New York Times Op-Docs Acquires 'Death Revolution,' Joshua Oppenheimer's Oscar-Nominated Quest for Immortality

Exclusive: The New York Times' prestigious Op-Docs platform has acquired The Revolution Against Death, a new short film directed by two-time Oscar nominee Joshua Oppenheimer. The documentary will be released worldwide by New York Op-Docs and MUBI in early December at an annual longevity conference known as the Revolution Against Aging and Death Festival. […]

Exclusive: The New York Times' prestigious Op-Docs platform has acquired The Revolution Against Death, a new short film directed by two-time Oscar nominee Joshua Oppenheimer.

The documentary will be released globally by New York Op-Docs and MUBI in early December at an annual longevity conference known as the Revolution Against Aging and Death Festival. The film premiered at the Tampere Film Festival in Finland and recently premiered at the Telluride Film Festival.

At meetings as part of the Revolution Against Aging and Death festival, "there is fear in the air - of illness, of being invisible, of dying alone." Directed by Oppenheimer, this film presents an introspective portrait of aging, death and the quest for immortality. Related News News 'JAŸ-Z at 8' for international release on Mubi Underline 'Teenage Sex & Death at Camp Miasma' Production Designers Brandon Toner-Connolly and Matt Hyland talk about building its surreal landscape

Oppenheimer (The Look of Silence, The Act of Killing) is not merely an impartial observer of the festival proceedings. Watch on Deadline

He writes about this film project: "Since I was a child who was afraid of death, I traveled to the group of possible immortals. "I recognized myself and clung to it with a white thread, hoping that I might defeat death. In later years, I realized that because nothing is permanent, everything is important - and eternity lies in change itself. My poem film is about that journey."

"We are proud to bring the work of Joshua Oppenheimer to Op-Docs audiences with this unique film, a spectacular and haunting look at the fundamental human conflict between the reality of death and the relentless pursuit of immortality," Op-Docs executive producer Alexandra Garcia said in a statement.

Revolution Against Death joins seven other films on the list of contenders for the 2026 Op-Docs Awards, including Living With a Visionary, winner of the Short Film Jury Prize for Animation at the 2026 Sundance Film Festival. The Tuners, winner of the Silver Dragon at the 2026 Krakow Film Festival, and The Wolf in the Suburbs, which premiered at this year's SXSW. Op-Docs won an Academy Award for the 2021 short film Queen of Basketball, directed by Ben Proudfoot. The series has already received seven Oscar nominations, including in 2025 for Beating Hearts directed by Emma Ryan Yamazaki and in 2024 for Island In Between directed by S. Leo Chaing.

Revolution Against Death premieres Saturday at the Chicago International Film Festival and next month at IDFA in Amsterdam, the world's largest documentary film festival.

Oppenheimer is a recipient of a MacArthur Fellowship, widely known as a "genius grant," which is awarded to "extraordinarily talented and creative individuals as an investment in their potential." The filmmaker will make his feature film debut in 2024 with The End, a post-apocalyptic musical thriller starring Tilda Swinton, Michael Shannon and George McKay.

The New York Times Op-Docs is a collection of more than 450 short films that have "sparked global conversations, influenced national policy, and won an array of industry honors, including Emmys, Peabody Awards, and Oscars." Alexandra Garcia is the executive producer of the series and Yvonne Ashley Quadjo is the producer of this series.

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