Dschungel Berlin 1978

Angkor - Ein Urwaldgeheimnis in Kambodscha

January 1956 •German

An overview of the ruins of Angkor, the former capital of the Khmer Empire.

The Devil's Island: Journey Into Jungle Alcatraz

August 2001 •English

Imagine the prison of Alcatraz, only 10 times worse, built on tropical, hellish and deadly islands, lost to the rest of the world. Three tiny castaway islands rise away from the coast of French Guyana, in South America: The Devil's Islands. Now buried under an impenetrable jungle, lay the lost remains of what had been for a hundred years the most storied convict prison in history. There, while most of the prisoners faded into oblivion, a few became legends. Some because they were innocent, as in the scandalous Dreyfus Affair, some because they somehow escaped the islands of nightmare, as did the "butterfly", Henry Charrière, immortalized by Steve McQueen in Papillon. Now 50 years after the prison doors slammed shut for the last time, we explore what's left of the Devil's Islands' unbelievably dark and oppressive realm.

Die grüne Hölle

January 1934 •German

Expedition into the Amazon river and its rain forests

The White Diamond

November 2004 •English

This 2004 documentary by Werner Herzog diaries the struggle of a passionate English inventor to design and test a unique airship during its maiden flight above the jungle canopy.

Curse of the Mayan Temple

January 1977 •English

A documentary exploring the ruins of a Mayan temple in Mexico and a "cursed" medallion that was found there.

Bancoco

May 2023 •English

A New Yorker journeys to the jungle in the Darien Gap of Panama to reconnect with an indigenous tribe he met and photographed 20 years ago. Their reunion highlights the profound power of photos and the human connection that transcends cultural barriers.

Chang: A Drama of the Wilderness

April 1927 •English

Elephants disrupt the lives of a family deep in the jungles of Northern Siam, and an entire village.

Berliner Pflaster

January 1956 •German

Commissioned by the Berliner Landesbildarchiv, this movie shows countless impressions of (West) Berlin everyday life, accentuated with self-ironic commentary.

Africa Adventure

September 1954 •English

A true film account of a three-month safari in the big game hunting areas of the Dark Continent, undoctored with any faked plot or contrivance.

Bring 'Em Back Alive

June 1932 •English

American animal trapper Frank Buck travels with Ali, his "number one boy," on an expedition into the Malayan jungle. From their jungle headquarters just north of Singapore, Frank, Ali and a team of native helpers roam the area from Northern Johore to Perak in search of interesting wild animals, reptiles and birds. Hoping to find a tiger, Buck captures a monitor lizard and a black leopard, while another black leopard narrowly escapes an encounter with a giant python and then battles a bigger and stronger tiger. After trapping a spotted leopard, Frank adopts a baby honey bear and a baby elephant. The team catches an orangutan, but the tiger eludes their camouflaged pit. Meanwhile, Frank visits the "bathing festival" of a local tribe and watches as tribesmen kill an intruding spotted leopard with blow darts. The tiger then meets an enormous regal python, who has just crushed a crocodile, and fights to a draw with it.

Jungle Cavalcade

July 1941 •English

Compilation of footage from three Frank Buck films about his adventures capturing animals for the world's zoos: "Bring 'Em Back Alive" (1933); "Wild Cargo" (1934); and "Fang And Claw" (1935).

B-Movie: Lust & Sound in West-Berlin 1979-1989

February 2015 •English

The wild West Berlin of the 1980s became the creative melting pot of pop subcultures: music, art and chaos. Before the Iron Curtain fell, anything and everything seemed possible.

Urwelt im Urwald

January 1925 •German

German documentary about the Brazilian jungle

Tears in the Amazon

March 2010 •Korean

A documentary about environment destruction in the Amazon and the tribes living there. Produced for the 48th anniversary of MBC, Korea. A brilliant records of the itinerary for 250 days through the Amazon.

Dragan Wende - West Berlin

November 2014 •German

Dragan Wende has lived in Berlin since the '70s and has seen the city change through the years. His nephew comes to live with him as Dragan remembers the better days he lived as a Yugoslavian immigrant in a divided city.

The Monkey-Eating Eagle of the Orinoco

July 2010 •English

Documentary about the harpy eagle, which feeds on monkeys.

The Rhythmatist

January 1985 •English

A musical oddessy through the heart of Africa in search of the roots of Rock & Roll.

The Amazon Head Hunters

November 1932 •French

The Marquis de Wavrin, a Belgian explorer, spends four years in the Amazon jungle in Ecuador looking for a lost friend who may have fallen victim to headhunters.

Orangutan Rescue - Back to the wild

September 2014 •English

6 Weeks to Mother's Day

November 2017 •Thai

150 underprivileged and orphaned students in the remote jungle of Thailand attending the country's first democratic school prepare a special celebration to honor their remarkable adoptive mother on Mother's Day.