Over 196 bridges and through 55 tunnels, the Bernina Express fights its way from Switzerland to Italy. Powerful forces of nature make the railyway line a dangerous route over the Grisons Alps to this day. The film accompanies the Bernina Express in winter over the highest rail route across the Alps.
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Photographer Matthias Ziegler is an Africa specialist. He has visited nearly every country on the continent on assignments for international agencies. Zanzibar, however, is new territory for him. He's come to the former slave island for a photo book – and this time he's not alone. To see the Tanzanian archipelago from the air, he has enlisted the services of ultralight pilot Richard Meredith-Hardy of England to fly him around in his FIB, or flying inflatable boat. Perfect conditions for an adventurous journey: as a world champion ultralight pilot, Richard and his FIB can take off and land practically anywhere – in theory.
On the wild coast of Patagonia, the nature calendar describes the most diverse visiting times of fascinating animals, from the southern right whale and other large whales, via the sea lions and elephant seals up to the orcas and millions of penguins. The encounters with whales and their babies are spectacular. Hardly anywhere else on earth can one experience both the brutal and the delightful sides of nature so vividly and so close. The trip to the hot spots for animal watchers and researchers leads us inter alia to the Caleta Valdez. This is where, during the mating season, the southern elephant seals bring their babies into the world, mate and enjoy a little sunbathing on the beach.
Fjords, glaciers and the highest mountains in the Arctic: East Greenland with its spectacular nature is one of the most sparsely populated regions on earth. The people here live in extreme isolation and depend on helicopter flights for their supplies. Despite harsh conditions, the inhabitants here lovingly maintain their traditions and enjoy their outdoor leisure time even at minus 20 degrees Celsius. The town of Tasiilaq is the "metropolis" with 4,000 inhabitants and offers a very special attraction: the only ski lift on the east coast. Thomas Mikaelsen, the lift attendant, is not to be envied for his job. The only 100 meter long lift comes from Switzerland and is already 20 years old. If Thomas gets the drag lift running at all, it often only lasts for an hour. Then the ski crazy's luck depends on his repair skills. The lift is the only frosty open-air pleasure. For Salo Kunuk his sled dogs are both pleasure and work. He is currently teaching his daughter Karla how to steer a dog sled, private driving lessons from her father, so to speak. Karla will need it, because in the eternal ice the sled is the only means of transportation.
Wide open spaces, water, meadows: The Limfjord stretches through Jutland in Denmark in countless bays, canals and sounds. Mighty water castles, country palaces and magnificent monasteries are enthroned on its shores. It is a rather lonely area, even in high summer it is quiet. This is probably why the people here are so friendly and sociable. Birte, Silla and Bo cycle to their fjord garden project in the harbor of the town of Løgstør to harvest mussels, oysters and seaweed. They think gardening is best in a club. Luckily, Silla, a resourceful tinkerer, has just made another ingenious invention: the mussel washing machine. Cruising the narrow Næssund, a branch of the Limfjord, is the Næssund Ferry, the smallest and oldest car ferry in the area. New on board, and the first and only woman on this ship, is deckhand Lilian Kohler. She is "girl for everything", but wants more, because Lilian is a trained navigator. She is magically drawn to the bridge, but the old captain doesn't think much of retiring ashore.
Wildlife filmmakers often risk life and limb trying to capture unique images of their dangerous protagonists. In the Kruger National Park Josef Jozefowicz steps into a lionesses' den to film her cubs, in Alaska Andreas Kieling mingles with giant elk bulls in order to film them in action, and in Florida his colleague Zoltan Török gets very close to an alligator mother guarding its nest. The life of the film-makers is also threatened by elemental forces, and failing technical equipment: the strong and tearing current of the Yukon River throws Andreas Kieling's boat onto a gravel bank, in the Democratic Republik of Congo camerawoman Heike Grebe is separated from her colleagues in the dense rainforest, in Kamchatka a film team only just escapes a gigantic landslide, and in Finland a hot-air balloon catches fire and becomes the nightmare of Oliver Goetzl and Ivo Nörenberg. The last episode "Wild Moments - Dangerous and Deadly" follows wildlife film-makers on their adventurous journeys throughout the world.
Wildlife filmmakers often risk life and limb trying to capture unique images of their dangerous protagonists. A cunning grizzly grabs a salmon off Andreas Kieling's fishing rod, in the depths of the Amazon River a diving team has a spooky encounter with piranhas, in the Mediterranean Sea the currents nearly push Thomas Behrend into the mouths of angry sperm whales defending a newborn - and cameramen who want to film jaguars in the dense jungle of South America become easy prey for the well camouflaged cats. The life of the film-makers is also threatened by elemental forces and failing technical equipment: In the swamps of North Australia violent storms hold up the crossing of tearing rivers, a volcano in the South Seas spits burning lumps of lava into the base camp, and in Siberia a camera team breaks through the ice and has to camp at minus 30°C in the middle of nowhere. The second episode "Wild Moments - Dangerous and Deadly" follows wildlife-filmmakers on their adventurous journeys throughout the world.
Wildlife film-makers often risk life and limb trying to capture unique images of their dangerous protagonists. In Alaska a cunning grizzly threatens the son of Andreas Kieling, on the remote Wrangel Island in northern-east Siberia his colleague Uwe Anders is taken by surprise by a a polar bear, and off the coast of South Africa a diving-team is unexpectedly surrounded by white sharks. But the life of the film-makers is also threatened by elemental forces, life-threatening diseases and failing technical equipment: Deep in the vast rainforests of West Africa cameraman Klaus Scheurich nearly dies of malaria, and in South India a film team narrowly escapes death in a hot-air balloon accident. But they also meet remarkable people such as a zoo keeper in Cameroon who feels at ease playing with half-grown and adult gorillas - the most powerful of all great apes. The first episode "Wild Moments - Dangerous and Deadly" follows wildlife film-makers on their adventurous journeys throughout the world.
