Origines — discover the OST

Origines, the documentary series directed by roman hill, is now available on arte.tv. Co-produced by arte and iko and narrated by audrey stupovski, it blends scientific insight with large-scale visual poetry — written in collaboration with astrophysicist david elbaz, alongside authors corentin duval and thomas cadène, with music signed by jonathan fitas.

Since the big bang 13.8 billion years ago, light has shaped the universe into ever more complex structures — stars, galaxies, clusters, nebulae, black holes. Rather than render these through traditional astrophysical imagery, origines uses a visual language hill developed himself: through macro cinematography he captures liquids, pigments, chemical reactions and light in motion, evoking the behaviour of astronomical entities at unimaginable scales.

The result is a hybrid experience — part documentary, part abstract visual meditation, part immersive art piece — inviting viewers to witness the birth and evolution of the universe through the narration of light.

Jonathan fitas’s score plays a structural role in shaping the emotional and narrative rhythm of the series, moving between felt piano, soft strings and expansive electronic textures — a soundscape that mirrors the tension between cosmic violence and delicate emergence.

Beyond instrumentation, what binds director and composer is a shared experimental approach. Just as hill makes his cosmic imagery through hands-on experiments with liquids, pigments and light, fitas builds much of his musical language through sound experiments — field recordings, manipulated textures, layers of processed audio. Both build worlds from materiality, transformation and chance.

Not merely accompanying the images, but actively shaping the viewer’s emotional trajectory.

To accompany the release, the full soundtrack is out now — seventeen carefully arranged pieces, including extended versions designed to let listeners re-experience the series with their eyes closed. In these longer forms, the score becomes not a companion to the images but a standalone immersive journey.