Paradise Reloaded? Creation in the Anthropocene

Joseph Haydn's The Creation premiered in 1798. As a depiction and celebration of nature, Haydn's music was a public success. Since then, humanity has radically transformed the Earth system. We now live in a new geological epoch, the Anthropocene, raising the question of what nature and creation mean for us today.

The documentary follows a unique research project that uses Haydn's piece as a starting point for transdisciplinary encounters. The project was carried out by the Institute for Advanced Sustainability Studies (IASS) in collaboration with the UdK Berlin, the Junges Ensemble Berlin and three secondary schools in Berlin and Hamburg. Across several concerts, symposia and encounters, our protagonists examine and discuss themes such as nature and culture in the Anthropocene, sustainability, and historical and contemporary ideas about nature from both scientific and musical perspectives. Through participant observation, interviews and a sensitive handling of image, music and sound, the documentary brings this lively transdisciplinary and intergenerational exchange to life.