At a resort in California, hundreds of people gather to take on a formidable common enemy: death. Welcome to RAADfest (Revolution Against Aging and Death). At this fascinating meeting point between (pseudo)science and evangelism, immortality gurus deliver rousing speeches, spirited older women complain about today’s dating apps, and a husband and wife work their way through an alphabet of vitamins every day.
Joshua Oppenheimer (The Act of Killing) observes this all with a keen eye. Shots of empty conference halls underscore the transience. He interweaves these scenes with mesmerizing close-ups of plankton, the source of life, filmed by Jan van IJken, a filmmaker and photographer renowned for his artistic scientific imagery. A compelling meditation on the pursuit of immortality—driven by a fear of death, or by a love of life?
