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ZENITH
EP. 8. Zenith – Advances in Space Exploration reveals these latest developments and the implications they hold for all of us.
GALLA WALLAH: THE SEARCH FOR THE BEST
The valleys of Nepal, around the Himalayan Mountains - the highest in the world - are the home of a special group of people callled the Ghurkhas. Because of the discipline and endurance they exhibit in their daily fight for survival, they are employed in the elite battalion of the British Army. For more than 200 years, the Ghurkhas have served the crown. Every year, more than 25,000 people apply for a position as a Ghurkhas, with only a few lucky ones chosen. For the chosen ones, it feels as though they have hit the jackpot. For the others, it is considered to be the worst defeat of their life.
THE MYSTERY OF THE DISAPPEARING BEES
An investigation into a worldwide ecological disaster that could endanger the whole of humanity. The future of our food resources depends on one small insect - the western honey bee, or Apis mellifera. Indeed, it is the most important agricultural pollinator on our planet given that one third of our food supply depends directly on pollination from bees. This documentary tells the story of a worldwide ecological disaster that has been waiting to happen for several generations. It was filmed over an 18-month period in France, Germany, the U.S., Canada and Scotland and retraces the various leads carried out by research scientists in order to try and understand and to stop the declining numbers of domestic and wild bees. Scientists are not the only professionals to figure at the centre of this drama. Beekeepers are in the front line, and striking contrasts exist among beekeepers' experiences in different countries, in various economic situations. The documentary seeks to understand how the long-enjoyed harmonious relationship between man and bee has now undergone such a radical change. It seeks to find a solution that goes beyond science. A solution that cannot be found without thoroughly re-examining our agricultural practice and our model of society. Can we rise to the challenge? Awards : 2011 : Star of the SCAM (France). 2012 : Jade Kunlun Awards
NEW FRONTIER
RETURN TO THE MOON. The Moon, our closest celestial companion. Our indispensible dance partner through the cosmos. Lighting our night sky and gently tugging at our shores. Few have walked on her surface, though her allure remains strong, once again we are glancing her way with renewed interest and with a view to return very soon.
PAST HUNTERS
S1 EP 06: DRAKELOW TUNNELS. The Drakelow Tunnels are a former underground military complexused mainly for storage. However, during the construction and running of this facility, 6 people are thought to have died. It is believed most of the hauntings that occur here are from the very people that died here.
TUNING 2 YOU: INDIA'S LOST MUSICIANS
WEST BENGAL. Soumik arrives in the city of joy Kolkata in search of his musical roots and puts together his team. They head into the villages in search of travelling minstrels known as Bauls. Their journey leads them deeper into impoverished rural hinterlands where an old man sings under his broken down house. These musicians are driven by deep faith and extraordinary spiritual resilience. Their daughters sing and children learn deep lessons in simple words.
TUNING 2 YOU: INDIA'S LOST MUSICIANS
RAJASTHAN. In Ajmer, Soumik meets Qawwali group who invite him to play inside the spectactular Ajmer Sharif Darga. He crashes a wedding, jams with tribal drummers, escapes from the police and discovers a group of women singers who have never left their village but who would like to travel and sing in the cities.
NEW YORK
THE WORLD'S SMALLEST OPERA HOUSE. "If you can make it there, you can make it anywhere". That's the vision people from all over the world have of New York. This report takes a look behind the scenes of the world's smallest opera house, in the heart of New York. Tony Amato, the son of an Italian butcher, thought when he came to New York in the 40s that he could make it too by realizing his dream of owning an opera house. The house is 3 stories high and three windows wide. The hall feels no bigger than a living room, however its 107 seats are always sold out. Tony Amato continues to be the center and linchpin of this miniature opera. Tony is barely 5 foot tall, with his sneakers and the small, wiry man seems to be held up by his pant-suspenders. His voice is persuasive, his eyes bright. He conducts, sings, jumps, laughs and grumbles all at once. At 88 years of age, Maestro Tony Amato is in the middle of the season's last production.
