'A Life on Earth', is a personal, intimate and hand-crafted film, made by filmmaker Benjamin Wigley, that discusses the nature of life on earth at a key moment in the lives of one young family. It is a hypnotic regression through memory. A meditation that follows their journey, as they begin the Invitro Fertilisation process (IVF) in the hope for a second child. Wigley uses the cycle of the four seasons over one year at their allotment as philosophical device that highlights our relationship to the world. As we evolve through Spring, Summer, Autumn, and Winter: we see the seeds planted, potatoes chitted, tomatoes pinched; nurturing, and nature growing. The roots of prehistoric plants like mares-tail, leads us underground: plunged into deep time, back to the provenance of life on earth, when there was only rock, water and sky. We witness the very beginning of a human life burst from its embryo, enabled by cutting edge scientific techniques, juxtaposed with the very first life forms on earth. As we progress through the seasons, and regress through many millennia immemorial, we are also reminded how deeply we are connected to the earth. And we are encouraged to think about mankind's relationship with nature. Almost entirely shot on celluloid film and processed by hand in a shed, using plant-based developers, flowers for dyes and organic material for photograms; there is a tangible conceptual layer that interweaves idea and form into a beautiful dreamlike aesthetic. This is a very poetic and personal film that speaks universally to us all.

The film premiered as a guest programme at Encounters Film Festival in 2020
See the Q&A for the film with the legendary Canadian avante-garde filmmaker, Philip Hoffman