Season curator Dr Adam Laity says:

“Christopher Morris’ feature debut was born out of a restlessness and sense of uncertainty and is as accomplished a study of time and place as any other film in this season. It is a document of just what happens when we are empowered to simply be and look and listen and give ourselves the chance to ask questions that we rarely do in ‘normal life’.”

BAFTA-winning documentarian Christopher Morris invites us to slow down, as he films an ancient stone monolith for a year in a West Cornwall field.

Filmed in solitude, between the winter solstices of 2020 and 2021, this meditation on the natural world and human impact on the landscape raises questions rather than provide answers. As we watch the seasons change around a 4,000-year-old standing stone, we are invited to focus on the small details of life and consider the impact of climate change.

A cross between observational documentary, slow cinema and an essay film, there is a playfulness of both subject and form that feels fresh. As we witness a year in the life of an ancient monolith in this unique film, it points to where we have come from and – perhaps – where we are heading.

Part of More-Than-Human: Cinematic Landscapes of Otherness in Nature.

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