Leaning on the tree

Do they really launch themselves onto the shore to grab a hapless snack? See for yourself, and gain a vivid appreciation for their appetites and skills. While your jaw drops at their fearsome agility, you’ll also be learning about their migratory and other behaviours from scientists who observe them daily and strive to increase our understanding of their needs for survival. In this National Geographic ‘Wildlife Special’ you’ll journey around the globe to see their extraordinary hunting techniques in action.

We follow the timid Theo, whose mother stands to lose her disability benefits. Help comes from the effortlessly flamboyant trans woman Kleopatra, a militant animal-identified posthumanist (a.k.a. Rabbit), and their fearless comrades. Together they reclaim social security for Theo’s mother, with the help of black magic and a comic shoot-out with the police. But fear not: “In order to break the symbolic connection between masculinity and power, everyone carrying a gun must wear a dress.” Then there’s the release of the animals from the Götenborg zoo, and much dancing and singing in between the organizing.

Disenchanted by the modern world, Michael Lees heads into the forest of Dominica with some basic survival gear, religious texts and a camera. "Why did man ever leave the forest? And what makes for a good life?" Just as he starts to acclimatize to his new life - the unexpected; Category 5 Hurricane Maria, one of the top ten strongest Atlantic hurricanes in history, makes a direct landfall. Michael is caught out in the open in a palm leaf and bamboo hut. With the nation in ruins, the forest destroyed, and essential services knocked out islandwide, the entire country must now return to a past way of life if they hope to survive.

The highest mountain range in the world, the Himalayan range is far reaching, spanning thousands of miles, and holds within it an exceptionally diverse ecology. Coniferous and subtropical forests, wetlands, and montane grasslands are as much a part of this world as the inhospitable, frozen mountaintops that tower above. The word Himalaya is Sanskrit for abode of snow, fitting for a stretch of land that houses the world’s largest non polar ice masses. Extensive glacial networks feed Asia's major rivers including the Ganges, Indus, and Brahmaputra. More than a billion people rely on these glacier-fed water sources for drinking water and agriculture. The Himalayas are not only a remarkable expanse of natural beauty. They're also crucial for our survival.

During lockdown, Telmo Esnal recovered a long-forgotten project: 'UR', a tale by Pablo Azkue taking a deep look at the conscience and the sea. 'Urtzen' is a special cinematic essay, a curious collage which, recycling and reusing dialogues, images and music, reflects on existence.

How to Fix the World? is a comprehensive and informative documentary about direct action in the 1990s and 2000s, directed by Jouko Aaltonen. In the documentary, anarchists, climate activists, and squatters openly describe their experiences and link them to mainstream phenomena in society. A wide range of archive material sheds a light on the history of direct action and activism in the Finnish society.

The story of a little loggerhead turtle, as she follows in the path of her ancestors on one of the most extraordinary journeys in the natural world. Born on a beach in Florida, she rides the Gulf Stream up towards the Arctic and ultimately swims around the entire North Atlantic across to Africa and back to the beach where she was born. But the odds are stacked against her; just one in ten thousand turtles survive the journey.

A decade after An Inconvenient Truth brought climate change into the heart of popular culture comes the riveting and rousing follow-up that shows just how close we are to a real energy revolution. Vice President Al Gore continues his tireless fight, traveling around the world training an army of climate champions and influencing international climate policy. Cameras follow him behind the scenes—in moments private and public, funny and poignant—as he pursues the empowering notion that while the stakes have never been higher, the perils of climate change can be overcome with human ingenuity and passion.

An artistic hybrid documentary, ZERO IMPUNITY is the centerpiece of an ambitious global transmedia project. ZERO IMPUNITY sheds a powerful spotlight on the seemingly total Impunity for the use of sexual violence in armed conflicts worldwide. ZERO IMPUNITY is an important and necessary eye opening Scream, raising awareness and outrage.

A villager of Desa Jepitu named Rubiyanto conducted a water extraction project from Gua Pulejajar with a group of volunteers. Echa, a student of cultural anthropology, involved herself in the project for her research. The water reserve in Gua Pulejajar does not only give hope to Rubiyanto and the other villagers of Desa Jepitu, but also reignites spiritual relations between Echa and her late father, who was a former activist of Gua Pulejajar.

Glaciers of the Winds is a one-hour documentary on the scientific exploration and retreat of the glaciers in the Wind River Mountains of Wyoming. WyomingPBS will look at the big picture of how receding alpine glaciers will affect the ecosystem, municipalities, farmers, and ranchers downstream.

Wild rabbits share the sea cliffs on the island of Skomer, off the Pembrokeshire coast, with seabirds like puffins and seagulls. They come in many shades, owing to their intriguing history, and each spring the island of Skomer itself is transformed by wild flowers, creating one of Britain's most beautiful natural spectacles. The green and brown island turns blue and pink for a couple of spectacular weeks under a carpet of bluebells and red campion.

A devoted pair of little owls set up home in an old orchard in rural Herefordshire. From spring blossom to autumn apples, a year in the life of the parent birds, their baby owls and the old fruit trees.

Two otters, a mother and daughter, are inseparable as the cub faces the dangers of her first Scottish winter, and Mum works hard to ensure both survive. Never more than a few feet apart, cub and mum exhibit a very special relationship as the cub grows up, learning how to fish and fend for herself on the idyllic west coast of Scotland.

Filmed in the Canadian Rockies and in Garibaldi Park, this documentary features magnificent footage of mountain solitudes and the wildlife found there, of natural splendour in all its changing moods. The film carries the implicit warning that all this may pass away if people do not seek to preserve it. Without words.

whydoyouhavetotakeoffyourshoesfirst ?

For the last quarter century, Houston native Arden Eversmeyer journeyed across the country to record hundreds of oral "herstories" with a mostly invisible population that is rapidly disappearing. Old Lesbians honors Arden's legacy by animating the resilient, joyful voices she preserved in the Old Lesbian Oral Herstory Project, from first crush to first love, from the closet to coming out, and finally from loss to connection.

In the Netherlands, 200,000 young people are concerned about the end of the world and the major climate disasters they may experience. They learn from Greta Thunberg that the world will end if we continue like this. Climate depression and eco-anxiety have recently become official diagnoses. Robin (26 die/them), Melih (16 he/him) and Armando (21 he/him) turn their concerns into action. How far will they go and how lonely is their struggle? Documentary about the biggest problem of our time and the pressure this puts on a growing generation.

Šumavská suita

This documentary speaks to local activist groups in the music industry and culture scene to find out why people are driven to fight back and speak out on subjects they’re passionate about. With an aim of inspiring the next generation, each activist gives their advice on how you can put a cause you are passionate about in the local scene into action. Hope Lynes spoke to Phil Douglas from LGBTQIA+ organisation Curious Arts; grassroots promoter Hana Harrison from Art Mouse; Tracks' Sarah Wilson, who campaigns for better female representation in the music scene with her project Noisy Daughters; Chantal Herbert from feminist Black and queer-led organisation Sister Shack; and disability activist and musician Ruth Lyon. It’s hoped that this intimate and personal documentary will explore the starting points to beginning your own activism.