Photos: THE OLDEST PERSON IN THE WORLD Documentary to Open in Theaters Nationwide
Director Sam Green, known for THE WEATHER UNDERGROUND and 32 SOUNDS, spent a decade following supercentenarians across the globe.
Assembly Releasing, Serenade, Aggregate and Free History Project, in association with The Department of Motion Pictures, announced the US theatrical premiere of THE OLDEST PERSON IN THE WORLD, a documentary from Oscar-nominated filmmaker Sam Green (32 SOUNDS, THE WEATHER UNDERGROUND). The film will open on Thursday, September 10 at New York's Angelika Film Center followed by Los Angeles and the Bay Area on Friday, September 18, with other national dates to follow. It had its world premiere at the 2026 Sundance Film Festival and has since screened at SXSW, True/False, CPH:DOX, Full Frame, Hot Docs and DC/DOX, among other top festivals.
THE OLDEST PERSON IN THE WORLD is a decade-long odyssey chronicling the ever-changing record holders of the title of oldest person alive. As the title inevitably passes from one supercentenarian to the next, director Sam Green traverses the globe to meet each new title holder, his personal fascination with what the title means becoming entangled with events and milestones in his own life. What begins as a portrait of longevity becomes a poignant meditation on the passage of time, the randomness of fate and the joy and profound human experience of being alive.
Sam Green and the core creative team intend to continue filming the oldest person in the world for the rest of their lives, using the material to make a film every ten years. In this way, it will become an ever-evolving 'living film,' the form mirroring the ephemeral and impossible to predict nature of our existence.
Sam Green is a documentary filmmaker best known for the Oscar-nominated THE WEATHER UNDERGROUND and the Oscar-shortlisted 32 SOUNDS, winner of the 2024 Cinema Eye Honors Award for Best Documentary. Sam holds the world record for the most documentaries premiered at Sundance by any director, including A THOUSAND THOUGHTS, THE MEASURE OF ALL THINGS, UTOPIA IN FOUR MOVEMENTS and THE RAINBOW MAN/JOHN 3:16. His films have shown at scores of festivals and at arts institutions around the world, including the Whitney Biennial, MoMA and a 2025 Lincoln Center retrospective of his live documentaries.
87 min. USA. Assembly Releasing.
