Peter Mettler makes films that defy genres. His latest, Petropolis, which had its North American premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival, documents the Alberta Tar Sands, an environment turned into a wasteland in order to produce oil. Instead of offering a standard doc on the subject, Mettler has created an astonishingly beautiful art film that makes its point through aesthetics, not didactic politics. The viewer is given an aerial view of a land dominated by industrial machinery, toxic lakes and a grey, muddy, hazardous terrain. His roving camera reveals what is beyond the sands—trees, greenery and blue sky.

The methodology of Petropolis is pure Mettler: he shows images and assumes the viewer can make connections. Gambling, Gods and LSD (2002), his previous film and magnum opus to date, attempted the impossible. He proposed to document the ineffable—chance, ecstasy and the divine. Audiences worldwide were captivated by his risky approach and the wildly divergent stories he captured in a unique cinematic essay.

Since the release of Gambling, Gods, Mettler has been involved in meta-cinema projects, creating visuals to dance pieces and music. He has turned film into an instrument that can be played “live” with guitarists, dancers and DJs.

Working with director Jennifer Baichwal and producer Nick de Pencier in 2005 and 2006, he shot Manufactured Landscapes, an innovative look at his old compatriot from Ryerson College days, photographer Ed Burtynsky.

And he’s been working on a new film called End of Time.

In part one of a career-spanning interview, Mettler—who has worked with Atom Egoyan, Fred Frith, Robert Lepage and so many others—shares his thoughts about his work since Gambling, Gods with Point of View editor Marc Glassman.