Immortal (2019)

A brilliant geneticist is on the verge of a breakthrough that could change humanity, but when her experiment is discovered, she will have to make an impossible choice.

Director Biography - Natalie Metzger, Robert Allaire

Director Biography - Natalie Metzger, Robert Allaire

Natalie Metzger’s feature directing and writing credits include AT&T sports documentary ALONE IN THE GAME (AFI Docs, Outfest) and healthcare documentary SPECIAL BLOOD (Dolores Huerta Award for Best Director at Long Beach Indie; Best Feature Documentary at California Women’s Film Festival). Metzger’s feature script IMMORTAL won the Gold Prize at the Page International Screenwriting Awards and was a Finalist in Nashville Film Festival’s Screenwriting Competition. Metzger directed psa TOPLESS WOMEN TALK NFL, featured in the Washington Post and Huffington Post and winner of an Aurora Award (Platinum Best of Show) and a Telly Award (Silver). She has also directed numerous award-winning shorts and commercials.

Metzger is also a Spirit Award nominated producer whose credits include GREENER GRASS (Sundance), THUNDER ROAD (SXSW Grand Jury Award), THE ROBBERY (Sundance), MATPAT’S GAME LAB (Streamy Award), Lil Dicky’s FREAKY FRIDAY (over 600 million views), and Jim Cummings’ soon-to-be-released THE WOLF OF SNOW HOLLOW (MGM/Orion), among numerous others. Metzger is currently in post on Josh Ruben’s WEREWOLVES WITHIN (Ubisoft), Jim Cummings’ THE BETA TEST, baseball documentary IT AIN’T OVER, and a branded docuseries.

Metzger holds a Master of Fine Arts from California Institute of the Arts and a Bachelor of Arts from Emory University, where she graduated Phi Beta Kappa and Summa Cum Laude.

www.nataliemetz.com

Director Statement

The science concepts presented in Immortal are based on real-world research that is currently happening, and we have consulted with some of the foremost experts in the field of life extension in order to portray the science as accurately as possible. For this reason, we consider the film to be more science fact than science fiction. One area of particular interest is using gene editing to directly modify the genes that contribute to aging. Doing so may extend the human lifespan significantly. It is entirely possible that human aging could be stopped within the 21st century. Such a technology would obviously have incredible implications for the world, both positive and negative.

Immortal was borne out of our shared love of science and technology. Films have a spotty record when it comes to portraying science. Science is often shown to be a dangerous or even sinister pursuit, and popular culture is littered with tropes of the mad scientist gone too far. It is our hope that Immortal presents science for what it is: a tool to gain knowledge. Knowledge itself is neutral, and it is up to us to decide how it will be used. In the current climate of anti-intellectualism that has been sweeping our nation and the globe at large, this is a very important distinction.

We also often find that lesbian relationships in film are highly sexualized. It’s rare to just see a lesbian couple doing day-to-day things or family planning. As a bisexual woman, Natalie gets frustrated with this lack of normalization of female-female relationships, so it was important for us to portray a couple dealing with life events instead of only sex.