In Pursuit of Silence

Devon Cooke, once an essential SPCR editorial staff member who now pursues a career in film-making, wrote me recently about a new documentary. It sounds well worth seeking out:

“I saw an excellent documentary last night — my new favourite documentary — that I wanted to share with you. It’s called In Pursuit of Silence, and it’s a philosophical film about the nature of silence — with some obvious overlap with the subject matter we covered at SPCR. Put it on your list and see it as soon as you can! Right now it’s still in theatrical release, so it’s a bit hard to find, but once it comes out, it will be worth it! This is perhaps the first documentary I’ve seen that I can honestly say I wish I had made.”

Discuss this post.


Devon Cooke, once an essential SPCR editorial staff member who now pursues a career in film-making, wrote me recently about a new documentary. It sounds well worth seeking out:

“I saw an excellent documentary last night — my new favourite documentary — that I wanted to share with you. It’s called In Pursuit of Silence, and it’s a philosophical film about the nature of silence — with some obvious overlap with the subject matter we covered at SPCR. Put it on your list and see it as soon as you can! Right now it’s still in theatrical release, so it’s a bit hard to find, but once it comes out, it will be worth it! This is perhaps the first documentary I’ve seen that I can honestly say I wish I had made.”

“They cover everything from the health effects of noise to the spiritual dimension, and we visit several anechoic chambers. There’s a good theoretical basis without getting bogged down in numbers, and it’s absolutely gorgeous both visually and aurally.

“I also wanted to draw your attention to an organization that was mentioned in the film — Quiet Mark — which is doing noise testing and certification for a wide variety of consumer goods. I know you had some ambitions in this direction, and it’s good to see someone else doing it. They are UK based, and they *seem* like they have a pretty solid testing and theoretical regime underlying their reviews, though their website doesn’t list too many details. They are an offshoot of a charity called the Noise Abatement Society, so I think the non-profit status helps keep them on their mandate. I’m going to reach out to them and tell them how much I like the film. (I believe they helped fund it a bit, and they are managing the UK release even though the film was made in the US.)”

Discuss this post.