Broken Fall (Organic)

A look at the predators of the Savuti

In a seasonal special, Gordon Buchanan meets the animals who live in nature's winter wonderlands. He reveals their survival secrets, from the polar bear mother who gives her cubs the best possible start in life to the owl that finds food hidden beneath a blanket of snow, plus the plucky penguins that huddle together to keep warm. Gordon also unwraps the lives of our favourite Christmas characters - those wonderful reindeer and our very own robin redbreast!

Introducing Gunner, a Cheetah born amidst the merciless killing fields of Botswana's Linyanti, where Africa's most formidable predators reign. In this treacherous realm, Gunner emerges as the runt of his litter, his playful nature overshadowing his instinct to hunt. Safeguarded by his vigilant brothers, fate deals a devastating blow as tragedy befalls them, leaving Gunner to face an unforgiving reality. Time is of the essence, for a ruthless coalition of cheetahs sets its sights on seizing Gunner's territory, sparing no expense. To endure against impossible odds, this underdog must swiftly forge a solitary path to survival.

On the African plains, where only the strong survive, one big cat rules supreme. This is life in the raw: savage, beautiful and unforgettable. During the eight years that Jurgen Jozefowicz filmed a pride of lions in South Africa's Kruger National Park, he won the trust of the dominant male and, astonishingly, was accepted into the pride. This is his story. How does it feel to live amidst a group of the most feared predators on the African continent as they fight to survive in a harsh, unforgiving world? Jurgen's film shows what it's like and is the result of his remarkable adventures. Jurgen is one of the world's premier wildlife photographers. His story of his life with these lions is one that spans a period of political struggles, disease and drought, showing the highs and the lows of life in the lion pride.

Four top predators are compared, each champion in a type of environment, with key adaptations. On the ground, the cheetah outruns prey (approached in masterly stealth) and enemies. In the air, the peregrine falcon is a flight and diving machine. In sweet water, the Nile crocodile survives since the Dino age, without natural enemies, with several amazing metabolism stunts. Lurking under water, it snaps blindly at migrating wildebeest, then waits underground. In the oceans, the equally ancient shark, notably the great white, migrates seasonally to find abundant prey, such as young seals around South Africa.

A concept film from Imogen Heap and Thomas Ermacora, made with crowd-sourced video footage, creating a nature film accompanied by an Orchestral score composed by Heap.

Bas Jan Ader's first fall film shows him seated on a chair, tumbling from the roof of his two-storey house in the Inland Empire.

Bas Jan Ader rides his bike into a canal in Amsterdam.

This short film is part of a mixed media artwork of the same name, which also included postcards of Ader crying, sent to friends of his, with the title of the work as a caption. The film was initially ten minutes long, and included Ader rubbing his eyes to produce the tears, but was cut down to three and a half minutes. This shorter version captures Ader at his most anguished. His face is framed closely. There is no introduction or conclusion, no reason given and no relief from the anguish that is presented.

One of a series of ‘falls’ by Bas Jan Ader that he recorded on film, this work was filmed in West Kapelle, Holland in 1970.

Shot in his garage-studio, the camera records Ader painstakingly hoisting a large brick over his shoulder. His figure is harshly lit by two tangles of light bulbs. He drops the brick, crushing one strand of lights. He again lifts the brick, allowing tension to accrue. The climax inevitable—the brick falls and crushes the second set of lights. Here the film abruptly ends, all illumination extinguished.

In the Aysén region dwell a population of 90000 isolated souls sharing the harsh landscapes of an area about the size of England. Here where beauty seems to be on first-name terms with fear and danger,in a place where the immensity of nature can never be dominated, the setting hesitates, along the expanses, between sparkling colours and the black and white of the snow and the water. The day-to-day images intermingle with a story of mythological aspect; that of the timeless quest for the Lost City of the Caesars, a city of gold built 500 years ago by the conquerors.

Mandrills : le paradis retrouvé

Experience the wonders of evolution like never before.

It delivers enough venom in one bite to kill a hundred people, yet it solely preys on other snakes. Through rare footage follow the King Cobra on its journey throughout the rainforests of India seeking food and a mate.

RHINO MAN follows the courageous field rangers who risk their lives every day to protect South Africa's rhinos from being poached to extinction.

Alabama is the Southernmost home of the Eastern Hemlock, a special grove of trees protected by Wild Alabama, who monitor against an incoming invasive species.

This short film from canoeist Bill Mason illustrates the joy and poetry of paddling solo. All the basic strokes used to control the canoe are rendered with perfect clarity through animated lines. Part of 'Path of the Paddle: Quiet Water', in Bill Mason's Path of the Paddle Series.

This short film from canoeist Bill Mason explains clearly how to locate a deep water channel by reading the rapids and how to apply paddling strokes and manoeuvres to steer the canoe where you want it to go. It also depicts what happens if you "wipe out" in a turbulent rapid and shows you how to survive the swim. Part of 'Path of the Paddle: Whitewater', in Bill Mason's Path of the Paddle Series.

A look at the life on the Galápagos Islands.