We are on the verge of a new age of exploration: besides the plans of NASA and other space agencies, over the next years also privately financed teams are going to send unmanned vehicles to the Moon. The goal is to find a cheap and efficient way to travel there on a regular basis, and in the long term to build a permanent human base.
Hong Kong translated means "fragrant harbour". The days of the spicy smoking ceremonies have passed, but MareTV has discovered many delightful contrasts between the metropolis and Mother Nature. In for-mer times, the rare eagle wood tree grew here. Its wood put the spice into the Taoist smoking ceremonies. The fragrant harbour: what sounds so charming is today a huge metropolis in the sea. No other tiny piece of land is more densely populated. Star Ferries have been commuting between the Kowloon Peninsula and central Hong Kong for the past 125 years. The British colonial masters are long gone, but on the ancient ferries, virtually nothing has changed. Most of the ships are still clad in British Racing Green and the crew still wears the old, decorative uniforms.
Idlewild - Avalon - Belle of Louisville - these three names stand for the last still roadworthy, historic sternwheeler in the USA. In 1914, the ship was built as "Idlewild" for the West Memphis Packet Company as a passenger ferry. With a draft of only 1.50 m and a robust steel hull, the boat is suitable for almost all navigable rivers of the Mississippi River system. Today, the "Belle" is the most traveled steamboat in American history. In the course of her eventful life, she has called at 130 places in 19 states.
The paddle steamer "Skibladner" is the oldest passenger paddle steamer in the world in regular service. It has been plying Norway's largest inland lake, the Mjøsa, since 1856. The "white swan" has a melodious name, borrowed from Norse mythology. The ship "Skíðblaðnir" of the god Freyr, built by dwarves, could always have a tail wind, could be stowed in a small bag when folded and all gods in armor had room on it. The traditional ship of AS Oplandandske Dampskibsselskap does not have such fairy-tale powers, but atmospherically the "Skibladner" also transports guests to a world long gone.
Rugged coasts, untouched nature and the rough climate of the Atlantic characterize the landscape on the west coast of Scotland. In the sounds and lochs of the Scottish West, "Waverley", the last seaworthy passenger steamship in the world, appears once a year. The side-wheel steamer was built in 1947 to carry out short ferry passages on the Clyde River. Today, "Waverley" circumnavigates almost all of Great Britain. The impressive ship was sold to the "Paddle Steamer Preservation Society" in 1974 for the symbolic price of one English pound. Since then, she starts her season off the Western Isles in Scotland every year in May.
A scenic expedition through majestic volcanoes, seething geysers, powerful waterfalls, threatening fjords and almighty glaciers. Hardly any other country offers such a variety of spectacular forces of nature! We will give you an insight on how it can be that the people of a small, distant island with only a fraction of sunlight in some months are happier than the people in more sun-blessed countries.
The Nordland Railway in Norway, travels from Trondheim through the isolated regions of Trendelag and Nordland. After Mo I Rana, it traverses the Arctic Circle and ends in the northern Norwegian town of Bodø. The railway covers a distance of some 729 kilometres, passing by dense, snow-covered forests, frozen fjords and snow-capped mountains. Temperatures of sometimes minus 30 degrees are quite normal here for months, on many days there is no more than five hours of daylight. Kindergarten teacher Kaia Aarstrand und her husband, Bjørnar, a technician for the municipality, live with their four boys in Aursletta, deep within the Vistenfjord, far away from civilization. All made possible by the Norwegian state: electricity, mobile phone connection and a speedboat that brings the family to school and to work. But when the Vistenfjord freezes up, the family is isolated for days. Tormod Schøning spends hours on end on his Saltfjellet whenever snowstorms occur and he has to clear the only road connection between North and South Norway with his snow plough. For the duration of his shifts, Tormod lives in the snow plough station.
Nepal is one of the poorest countries in the world. Young women are often disadvantaged here and quite a few are married off before the age of 18. Helicopter pilot Priya Adhikari lives and works here. The 38-year-old is an exception and the only woman in Nepal who ventures into the extremely dangerous heights of the Himalayas in her helicopter.
Alia Twal is an enthusiastic pilot, globetrotter and adventurer. She is a first officer with the Jordanian airline Royal Jordanian and flies large passenger planes. She climbs the highest mountains in the world, dives with sharks or goes skydiving. Alia particularly enjoys travelling in her Jordanian homeland.
The Antarctic region is undoubtedly one of the most remote and inhospitable, yet one of the most beautiful landscapes of the world. This documentary takes us on a journey to the stormy isolated islands of the Southern Ocean. Seals, penguins, seabirds and numerous other animals live and breed in this hostile environment and harsh climate. Only by an icebreaker can we reach the remote coasts of the Antarctic continent where Emperor Penguins defy the life-threatening environment of the vast ice desert at the end of the world.
The Andes are the biggest mountain range in the world. Peaks of up to 7000 metres in height, do not only offer an imposing view, but also influence the climate by being the drainage and meteorological divide.
This is a story about a remote island in the pacific.
Roads are much more than just gray strips of asphalt that allow us to travel and trade. For centuries they have been lifelines of mankind, full of stories and history - and in certain countries and areas they also hold great dangers, much human suffering and death. Documentary filmmaker Oliver G. Becker ventured onto dangerous roads in New Zealand, Scotland and Australia for phoenix.
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