MINDWORKS
VISUAL PERCEPTION. Understanding how we think and see by playing games with our brains. This factual entertainment series explores the way we see and interpret the world around us with engaging tests, activities, demonstrations and explanations. In each episode we experience visual and audio illusions, sensory puzzles and brain tricks from the worlds of art, science, nature and psychology and learn why they baffle our senses.
MINDWORKS
ALTERED VIEWS. Understanding how we think and see by playing games with our brains. This factual entertainment series explores the way we see and interpret the world around us with engaging tests, activities, demonstrations and explanations. In each episode we experience visual and audio illusions, sensory puzzles and brain tricks from the worlds of art, science, nature and psychology and learn why they baffle our senses.
THE POLAR SCHOOL OF NOMAD CHILDREN
360° GEO- Report visits the Nenets, the last true nomads on earth, on their remote Russian peninsula. Every August, on the Russian polar peninsula of Yamal, children of reindeer shepherds await a helicopter that will bring them back to school after the summer holidays. For the main part of the year, 600 nomad children from the indigenous people of the Nenet live and learn separated from their parents. Up until now, their home Yamal was an of Russia that was far from any semblance of civilization- until an enormous gas pool was discovered beneath the tundra. Now, destroyed nature and gigantic industrial plants are a common sight along the nomad's track - but this industrial development is also offering new opportunities to their children.
SPITSBERGEN
ICY ISLAND. 360° GEO - Report attended German supplier Rupert Krapp, on his tours through the rough landscape and picturesque fjords of Spitsbergen.The Arctic autumn is short. As early as the end of September the inhabitants of Spitsbergen prepare themselves for the long dark winter. Those who can leave the island. But a small group of people stays, mostly comprised of students, scientists and logisticians: among them is Rupert Krapp.Since late 1999, he has been living in Longyearbyen, the largest settlement on the main island. From here, he delivers goods to all those requiring supplies at their solitary stations and on their scientific research vessels.
MEDITERRANEAN, IN THE CETACEAN FOOTSTEPS
This documentary explores the paths of knowledge of Mediterranean Cetaceans. With scientists, veterinarians, representatives of associations, amateur or professional fishermen, we discover these mammals as well as major issues looming over their presence in this particular area of the globe. Through their very survival in the Mediterranean Sea we have a natural barometer of the "health level" of the local ecosystem. We focus on follow various peoples during their missions on a daily basis. All with a clear stated desire in mind, that being to look through the prism of this human mosaic working on the species survival... and thus contributing on sustainable development. This assembly has the potential to increase by tenfold the general public interest towards these sea creatures.
INDIA THE LARGEST SCHOOL MEAL IN THE WORLD
The Indian NGO Akshaya Patra runs 17 industrial kitchens in eight Indian states, and feeds 120 million students. These are children whose parents cannot afford a warm meal for their offspring. In the city of Hubli-Dharwad alone, 180,000 children are catered for every day : chefs and assistants prepare 250.000 naans, 4 tons of rice and 6 tons of vegetables within only a few hours with a multitude of pots simmering all night long. A myriad of drivers then shuttle the food to the schools - an extraordinary logistic and organizational achievement.
THE ISLANDERS
ZANZIBAR, TANZANIA. Discovering some the world’s hidden treasures by revealing the hidden face of life and the inhabitants of the islands. Island folk are generally proud of their insularity and their distinct sense of identity. A rich cocktail of history, customs, cuisine and economic resources distinguishes the island people and the nature and beaches that surround them. Our documentaries explore the varied and often little known lifestyles and peculiarities on the twenty featured islands. The approach so effectively used during our series on beaches and coastal areas, is here recreated, each program a mix of stunning visuals and interviews, which together highlight the exotic and uncommon events of daily life with a backdrop of spectacular island scenery. The aim of this unique series is as always to surprise, amuse and inform the viewer.
CROC LABYRINTH
Herpetologist Vince Shacks and underwater cameraman Brad Bestelink go on a unique crocodile diving adventure to find out more about these cave systems, and how the reptiles use them. They enter a dark underworld of mystery and danger, and they find themselves doing things that no one has ever attempted before. Apart from swimming with huge crocodiles, they’re the first to noose a wild Nile crocodile underwater, and they’re the first to attach a remote camera to it, to see where it goes.
