Soil: What It Is and What It Does

In 2020, just as the pandemic was beginning, Gazala purchased land in western Ohio, on which sits a disused school building. This site allowed her to explore her complex relationship with “the land.” As the daughter of displaced indigenous Palestinians, she attempts to form a proxy bond with the earth, on ground that was stolen from the displaced indigenous Shawnee people. Closeness to the Land is video footage of hand-painted text signs that translate the word الأرض (ard) into six English words, displayed performatively in multiple locations to capture the now-invisible nature of indigenous culture in Ohio. These signs were installed on the old schoolhouse in early 2021.

Five times, Earth has faced apocalyptic events that swept nearly all life from the face of the planet. What did these prehistoric creatures look like? What catastrophes caused their disappearance? And how did our distant ancestors survive and give rise to the world we know today?

We’ve all seen environmental problems highlighted everyday on the media. Now comes the solution. From the man who said, “You can solve all the world’s problems in a garden” comes Geoff Lawton’s Permaculture Soils DVD. 137 minutes of Permaculture soil creation strategies that really work! Even if you have never built a garden or got your hands dirty before, you will learn the secrets of real soil creation – partnering with the life in the Soil! Geoff will take you through every step of the process and explain in detail how to do it yourself. From Compost creation to larger Kitchen Gardens and then to broad acre farming – this is the future of biological agriculture.

Who knows about springtails? And among those for whom this name rings a bell, how many have already seen them? Yet, these small animals, similar to insects, are present in all terrestrial ecosystems. Springtails are undisputed soil regulators. Scientists recognize them today as absolutely essential, especially in the search for pollutants, disruptors, and all the variations that affect our soils, but this little animal is almost unknown. Thanks to extremely precise cameras, as close as possible to these microscopic animals, a teeming life is revealed before our eyes. According to the seasons, the film invites us to get into the intimacy of the springtails, to discover their morphology, their role and their usefulness in the ecosystems of the planet while rubbing shoulders with other organisms in the same environments.

14-part special in which botanist Francis Hallé explains forest science and processes. Part of the "Once Upon a Forest" physical release.

It is the foundation of all life. We live on it and from it: the soil. What does the soil do for us? What do we do with the soil? How is it formed? And why is it in danger? The documentary follows an earthworm through its subterranean life cycle and, from here, keeps returning to researchers whose projects are dedicated to protecting the soil.

It is a daring idea: to grow food from old mattresses in a desolate camp at the edge of a war zone. When a refugee scientist meets two quirky professors, they must confront their own catastrophes - and make a garden grow. Short film now streaming on Waterbear.com.

An exploration of a new paradigm of health, science, and medicine, based on the interconnections between us and nature.

How can we harness the power of mushrooms to fight climate change? In the American West, wildfires spread fast. To slow the flames, forest managers are thinning the forests. Cutting down trees. 
But where does all that wood go? Nearby on the agricultural prairie, soils sit degraded from generations of traditional farming. The soil lacks the organic matter they need to thrive. Could these two challenges provide solutions to each other—
with a little help from Mother Nature? Peaks to Prairie is a short film about nature-based climate solutions and how mushrooms can play a key role.

Something from there is a short film on the substance of our original lands. Weaving between the voices of the artist’s parents, one a refugee and the other not, the film is personal, yet evokes a shared Palestinian experience.

Three family-owned farms on the Delmarva Peninsula and their success using practices that protect and promote healthy soil; practices that also safeguard working lands against the extremes posed by climate change.

In an alternate 1950s where humans can be grown from seeds, a lonely woman reluctantly plants herself a brand new husband with hopes that he's the "perfect" one.

An exclusive first-look at the cutting edge technology, ingenuity and breakthrough design behind the construction of Universal Studios' Hollywood "Revenge of the Mummy" roller-coaster ride.

Episodes of the Warsaw Uprising as reported by the insurgent radio station "Błyskawica," illustrated with archival photographs and photos of contemporary Warsaw. Professor Tomasz Strzembosz talks about the specifics of the insurgent struggle and the construction of the station's transmitter, which was constantly moved to different buildings in the city center during the fighting. The film attempts to show what "Błyskawica" meant to Home Army soldiers and the residents of Warsaw and recounts what the station reported on, namely the general situation in the city during the uprising, problems with weapons, food, and water, the insurgent postal service, the explosion of a tank trap, the work of ad hoc hospitals, teenage liaison officers and guides in the sewers, and the execution by the Germans of an entire unit that had surrendered.

How do seven young people, former street children from Romania, get to see the Pacific Ocean? On 1 December 2008, a Romanian national team participates for the first time in the Homeless World Cup in Melbourne, Australia. The film follows the team from the formation of the squad to the end of the championship. The young people are from Timisoara and Arad, runaway children who now live in abandoned houses or who have managed to get a job and live in rented accommodation after going through orphanages or prisons. After taking a beating from many teams, the young Romanians manage to beat the USA. They are happy. They are all thinking of never going "home" again. It's warm and nice here, the people are nice. "In case I stay, I kissed you all!" says one of them cautiously. But after taking pictures of themselves on the beach with the ocean behind them and beautiful girls by their side, the seven return to Romania and get on with their lives.

Robi Watkinson and Emma Hodson travel across Britain and the Netherlands documenting the story of the rewilding movement from its inception, to the return of the beaver, bison and perhaps one day, the lynx to Britain.

Nicolas Cage dies all the way from Hollywood to Direct-To-DVD.

A documentary about former team principal Franz Tost and how he built up the fledgling Toro Rosso outfit into a Grand Prix winning team. How he helped nurture and grow exciting new talent into becoming future world champions. Drivers such as Max Verstappen and Sebastian Vettel! He explains his process in working with drivers, managing a growing team, and facing multiple challenges.

Brand-new interviews with director Iain Softley, cast members Fisher Stevens, Matthew Lillard and Penn Jillette, costume designer Roger Burton, visual effects artist Peter Chiang, and more!

This is the story of Max, the director's own story, playfully animated within the realms of documentary. Max's story goes back several generations to sailors, industrialists and Summer of Love hippies, all of whom are depicted with whole-hearted love and equal amounts of irony.