To mark the release of the documentary ‘Time and Water’, coming to UK cinemas on 12 June, we are giving away a copy of Andri Snær Magnason’s book ‘On Time and Water’, and a cinema poster signed by director Sara Dosa and Andri himself. More information on how to participate at the end of the article.
Humans and the natural world are inherently connected. Through the passage of time, geologic formations and environments have shaped human identity and culture. Humans, in turn, have left their mark on these same landscapes. Time and Water explores this relationship through Icelandic writer Andri Snær Magnason’s life, carefully weaving together his grandparents’ fading memories with the receding of his country’s glaciers.
Through this parallel between glacial and generational loss, Magnason and director Sara Dosa invite us to reflect on memory, time and loss in an era of human-induced climate change.
Ice as archive
Like layers of rock and sediment, glaciers are a record of the history of Earth’s physical processes. Glacial ice stores a record of the historic volcanic activity that dominates the past and present geology of Iceland. The ice is also a natural climate archive, storing tiny bubbles of trapped air that preserve ancient atmospheric gases, as well as chemical signatures of past temperatures.
Like many natural Earth processes, glaciers are affected by human activity, principally by anthropogenic climate change. Global warming has led to progressive loss of glacial ice all over the world, the grave nature of which is highlighted in the documentary. Time and Water details the loss of Okjökull, Iceland’s first glacier to be formally declared dead because of climate change, acknowledging that this archive is now under threat.
In addition to the stored physical record, glaciers and the landscapes that they influence are an important part of the cultural memory of Icelanders. They feature heavily in the folklore and storytelling tradition of their predecessors, as settings for elves, Hidden People and a Hidden Forest. This is especially true for Andri, who notes that the receding glaciers are a strong parallel to his memory of his grandparents. Archival film of his family’s personal histories is Andri’s tool for preserving these memories, emphasising the intergenerational responsibility for maintaining records of our environmental and personal stories.
Credit: National Geographic
Credit: Archival Materials Courtesy of Andri Snær Magnason
Movement, sound and life
Although glaciers may appear stationary, they are dynamic processes that shape landscapes through more than annual melt-freeze cycles. As ice and snow stack over hundreds or thousands of years, glaciers slowly flow under their own weight, spreading across the land. This constant movement makes glaciers rich in sound. Internal fractures, flowing meltwater and ancient air bubbles within the ice create a landscape that is anything but silent. Time and Water captures this by overlaying close-ups and ice cave footage with an immersive soundscape of roaring and cracking ice.
The documentary treats glaciers like living structures, sustained by flow, and dead when movement and sound cease. In 2019, Icelanders marked this reality with a unique act of mourning: a hundred people climbed to the summit of the Ok mountain, where Okjökull once lay, to hold a funeral. This ritual echoes Andri’s own grief for his grandfather, underlining once again, how deeply intertwined human and natural loss can be.
While we may find the concept of mourning a glacier unusual, they are vital for Earth systems. Their cycle regulates local climates, stores freshwater, and feeds rivers and lakes that sustain plant and animal life. When that cycle is disrupted, the consequences ripple outward. No aspect of climate change is victimless; ecosystems are already suffering – as ultimately, we all will.
Credit: National Geographic
Credit: Archival Materials Courtesy of Andri Snær Magnason
Reaching into the future
Time and Water repeatedly affirms that, both personally and collectively, we feel the emotional weight of the impact that humanity has had on the planet. Drawing on Andri’s sense of progressively losing touch with memories of his family, we are shown that despite the overwhelming nature of this feeling, it is crucial that we become custodians of our planet. This is central to climate optimism, a mindset in which there is everything to be gained in proactively mitigating climate change to protect what can still be saved. Every 0.1°C of global warming will have an impact on environments, ecosystems and communities – each one worth the effort to save.
Time and Water positions itself as a time capsule, a record of what we stand to lose if we don’t rise to that responsibility. In a poignant moment, we hear an archived recording of a rímur, a traditional Icelandic song-poem. Like a lullaby, this rhymed verse reaches across time, urging listeners to care for what still remains. The comparison is clear; although we may not live to witness the most dramatic impacts of climate change, any action that we take today is our opportunity to look forward and support the people and communities who will.
Mark the release with us – win a book and a signed cinema poster
To celebrate the release of director Sara Dosa’s most recent documentary, following Icelandic poet and sci-fi writer Andri Snær Magnason’s book, we are giving away a prize bundle in partnership with Dogwoof, Time and Water’s distributer.
Be in with a chance to win both a copy of Magnason’s book On Time and Water: A History of our Future, and a cinema poster signed by Andri and director Sara Dosa.
To participate, leave a comment on the Instagram post telling us about the glacier's you've visited, or want to visit soon before 22 June 23:59 BST. We will select a winner at random and contact them via DM.
The book On Time and Water: A History of Our Future by Andri Snær Magnason is published by Serpent’s Tail.
Find out more about the film at www.timeandwater.squarespace.com