PARAGUAY'S NEW HOUSES
In Paraguay, the loofah plant is used to make vegetable sponges but nowadays, it can also used to build houses. 360°GEO - Report follows Elsa Zaldivar on her quest to free Paraguay from its housing shortage.Until recently, the loofah plant in Paraguay had fallen into oblivion. But over the past few years, it has experienced a successful comeback - as bath sponge. Today, loofah sponges are sold throughout the world.According to Elsa Zaldivar, loofah is now also being used in the construction of houses. The once densely wooded countryside has today been largely chopped down. Many people do not have access to affordable building materials. The idea of the loofah-cooperative is to compound loofah remains with plastic waste in order to create a a solid building material for house walls.
ISLANDS IN A DESERT SEA
Baja California - a 1000 mile long desert peninsula. The Sea of Cortez, separating it from the Mexican mainland, is studded with islands, large and small.It’s a sea teeming with lifeThe islands may be barren but oceanic upwellings draw in massive schools of fishAnd this richness attracts the inevitable predators. Biologically speaking, this is the richest body of water on our entire planet. The calm waters among the islands are perfect breeding grounds, creatures migrating thousands of miles to spawn their next generation here. Primeval forces draw giants here on an annual migration from frozen northern seas. Other creatures also travel thousands of miles to nest here on tiny dots in the ocean. The sea of Cortez has been relentlessly exploited by man, driving some species to the brink of extinction. Yet this almost land-locked sea also provides evidence of the remarkable resilience of the ocean. And it also shows us how we humans can sometimes make a difference...
FENTANYL
THE UNSTOPPABLE EPIDEMIC. Canadians’ attention has been briefly grabbed by the headline: the story--an abnormally high number of overdose deaths caused by a drug called fentanyl. It merited a few days attention and then was pushed off the stage by other concerns. What Canadians failed to appreciate was that those few headlines offered a foreboding glimpse of what might be one of the most destructive waves of illegal drugs to hit North America since Pablo Escobar flooded the continent with cheap and powerful cocaine. Fentanyl is a killer. And fentanyl isn’t just preying on the addict population of this country. Its victims are also Canada’s unsuspecting middle-class. And the epidemic is showing no signs of letting up. In fact all signs point to the death count rising as more and more powerful versions of this drug seep into the country.The result, Canadians have no idea what’s “slouching” towards them in the near future. Through the eyes of four insiders in the fentanyl industry, Dam Builder Productions will take the audience inside this world in way that will enlighten, outrage, and even fascinate.
STOLEN TREASURES
EP. 5. It’s the biggest museum in the world…the museum of artworks stolen over the centuries and never rediscovered. These works haunt the nightmares of their owners, and occupy the days of hundreds of police officers across the world, as well as those of a handful of private agencies; no country or museum of importance can claim to have been spared. According to Interpol, art theft is the fourth largest criminal trade, after the drug trade, the weapons trade and money laundering. How could it be otherwise, when the soaring price of art propels the value of some paintings into the tens of millions of Euros? This world appears to be full of mysteries. Crime syndicates rub shoulders with petty criminals and the police care more about recovering the items than they do about arresting the perpetrators.
