"Encounters at the End of the World" makes Arizona premiere in Sedona on May 13

Sedona, AZ - May 3, 2008 - The Sedona International Film Festival is proud to present the Arizona premiere of “Encounters at the End of the World” at the May installment of the Second Tuesday Cinema Series. There will be two screenings of the film at 4:00 and 7:00 p.m. on May 13 at Harkins Sedona Six Theatres.

Mother Nature meets human nature in Werner Herzog’s new, award-winning documentary that premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival and is winning awards at festivals around the globe. From the master filmmaker who brought us “Grizzly Man” and “Rescue Dawn” among dozens of others.

“‘Encounters at the End of the World’ is a visually-stunning look at part of the world few have seen,” said film festival director Patrick Schweiss. “Armed with just himself and a cameraman, Herzog has created a sensory masterpiece. It is a pleasure to expose our audiences to such brilliant work. And we get to see the film one full month before it opens in Los Angeles and New York.”

With “Encounters at the End of the World,” Herzog confirms his standing as poet laureate of men in extreme situations. In this compelling exploration, Herzog travels to the Antarctic community of McMurdo Station, on Ross Island, the headquarters for the National Science Foundation and home to eleven hundred people during the austral summer (October to February.) Beyond the settlement, he ventures through a science-fiction landscape, from the under-ice depths of the Ross Sea, to the brink of the Mount Erebus volcano.

The underwater footage is every bit as stunning as the above-ground landscape in Antarctica. Get a look below the surface in "Encounters at the End of the World."

Over the course of his journey, Herzog examines human nature and Mother nature, juxtaposing breathtaking locations with the profound, surreal, and sometimes absurd experiences of the marine biologists, physicists, plumbers, and truck drivers who choose to form a society as far away from society as one can get. McMurdo is a gathering place for people who want to step off the map or, in the words of one resident, “full-time travellers and part-time workers – professional dreamers.”

Herzog’s encounters are alternately surreal, absurd, profound and, sometimes, all of the above. McMurdo newcomers train by covering their heads with buckets — to simulate blizzard blindness — and stumble through the snow practicing life-or-death scenarios. A team of underwater scientists casually discovers three new species of life in one day. As a corrective to March of the Penguins, an expert at Cape Royds describes the birds’ aberrant behaviours, including threesomes and all-out avian madness.

Werner Herzog and his cameraman get stunning visual footage at the brink of the Mount Erebus volcano in Antarctica in "Encounters at the End of the World."

Along the way, Herzog’s unmistakable voice ruminates on themes characteristic of his oeuvre, such as the mystery and malevolence of nature. At other times, he withholds commentary, leaving us to ponder sights from the end of the earth, set to a soundtrack of choral music. It’s enough to leave anyone speechless, according to the Toronto International Film Festival.

Born in Munich, Herzog made his first film, “Herakles,” in 1962 when he was nineteen. He went on to direct dozens of shorts and features, both fiction and documentary, as well as writing prose and directing operas.

The title sponsor for the event is the Jerome Chamber of Commerce. The series is also made possible by a grant from the Arizona Commission on the Arts and National Endowment for the Arts and the City of Sedona.

The film will be shown at Harkins Sedona Six Theatres on Tuesday, May 13 at 4:00 and 7:00 p.m. Tickets are $10, or $8 for Film Sedona members, and will be available starting at 3:00 p.m. in the Harkins lobby. Cash or checks only. Seats are limited. Film Sedona members can purchase tickets in advance at the Sedona International Film Festival office, 45 Sunset Drive, or by calling 282-1177.

For more information, visit: www.SedonaFilmFestival.com.

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