TerraForma tells the story of the remote volcanic island Ascension, which sat mostly barren for its first million years, largely devoid of flora and fauna, until its radical transformation by process of 'terraforming' into a tropical paradise. The Victorian naturalists –Darwin and Hooker– who transformed this island through planting reshaped the ecology to fit the political and economic demands of their society at the expense of what existed before. The new environment, seemingly a paradise, was a mirage. It was a mirror image of their ambition, empire, and understanding of the world. And, as such, it was doomed to fail. In this experimental documentary Kevin Brennan and Laurence Durkin bring together experts in the fields of geo-engineering, ecology, politics, and design, to reflect on what Ascension Island might means for our planet, as we face a future where terraformed landscapes and human-engineered environments are already shaping our understanding of 'nature' itself.

Supported by Zeitgeist Irland 24, an initiative of Culture Ireland and the Embassy of Ireland in Germany.