Documentary explores lives of world's oldest people as Britain's Ethel Caterham declines to take part

A new documentary from Oscar-nominated filmmaker Sam Green takes a close look at the world's oldest people, a group that includes Britain's Ethel Caterham, who at 117 is the oldest living person in recorded British history. The film, which was released recently, charts Green's decade-long fascination with the changing holders of the title of oldest person in the world.

Green, who lives in Brooklyn, has travelled widely since 2015 to meet these very senior citizens. His subjects have included Kane Tanaka of Japan, who held the title for four years, and France's Jeanne Calment, who died in 1997 at the age of 122 and, in her later years, recorded a rap album.

The documentary also reflects on why the public and the media are so drawn to the oldest person in the world. Green admits he still does not fully understand the obsession, wondering whether it stems from a fear of death or simply a fascination with something extraordinary. He found that elderly people often give all sorts of answers when asked about their secret to a long life. One woman said she had stayed away from men and also ate three raw eggs a day, while others offered different explanations.

The film is not just about the very old. It also touches on major events in Green's own life, including the birth of his son and his own battle with a life-threatening illness. Over time, he says, the project became a wider meditation on time, fate and the mysteries of being alive.

One of the last people Green interviewed was a Spanish woman named Maria Branas, who made fun of him and told him that because he was young, he should use his time to do good works. He found that message beautiful and appreciated it.

Despite meeting many title holders over the past decade, Green has had one notable absence: the current holder, Ethel Caterham, who lives in Surrey. She is the first person in ten years to have turned down his requests for an interview. However, she did meet King Charles, and Green joked about being passed over.

The documentary, which Green describes as unexpectedly life affirming, makes the point that there is much to learn from observing the very old and the very fragile, both about them and about what it means to live a thoughtful life.