Welcome to the weird and wonderful world of the human ecosystem. Everyone of us is a world of its own – a human habitat with the most amazing landscapes and environments: You are like a planet with 100 trillion inhabitants. These alien creatures control everything we do. In fact we couldn’t live without them. 90 […]
This documentary tells about one of the biggest events in the history of our biosphere: the Cambrian explosion of life. The antecedents and results of this bioevent are presented by travelling to famous palaeontological sites in Wales, Canada, China, Siberia and Spain. Sites with exceptional preservation are key to reconstruct the Cambrian “wonderful life”.
An introduction to the strange new world of Nanoscience, narrated by Stephen Fry. The film was shot in collaboration with the Nanoscience Centre at the University of Cambridge and features researchers there involved in exploring the cutting edge of the world of Nano, from brain cancer killing nano-particles to electronics you can stretch.
Yacouba Sawadogo, an illiterate peasant farmer from Africa, has succeeded where international agencies failed. Over the last twenty years he has become a pioneer in the fight against desertification and hunger. Yacouba’s struggle is pure, inspiring drama. One man’s determined efforts now have the potential to benefit many thousands.
At a time when the world focuses on the best ways to work on sustainable energy, life is not easy for flying heavy carriers, and charter airliners. Differently from electric buses, hybrid cars and magnetic trains, planes are still flying with the polluting kerosene. What if the revolution came out of a barn, like the […]
Until recently the deep-sea plain was considered a dead wasteland. Nowadays, however, researchers are discovering huge deposits of raw materials – gold, copper, oil and gas. This documentary highlights, for the first time, projects which aim to exploit the treasures of the depths. There are no borderlines on the high seas.The threat of political conflict, […]
Damage to the human brain can reveal deep insights into questions about our personal identity and disability. Three survivors of acute trauma to the brain undertake a journey of rehabilitation and self-discovery in this unique documentary.
Belgian scientists are back in the Antarctic, and this is a historical event. But before all it is a formidable human, scientific and technological adventure, through the most extreme continent of our planet. To build a permanent, innovative and non polluting research base was an enourmous challenge, and Matiere Grise was there to tell its […]
It is during a journey to the Galapagos that Charles Darwin made his first observation that led him to his famous theory of evolution. But his first insights came after another trip, this time to Patagonia, at the extreme south of Argentina and Chile. Today, other scientists follow the steps of Charles Darwin in this […]
Drawing on ancient knowledge and cutting edge science, Symphony of the Soil is an artistic exploration of the miraculous substance of soil. By understanding the elaborate relationships and mutuality between soil, water, the atmosphere, plants and animals, we come to appreciate the complex and dynamic nature of this precious resource.
Portrait of a Winemaker: John Williams of Frog’s Leap is a brief look at this pioneering winemaker and his unique dry farming method which increases soil fertility and capacity for water retention, while producing more flavorful wines.
Sekem Vision is a vibrant look at this model of sustainable community development which emerged through the cultivation of healthy soil.
Transition Town Totnes is a short film that delves into the origins of the Transition movement with founder Rob Hopkins, interviewed in one of the original Transition Towns, Totnes, England.
A Thousand Suns’ tells the story of the Gamo Highlands of the African Rift Valley and the unique worldview held by the people of the region.
The film by the award-winning director Florian Guthknecht (including producer of “Lord Howe – The Lost Paradise”) followed scientists on research vessels for two years, mapping their way across the world’s oceans to the hotspots of deep sea. The film depicts “life on the edge” in many ways – when at 600 meters depth the […]
Their appearance is so horrific that they were still considered sea monsters in the last century. However the up to twelve-metre-long basking sharks are peaceful plankton eaters and they face extinction. Only 8000 –so estimated- swim as restless vagabonds through the oceans. Nobody knows where and when they will appear!
A documentary about the search for personal freedom, about the right of desicion, about humbleness and faith and the necessary civic disobedience. The document makers took two years to collect footage of people suffering from cancer and multiple sclerosis who use hemp as medication.
Meet the mob of ‘street smart’ kangaroos moving into Australia’s capital city and the ecologists following their every move. KANGAROO MOB is a warm and entertaining look at what happens when human development encroaches on wildlife habitat and two very different species are forced to co-exist.
Would a tree be able, by itself, to heal all diseases? In India, there’s a famous virtuous tree known since ancient times for its healing powers. Its name: the Neem. In the most remote villages, but also in the huge high tech cities, this tree is called “the pharmacy”. What are its secrets? Follow us […]
In India, how can people manage to feed a huge population without any technical or financial needs? How can we build a more sustainable world while remaining efficient? Imagine an ecological canteen, able to feed up to 50.000 persons every day without using electricity. This is possible thanks to solar energy and a bit of […]
One British scientist has laboured for over 25 years to prove an alternative to slash and burn farming in the world’s rainforests. It could save more carbon emissions annually than all global air transport and revolutionise farming, but will the world listen in time?
