123Movies. The Garden of Eden is a 1984 American short documentary film directed by Roger M. Sherman. The film posits that in the next 30 years, 20% of all forms of life will cease to exist. It argues that it can be for good business to save the environment: discoveries in the plant, animal, and microbiology worlds show that what you might think of as unimportant could be the cure to a major disease, save an entire species of plant, or ward off pests. The film was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Short.