60min or 98min original English, French, Mongolian version with English subtitles
Synopsis
THE BONES traverses the globe alongside paleontologists on a quest to unearth dinosaur fossils that may hold the key to save humanity from extinction. It’s a race against time before the bones disappear into the hands of fossil dealers, who stand to make millions by selling them on the open market. A cinematic adventure that reaches from the Mongolian Gobi Desert to the floor of a Paris auction house, THE BONES exposes the clash between science, post-colonial reckoning, and hard-headed capitalism.
THE BONES is a stunning, cinematic exploration of the high-stakes world of dinosaur bone trading, where obsessive collectors compete with museums, scientists, and high-end auction houses to own a piece of the past. It’s a story of intrigue, an illicit caper at the collision of science, commerce, and a dark colonial legacy. Paleontologist Bolor Minjin, the first scientist to ever repatriate fossils that had been stolen from Mongolia, travels through her homeland training the next generation of Mongolians to be the guardians of the bones. In Morocco, Nizar Ibrahim leads a team into the Saharan desert on a quest to unearth the next great scientific discovery, but must negotiate with fossil dealers who want big money for the same bones. Meanwhile, French collector and fossil dealer Francois Escuillier introduces us to the questionable world of buying and selling dinosaur bones, which today can be worth millions of dollars. And eminent paleontologist Jack Horner—the man upon whom Jurassic Park is based—changes the concept of a fossil’s value by breaking them open, searching for molecular clues that will help him resurrect an actual dinosaur. Part international thriller, part meditation on the nature of existence, the film reveals the hidden world of passionate, globetrotting scientists and fossil dealers battling over the meaning of THE BONES…and our uncertain future.
Press "Fascinating excavation of the true value of dinosaur bones to finders, collectors, museums and scientists…As engagingly entertaining as it is informative" - Screen International “Entertaining look at the fossil trade” - Variety
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