David Springbett refers to The Fantastic Logic of Eternity as “a documentary with no limits,” but his latest project could also be described as the ultimate think piece.
The Victoria-based filmmaker realized he had achieved that goal after sending a copy to one of its subjects: Toronto-based novelist and short story writer Wayson Choy.
“He screened it after dinner and the discussion went on for four hours,” Springbett said. “I’m really pleased with that. As we say in a blurb: ‘It will keep you thinking well beyond the end credits.’ ”
Choy, whose memoir Not Yet, explores his two brushes with death, is one of several interviewees, including physicists and religious scholars, who weigh in on the meaning and varied interpretations of eternity during the Asterisk Productions documentary tentatively premiering May 26 at 10 p.m. on Vision TV. The show was initially scheduled to premiere Monday at 7 p.m., but has been postponed. It follows Apocalypse. . . . When, its 2012 TV series focusing on society’s end-of-the-world obsession.
The new documentary explores eternity from multiple angles, including religion, mythology, speculative astrophysics and how it pervades pop culture. Cue the From Here to Eternity clip.
Other participants include Carlos Eire, the Yale University history and religious studies professor who authored A Very Brief History of Eternity; Paul Elder, the former reporter and Eyes of an Angel author who survived several near-death experiences; British writer, philosopher and former diplomat Stephen Cave; and the Irish-American New Testament scholar and historian Dominic Crossan.
“For a religious person, eternity is some form of heaven, but once we started to look closely at the idea of ‘forever,’ we also found a slew of references in pop culture and scientific journals,” said co-producer Heather MacAndrew, who inspired Springbett and writer-narrator Brian Paisley to collaborate on the hour-long documentary after picking up a copy of Eire’s book.
“Is eternity a way of calming our fears about our own immortality?” Paisley asks in the film, which colourfully provokes thought, whether you’re a person of faith or science.
Philosopher Jim Holt suggests the concept of eternity fulfils an emotional need.
“Bad people are getting away with murder and good people are suffering a lot [in this world], and this injustice has to be rectified,” Holt says.
After reuniting their Apocalypse. . . . When creative team, including researcher Sherry Lepage and editor Martin de Valk, Springbett and MacAndrew began production last January on a project that would take the crew from Victoria to destinations including London, England, and Florida, where Edgar Mitchell, the retired Apollo 14 astronaut, shared his life-changing lunar experiences from his home.
“We interviewed so many interesting people. There wasn’t a dull person among them, and who gets to meet an astronaut who walked on the moon?’” recalled Springbett.
“Going in, we knew his experiences ‘out there’ had changed him in a very profound way,” Paisley said. “He had come face-to-face with the eternal and he had lots of questions.”
There were moments when Paisley and Springbett thought they might have a close encounter with the hereafter themselves while having to drive in snow last March in Wales.
“It’s a good job I grew up in the prairies and Brian lived for a long time in Edmonton,” Springbett said. “It got pretty hairy.”
Production was calmer in Victoria, where Paisley was backed mostly by local settings, including Christ Church Cathedral, Willows Beach and Cattle Point, in contrast to the green-screen backdrops that dominated Apocalypse . . . . When.
“We were talking about such abstract ideas it was good to be more grounded,” Springbett said.
Another familiar location is the Shaw Ocean Discovery Centre, where they began their two-month shoot in January of 2013 capturing images of a species of jellyfish deemed “immortal” by scientists.
Note: An earlier version of this story said that The Fantastic Logic of Eternity was airing Monday at 7 p.m. The broadcast has been postponed, and the documentary is now tentatively scheduled to air on May 26 at 10 p.m.