“The most beautiful thing we can experience is mystery,” asserts a quote from Albert Einstein at the start of Thomas Riedelsheimer’s deep dive into the concept of light. Most people are likely to learn a thing or two about the physics behind the phenomenon during the course of this documentary but, in approaching the subject from both a scientific angle and an artistic one, Riedelsheimer finds the sweet spot between knowledge and beauty. is the third in a loose trilogy concerned with the compositional elements of film – sound, time and light – which began with 2004’s percussionist profile , which also opened DOK Leipzig.
It was followed in 2017 by , a portrait of land artist Andy Goldsworthy that, by extension, considered nature and time. While this third instalment is more diffuse in terms of contributors, featuring both physicists and artists, it allows Riedelsheimer to consider the full spectrum of what light is, and what it means to us. ’s strong visuals and accessible science should catch the eye of arthouse distributors as well as the festival circuit.
It will be released in German cinemas by Piffl Medien in January 2025. Some of the things Riedelsheimer captures are familiar, including rainbows and the aurora borealis, but the documentarian – who acts as his own cinematographer and editor – is a keen observer of detail. Through his lens, light glancing off the edge of a bathroom mirror or dancing through a blue-coloured water bottle can be just as fas.