What is life?

What is it that distinguishes the living organism from the non-living, the particular quality common to all living forms? This animated film provides lucid explanation, arresting in colour and form as the facts are presented. It shows what biophysics and biochemistry now perceive as the facts of life concerning evolution and the genetically determining factor of the DNA molecule.

How to watch

This work has not been digitised and is currently unavailable to view online. It may be possible for approved reseachers to view onsite at ACMI.

Learn more about accessing our collection

Collection

In ACMI's collection

Credits

production company

ONF | NFB

co-producer

Joseph Koenig

Robert Verrall

Duration

00:08:20:00

Production places

Canada

Production dates

1970

Collection metadata

ACMI Identifier

011831

Language

English

Subject categories

Animation

Animation → Animated films - Canada

Mathematics, Science & Technology → Biochemistry

Short films

Short films → Short films - Canada

Sound/audio

Sound

Colour

Holdings

16mm film; Preservation Print (Section 5)

16mm film; Limited Access Print (Section 2)

16mm film; Access Print (Section 1)

Please note: this archive is an ongoing body of work. Sometimes the credit information (director, year etc) isn’t available so these fields may be left blank; we are progressively filling these in with further research.

Cite this work on Wikipedia

If you would like to cite this item, please use the following template: {{cite web |url=https://acmi.net.au/works/74632--what-is-life/ |title=What is life? |author=Australian Centre for the Moving Image |access-date=5 February 2023 |publisher=Australian Centre for the Moving Image}}

Canada, 1970

Please note