Calendar – Past Event

Werner Herzog's latest ecstatic pilgrimage takes us on a journey into the most distant past of human history. As the first filmmaker ever granted access to the prehistoric paintings of the Chauvet Cave, Herzog has rarely seemed so powerfully moved as by this story of the world's first artists. More than double the age of neighboring Lascaux, the 35,000 year old paintings were created at a time when Humans and Neanderthals coexisted and the French countryside was arctic tundra. Epic in their scope of production, the paintings were worked on for a continuous period of over five thousand years and thus have inspired longer lasting devotion than any government or civilization. Herzog's inspired use of 3-D perfectly captures the undulating walls and motion illusions generated by the flicker of torchlight. To observe as one of cinema's living masters brings these startling artworks to life is to be transported into a state of awe.

Cave of Forgotten Dreams screens November 10 as part of AFI Fest.