A YEAR IN THE WILD
EP.3. As a new year starts in the heart of Africa, the rainy season has come to the Okavango Delta in Botswana, and with it begins a season of plenty and the luxury of permanent and abundant water sources. In South Africa’s Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Game Reserve, a group of rare samango monkeys take advantage of the abundant fruit born by a large Natal fig tree. In Thailand, a group of rhesus macaques have discovered a mango tree, and are busy feeding and stuffing their throat pouches with the fruit. Back in the Okavango Delta, the rains have also brought large buffalo herds back to the Xakanaxa area, the territory of a powerful pride of lions. Life and death are also a close-run thing for young gannet fledglings on their massive breeding colony of 50.000 birds on Malgas Island off the South African coast. As the young birds attempt to spread their wings and take to the air, some end up in the water. Many young animals have to run a gauntlet early on in life, and as a young loggerhead turtle hatches out of its egg and emerges from the sand on a beach in Mozambique, it faces a gruelling journey from its nest on the beach down to the sea. African penguins, too, are adapted to life at sea, but rest, breed and mate on land. Penguins elsewhere in the world face an almost unbelievable challenge to breed and rear their young. When it comes to raising animals, the African plains are no more forgiving than the sub-Antarctic. At this time of year, the Serengeti plains in Tanzania are teeming with herds of wildebeest and zebra with their young. Predators are never far away. In a Thai forest, stingless bees are busy building a cone-shaped nest in a tree, combining forces for the greater good of the colony. Kamfers Dam in South Africa is one of only four breeding colonies of Lesser Flamingos, at times reaching up to 50.000 birds. The sun sets over the spectacular sight of thousands of flamingos, straining the water for food and taking to the air.
GANNETS: THE WRONG SIDE OF THE RUN
At the tip of Africa two oceans collide, creating one of the most productive eco-systems on the planet. Here, one of the largest shoals of fish known to man form the basis of two food chains that split and extend for 100’s of miles. After the sardines part at Cape Agulhas, each shoal passes it’s own critical point. On the west coast of Africa, this is Malgas Island, a traditionally energetic hub of life dominated by the presence of the supreme sardine hunter, the Cape gannet. On the opposing coast, the shoals pass Bird Island, the eastern equivalent of Malgas. Circumstances on the two bird colonies are very different; on the west we see dwindling numbers of sardine, whilst on the east, Bird Island is the inverse. While the Malgas Gannets battle to raise chicks amid skirmishes by Kelp gulls and hungry seals, the Bird island gannets move to intercept huge volumes of sardines. What transpires is one of the greatest marine feeding events on the planet, and in these two parallel scenarios, we see how one environment is mutating under pressure, while the other experiences a bumper season. Will the gannets of Malgas island adapt to their changing world? Can the disappearing sardine stock survive, and in turn support the wide array of marine predators that rely heavily on it. The breath-taking landscape, action and predation sequences are strengthened by solid natural history behaviour with an environmental comment.
BLUE WORLD
Jonathan joins shark researcher Dr. Stephen Kajiura to test how well wild sharks can detect electrical fields in their environment. Then, he heads to New Jersey (USA) to learn how to dive in the Mark V commercial diving helmet! Finally, he ends up in the Gulf of Mexico to learn how oil platforms can actually become a healthy artificial reef and attract marine life from miles around.
UNDERWATER OKAVANGO
The Okavango Delta is one of the richest ecosystems on earth, but most of its creatures are rarely seen by human eyes. They hide beneath the surface, in the intricate underwater world of the Delta. Fearsome hippos and man-eating crocodiles guard these waters, and diving here is considered extremely dangerous. Few humans have ever ventured below the surface, until now. A team of film makers armed with experience and a deep knowledge of animal behaviour have dived the delta for the past year. Their experiences reveal a new, unexplored wilderness that is shaped by passage of the delta’s epic winter flood. Every summer, rains that collect in Angola surge down the Okavango River in a giant pulse. Just as the dry season draws near, that pulse reaches the delta, and sets a chain reaction of life in motion. Landscapes flood as the pulse pushes through, and drain in its wake. These forces shape the lives of every creature in the underwater Okavango. The first to feel the effects of the flood are the cave dwellers. The rising tide lifts vast floating carpets of reeds and papyrus off the sand, creating a labyrinth of caves beneath them. Mormyrids and squeakers hunt in the dark, but the live in fear of a far larger predator. Sharp toothed catfish are amongst the Delta’s most voracious hunters. They plague the smaller fish, but they in turn are hunted by giant crocodiles. As the pulse pushes into the main delta, tiny fish are sucked into the deep channels behind it. The waters fill with predators that gather to feast on the soup of small fry. The flood keeps pushing further and further out into Botswana, until in the peak of the dry season, it breaks out over dry land. Creatures travel from across Botswana to meet the life-giving tide. Huge elephant breeding herds flee the drought-stricken Kalahari, and walk hundreds of kilometres to reach the flooded delta. Though the water offers life, it harbours death as well. Their tiny infants must navigate crocodile infested floodplains, and face off with lions in the dense reeds. Nowhere is safe, until the flood finally reaches the end of its journey. Just as the rains threaten to bring the dry season to a close, the closing act of the underwater delta launches into action. Birds flock to the disappearing shallows to feast on trapped fish, and the fearsome catfish amass into an army. They charge down the channels by the hundred, and flush fish from the reeds. The stampede of hunters makes the water boil, and entices a new killer to the feast. Fish eagles swoop down one after the other, and snatch catfish from the churning waters. The frenzy of predators builds to a crescendo, until rains finally douse the feast. The wet season marks the end of the flood, but it feeds the beginnings of another. As rainwaters gather once more in the Angolan highlands, the journey of a new pulse begins. This film opens a window on an unexplored landscape of exquisite beauty, and the creatures that must play the daily lottery of life and death within it.
