Anthropocene: The Human Epoch

Wednesday, September 25 - Thursday, October 10, 2019

Four years in the making, ANTHROPOCENE: THE HUMAN EPOCH is a visually arresting cinematic rumination on humanity’s recent, rapacious technological transformations of the Earth. This multiple award-winning documentary elaborates upon the ideas of the Anthropocene Working Group, international scientists who argue that since the mid-twentieth century, the world has entered the ‘Anthropocene Epoch,’ a new, uncharted historical era that is the result of humanity’s massive, invasive, environmentally dangerous impact on the planet.

Crossing the globe from Siberia to Kenya, Chile to Argentina, Canada to Germany, China to the United States, the filmmakers observe gargantuan open-pit mining, deforestation, chemical pollution, species extinction, and the already evident effects of climate change.

Meditative, occasionally humorous and, yes, hopeful, ANTHROPOCENE: THE HUMAN EPOCH is both timely and urgent. It will change the way you see the world: what you see here cannot be ‘unseen.’ Narrated by Alicia Vikander, this breathtakingly immersive film is a clarion call to rethink our relationship to our planet.

Official selection: Rogers Best Canadian Film 2018, Toronto Film Critics Association; Canada’s Top Ten 2018; Official Selection, Toronto Int’l Film Festival; Vancouver Int’l Film Festival; Festival du nouveau cinema de Montreal; Santa Barbara Int’l Film Festival; Sundance Film Festival; Berlin Int’l Film Festival


  • Country Canada
  • Language In English, Russian, Italian, German, Mandarin, and Cantonese with English subtitles.
  • Year 2018
  • Running Time 87 minutes
  • Distributor Kino Lorber
  • Director Jennifer Baichwal, Nicholas de Pencier, Edward Burtynsky
  • Cast Alicia Vikander (Narrator)
  • Accessibility Assistive Listening, T-Coil

IFC Center does not generally provide advisories about subject matter or potentially triggering content in films, as sensitivities vary from person to person. In addition to the synopses, trailers and other links on our website, further information about content and age-appropriateness for specific films can be found on Common Sense Media, IMDb and DoesTheDogDie.com as well as through general internet searches.