Karlovy Vary International Film Festival

July 2 - 10, 2010

Life Without Death
( Life Without Death )

Colour, 35mm
Canada, 2000, 83 min
Section: Forum of Independents

Director: Frank Cole
Screenplay: Frank Cole
Dir. of Photography: Frank Cole, Francis Miquet
Music: Richard Horowitz, Sussan Deyhim
Designer: --
Editor: Frank Cole, Francis Miquet
Producer: Francis Miquet, Frank Cole
Production: Necessary Illusions Productions Inc.
Sales: Mundovision
Contact: Necessary Illusions Productions Inc.

Cast

Frank Cole

Synopsis

Life without Death is a highly personal account of documentary filmmaker Frank Cole’s journey across the Sahara desert by camel from the Atlantic Ocean to the Red Sea, a feat which got him into the Guinness Book of Records. During the course of his journey, suffering from thirst, loneliness and disorientation, Cole is also forced to confront his own mortality. Striking images of his Saharan odyssey and flashbacks of his dying grandfather blend with an evocative music score in an unsettling meditation on death and the strong desire to live.

About the director

Frank Cole (1954-2000), the son of a diplomat, grew up in Canada, Pakistan, Czechoslovakia, South Africa and Switzerland. After completing Life without Death, Frank Cole returned to the Sahara to undertake another desert crossing via a more remote route. He was killed in northern Mali in October 2000 by bandits. Films: A Documentary (1979), The Mountenays (1982), A Life (1988), Life without Death (2000).