Zeit für Stille (In Pursuit of Silence) 
U.S.A.
2017
Opening 30 Nov 2017
Directed by:
Patrick Shen
Writing credits:
Patrick Shen
What’s that noise? Exposure to loud, unpleasant sounds can be bad for your health. Spending time in the forest just listening to the wind rustling tree leaves and birds singing can be healing. This informative documentary takes you around the world to investigate what silence means and how noise has become the second greatest pollution on Earth. Funded through a Kickstarter campaign that began in 2013, this film was made in over two years in eight countries which include the United States, Japan, Great Britain, Germany, Belgium, China, Taiwan and India.
From gorgeous, peaceful landscapes to the cacophony of festival time in Mumbai, the level of sound our ears bear can become deafening. There is a visit to the quietest place in the word, an echo free chamber at Orfield Labs in Minneapolis, Minnesota which is so soundproof that your own heart beat and circulating blood become audible. Compare that experience with a classroom in New York City located next to an elevated train or celebrations in Mumbai, the loudest city in the world.
Experts who have written books on the impact of sound are interviewed and ancient traditions that demanded quiet are examined. A bit of art, spirituality, science and everyday experiences presented in a fascinating film that may change the way you think about how the activities taking place around you affect your personal well-being. If we lose the silence, will we lose our humanity? (Mary Nyiri)
