The distance between human and nature, which leads us to make catastrophic miscalculations in how we treat our environment, can be overcome with the help of preserved animal specimens. This is the conviction of the three taxidermists we accompany as they prepare for the European Taxidermy Championships.
At the Mosaik art studio in Berlin, artists with disabilities are absorbed in their work. Filmmaker Sabine Herpich observes the artists in the course of creation and directs her gaze at the institution itself: its processes, staff and spaces. The film succeeds in maintaining its focus on the art itself rather than the handicaps of its creators.
Rising seas will be one of the biggest challenges we face in the next few centuries. Island states will disappear, coastlines will shift. On the basis of scientists’ predictions, billions of dollars are being invested in coastal protection measures. But not everything can be protected.
Julia is born in a Russian prison. The film follows the girl’s development from the first year of her life until after she turns seven. Three women take it in turns to look after her. They all want the best for Julia, but they don’t always agree on what that actually means…
At the Institute for Snow and Avalanche Research (SLF) in Davos, scientists investigate the conditions that trigger avalanches and the impact climate change is having on the formation and nature of avalanches. We spend a winter season following scientists, snow profilers and researchers as they work in the Alps.
Layla and Ramsis, German-Palestinian siblings living in Germany, face a family tragedy far away in the besieged Gaza Strip: their father, his new wife and his five children are killed by an Israeli missile. Trying to come to terms with their grief at the loss of their stepfamily, they are forced to redefine their personal and political identity.
At the age of 14, Ekhlas was captured by the IS. Today, the 19-year-old Yazidi is a survivor who campaigns internationally for recognition of the Yazidi genocide. We accompany her on a journey to Iraq, where she is reunited with her sister who also managed to escape IS captivity five years later.
What happens within our system of values when economic interests and people’s lives become intertwined through tragedy?
He was a patron of science, a reformer, and might even be called the first modern ruler. And yet he was also brutal and power-hungry. Frederick II of Hohenstaufen (1194–1250) was an exceptional figure on the Roman-German imperial throne.
Edward II, who ruled England in the early 14th century, was surrounded by opponents: the Scots in the north, the French on the continent, and the barons in his own country. He was eventually brought down by his own wife, who invaded England and forced him to resign. The story of an unprecedented royal downfall.
It’s the journey of her life: musician Petra Nachtmanova will travel for weeks on the roads from Berlin, through Anatolia, all the way to eastern Iran in search of the origins of her string instrument, which she discovered in Berlin Kreuzberg: the Saz. She will be always asking one question: “Can you teach me a song you think I should bring back home?”
Virunga National Park with its unique mountain gorillas is in danger: Rebels and poachers are threatening this paradise in the Congo. Veterinarian Marlene Zähner trains rangers and highly specialised dogs to track down poachers.