Flowers. Trees. Plants. We’ve always thought that we controlled them. But what if, in fact, they have been shaping us? Using this provocative question as a jumping off point, The Botany of Desire takes us on an eye-opening exploration of our relationship with the natural world—seen from the plants’ point of view.
Oceans are rapidly becoming the world’s rubbish dump. Every km of ocean now contains an average of 74,000 pieces of plastic. A ‘plastic soup’ of waste, killing hundreds of thousands of animals every year and leaching chemicals slowly up the food chain. What will be the long term impact of this ’plastic pollution’? Can anything […]
ROBOT WORLD depicts the evolution of robots from a mechanical somnambulist to an autonomous sensorium. The neoclassical violinist Matt Howden emphasizes the film’s message: these artificial people are our alternate doubles.
A videorecording of a performance that took place in Prague on 28th April 2011.
What keeps a 21st century metropolis clean and sparkling? Even as we hover on the brink of a monumental eco-crisis, an army of truck drivers, scientists, environmentalists, gardeners and even a famous chef are working to transform the mountains of stuff we throw away into something valuable again.
Almost a century after the “rediscovery of Medel” there is still a lot to discover and add. The permanent study of his ingenious method of scientific work and thinking makes us reconsider our existing ideas about evolution, about science and technology, about the possibilities of human knowledge. In other words, about the world around us […]
Epigenetics, the study of flexibililty of all living genes (animal, plant), explains the natural adaptability of life and specifies the borderline between nature and nurture. New epigenetic therapies hold the promise to cure obesity, cancer and neuro-degenerative diseases such as Alzheimer or Parkinson.
Investigators from the Environmental Investigation Agency go undercover to follow the trail of logs being illegally smuggled from Laos over the border to neighbouring Vietnam, which in turns supplies markets in Europe and the USA. Using covert filming to piece together the evidence, their findings point the finger at a surprising culprit – the Vietnamese […]
Military technology has always been subject to confidentiality obligations. However the United States Department of Defence has launched the UARC project, a project of collaboration of individual army units with various universities the goal of which is to make certain military technologies available for civil use. One example is the cooperation of NASA and the […]
Military technology has always been subject to confidentiality obligations. However the United States Department of Defence has launched the UARC project, a project of collaboration of individual army units with various universities the goal of which is to make certain military technologies available for civil use. One example is the cooperation of NASA and the […]
Military technology has always been subject to confidentiality obligations. However the United States Department of Defence has launched the UARC project, a project of collaboration of individual army units with various universities the goal of which is to make certain military technologies available for civil use. One example is the cooperation of NASA and the […]
Better Safe than Sorry: A Focus on Food is an inside look at what’s being done to safeguard our food supply, from the farm to the fork. You’ll meet researchers from the University of California, Davis, who are uncovering the ways that outbreaks of foodborne illness occur, and a family that knows all too well […]
Today’s zoo veterinarian serves as both doctor and defender. Wildlife docs Ray Wack and Scott Larsen, attending vets at the Sacramento (Calif.) Zoo, also serve on the faculty of the University of California, Davis, School of Veterinary Medicine. Captive Audience explores the challenges these doctors face and the role that zoos play today in conservation.
A feature length documentary with captivating imagery of three islands at the mercy of global warming. The film documents the endangered culture and livelihoods in Tuvalu in the South Pacific, Venice in Italy, and Shishmaref in Alaska. The film won Asian Cinema Fund AND Award at Pusan International Film Festival and opened in theaters in […]
On the 7th February 2009, bushfires tore through Victoria, Australia. The fires killed 173 people; destroyed over 2,000 homes and incinerated swathes of prime forest and its wildlife. Fires, though, are a natural process and these mountain forests need fire to regenerate. Told in beautiful cinematography, this is the story of how Nature rises out […]
The 2011 Nobel Prize for Physics was awarded to Saul Perlmutter, Brian Schmidt and Adam Riess, the discoverers of “dark energy.”Dark energy is a force counteracting gravity: its functioning is unexplained by the conventional laws of physics and it is sometimes referred to as “antigravity.” This documentary provides a behind-the-scenes look at “the discovery of […]
At age 87, Grandma Kuniko Shiiba is the only person in Japan who continues to practice a traditional and sustainable form of slash-and-burn agriculture. We spend a year in the forest with her, learning through her eyes and the eyes of a snail, of edible and medicinal plants, mountain and fire spirits, crop cultivation, and […]
This is a “medical infotainment show,” in which a group of four medical interns try to reach a correct diagnosis by watching a video of a patient who suffers puzzling physical symptoms. Can the young doctors identify his condition and set him on the road to recovery?
In these environments, micro-organisms rule. In order to thrive, certain animals have made strange adaptations. Scientists are studying how they manage to live in water as acid as vinegar or as alkaline as washing powder.
