Lava is on the mind. If one was able to catch the recent Sundance premiere Fire of Love but desired a more formally bold vision of the depths of nature, look no further than Fern Silva’s endlessly fascinating debut feature Rock Bottom Riser. A winner at last year’s Berlinale, the essay film explores all facets of the Hawaiian landscape, geology, ethnography, and astronomy as scientists plan to build the world’s largest telescope on the sacred mountain Mauna Kea. Cinema Guild have crafted a fittingly adventurous trailer which we’re premiering ahead of the film’s March 4 release at Metrograph.
Glenn Heath Jr. said in our ND/NF review, “Images of slowly cascading liquids and particles are pivotal to Rock Bottom Riser, an experimental documentary that covers subjects as far-reaching as nautical navigation, astronomy, and killer smoke tricks. The opening drone shot high above one of Hawaii’s erupting volcano’s finds a long stream of lava that looks like a fire snake slithering along the Earth’s surface. Its final slow-motion sequence––where a big wave surfer stays mere feet ahead of certain death––is equally indicative of the film’s harrowing balancing act covering volatile natural surfaces that are constantly moving and expanding.”
Watch the exclusive trailer below.
Rock Bottom Riser opens on March 4 at Metrograph and will expand.