With the impact of human activity on the environment significant enough to trigger a mass extinction of species and climate change, some propose that Earth has transitioned from the Holocene to the Anthropocene, a new geological epoch marked by significant man-made changes. In Anthropocene: The Human Epoch, photographer Edward Burtynsky shoots majestic and colourful scenes of the planet from his signature bird’s-eye-view. Directors Jennifer Baichwal and Nicholas de Pencier further reveal that the sources of such visuals are pollution, industry, excessive mining, and poaching—all human activities. The production team traveled to twenty countries across six continents in four years to document the stunning yet alarming scenes. The filmmakers present their work as a poignant reality check, reflecting on humanity’s relationship with the Earth, as well as our power to destroy and obsession to take control.

Edward Burtynsky (b.1955, Canada) is an award-winning photographer and artist. His vast, richly detailed aerial photographs investigate the impacts of human industry on landscapes across the planet. His work has been collected by over eighty museums around the world. Amongst many awards and distinctions, Burtynsky has been honoured with the TED Prize, the Governer General’s Award in Visual, and Media Arts and the Rogers Best Canadian Film Award.

Jennifer Baichwal (b. 1965, Canada) is a filmmaker, writer, and producer. With a career spanning twenty-five years, she has created films, documentaries, and installations which have won multiple awards and have been featured internationally. Baichwal taught film at at various institutions in the United States. Alongside her spouse Pencier, she received a Genie Award for Best Documentary Film for Manufactured Landscapes (2006) in 2007, and a Canadian Screen Award for Watermark (2013) in 2014.

Nicholas de Pencier is a documentary director, producer, and cinematographer. He is the spouse and professional partner of Baichwal, with whom he has worked on Long Time Running (2017), Manufactured Landscapes (2006), Watermark (2013), and Anthropocene: The Human Epoch (2018). In 2010, he was an Emmy Award nominee for Outstanding Nature Programming for The Incredible Journey of the Butterflies (2009).