Experiencing Interruptions?

Field Notes From An Apocalypse

In Field Notes From An Apocalypse, filmmaker Brett Gaylor and his friends join science fiction writer Christopher Brown on adventures through Austin’s urban fringes, where forgotten spaces offer visions of tomorrow. As Brown writes a story about a world where animals hold rights as legal persons, the film weaves live action and animated sequences to meditate on the boundaries between nature and civilization, and the futures that might still be possible.

  • Brett Gaylor
    Director
    Rip! A Remix Manifesto, The Internet of Everything, OK Google, Discriminator, Do Not Track
  • Anandi Brownstein
    Cinematographer
    Cypher, Wildflowers, Becoming Folk, Minor Dissapointment, Curl Power
  • Darren Pasemko
    Animator
    How To Unearth Creatures From The Depths Of Your Mind
  • Project Type:
    Documentary, Short
  • Genres:
    SciFi, documentary, nature
  • Runtime:
    25 minutes
  • Completion Date:
    June 6, 2025
  • Production Budget:
    80,000 CAD
  • Country of Origin:
    Canada
  • Country of Filming:
    United States
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
  • Digital Cinema Package:
    Unavailable
Director Biography - Brett Gaylor

Brett Gaylor is a multidisciplinary media producer and researcher. His recent releases are Necessary Tomorrows, a speculative documentary podcast with Al Jazeera, Welcome To The Metaverse, an AR project for the 2023 International Symposium on Electronic Art in Paris, and Discriminator, an interactive film that had its world premiere at the 2021 Tribeca Film Festival. His 2020 documentary The Internet of Everything broadcast in more than 20 countries. For Do Not Track, OK Google and Rip! A Remix Manifesto Brett has received the International Documentary Association award, a Peabody Award, the Prix Gemaux and three Webbys. Brett has received a prestigious Canada Vanier scholarship for his research on critical data literacy.

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Director Statement

Field Notes From An Apocalypse grew out of a three-year collaboration with my friends as we followed science fiction writer Christopher Brown into the urban edgelands of Austin, Texas. In a moment when the future feels increasingly fragile, we were drawn to Chris’s way of seeing the world. His belief that new legal and ecological imaginaries, like granting animals legal personhood, might offer fresh paths forward.

The film blends live action and animation to create a hybrid space where present-day landscapes collide with speculative futures. It is an invitation to pause in the in-between places, to look closely at what is often overlooked, and to imagine futures that are both unsettling and strangely beautiful.

We hope Grim and Hopeful offers a small moment of reflection and perspective in uncertain times.