On Closer Inspection

From the world's most famous penguin parade on Phillip Island to the penguins living in St Kilda, we meet key characters who will attempt to complete their mission: to stake their territory, partner up and raise their chicks.

A sound frame from the silent life

Topo estrellado

Karpatské bukové pralesy

7 shots documenting the deforestation of a local wildlife habitat.

For 5000 years, man has sought to inhabit the more accessible areas of Europe, but at its very heart, in the high zones of the Alps, there exists a world parallel to ours. This is a world in which species have survived dramatic climatic upheavals, human exploitation of the land, and now the pressures of mass tourism. The Alps are home to plants and animals that owe their success to an amazing capacity to live in conditions that, for other species–humans included–would be barely tolerable. For them, however, this is everyday life.

‘An animal simply is,’ nature photographer and writer Heikki Willamo says as dazzling black-and-white images segue from a forest bear to a seagull gliding over the sea. The animal images are themselves captivating, without any need to ask what is happening next. Directed and shot by Perttu Saksa, a well-known photographer, Animal Image borrows its form and speech from the reputed existence of animals: there is only here and now.

A glimpse into the raw and simple power of nature through encounters with farm animals: the eponymous Gunda, a mother pig; two cows, and a one-legged chicken.

This short documentary by Bill Mason explores Pukaskwa National Park on Lake Superior, providing a background of the park's geological past and plant life. The film also shows scenes of hiking, canoeing and camping. The result is to put us back in touch with the natural elements that our ancestors both fought and enjoyed.

Orlia odysea

From the imposing mating call of the red deer and the flight of the buzzard to the hunt of the fox and the micro-ecosystem on a massive oak: nature documentarist Luc Enting recorded it all for his stunning feature film Wild Heart of Holland, produced by PVPictures. The result of his efforts is an exciting, moving and often humorous film, revealing the beauty and diversity of this wild park in every season. We also watch the main characters grow up to adulthood, a path inevitably dogged with challenges. Enting: “To me, this park, in any season, has an almost un-Dutch beauty. It is the largest continuous nature reserve in northwest Europe with an incredible variety of landscapes and life. It has forests, heath, sand drifts, brooks and pushed moraines. With my film, I would like to give a new insight into its incredibly diverse nature.”

This experimental nature documentary by Minna Rainio and Mark Roberts depicts climate change and the wave of extinction from the point of view of our near future. Actually, it depicts the age we live in now, or rather its fateful consequences.

Finland’s first nature documentary. The filmmakers’ expedition leads them all the way to the Åland Islands and the Karelian Isthmus.

An animal documentary by Emmy award winner Hugo van Lawick. The viewer experiences unforgettable and magnificent recordings from Africa, accompanied by a fantastic soundtrack!

The city from the unique perspective of the many wild animals and plants that inhabit it. Seen through the eyes of the adventurous urban cat, Abatutu.

Travel to the East to explore four of the world's most diverse National Parks in the world. Dive into the turquoise waters of Australia's Great Barrier Reef, teeming with brilliant coral, parrot fish, moray eel, sea anemone, starfish. Explore the remote bamboo forest of China's Wo-long National Park and meet an extraordinary community of Giant Pandas. Sail the Pacific Ocean to the magical Galapagos Islands untouched by time and man to see the famous gigantic Galapagos tortoise, lava lizards - wildlife found nowhere else on earth. Finally climb the world's highest mountain, the beautiful and formidable Mount Everest for a view from the top of the world!

Love Thy Nature points to how deeply we’ve lost touch with nature and takes viewers on a cinematic journey through the beauty and intimacy of our relationship with the natural world. The film shows that a renewed connection with nature is key both to our health and the health of our planet.

This film was produced as an extension of a research film on the metamorphosis of the fly. It successively shows the hatching of the eggs, the nutrition and growth of the larvae, swarming and underground penetration, the formation of the pupa, metamorphosis and organization of the adult insect.

Ostrov na vode

In 2016, Dutch birdwatcher Arjan Dwarshuis traveled the world to spot as many birds as possible in the span of one year, with the goal to break the big year world record (6042 species, set by Noah Strycker in 2015).