Panta Rhei

Panta Rhei is a Dutch short documentary film by Bert Haanstra, first shown in 1952. It portrays the motions of nature, edited rhythmically with alternating footage of water, clouds and vegetation, sometimes using time-lapse photography. It was Haanstra's fourth film as director and like many of his early films it does not feature any humans. The title is a Greek phrase associated with the philosopher Heraclitus and the concept that everything is in a constant state of becoming something else. The film competed at the 1952 Cannes Film Festival. Critics have highlighted its rhythmicality and vision of nature.