Nature and Environment

No matter whether it grows on sandy ground along the sea coasts or on sheer rock high up in the mountains, whether on swampy lowlands along the rivers and streams or on sunny hillsides: with its up to 4,500 species of flora and mushrooms and its... more

The ice bear in the Viennese zoo Schönbrunn enjoys a wonderful life. He can lie around dreaming of his fellows in Greenland, who have to struggle hard to survive. In the times of global warming and melting polar ice, the living space of the polar... more

Lessons at school are boring and ineffective. A German institute for polar and sea research didn’t want to accept this fact without acting. Two days a week, twenty pupils go to school at the research centre. They learn their subject matters in... more

At the beginning of the 3rd millennium, many animal species of our planet are almost extirpated. Some of those species have retired into the few untouched regions on earth and have not been seen again for years. Andreas Kieling sets off to look... more

The Indian tigers are the most popular cats of prey in the world, they are the national symbol of six nations and since more than thirty years they have been severely protected. However, this is exactly the reason, why they are a target of avidity... more

The series „Wildes Russland“ shows for the first time the nature of this huge country with its original landscapes and its incomparable fauna and flora. On the peninsula Kamchatka, fire meets ice. The land constantly reforms itself, in a dramatic... more

In 1954, on January 11, an avalanche in Blons, in the Austrian Province of Vorarlberg, caused the death of 57 persons. This disaster had a deeper impact on the life of people living in areas endangered by avalanches than the catastrophe of Galtür... more

The island of Madre de Dios in Patagonia is nearly uninhabited and almost unexplored. In 2006, a group of scientific cavers discovered the skeleton of a giant whale in the vast entrance of a cave on the shores of the Pacific. The current sea-level... more

The volcanologist Ludmilla Ossipenko lives in Petropawlowsk, the largest city of Kamchatka. Located here is the leading scientific volcano institute of Soviet times, for whose magazine Ludmilla is working. Together with a team of researchers,... more

Deep gorges, vast swamplands, dense forests – the south eastern part of Europe is wild and pristine. The violent story of the Balkan has obstructed the view to the treasure of this country for thousands of years. “Wilder Balkan” invites the... more

People come to Yellowstone primarily because of the unusual thermal features and opportunities to view wildlife - often not realizing they are standing on one of the world’s largest active volcanoes. The film presents a lyrical interpretation of... more

Every year, the white splendour evokes a winter fairy tale and recalls numerous childhood memories. Though, some things never change. As soon as the first white flocks fall from the sky, the first snowball fights take place and skiing and snow... more

The documentary „Pottwal Ahoi“ is not the usual animal film. Thanks to the combination of scientific data research and a modern 3D animation, it has the very first time become possible to get an insight into the mysterious deep sea world of the... more

For six weeks we explored the Antarctic Peninsula by sea kayak, sailboat, foot and small plane, observing the fast changing evolution of this most remote place. Impacted by climate change this part of Antarctica is also experiencing a boom in... more

Trying to ban the size and the power of the central Alps on celluloid is a true challenge. Together with his team of students, Peter C. Slansky from the University of Television and Film in Munich has portrayed summits and cloud formations in... more

For a long time already, the third-largest cat of the world has had to struggle for survival on the American continent. Today, there are still some 8,000 jaguars in the Brasilian Pantanal, a huge mosaic landscape made of rivers, forests and... more

For many centuries, the valleys around the Sella hibernated even in summer time. However, with the construction of the road to the Dolomites at the end of the 19th century, the tourist and economic development started. The famous Sella-Ronda, a... more

We accompany the film team to north east Siberia, where it is so cold, that the milk is not sold fluid in bottles but frozen in discs. In the North-American Death Valley and in the African Danakil Desert we experience the opposite extreme, which... more

The Bristol Bay region of Alaska is home to the Kvichak and Nushagak rivers, the two most prolific sockeye salmon runs left in the world. Now, two foreign mining companies have partnered to develop one of the world’s largest open-pit and... more

It is rather dangerous to walk under palm trees in Sri Lanka. For there quite a lot of people die because of falling coconuts. Nevertheless, the coconut palm is called “tree of life” on this island. Why this is so, is explained in this film... more

The yew forest at Paterzell is one of the oldest nature protection areas in Bavaria. The wild forest on the foothills of the Alps contains the certainly greatest number of yew-trees in Germany and, literally spoken, is quite something. Whoever... more

Although they can grow to a length of up to eight metres, and although their saw is one of the most spectacular weapons within the fauna, we know almost nothing about sawfish. This is the reason why: before one could begin to explore them, the... more

Giving an insight into thrilling projects on the whole world and into the current standards of deep sea research, this film proves that there are still many things to be explored on our planet. It shows that the unknown deep-sea world has always... more

For a long time, the karst area has been the most hostile place between Vienna and Triest. Its underground consists of huge cave domes, is divided by torrential rivers and has influenced Dante’s idea of hell. This film presents nature and humans,... more

For Michael Chase it has always been an overwhelming experience to be close to the grey giants. Since years, he has equipped the elephants with neckbands plus transmitter in order to explore their hiking paths. With its approximately 130,000... more

The history of Greina is very ancient. Its enchanting rocks talk about distant times. A journey through the upland, between myth and reality, a journey through the clashes between Ticinesi and Grigionesi to conquer this marvellous region. A... more

By the 1970ies, the beavers had virtually disappeared in huge parts of Europe. Then the first attempts to resettle the animals along the Danube near Vienna were undertaken. Starting from there, the offspring of these animals have conquered new... more

„Gomules“, gnoms, lurk in the crater caves of the smoking volcanoes. When they are hungry, the hunt whales in the Pacific Ocean, catch the animals with their huge lance-like fingers and roast them on the mighty fires in the craters of the... more

The series „Wildes Russland“ shows for the first time the nature of this huge country with its original landscapes and its incomparable fauna and flora. Situated between Europe and Asia, between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, enormous mountain... more

The forest is a place which seems familiar, however, some of its secrets still remain undisclosed. The forest is at the same time a paradise for animals as well as a hostile realm of shadows. Meanwhile we slowly realize: a true natural wood needs... more

Italy’s longest river, the Po, has created one of the biggest deltas in Europe at its estuary. Where river and sea meet, there is an eternal struggle going on for the new land. For a long time, the river was able to resist against the sea by... more

The land of the fjords is located in the south west of New Zealand. Once a year, conservationists navigate on the roads of water to those islands, which usually are barred from visitors. Here the dream of many conservationists in New Zealand has... more

Ever since the times of the Zars, the national park Lagodechi on the southern side of the Caucasus has been a protected area. In addition to many other animals which live in the high mountains, the east Caucasian ibex is looked after carefully. In... more