Last Things

Evolution and extinction from the perspective of rocks and various future beings: Last Things presents the geo-biosphere as a realm of evolutionary potential, where humanity vanishes yet life persists. 　　Inspired by two novellas from J.-H. Rosny—the shared pseudonym of the Belgian Boex brothers, who wrote science fiction before the genre existed—the film embraces their pluralistic vision of evolution, in which imagining prehistory is inextricably linked to envisioning the future. Also influential were Roger Caillois’s writings on stones, Clarice Lispector’s "The Hour of the Star," Robert Hazen’s theory of mineral evolution, Lynn Margulis’s symbiosis theory, Donna Haraway’s multi-species scenarios, Hazel Barton’s research on cave microbes, and Marcia Bjørnerud’s reflections on time literacy. 　　In various ways, these thinkers have all sought to displace humanity from the center of evolutionary processes. Excerpts from Rosny and interviews with Bjørnerud form the backbone of the film. Stones are its anchor. We trust.