. Because he wanted to eliminate human noises from the film, very little sync sound was used. Audio was recorded separately before being edited to match the image track. Once that process was complete, the film was rearranged and shot lengths were adjusted based on the story arc and the impact of the audio track.

Homo Sapiens premiered on 12 February 2016 at the Berlin International Film Festival.{{cite web |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-reviews/homo-sapiens-berlin-review-864447/ |title='Homo Sapiens': Berlin Review |last=Mintzer |first=Jordan |date=12 February 2016 |website=The Hollywood Reporter |access-date=31 May 2022}}

{{Rotten Tomatoes prose|100|8.7|8|ref=yes|access-date=31 May 2022}} Peter Bradshaw called it "the most extraordinary documentary I have seen in years", describing its images as "as gripping as any of the sci-fi thrillers or post-apocalyptic dramas that would normally use scenes like these as establishing shots."{{cite web |url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2016/nov/21/homo-sapiens-review-nikolaus-geyrhalter-post-apocalyptic-international-documentary-film-festival-amsterdam |title=Homo Sapiens review – extraordinary vision of a post-human world |last=Bradshaw |first=Peter |author-link=Peter Bradshaw |date=21 November 2016 |website=The Guardian |access-date=31 May 2022}} In his review for The Village Voice, Michael Sicinski likened the film's compositions to the work of Anselm Kiefer, Andreas Gursky, and Christian Boltanski. He continued that "Instead of uncovering artifacts from long ago, Homo Sapiens shows us our own relics in the making."{{cite web |url=https://www.villagevoice.com/2016/07/27/life-after-us-geyrhalters-homo-sapiens-surveys-humanitys-ruins/ |title=Life After Us: Geyrhalter's 'Homo Sapiens' Surveys Humanity's Ruins |last=Sicinski |first=Michael |date=27 July 2016 |website=The Village Voice |access-date=31 May 2022}} Glenn Kenny of The New York Times wrote that "Each individual shot creates a frisson of desolation that resonates far beyond the facile irony suggested by the movie’s title."{{cite web |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/07/29/movies/homo-sapiens-review.html |title=Review: Empty Spaces Show the Imprint of Humanity in 'Homo Sapiens' |last=Kenny |first=Glenn |author-link=Glenn Kenny |date=28 July 2016 |website=The New York Times |access-date=31 May 2022}}

Slant Magazine ranked the film 20th on its Best Films of 2016 list.{{cite web |url=https://www.slantmagazine.com/features/the-25-best-films-of-2016/ |title=The 25 Best Films of 2016 |date=9 December 2016 |website=Slant Magazine |access-date=31 May 2022}}

{{reflist}}

• {{Official website|https://www.homosapiens-film.at/}}
• {{IMDb title|5450084}}

{{Nikolaus Geyrhalter}}

Category:2016 documentary films

Category:2016 films

Category:Films directed by Nikolaus Geyrhalter

Category:Films without speech

Category:Non-narrative films