One in a Thousand

Miss Goodall and the Wild Chimpanzees

December 1965 •English

Jane Goodall has spent five years observing the chimps in Tanzania (formerly Tanganyika), Africa. One of her discoveries is that they use primitive tools. The film shows the life of the chimps. Retrospective note: This documentary features remarkable historical footage of Goodall, her original camp, and the Gombe chimpanzees. It shows the early years of Goodall establishing the site before it went on to become a world-renowned research center.

The Beauty of Ugly

November 2007 •English

In the animal world, as in our own, looks aren’t everything. In fact, some of the most aesthetically challenged creatures — from warthogs and proboscis monkeys to bull elephant seals — are also the most fascinating. A stunning variety of these ghastly yet glorious forms are explored in NATURE’s The Beauty of Ugly.

Is our weather getting worse?

January 2012 •English

The BBC looks at our current weather and climate compared to the climate of our past to see if it really is changing...which it is and they explain science behind it

Wild Side of Cats

May 2013 •English

Cat experts explain the behaviors of domestic cats and how their sometimes undesirable actions are really innate instincts, revealing how closely they are still connected to their wild ancestors.

Giants with mud feet

January 2011 •English

German nature film from 2011. Mention the "Elm Fight" in Sweden and most people there think of when protesters and police fought in Kungsträdgården in 1972. But only for a few years previously, a stealthy enemy had reached Sweden, which today threatens the elms far more than any city planner.

Animal Doctors

January 2014 •French

Only twenty-five years ago, the first evidence of self-medicating behaviour among animals was reported among chimpanzees. On the basis of this pioneering research, led by the American Michael Huffman, a new science was founded: "zoopharmacognosy", or the study of animal pharmacopeia. Animals are apparently able to treat themselves actively, to detect natural substances that can provide a remedy for health problems, or to prevent them. The primatologist Michael Huffman explains how he discovered that chimpanzees can heal their diseases with medicinal plants from their environment. The scientist then comments on other very surprising examples: Birds that disinfect their nests by filling them with aromatic plants with repellent properties, a rodent that covers its coat with toxic sap as a poisonous defence against predators and elephants that place mud plasters on their injuries. Some therapeutic behaviours may even be transmitted socially among certain species.

Home in the danger zone

January 2010 •English

News from the troubled Korean peninsula comes frequently and often deals with the risks of new fighting between North and South Korea. But between the two there is a zone where the wild got a chance and where rare animals can live on in the shadow of all weapons.

Elementa

July 2020 •English

A black-and-white visual meditation of wilderness and the elements. Wildlife filmmaker Richard Sidey returns to the triptych format for a cinematic experience like no other.

Baboon Bandits: Monkey Alert in South Africa

January 2011 •English

Jimmy is a burglar and a loner, Long-Fingered Fred excels in breaking into cars, while Merlin prefers to target restaurants. Meet the alpha males of the infamous Smits Baboon Gang.

Šumavská suita

June 1966 •Czech

Lake

December 2019 •English

Lake gazes down at a still body of water from a birds-eye view, while a group of artists peacefully float in and out of the frame or work to stay at the surface. As they glide farther away and draw closer together, they reach out in collective queer and desirous exchanges — holding hands, drifting over and under their neighbors, making space, taking care of each other with a casual, gentle intimacy while they come together as individual parts of a whole. The video reflects on notions of togetherness and feminist theorist Silvia Federici’s call to “reconnect what capitalism has divided: our relation with nature, with others, and our bodies.”

A Bee's Diary

October 2020 •English

Bees are one of the most important species on the planet. A look at the trials and tribulations of two particular honeybees over two years from birth to death.

The Lost Forest

May 2020 •English

How would natural habitats develop without human interference? In this documentary we follow an international team of scientists and explorers on an extraordinary mission in Mozambique to reach a forest that no human has set foot in. The team aims to collect data from the forest to help our understanding of how climate change is affecting our planet. But the forest sits atop a mountain, and to reach it, the team must first climb a sheer 100m wall of rock.

The History of a Butterfly: A Romance of Insect Life

June 1910 •English

Directed by one of the pioneers of the cinematic industry, James Williamson, The History of a Butterfly - A Romance of Insect Life is an intriguing look at the life cycles of butterflies and moths. Caterpillars are seen hatching, feeding and ready for pupation and with three caterpillars changing into chrysalis and the birth of a peacock butterfly, this black and white silent film is an early example of British natural history filmmaking.

Blue Suns

January 2010 •English

A walk in the woods become a metaphoric journey in Chloé Leriche's short film. As a solitary figure moves through the forest, the texture of stone, the movement of water, all the infinite pageantry of the natural world is captured in its richness and detail. With the help of an orchestrated soundscape and composed cinematography, Blue Suns catches the miracle and mystery of this world as it unfolds.

Antarctica: Ice & Sky

October 2015 •French

Documentary about the work of Claude Lorius, who began studying Antarctic ice in 1957, and, in 1965, was the first scientist to be concerned about global warming.

Silence of the Bees

October 2008 •English

In the winter of 2006, a strange phenomenon fell upon honeybee hives across the country. Without a trace, millions of bees vanished from their hives. A precious pollinator of fruits and vegetables, the disappearing bees left billions of dollars of crops at risk and threatened our food supply. The epidemic set researchers scrambling to discover why honeybees were dying in record numbers — and to stop the epidemic in its tracks before it spread further.

Mountains of the Wolf

June 2003 •Spanish

Documentary that shows the life of some individual wolves in the mountains of Spain.

Inhabit: A Permaculture Perspective

March 2015 •English

Inhabit is a feature length documentary introducing permaculture: a design method that offers an ecological lens for solving issues related to agriculture, economics, governance, and on. The film presents a vast array of projects, concepts, and people, and it translates the diversity of permaculture into something that can be understood by an equally diverse audience. For those familiar, it will be a call to action and a glimpse into what's possible - what kind of projects and solutions are already underway. For those unfamiliar, it will be an introduction to a new way of being and a new way of relating to the Earth. For everyone, it will be a reminder that humans are capable of being planetary healing forces.

Shutter Shooter

September 2023 •Spanish

Etienne-Jules Marey, a French inventor who turned a gun into a camera. A hand-drawn hunter whose weapon, instead of firing ammunition, shoots photographs. Carlos, a Mexican wildlife photographer who used to be a real life hunter until he chose to get rid of all his guns. All come together in this poetic yet approachable animated documentary short film.