Costa Rica, le réveil de la nature

Chavela

June 2017 •Spanish

Inspired by an exclusive interview and performance footage of Chavela Vargas shot in 1991 and guided by her unique voice, the film weaves an arresting portrait of a woman who dared to dress, speak, sing, and dream her unique life into being.

River of Gold

March 2016 •English

Narrated by Academy Award winners Sissy Spacek and Herbie Hancock, River of Gold is the disturbing account of a clandestine journey into Peru's Amazon rainforest to uncover the savage unraveling of pristine jungle. What will be the fate of this critical region of priceless biodiversity as these extraordinarily beautiful forests are turned into a hellish wasteland?

Les Trésors cachés des gorges

September 2022 •French

Oscar Arias: Without a Shot Fired

June 2017 •English

This is the story of a tiny country that made a decision to do something that no other country had ever done -- it decided to abolish its army and declare peace to the world. And this is the story of a young boy who grew up in that country, and how he ended up challenging -- and sometimes even convincing -- the greatest powers in the world to follow Costa Rica's example. "Oscar Arias: Without a Shot Fired" is a Don Quixote-like saga with great historical touchstones -- Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev, Cold War politics and Communism, Central American War and Peace. It follows a slight, academic, and most unlikely hero over the course of more than fifty years, as he travels the world in a quest to stop the spread of the weapons of war. In the end, it is a story about the triumph of reason, of the sparrow triumphing over the eagle, and how the impossible dream can sometimes come true.

Breaking Boundaries: The Science of Our Planet

June 2021 •English

David Attenborough and scientist Johan Rockström examine Earth's biodiversity collapse and how this crisis can still be averted.

Jane Goodall: Reasons for Hope

May 2023 •English

Jane Goodall-Reasons For hope is an uplifting journey with stories to inspire people to make a difference in the world. Three different conservation stories illustrate Jane's pillars of hope.

Extinction: The Facts

September 2020 •English

With a million species at risk of extinction, Sir David Attenborough explores how this crisis of biodiversity has consequences for us all, threatening food and water security, undermining our ability to control our climate and even putting us at greater risk of pandemic diseases.

Vibrant

May 2023 •French

From infinitely small to super-predator, from the earthworm to the whale, from the blade of grass to the giant tree, Vibrant takes you on a journey to discover the biodiversity one country can host. Through the breathtaking natural environments of France, it is an exploration of the pyramid of life. It is also, and above all, an opportunity to marvel at these species capable of a thousand feats, subtly connected to each other and of which the human being is an integral part. A link that we have too often forgotten and that it is time to reweave.

1948

October 2018 •Spanish

The Hummingbird Effect

March 2023 •English

Costa Rica's motto is Pura Vida - Pure Life - and this deceptively small country is bursting with some of the most spectacular wildlife and pristine ecosystems in the world. All this diversity thrives, in part, thanks to one surprising little creature: hummingbirds. Venture across Costa Rica's wild and rugged landscapes, from volcanic peaks to coastal jungle to misty cloud forests and discover the nation's dazzling diversity of hummingbirds. Watch how these tiny birds play an outsize role in maintaining some of the richest and wildest environments on Earth, where a whole community of creatures, such as macaws and monkeys, enjoys The Hummingbird Effect.

Shark Land: Welcome to Cocos Island

January 2015 •English

“Entourage” star Adrian Grenier ventures to Cocos Island off the shore of Costa Rica to bring attention to the plight of endangered sharks who are being threatened by poachers and ocean pollution.

Calling on Costa Rica

March 1947 •English

This travelogue of Costa Rica, the second smallest of the American republics, starts at San Jose Airport. Transportation is key within the country, boasting among the best roads in the world. San Jose itself is the capital, a small city of about 70,000, with many recreational areas in its suburbs. Heading out of the city, we come to an orchid farm, there being said to be more varieties of the plant in Costa Rica than anywhere else in the world. Next, we move to the volcanic mountains, the range within Costa Rica which contains the largest crater in the world. We then move to the farmland, with coffee and bananas being the primary agricultural export crops.

Vielfalt statt Artensterben: Die Menschheit am Scheideweg

April 2022 •German

The loss of biodiversity is highly alarming: our planet is currently experiencing the greatest extinction since the age of the dinosaurs. This film documents the extinction of species currently happening around the world. But it also highlights hopeful initiatives as committed men and women on every continent fight to save endangered species and work towards improving biodiversity.

Through the Gaze of the Cockfighter

January 2022 •Spanish

What motivates a cock-fighter to fight a rooster he loves? In Costa Rica, cockfighting is considered a crime and has been banned for 99 years. A large part of society rejects this tradition and those who practice it, but is it fair to morally judge a cock-fighter as a criminal? We will get to know the other side of the coin through the gaze of the cock-fighter.

A World Without Bees?

January 2021 •French

There are numerous alerts and alarms. We now know that bees are endangered throughout the world. What are the possible solutions? How can humans respond to this situation? There are many answers, some are ubiquitous, some futuristic, others are innovative and still others embody unity and collectivity. Let's take a trip around the world to meet the different players and discover the possible solutions. The world of tomorrow will be found in the answers we find.

biopixels

Invalid date •English

Shot at two cutting-edge research labs which specialize in the evolution of butterflies and moths, BIopixels is an animated short film exploring the world of evolutionary biology on the microscopic scale. The images - rendered from collections containing over 50,000 specimens - were take by microscopists over three years to create the animated shorts Nanoscapes and Biopixels. Both the animation and the score play with concepts of pattern, time, density and other means of development common to biological evolution.

From the Interior, Colonized

January 1992 •English

Vandana Shiva discusses biodiversity at the World Women’s Congress for a Healthy Planet in Miami, Nov. 1991 in advance of the Earth Summit. In a follow up workshop women devise policy. Wangari Maathai reads the final platform. At a concluding press conference, Peggy Antrobus underscores that the real issues were discussed by women in Miami, and will not be put forth in Rio.

Costa Rica Banana Republic

January 1979 •Spanish

This film was originally made for the International Conference on Human Settlements (HABITAT) which was held in Vancouver, Canada. Taking as an example the production and marketing of bananas and the prevailing conditions in the world market - dominated by the virtual monopoly of three multinational companies -, it is shown how as a result of this monopolistic domination, the Costa Rican State has stopped receiving equitable taxes for what that, in the end, the housing and public services offered by the country are characterized as those of an underdeveloped society. The attempt made since 1974 by a group of banana-producing countries, aimed at improving sales prices to multinationals and raising taxes; The resulting “banana war” are examples of the enormous efforts that small banana countries have to make to achieve greater justice in the prevailing market conditions.

Memorias Encuadradas

July 2025 •Spanish

One hundred years of the cinematic memory of a small country told through motion graphics. A brief tour of previously unseen images and forgotten fragments of Costa Rican cinema, which, amid state efforts and industrial ambitions, prevailed throughout the 20th century.

Uma casa, uma vida

November 2014 •Portuguese