email Join our email list! divider Register Login cartCart
Icarus Film
Films from independent
producers worldwide.
32 Court Street, Brooklyn, NY 11201divider(718) 488 8900
Dust
Directed by Hartmut Bitomsky
 Text Size  Increase Font Size   Decrease Font Size   divider Printable VersionPrintable Version

film still

Dust is everywhere and ever-present. A conglomeration of the smallest particles, dust nestles in carpets and in attics. It invades laboratories and settles on artworks. It is blown into the air from factory smokestacks and resides in every raindrop. It is fought and cleared away, but in this Sisyphean task, dust is set in motion and returns even as it is being removed.

film still

DUST examines the myriad forms and pathways of dust. It pursues dust to the places where it settles and meets the people who contend with it. Armies of cleaning men and women, manufacturers of vacuum cleaners and air cleansing products, housewives, toxic waste disposal workers, and museum custodians.

film still

In examining the many types of dust, including microscopic particulates invisible to the naked eye, DUST hears from a variety of scientists-botanists, biologists, meteorologists, and astronomers-who investigate the environmental and health consequences of dust, from Sahara sandstorms and the Oklahoma dust bowl of the Thirties to the toxic dust generated by the 9/11 demolition of the WTC towers.

film still

The phenomenological, philosophical and even artistic aspects of the culture of dust are also explored in interviews with artists and collectors. By closely examining a subject that surrounds us in our daily lives, but to which we rarely pay serious attention, DUST provides us with a new appreciation of the many ways in which dust affects our bodies, our environment, and even the cosmos.

Indeed, by enabling us to take such a close look at particles often invisible to the naked eye, DUST offers us a fresh, new way to see the entire world.

"A thought-provoking micro-lens through which to view the world ... Part philosophy, part science, DUST amounts to a kind of contemplative poetry." —Nicolas Rapold, Film Comment

 "Eccentric and profoundly informative... Mr. Bitomsky, a German documentarian of impressive patience and patient curiosity, collects dust with scholarly thoroughness and poetic zeal. His film is both an essay and an expose." —A.O. Scott, The New York Times

"Manages to be philosophical without seeming pedantic… characterized by clean cinematography, uncluttered compositions, and unceasing dialectic." —J. Hoberman, The Village Voice

"Beautifully shot… this unusual film will make everybody think a bit more about their environment and how they relate to it… Kolja Raschke's cinematography is so stunningly composed, it makes dust a more glorious film star than anyone out in Hollywood… DUST is extremely well-produced, leaving a significant and memorable trace." —Eric Monder, Film Journal International

"A superb documentary." —Emmanuel Burdeau, Cahiers du Cinéma 

Official Selection, 2011 Deutsche Docs: The Contemporary Germany Documentary, Anthology Film Archives
Official Selection, 2008 SilverDocs Documentary Festival
2008 Cinéma du Réel Festival
2007 Venice International Film Festival
2007 Vancouver International Film Festival

90 minutes / Color
/ English subtitles
Release: 2008
Copyright: 2007

For individual consumers (home video)

This DVD is sold for private, home use only.

This title is also available online from:

For colleges, universities, government agencies, hospitals and corporations

This DVD is sold with a license for institutional use and Public Performance rights.

Subject areas:
Art, Cultural Studies, Environment, Environmental Film Festivals, On 35mm, Philosophy, Physics, Science and Technology

Related Links:
Hartmut Bitomsky

Also available for rental on 35mm, please inquire.

>>

Home | New | Titles | Subjects | Ordering   
About | Best Sellers | Filmmakers | Screenings   
address
  Follow Us! On...
Facebook Follow Icarus Films on Twitter Instagram Vimeo YouTube
Copyright (c) 2024, Icarus Films
Last Updated January 25, 2024 [Build 3.0.a060-d7]
Privacy Policy