How Death Came to Earth

How Death Came to Earth retells an Indian origin myth through a short, surreal animated fable. In its 14 minutes, a community that once knew no death encounters forces and choices that introduce mortality into the world. The story unfolds in ritual vignettes and symbolic episodes rather than conventional scenes, so meaning is carried more by imagery than dialogue. Characters act like archetypes, and the film relies on pattern, rhythm, and visual metaphor to suggest how loss and the idea of death enter human life. It sticks close to its folkloric source, offering a mood piece that feels like a myth rendered in motion instead of a straightforward narrative.

Released in 1971, the 14 minute cutout animation was directed by Ishu Patel and produced by the National Film Board of Canada. Patel adapted elements of Indian folklore and used handcrafted collage techniques to create a distinctive, tactile look.

There are no widely reported major awards tied to this short, though it remains part of the NFB's notable catalog of experimental shorts. Over time it has surfaced in festival programs and academic screenings that focus on international animation and mythic storytelling, rather than as a headline-winning prize film.

The film's psychedelic, collage-like visuals and inventive cutout technique make it memorable among animation students and fans of experimental cinema. Its striking patterns and color palettes are often mentioned in conversations about the NFB's willingness to fund noncommercial, culturally specific projects in the early 1970s, and it gets cited when people discuss cinematic treatments of South Asian folklore.

Critical and audience response is modest but favorable within a niche audience, reflected in a small number of ratings that average about 7.0 out of 10. Viewers who like experimental shorts praise the imagery and atmosphere. Thematically it focuses on creation, mortality, fate, and the cultural means by which societies explain death, choosing symbolic representation over explicit moralizing.