"Africa Light" - as white local citizens call Namibia. The name suggests romance, the beauty of nature and promises a life without any problems in a country where the difference between rich and poor could hardly be greater. Namibia does not give that impression of it. If you look at its surface it seems like Africa in its most innocent and civilized form. It is a country that is so inviting to dream by its spectacular landscape, stunning scenery and fascinating wildlife. It has a very strong tourism structure and the government gets a lot of money with its magical attraction. But despite its grandiose splendor it is an endless gray zone as well. It oscillates between tradition and modernity, between the cattle in the country and the slums in the city. It shuttles from colonial times, land property reform to minimum wage for everyone. It fluctuates between socialism and cold calculated market economy.
'I found a nice place. I wanted to share it.'
In the early 1900s commercial loggers cut down an old growth spruce tree growing on a small island surrounded by tide pools on the coast of Maine. Out of the trunk of this ancient tree grew two new trees, side by side.
Morning dew in summer fields and meadows.
Mountain wildflowers in a dense fog.
"The acid soil of New England, its wide stretches of hardwoods, its numerous sugar maples, its rolling or mountainous character, the sunshine of its autumn weather, all these contribute to the glory of this annual display. The birches of Maine the aspens of the White Mountains, the sugar Maples of Vermont, the long rainbow of the Connecticut River Valley cutting from top to bottom through New England, the Berkshires - mention these to anyone who has traveled widely through a New England fall and you will evoke instant memories of superlative beauty." -Edwin Way Teale, Autumn across America, 1956
A short film featuring a coastal forest and the rocky coastline of downeast Maine.
A short film featuring a pebble beach and coastal salt marsh in Maine.
A golden sunrise brings light to the foggy hills and meadows of late summer.
A short film shot on Super 8 which captures the last days of winter.
Fog surrounds the peak of a mountain as summer wildflowers bloom.
The sun rises over the tide pools of coastal Maine.
Wildlife in an early spring wetland.
The Last Giants
Take a trip with the filmmakers to Scotland, to the Highlands, rich in flora and fauna. It's also the perfect place to make Scotland's most popular drink - whisky. The film begins at the end of winter and follows the changes the area undergoes over the course of the year.
A place of biological superlatives with a flora and fauna that have only just begun to be researched: Lord Howe Island, between Australia and New Zealand. This is the first documentary on what may be the most isolated nature reserve on the planet.
Africa's giant rats – the size of a cat – can be trained to detect land-mines by smelling them. Giant rats are clever and they learn fast. Their sense of smell is better than a dog's, they have more stamina, and they're a lot cheaper to train. This documentary follows "Miss Marple", who was born in a training lab and who goes through a year's training before being sent on her first mission to Mozambique. A shorter version (43 minutes) screened at festivals in 2009 but was never widely released.
A documentary about a unique type of forest, the "dehesa" of the Iberian Peninsula, a world in which to discover unique sensations.
An examination of the extinction threat faced by frogs, which have hopped on Earth for some 250 million years and are a crucial cog in the ecosystem. Scientists believe they've pinpointed a cause for the loss of many of the amphibians: the chytrid fungus, which flourishes in high altitudes. Unfortunately, they don't know how to combat it. Included: an isolated forest in Panama that has yet to be touched by the fungus, thus enabling frogs to live and thrive as they have for eons.
Join affable presenter Nigel Marven as he explores El Salvador, the volatile land of volcanoes with a colorful culture and natural history. Follow along as he climbs an active volcano near the capital San Salvador, comes face-to-face with a crocodile, cuddles a caecilian, fights fire with fire, dives deep into a volcanic lake, and discovers the Pompeii of Central America.