Time travel is real*

Over the last 50 years a handful of film historians and directors have claimed to have seen a documentary film from 1967 that contains anachronistic footage.

This subject would occasionally come up at Hollywood dinner parties in the 1990s after most of the guests had gone home: a documentary film from the mid 20th century that appears to accurately portray the near future. It was rumored David Lynch had seen it. Also John Irvin.

Most, however, considered this film a legend. I did too. Until last year. In December 2025 I bought an unlabeled film reel at an estate sale in Burbank, CA. It was at an elegant Spanish Revival home once owned by UK documentarian John Read, known for his work with sculptor Henry Moore.

Curious about what might be on the film reel, I proceeded to scan the 16mm footage into a digital format. What I saw shook me to the core. It convinced me that not only is time travel a real possibility, but that we have been blind as a species to powerful cultural and psychological forces that threaten our very existence.

I invite you to consider this film, the disturbing truths it reveals about who we are, and the clues it gives us about who we might become.

- Derf Elknirps

PASSWORD: timetravel

*When we hold an object from the past, like an old coin, or an old film, we have an opportunity to remember those who lived before us. In that moment we are afforded an opportunity to learn from the past so we don’t repeat the same mistakes in the future.