Austin Film Society Screening: Dawson City: Frozen Time

Directed by Bill Morrison
2017, 2h 0min, 35mm

“Critic’s Pick! An instantaneously recognizable masterpiece.” – Glenn Kenny, The New York Times

In this remarkable documentary set to a haunting score by Sigur Rós collaborator Alex Somers, Bill Morrison recounts an evocative episode of North American history through the medium of 577 permafrost-preserved film prints that were discovered in the arctic in 1977. Located in the upper Yukon, Dawson City was the center of the late 19th-century Canadian Goldrush, but was also the last stop on a film distribution circuit, which meant that films and newsreels that made it there were rarely returned. Through the decaying films, Morrison investigates the story of this pivotal gold rush stop, and the reverberations of that place and era that continue to haunt us. 

Bill Morrison will be in attendance for this screening. Craig Campbell (faculty, Anthropology, UT Austin) will introduce the artist and moderate a conversation and Q&A with Morrison following the screening.

UT Austin students can receive a $3 discount on tickets with the code nitrate3.

This program is presented in partnership with Austin Film Society, in conjunction with Bill Morrison: Cycles & Loops, on view January 28 – March 12, 2022.

AFS Screening Series: Works by Bill Morrison