Trailer "CARBON, The Unauthorized Biography"
The Sound of "Carbon - The Unauthorized Biography"
Carbon is an element full of contradictions. The documentary reveals the last secrets of the versatile chemical element, which on the one hand gave rise to life, but on the other hand also has the ability to put an end to this life. "Carbon. A Story of Life and Death" tells how carbon was created when dying stars exploded. Statements by renowned scientists, fascinating animations and a breathtaking soundtrack combine to tell an extraordinary story of the universe, to which we humans have only contributed a comparatively small part.
The documentary explains how carbon was formed when dying stars exploded. It highlights the element's role in the origin of life as well as its role in the delicate balance of Earth's atmosphere and photosynthesis. Fascinating animations illustrate the transformations carbon undergoes, its importance, for example, in the formation of DNA and human metabolism, and how it passes from the Earth's core into the atmosphere in cycles lasting millions of years.
Internationally recognized experts such as astrophysicists Neil deGrasse Tyson and Tamara Davis, climate researchers Katharine Hayhoe and Will Steffen, forest ecologist Suzanne Simard, materials scientist Mark Miodownik and historian David Christian explain the complex relationships.
In the process, they take viewers from the origins of life to the technological achievements of modern civilization, which are largely powered by fossil fuels. They explain how the "plastic age" was able to emerge from the element carbon.
Today, however, as humans release massive amounts of CO2, the element is showing its dark side: as much as it contributed to the origin of life, its destructive power is also enormous. A new generation of scientists and entrepreneurs in the field of renewable energies are now striving to use carbon in an environmentally compatible way.