Sam Green’s 2026 documentary The Oldest Person in the World follows people who successively hold the Guinness title of oldest living person. Across a decade of filming and several countries, it turns that shifting record into a meditation on time, mortality and family—not a guide to longevity. The film runs 87 minutes, according to MetFilm Sales.
What is The Oldest Person in the World about?
Directed by Sam Green, the film follows successive holders of the oldest-living-person title and the people around them. Green and editor Aaron Wickenden filmed the title-holders over a decade; in a December 2, 2024 update, Green wrote that they had been filming for ten years and were shaping a first version of the movie. The project’s changing central subject makes the record itself part of the story: no single person can hold the title indefinitely.
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MetFilm Sales lists the film as an 87-minute production from the United States, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, France, Spain and England. Alison Byrne Fields and Josh Penn are credited as producers, and Yoni Brook as director of photography.
Why does Green connect the record to time and mortality?
The portraits expand beyond old age to Green’s own experience of family and loss, including his brother’s death and his son’s childhood. In an April 2026 interview with the International Documentary Association, Green said he was less interested in “folksy stories from old people” than in time as seen by people who have experienced a great deal of it, alongside his own experience of aging.
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Green described documentary-making as an attempt to preserve what cannot be held still: “The documentary impulse is to try to hold on to time. It is this river, and you’re trying to put a little dam up, and it’s hopeless. It’s a losing battle.” The film’s subject resists a definitive ending, too. As Green put it, “If you make a film about the oldest person in the world, two months later, it’s out of date.”
Is it a live documentary performance?
No. Green has made live documentary works, but he describes this one as a regular movie for conventional screenings. “I’ve always felt that the subject suggests the form,” he told the International Documentary Association, adding that he was happy for this film to “go out in the world the way regular movies do.” Its shifting record-holder premise is suited to a finished film that viewers can watch without a live performance.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.When did the film premiere, and where has it screened?
Catapult Film Fund records a 2026 world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival. MetFilm Sales lists a festival run that includes Sundance, True/False, CPH:DOX, SXSW, Full Frame and Hot Docs, among other events. Green’s April 2026 screening post included April and May festival and cinema dates; those dates have passed. The Siskel Film Center also listed a Chicago engagement from September 25 to October 1, 2026, which has ended.
Where can you watch it now?
The available listings establish festival and theatrical screenings during 2026, but do not establish current showtimes, a DVD or Blu-ray release, an Amazon edition or a streaming service. Check the official film screening page and local cinema or festival listings for newly announced dates; confirm that a listing is active before making plans.
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