Eternal youth, a human dream. In the last hundred years, industrialized nations have experienced a health revolution: people are living longer than ever before in human history. Deadly plagues and diseases were eradicated, and technological advances provided abundant food and easy mobility. But modern life is gradually giving birth to new diseases such as cancer and dementia, which we are trying to combat with ever greater use of science and technology. We are all getting older, but we all have to fear becoming seriously ill in old age. Would it be possible to grow old while maintaining the health of youth? In a few regions of the world, people seem to have the recipe for this. There are a noticeable number of centenarians here. Old people who are young at heart live with agility and alertness, work and party as if it were all effortless. What is her secret? In stylistically modern and cinematically high-quality images, the Fountain of Youth of the World series takes the viewer to five different regions of the world.

Abkhazia: Not a real state, but confidently declared independence from Georgia in a war. In this almost unknown country we can still experience today how an almost archaic extended family culture has formed a natural respect for elders. Fixed rules of life and a simple way of life allow people to grow old vitally here. The mild climate allows a wide range of fruits and vegetables to thrive. Free from artificial fertilizers and pesticides, people eat almost only what they have grown themselves. Garlic, chili and yogurt are part of the daily menu.

Director: Yousif Al-Chalabi
Script: Yousif Al-Chalabi
Camera: Yousif Al-Chalabi
Editing: Lena Rem, Guido Weyrauch, Daniel Paul Bier
Music: Christoph Schauer
Sound: Alexey Fedorov
Narrator: Erich Räuker
Editiorial staff: Pit Lehmann (MDR), Christian Cools (arte)
Production leads: Brigit Mulders, Bernd Schwarzer (MDR)
Prodcktion: Andrea Ufer
Stations: MDR/arte

– Episode 1 – Guanacaste, Costa Rica
– Folge 2 – Abchasien, Kaukasus
– Episode 3 – Campodimele, Italien
– Episode 4 – Hainan, China
– Episode 5 – Loma Linda, Kalifornien/USA