With exclusive access to major rock art sites on the Indonesian island of Sulawesi, Sulawesi, A New Origin Story, directed by Pascal Goblot and Denis van Waerebeke, takes audiences at the heart of one of the most significant archaeological breakthroughs of recent decades.

Recently revealed in the prestigious scientific journal Nature, new research has established the world’s oldest known cave imagery: negative hand stencils discovered in the Liang Metanduno cave, dated to at least 67,800 years old. Led by world-class researchers including Maxime Aubert, Adam Brumm and Adhi Agus Oktaviana, this discovery is redefining the global timeline of human creativity. By pushing back the origins of image-making by at least 15,000 years and challenging the long-held belief that art was born in Europe, the discovery is rewriting
The cultural history of Homo sapiens and opening new perspectives on early human migrations and cognitive evolution.

Combining high-end science storytelling, cinematic exploration and exclusive scientific content, Sulawesi, A New Origin Story offers broadcasters and platforms a premium factual programme with strong international audience appeal, positioned at the crossroads of archaeology, human origins and global history.

Produced by Zadig Productions and Escalenta for ARTE France, this newly completed 52′ documentary will premiere on ARTE in April 2026. ZED has already secured key international sales, with SBS (Australia) and UR (Sweden) on board, and the film is now launching across the international market, with additional territories currently available.