A Japanese researcher studies the endless life cycle of a jellyfish. Native Americans bury a man who fought for their rights. Italian restorers work to conserve Milan Cathedral. Two Swiss inventors persistently refine their steel drums. The human obsession with immortality is explored in four acts.

Like the influential theorist André Bazin, who equated the act of filming to embalming, Spira Mirabilis engages with cinema’s distinct ability to preserve time. The elusive concept of immortality—represented in the idea of the circle—is explored through an eclectic range of audiovisual materials.