Adam and Eve… their story has become embedded in the collective western psyche. They are the primordial ancestors of Jews, Christians and Muslims, our shared inheritance, cultural touchstones for believers and unbelievers alike. It is a story we think we know, but do we? From earliest times, sages and scholars have examined the story, and with every generation have come new interpretations and surprising meanings. 

In the Beginning was Desire – recounts the ancient story in the contemporary medium of film. Too often we take the story for granted. Our film invites viewers to discover how Adam and Eve resonate with their own lives, focusing on what the first lovers can tell us about the relationship between men and women. 

In the Beginning was Desire revolves around the insights of Avivah Zornberg, the author, teacher, and scholar who for decades has reflected on the shifting meanings in stories from the Torah across centuries of rabbinic commentary. Steeped in the Biblical tales, Zornberg is an original thinker, drawing on midrashic interpretations that challenge conventional thinking. The story itself is rendered by the artist Naomie Kremer in unique, painterly animations, lush and suggestive, visual interpretations in which images emerge and reconfigure, unfolding in sumptuous layers. The images are mesmerizing, complementing the ideas, enticing viewers ever deeper into the story. In our bewildering time of shifting values, unspeakable violence, and spiritual confusion, Adam and Eve is a story that carries us into the heart of what it means to be human.