FAITH LOVE DESIRE - WORLD RELIGIONS AND SEXUALITY
Eros: divine gift or diabolical power? In every era and in all cultures it has always been clear that lust and desire are difficult to control, leading to disruption and conflict. They touch the dark depths of the psyche, always with irrational elements that make them a dangerous explosive force within society. Throughout the ages, therefore, all religions have striven to regiment people’s sex lives and to steer them into orderly channels, to avoid excesses and reign in base impulses by means of divine commandments. What stance is taken by the major religions of the world on sexuality and love in these fast-moving, turbulent times? What effect do the values prescribed by various religions have on love, marriage and sexual activity in our present day and age?
The three-part series Heaven on Earth explores this in five world religions: Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Buddhism and Hinduism. We visit young and adult believers in Tel Aviv, Cologne, Beirut, Berlin, Istanbul, New Delhi, Mumbai and Bangkok, revealing their pleasure and their conflict. A global odyssey charting a course between love’s intoxication and taboos and a fascinating exploration of life’s most intimate and beautiful side – a complex interplay between sex, power and cultural needs ...
Script: Heinz Greuling, Hilka Sinning
Director: Heinz Greuling, Hilka Sinning
Director of photography: Mathias Prause, Ralf Klingelhöfer
Sound: Kathrin Butzke, Ed Hoffmann
Editor: Christian Becker
Production Manager: Monika Mack, Rolf Bremenkamp
Producer: Birgit Schulz
Commissioning editors: Werner Grave (NDR), Uwe Borck (SWR), Andrea Ernst (WDR), Fridericke Sittler (RBB)
On behalf of NDR, SWR, WDR and RBB, 2013, 3 x 52 min / 3 x 45 min / 3 x 30 min documentary
World Sales: First Hand Films