A documentary inspired by Andri Snær Magnason’s 2019 narrative non-fiction title On Time and Water premiered at the Sundance Festival this week. “Time and Water” is produced by National Geographic Documentary Films and Sandbox Films. The book has previously been sold to 33 territories.
Facing the death of his country’s glaciers and the loss of his beloved grandparents, Icelandic writer Andri Snær Magnason turns his archives into a time capsule to hold what is slipping away — family, memory, time, and water.
“Time and Water” has received some great reviews:
“magnificent … A nature doc mixed with autobiography, “Time and Water” is a poetic musing on intergenerational memory, a whimsical, yet staunchly political elegy for the glaciers, and a mournful look at the Earth in all her majesty and mystery — one that shows how craven capitalism over the last several hundred years has destroyed her, not just for the present, but for the future as well. Dosa’s film asks: If glaciers are an archive of the Earth, how will we move into the future when we’re no longer connected directly to our past? ” IndieWire Critic’s Pick, Grade A
“Magnason’s words and images play with each other perfectly, building a bittersweet gnawing at the heart that will resonate with most everybody. Despite its lost memories and lost glaciers and change ecosystems, there is so much optimism here.” The Film Stage, Critic’s Pick
“Time and Water strikingly and cinematically explores the life and death of landscapes and human mortality alike with a thread of contemporary footage woven between the archives.” Pat Mullen, POV
“Just as in ancient tales we still tell or songs passed from generation to generation, “Time and Water“ is a meditation on what we leave behind. Even if you’ve never been to Iceland or touched a glacier, “Time and Water“ brings the pain of this loss to such a personal place that you can’t help but melt. … Magnason and Dosa have crafted a deeply personal, monumental documentary, in moments big and small, to leave for future generations.” Daniel Howat, Next Best Picture
“Most importantly, Time and Water crafts an argument about time and the evolution of experiences through the lens of a family. … the most gorgeous documentary of the year” Alan French, Sunshine State Cineplex
“This is a rare work of nonfiction that approaches poetry. … It’s an elegy, a love story, a scientific reflection, and a deeply human act of remembrance. This documentary honors the people and places we lose — and the stories we refuse to let melt away.” Alex Reif, Laughing Place
““Time and Water” helps us understand the environment through the energetic devotion of the people who inhabit it. … hearing the reverence in Magnason’s voice, which recalls what can’t be brought back, is heartbreaking. “Time and Water,” therefore, stands as a stirring record of human hopes and regrets.” Robert Daniels, RogerEbert.com
