At 117, the world's oldest person becomes a cinema story
After ten years tracking the title of world's oldest person, Oscar-nominated director Sam Green has brought the search to cinemas.
His documentary The Oldest Person in the World opened on 10 September in New York City, then began a theatrical run — a booked run in cinemas — in Los Angeles and San Francisco, according to Deadline. Green described the film as the result of a decade following holders of the oldest-person record.
The film is about whoever is the oldest living human being at any given time, as reported by Deadline. It was produced by Alison Byrne Fields and runs for 1 hour 27 minutes. It is rated Not Rated, according to the New York Times.
That title now belongs to Ethel Caterham of Shipton Bellinger, Hampshire, England, who turned 117 in August, Deadline reports. She was born on 21 August 1909 and celebrated her 117th birthday on 21 August 2026 in Lightwater, according to Guinness World Records and the BBC. She is recognised by Guinness World Records as the oldest person living.
Caterham holds a run of national records. She is the first Brit to reach 117 and the first British person to turn 116, and she is the United Kingdom's oldest ever person, according to Guinness World Records. She became the world's oldest person at 115 years and 252 days, a status confirmed by LongeviQuest. She survived Covid at age 110, the BBC reports.
She succeeded Inah Canabarro Lucas, a Brazilian nun who died in 2025 at the age of 116, Deadline reports.
The film reached cinemas through the festival circuit. It premiered at the Sundance Film Festival, then screened at True/False. It opened the 2026 Full Frame Documentary Film Festival, which ran 16-19 April in downtown Durham, according to Deadline.
Green has also discussed the project on Deadline's Doc Talk podcast, hosted by John Ridley and Matt Carey. Doc Talk is a production of Deadline and John Ridley's Nō Studios.
What makes this stand out for cinema-goers is the turnover at the centre. The subject changes while the camera is still running, because the record passes from one life to the next.