DEPLETED URANIUM
More than 50 countries now possess weapons based on depleted uranium (DU). Experimentation has been rife, and the consequences for civilians and the military alike have been dramatic. This investigation compares and contrasts the arguments of those who defend and attack a technology that is highly toxic. For 20 years, scientists, doctors, veterans and activists have denounced the use of DU. Against them are the arms industry lobbyists and nuclear authorities who continue to minimise the risks. Through archive documents, interviews and in situ investigations, accompanied by key witnesses (victims, experts...) we aim to present a clearer picture of the issues and stakes linked to the use of DU. Quick-paced, with a sense of urgency, the film underlines the essential background and conflicting viewpoints, enabling viewers to make up their own minds about a subject that concerns us all.
UNBREATHABLE CITIES ON THE VERGE OF ASPHYXIATION
With an epidemic of cancers among adults, and widespread asthma among children, China and India are on a constant health alert. Nor is the rest of the world free from harm as the pollutants are travelling.
JOURNEYS IN AFRICA
MASAI MARA: WHERE LION IS KING. In this first of a two-parter on the Mara, we follow the migration in anticipation of the famous river crossings. We find all three big cats and hyena waiting for their chance to get their share of the migrants. During migration, the animal numbers are staggering.
JOURNEYS IN AFRICA
MASAI MARA: LAND OF THE LEOPARD. We elect to stay on a few extra days to try and obtain some good leopard footage. These are the most elusive of the “Big Twelve” and filming them is a major challenge. In the process of tracking leopards, we run across a newborn gazelle trying to walk for the first time. Will it succeed before the predators find it? Can we find and film a leopard up close?
SHATTERED GROUND
Hydraulic Fracturing or “Fracking” is a new technology that has opened up immense resources of natural gas buried in deep shale beds. Some see it as the answer to the energy crisis and a chance at energy independence. But fracking has become an incredibly divisive issue ripping apart communities and even families. The backlash is unprecedented, with states and countries adopting fracking bans. Shattered Ground is a one hour documentary that looks past the rhetoric and emotional arguments to find the real issues involved in hydraulic fracturing, the opportunity, and the potential health and environmental issues that will affect us all.
ZENITH
EP. 9. Zenith – Advances in Space Exploration reveals these latest developments and the implications they hold for all of us.
ZENITH
EP. 10. Zenith – Advances in Space Exploration reveals these latest developments and the implications they hold for all of us.
THE FLYING FIREFIGHTERS OF VALENCIA
In recent years, the number of forest fires has consistently increased, especially in Catalonia. The loss of forest land is endangering the cultural and natural habitat of the Northwestern Mediterranean. This report accompanies Chimo and his colleagues through last years' fire season. The "Avialsa" Flying Firefighters squadron operates in the woodland areas around the western part of the Mediterranean Sea. Flying close above the flames ensures the greatest chance of success for the firefighters: the closer they can get their water cargo to the fire source, the quicker they can get the flames under control. Joaquim Miniana, "Chimo" for short, and the pilots of the "Avialsa" firefighting plane squadron in the Spanish province of Valencia are fighting against increasingly long, hot summers.
