‘How do you say goodbye to something you never thought you could lose?’ So close together with family but so far away within history. Time and Water grapples with the precious moments shared with family and Iceland’s melting glaciers. Presented by National Geographic Documentary Films, this deeply personal documentary is based on Icelandic author and poet, Andri Snær Magnason’s book, On Time and Water (2019). Magnason’s personal narration adds a deeply touching and compelling story which is rooted in his family’s history.
Academy-award winning director for Fire of Love (2022), Sara Dosa brings a beautifully poetic story to the big screen. This documentary links a family’s close connection to the inevitability of climate change. And brings them both to life. Its special London premiere at the BFI IMAX saw a screening and extended introduction by Sara Dosa, Andri Snær Magnason, and producer Shane Boris. Presented by National Geographic, this documentary sees screenings at major film festivals. Its run includes Sundance, CPH:DOX, Sheffield DocFest, Sydney, and DOXA Documentary Film Festival.
A Deeply Personal Documentary
Time and Water crosses two realms – a deeply personal documentary surrounding Magnason’s family and a haunting exploration into Iceland’s melting glaciers. Documenting Iceland’s climate change in a first-person point of view – Time and Water is mainly told through home video footage. Their memories are shot from Magnason’s camera.
Through his camera lens and personal archives we see into the family’s intergenerational stories from his grandparents through to his children. But there’s a fitting mixture between a diary entry and time capsule on Magnason’s family and their lives to a flowing commentary on how climate change has negatively affected Iceland’s glaciers.
Different Generational Views on Climate Change
The range of various types of footage edited together showcases the amount of dedication this project took to bring to life. From extreme close-up shots of melting ice to interviews with family members and close-up moments of the children growing up. The various types of footage perfectly intertwines. This captures both the personal and scientific aspects. They join together to build the heart behind this documentary. Through personal interviews, we see the different generational views on climate change.
Magnason’s pioneering glaciologists grandparents – Hulda Filippusdóttir and Árni Kjartansson whose 60-year marriage and dedication to studying Iceland’s melting glaciers places family at the forefront of this documentary. Iceland’s Okjokull glacier marked the first glacier lost to climate change. But Magnason’s ‘Letter to the Future’ plaque and public memorial in 2019 speaks on what the upcoming 200 years will look like for Iceland’s glaciers.
Spanning decades of dedicated research – we see grainy footage of his grandparents much younger to their final footage – spending time with their grandchildren. But its timeline presents the horrific inevitability of time. Particularly showcasing how such precious moments with family remain a fragile memory. However, if not documented by Magnason on his home camera then these moments would become lost in time as family members pass away.
Appreciate the Joy in the Little Moments
The most beautiful scene comes with Magnason’s heartbreaking process of writing his grandfather, Arni’s obituary. Words trail across the screen in a brilliant editing sequence. Sentences are cut out and separate, forming a collage-esque image. But showcasing the sheer talent of his career, this documentary constantly reminds us of the reasons why their personal stories must be told.
To hold ice is to hold the Earth’s memories in your hand.
Andri Snær Magnason’s narration in Time and Water (2026)
Time and Water is a heartbreaking exploration on how time moves so fast. Although, Magnason’s story in turn encourages its audience to appreciate the joy in the little moments. Not only does this documentary showcase how climate change has melted glaciers at a much faster rate but cleverly connects to a personal tale of Magnason’s family tree. With so many intergenerational stories to tell, Magnason cleverly gifts a voice to each family member. It pinpoints their individual stories within a much wider, developing story of Iceland’s melting glaciers.
Personal Stories & Climate Change
Presenting evidence from archival home footage showcases how Iceland’s glaciers looked throughout his grandparents lives to how they look through the eyes of his children. But there’s just the right balance between both their personal stories and climate change. They’re both at the forefront of this documentary’s message. Nothing can stop time neither climate change nor melting glaciers. But how do we slow all of this down?
However, the most frightening message left here remains with the uncertainty in the future of developing climate change. It’s very clear that there is no reversal. Magnason’s youngest child sits with her grandmother, Hilda. They contemplate what Iceland’s glaciers will look like by the time the young child reaches 100 years-old in 2104. Although, this moment is the most chilling of the documentary. It leaves the audience questioning the haunting and irreparable nature of climate change.
Time and Water is an absolutely phenomenal scientific documentary which pursues a more personal take on climate change. Through archival home video footage to intergenerational viewpoints and backed up with scientific evidence comes a documentary which spans the test of time. It highlights a relevancy to our past, present, and future. This is our warning on climate change. The vast speed of Iceland’s melting glaciers in the present places an even greater uncertainty in the future.
Rating: 4 ½ Stars
Time and Water saw its world premiere at Sundance Film Festival 2026.
You can read more reviews from Sheffield DocFest including Kikuyu Land here.