Alpine and foreign cultures

In the year 1809, the young Bavarian Katharina, daughter of a doctor, has to flee together with her husband Franz from his homeland Tyrol. Franz gets infected by the hype surrounding Andreas Hofer, a captain of the Tyrolean Schützen-company and a... more

This is the story of an almost 6000m high pass on the border between Tibet and Nepal, which has been the gate to freedom for thousands of Tibetan refugees, however, which also sometimes meant death. The report of a mountaineer, ten years ago, led... more

Dumitru Stanciu is one of the last mountain herdsmen in Europe. In summer and in winter, he drives his sheep herds across the far and wide landscape of the Transylvanian Carpathian Mountains, like his ancestors did for centuries, very close to the... more

With Jon, reindeer herder above the Arctic Circle, it's a particular nomadism we discover: traditional and modern life come together in search of a balance. In the lush mountains of Sarek Scandinavians, with the rhythm of migration, we share the... more

The farm of the Gufler family is located like an eagle’s nest, at an altitude of approximately 1700 metre, on a very steep slope at the end of the Passeier Valley in South Tyrol. Seven persons of three generations live there. Their farm can only... more

Together with the photographer Rui Camilo we travel to the West African island São Tomé and Príncipe – looking for pictures which are able to capture the soul of this tiny land. For Rui a dream of his childhood in Lisbon comes true, when his... more

The Chepang are considered as the original inhabitants of Nepal, now they are living in the south west of the land, in the valleys of the Maharabat Mountains. Far away from the tourist turbulences in the high mountains, they are living in simple... more

High up in the Himalayas, far away from modern civilisation, the people of the Lepcha live. They are the original inhabitants of Sikkim. They call themselves “the most amiable people in the world”. The Lepcha possess an important treasure which... more

The alpine hut „Hans-Berger-Haus“ is located at the very end of the valley Kaisertal near Kufstein. It is a romantic area, on rainy days very lonely, at a distance of two and a half hours of foot walk away from the busy modern world and its... more

“The Rice Paddy” is set in a village in southern China. The story is told by a 12-year-old girl named A Qiu who lives at the crossroads of tradition and the modern world. This touching psychological movie is filmed with villagers, non-professional... more

The arrival of white men in America in 1492 does not only mean the clash of two different worlds. The Europeans change the nature and the life in the New World, also for their own benefit. It was the biggest exchange of cultures in the world... more

Georgia was visited by William Osgood Field, an American geologist and glaciologist, in 1920-1930-s. He has captured over 500 ethnographic photos, three extremely valuable films and has written hundreds of papers regarding Georgia in that period,... more

Far away from any roads and from the modern comforts, a few mountain farmers live their archaic life in the Romanian Carpathians. This hidden mountain village is called Obcina and can only be reached on foot. Here the Cut family lives: father,... more