At temperatures above 50 degrees Celsius, life is lived at the extreme. To survive, certain animals have undergone some strange adaptations. In the hottest zones on the planet, scientists are studying how life has managed to develop between 50 and 120 degrees.
In cold environments, micro-organisms rule. They form the basis of a fragile ecosystem threatened by global warming. Scientists are studying how these species manage to survive in environments as unstable and ephemeral as snow and ice.
In these environments, micro-organisms rule. Certain animals have strange adaptations such as skin that is totally white or even transparent. Others are blind. Scientists are studying how these species manage to survive with so little oxygen, food and light in the most inhospitable caves on the planet.
Located on the edge of the Arctic Ocean, Greenland is almost totally covered by a vast glacier; the ice sheet. Fascinated by this place, Serge Aviotte organizes his 14th expedition, on which scientific research meets sporting exploit. Accompanied by a team of arctic explorers and scientists, this expedition makes for a breathtaking human adventure.
Animals are among the everyday “tools” used by medical research institutes and pharmaceutical, virology and toxicology laboratories. At the same time, advances in knowledge and technology have little by little enabled the conception and development of alternative methods that avoid the recourse to animal experimentation.
Take off with the mythical winged giant of the Alps: the Bearded Vulture. Only 30 years after the start of its reintroduction program, men and women struggle to keep this emblematic species alive and at home in the Alps.
Global warming of 5°C for the Alps – this forecast will become reality within the 21st century. Biologists expect that in Central Europe one out of every four bird species will die out. But warmer temperatures will also attract new species from the south.
The film shows what colour really is and compares it to that of other creatures: some who see less colour than us – and some who see more: insects that can see ultraviolet light, snakes that sense invisible infrared radiation and birds whose colour vision is far more sensitive than ours.
25 years after the big nuclear accident, wolves reign over the radioactively contaminated no-man’s-land, the so-called exclusion zone of Chernobyl which stretches from Ukraine into Belarus and Russia. Rumors about wolves in the zone have been numerous, but many questions are as yet unanswered: How many wolves are there really in this area? How are […]
They are the world’s most brilliant architects: termites. Adjusting for the size of their builders, termite mounds are up to 25 times higher than the Empire State Building in New York. Yet the interior of these complex, beautifully designed structures is even more fascinating.
Iceland is hunting endangered fin whales, despite the absence of a domestic market for the resulting meat and blubber; piecing together the evidence, the undercover investigators follow the trail to Japan where they discover a new trade in fin whale is being established with the help of Iceland’s whaling kingpin.
Scientists all over the world are trying to solve the mystery of so-called swarm intelligence. They want to understand how simple behaviour of many individuals can yield a certain very effective collective intelligence, which is radically different from human intelligence. The film takes us to the mysterious and complex world of swarms and at the […]
Bikpela Bagarap (Big Damage) reveals the human face of logging in Papua New Guinea. It is a tale of exploitation and broken promises, where local people are treated as second-rate citizens in their own country by Malaysian logging companies and corrupt politicians.
Have you ever wondered what happens to your electronics at the end of their life? Without dialogue or narration, this film presents a visual portrait of unregulated e-waste (electronic waste) recycling in Ghana, West Africa, where electronics are not seen for what they once were, but rather for what they have become.
Allotment Gardens are small plots of land made available for individual gardening, and organized in a community. In the south of Luxembourg, this tradition is still very alive, and linked to its industrial past. In this personal film, allotments are seen as a microcosm, reflecting larger soci-cultural issues. Filmed over four seasons, « Garden Stories […]
Scientists and doctors as well as the winner of various singing competitions, Jana Kirchner, will uncover for us the entrance to the magical world. A film about science and scientists for the widest public has the ambition to attract the audiences so that they obtain information they could otherwise not access.
The film is an answer to the surprise of not only the student from New Zealand to whom the Košice University was suggested as the best of all world universities for the topic of his studies, but also an answer to a viewer who asks “What else could those scientists of ours discover?” Especially in […]
The original title “Agrobiodiversity” changed in the spirit of the approach to the whole subject and form of treatment of the scientific topic. The “scenic and content diversity” of the film is further enriched by the humour of Ján Kuric from the Vidiek musical group. We want the viewers to realize something they would not […]
Kingdom of the Forest, shot in stunning HD, explores the wildlife of Europe’s primeval forests. The full range of charismatic mammals and birds are captured, with fascinating insights into their behaviour. Kingdom of the Forest also explores the hidden elements of the woodlands, using timelapse, super slow-motion and extreme macro photography. Incredible footage of plant […]
The rain forests in northern Congo, where tropical timber is cut, are also home to the western lowland gorilla. The documentary by Thomas Weidenbach shows that the preservation of gorillas and forestry are compatible. He spent a week filming in the forests of northern Congo. Unique footage of gorillas originated along with shots of the […]
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