SOKOTRA, ENDANGERED TREASURE ISLAND
Sokotra, an island off the Horn of Africa, has been a Unesco world heritage site since 2008, but the strict rules that once enabled the Beduoins to protect their biodiversity are now being relaxed. 360° GEO follows in the footsteps of a Yemeni goatherd on the island. Many rare species are being threatened by the increase in extensive grazing, which is even affecting the goatherds' very existence. 55-year old Abdullah Ablihin finds it hard to make ends meet with just his herd of goats.Sokotra, an island off the Horn of Africa, has been a Unesco world heritage site since 2008, but the strict rules that once enabled the Beduoins to protect their biodiversity are now being relaxed. 360° GEO follows in the footsteps of a Yemeni goatherd on the island. Many rare species are being threatened by the increase in extensive grazing, which is even affecting the goatherds' very existence. 55-year old Abdullah Ablihin finds it hard to make ends meet with just his herd of goats.
NEW ZEALAND'S RACE OF EXCESSES
A plunge into New Zealand's Ultramarathon preparations, a tradition that comes from a Maori legend. 55 year-old Lilac Fley is an athlete and many times winner of the extreme race. A Maori legend dictates the course of the Ultramarathon. It tells the story of a boy who once lived with his tribe on the New Zealand coast. One day his mother asked him to search for some kumaras, or sweet potatoes, for a meal. Instead of digging for them, he decided to steal some from the neighboring tribe. Till this day, runners follow in his footsteps along the coastline - during New Zealand's most famous marathon.
PAST HUNTERS
S1 EP 07: RAZOR RUOCK'S HOME. We visit the home of Soccer legend Neil "Razor" Ruddock which seems to be haunted. Is it his home specifically? Or are these ghosts attached to him?
TUNING 2 YOU: INDIA'S LOST MUSICIANS
NAGALAND. High in the eastern mountains in a remote corner of India, Soumik encounters the Naga tribes. They teach him about their mysterious customs, chicken dances and head-hunting traditions, part of a unique identity at the brink of extinction. The Nagas wish to preserve.
TUNING 2 YOU: INDIA'S LOST MUSICIANS
VARANASI. In the world’s oldest city of Varanasi, Soumik explores a neighbourhood that has produced five generations of Indian classical masters. He meets widowed women singers who have committed their lives to the Hindu God, Shiva, and a young drummer with the talent to make it big. Dedication to fading classical arts is formidable in this timeless city of religion, tradition and rising commercial interests.
SPAIN'S LAST LYNXES
10 years ago, Europe almost witnessed the first dying out of a predatory cat since the sabre-toothed tiger when only about a hundred Iberian Lynxes remained in existance. Still today, the Iberian Lynx is one of the most threatened species of predatory cat in the world. The documentary accompanies animal rights activists in their struggle to preserve and resettle the world's last lynxes. The current plan is to move the cats to safety.
THE BEST SHEEPDOGS FROM WALES
The film follows Nigel and his dogs throughout the summer. Nigel Watkins is a farmer and vice-world champion sheepdog handler. Together with his partner, Janet, he runs his little farm Llanddeusant in the Brecon Beacons National Park in the south of Wales. Farming takes up a fair amount of his time, but his hobbies take up much more of it: he trains Border Collies, a breed of sheepdog.
THE PLOUSHARE TORTOISE OF MADAGASCAR
The angonoka tortoise, as the local Madagascans call the ploughshare tortoise, is an especially elegant tortoise with a high-domed golden shell. Reaching an age of well over 100 years, they are found in the wild only on Madagascar, off the south-eastern coast of Africa. Reptile collectors from around the world are frantic to obtain living specimens. However, the interest of Asians is limited to the shell, which is ground into a powder and is considered by many to be an aphrodisiac. Baly Bay National Park in Madagascar is the last natural refuge for the ploughshare tortoise.