A vivid journey into the mysterious subterranean world of mycelium and its fruit— the mushroom. A story that begins 3.5 billion years ago, fungi makes the soil that supports life, connecting vast systems of roots from plants and trees all over the planet, like an underground Internet. Through the eyes of renowned mycologist Paul Stamets, professor of forest ecology Suzanne Simard, best selling author Michael Pollan, food naturalist Eugenia Bone and others, we experience the power, beauty and complexity of the fungi kingdom.
The epic story of the life of a volcano, capable of both causing the extinction of all things and helping the evolution of species, over 60 million years.
Charlotte Uhlenbroek travels to Madagascar to follow the story of three mother ring-tailed lemurs struggling to survive one of the driest and hottest seasons in decades. One lemur has already lost her baby, the other two have a fight on their hands if their infants are to stand a chance, and matters are made even worse when neighbouring lemur tribes invade the mothers' territories.
National Geographic wildlife filmmaker Bertie Gregory takes audiences on an adventure to iconic South Georgia Island. Sailing through the roughest ocean on the planet in a 50-foot boat, his team's target is the sub-Antarctic island, known for its breathtaking scenery and high concentration of wildlife. It's a life of extremes for Antarctic fur seals. Bulls fight to the death for breeding rights, while seal moms work to raise their adorable pups.
Thunderbeast is a stunning insiders view of one of our country's most impressive wild creatures-the American buffalo. Working over a period of eight years, Emmy-award-winning wildlife filmmaker Bob Landis documented the real dramas of bison in Yellowstone National Park. From epic battles with grizzly bears and wolves, treacherous winters to late summer mating season, Thunderbeast captures the awesome survival skills of this American icon.
For thousands of animals every year, migrating across Patagonia is the only chance of survival as they return to give birth and raise their young or come home to feed.
Follow a three-month-old baby whale on a magical journey down one of the Earth’s great ocean highways to discover the incredible world of ocean currents. She will never know it, but as she swims with the flow of the current, her story becomes inexorably connected to our own. Ocean currents are hidden marine rivers that flow around the Earth. They are responsible for the fish we eat, the rain that feeds our crops, the snow that covers our mountains - even the air we breathe, and they have been helping to keep the temperature of our planet just right for life for millions of years. As our young whale goes with the flow of the current on a great migration from the warm tropics to the frozen ice floes of Antarctica, she meets the curious creatures that call the current home.
Great herds of Asian elephants once roamed from Baghdad to Beijing. Now only remnants of these once mighty herds survive, protected today by the Indian government. It is here that filmmaker Naresh Bedi turns his camera, capturing an intimate portrait of thee largest of land mammals. An adult elephant eats 300 pounds of green fodder and drinks 40 gallons of water a day. This film follows these gentle giants as they forage and feed, wallow in watering holes, dust their skin with dirt, and care for their young.
Bacteria, viruses, but also fungi, algae, pollen, and even insects: micro-organisms thrive and circulate constantly in our sky. How can so many living beings find their way into the air and circulate? How do they survive? And what influence do they have on our lives and the living world? Biodiversity, health, climate: it is only recently that scientists have begun to understand how this discreet aerial "plankton" affects our lives and our ecosystem. But despite their many virtues, some of these micro-organisms are now threatened by human activities. With the help of experts and 3D models, this scientific investigation plunges us into the heart of a still mysterious world, and reveals the diversity and fragility of the air we breathe.
Climate change has reached the indigenous Nenets people in the north of Siberia. The nomads' herds of reindeer move on thin ice. The warming in the Russian Arctic is becoming dramatically visible. Huge craters open in the thawing permafrost and expose dangerous viruses and bacteria. Forest floors dry out and the taiga catches on fire. The pack ice off the coast is melting and depriving polar bears of their habitat so that they approach human settlements in their desperation. The changes in the nature of the Arctic Circle combine with the measurements of researchers and observations of the indigenous people to form a disturbing overall picture: In the Russian Arctic, Pandora's box has been opened! The film team had the chance to shoot in regions that were been restricted areas for decades. The documentary shows in impressive and depressing images already existing effects, phenomena and ominous interlinkages of global warming.
In the heart of southern France there is a fog-prone area where, according to legend, a bloodthirsty creature wreaked havoc 250 years ago. A rumor is spreading again in this legendary place, as eyewitnesses report an animal with large paws and a long tail that crosses roads in a single leap - powerful enough to tear down a horse and leave it mutilated in the pasture. Is the Beast of Gévaudan back? The animal photographer Bruno Loisel has a supposedly more rational explanation. The animal that fits the descriptions could be a cougar, but this species of big cat is only native to America. In order to learn the proper techniques for tracking down the puma, he travels to Canada, where he accompanies a team of researchers dedicated to studying the shy, almost invisible predator. Will Bruno be able to use his findings to solve the mystery of the new beast of Gévaudan?
"Little E" baby elephant born in the Serengeti National Park, Tanzania, must grow up with his family to have every chance of survival.
A documentary of insect life in meadows and ponds, using incredible close-ups, slow motion, and time-lapse photography. It includes bees collecting nectar, ladybugs eating mites, snails mating, spiders wrapping their catch, a scarab beetle relentlessly pushing its ball of dung uphill, endless lines of caterpillars, an underwater spider creating an air bubble to live in, and a mosquito hatching.
There is a mystery there and the answer lies somewhere between Bermuda, Puerto Rico and Miami. Hundreds of boats and planes have disappeared in the ocean with little or no trace at all. Most of these cases can be explained quite easily by human error or bad weather. But there are some that defy all explanation. Theories abound on these causes: Aliens, massive gas eruptions and freak waves. The documentary reveals that the boats and planes face a real danger in a triangle, but the true threat is often as strange as the wildest theory.
Alaska, au pays des glaciers
This personal documentary is the story of Teresa Marshall, who grew up on a British Columbia ranch. Every child needs a demon, and Teresa took battle against rattlesnakes. In the dry interior of B.C., the south Okanagan and Similkameen valleys form the bio-region known as Canada's "pocket desert." As settlers' dreams of creating an agricultural Eden erase fragile desert lands that support a breathtaking array of wild species, the narrator and her snake-hunting neighbours are forced to examine their environmental attitudes.
Coral Reef Adventure follows the real-life expedition of ocean explorers and underwater filmmakers Howard and Michele Hall. Using large-format cameras, the Halls guide us to the islands and sun-drenched waters of the South Pacific to document the health and beauty of coral reefs. Featuring songs written and recorded by Crosby, Stills & Nash.
Sea life in a whole new way. Deep Sea 3D, an underwater adventure from the filmmakers behind the successful IMAX® 3D film Into the Deep, transports audiences deep below the ocean surface. Through the magic of IMAX®; and IMAX 3D, moviegoers will swim with some of the planets most unique, dangerous and colorful creatures, and understand this inspiring underworld.
Retrace the groundbreaking footsteps of Charles Darwin with a young scientist as she explores the biological diversity and unique geologic history of the Galapagos archipelago. Using the magic of IMAX® and IMAX® 3D technology, plunge 3,000 feet into underground lava tubes, soar over the peaks of 5,000 foot volcanoes and encounter an abundance of marine life.
Ring of Fire is about the immense natural force of the great circle of volcanoes and seismic activity that rings the Pacific Ocean and the varied people and cultures who coexist with them. Spectacular volcanic eruptions are featured, including Mount St. Helens, Navidad in Chile, Sakurajima in Japan, and Mount Merapi in Indonesia.