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All Illusions must be Broken

Screening & discussion with
filmmaker Jef Sewell


Kuenzel Room
The Michigan Union
Thursday, October 9 at 6:30 PM

 

​​​DIRECTED & PRODUCED BY

 

Laura Dunn and Jef Sewell

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PRODUCED BY
Owsley Brown

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EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS
Terrence Malick

Robert Redford

Nick Offerman

Nelda Buckman

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WHO IS ERNEST BECKER?

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ABOUT THE FILM

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All Illusions Must Be Broken is a cinematic reflection on the last interview made with American cultural anthropologist Ernest Becker whose book The Denial of Death won the Pulitzer Prize for non-fiction in 1974.

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Becker’s multi-disciplinary exploration of human nature and his own personal testimony challenge us to move beyond our fears and see the beauty that surrounds our

fragile lives.

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Using Becker’s brilliantly conceived framework, the film examines the unexpected consequences of disconnecting our children from nature and reality during their

formative years.

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His ideas help to show how replacing our given natural environment with a virtual one only furthers our tendencies toward self-deception.

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Part film essay, part verité study,

the narrative connects Becker’s profound insights, contemporary interviews on the re-patterning power of screens, and scenes from

a boyhood ages birth to 13

to demonstrate how our

relationship to nature

rapidly unraveling.

© 2020 The Bur Oak Foundation

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