This 4K Preview for Nature Doc ‘Awaken’ Might Be the Best Trailer of the Year

HOT. NATURE. ACTION.

Thoughts of nature documentaries might not get your heart pumping. They might call to mind images of late-night PBS. But take a look at this clip for Awaken, and tell me it’s not one of the most gorgeous looking movies you’ve ever seen. This is a great trailer; it definitely could be a great movie.

Here’s the official description from the film’s site, which will give you a good sense of what it is, and why it’s special:

Awaken is a feature documentary film exploring humanity’s relationship with technology and the natural world.

Shot over a 5-year period in more than 30 countries, the film pioneers new time-lapse, time-dilation, underwater, and aerial cinematography techniques to give audiences new eyes with which to see our world. Executive produced by Terrence Malick and Godfrey Reggio, Awaken is a celebration of the spirit of life, an exploration of the Earth, and an ode to the Cosmos.

Malick I’m going to assume you know; Reggio you should know too, but he's the director of experimental docs like Koyaanisqatsi, which is a clear influence on director Tom Lowe’s approach to Awaken. And Lowe has worked with both Malick and Reggio as a second-unit director (for their films Voyage of Time and Visitors). He also saw combat in the Gulf War and later worked as a producer on the political roundtable show The McLaughlin Group. Awaken does not look like something I would expect from someone with that resume. But it does look amazing.