King of the Mountains – Golden Eagle (WDR / ARTE / BR 2014) 45 min.
The Natural History of the Golden Eagle, shot with all means of modern
filming equipment and showing only wild, untamed birds. The viewers can
witness the eagle chick struggling out of its eggshells towards daylight
or can watch the future king of the heavens leaving the safety zone of
its nest for the first time. The story of the Golden Eagles is set in
the forests of the Middle-European Mountains. Where from the highest peaks
to the deepest canyons numerous surprising and interesting species will
be discovered, all of them somehow interacting with our Golden Eagles.
Gallery
King of the Seas – White- tailed Eagle (WDR / ARTE / BR 2014) 45 min.
The film shows the life of this most impressive bird
of prey. We follow an old Eagle couple that has been dominating their
large hunting grounds for many years. Miniature cameras allow us to see
behind the curtain and get a fresh insight into the private life of wild,
untamed White-tailed Eagles. Thanks to our state of art highspeed-equipment
the hunting techniques of White-tailed eagles will be made visible –
this is eye candy for the viewers. The surprising stories of the other
creatures who share their habitat on Europe’s coasts with the White-tailed
Eagles promise to be a treat. Gallery
The Garden (NDR / ARTE 2013) 2 x 45 min.
For millenniums the Garden is considered to be the
likeness of Paradise. So it is not without reason that Paradise is called
“The Garden of Eden”. In the garden men can “play god”,
but no matter how hard men tries – nature always seems to succeed
in retaining its space. There are only few habitats that are as complex
and surprising as a garden. Using the latest methods of imaging including
hidden cameras, hides and studio work alike, this two part film shows
the well known but mostly the unknown sides of T H E habitat right in
front of our doorstep. Gallery
Watzmann – casting his spell (BR 2012) 2 x 45 min.
Up close and personal with the famous and not so famous animals and plants of the Berchtesgaden Alps. In addition to fauna and flora this film shows people who visit the region of Berchtesgaden and who share the mountains, forests, alpine meadows and lakes with the local wildlife. The film highlights similiarities and parallels between wildlife and human visitors. Climber meets Wallcreeper on a steep rock, Paraglider meets Golden Eagle, Snowboarders seem to be imitated by sliding raves and resting hikers who enjoy their lunch are watching Alpine ibex doing just the same…
The Bog (BR / ARTE 2012) 45 min.
Bogs are real oases in the cultivated landscape of
Central Europe. Nature holds many surprises in a bog: It seems as if some
of the most bizarre and colourful members of our native species live in
the bog. Plants that eat animals live here and from one minute to the
next earth swamps trees that have become too large – or sometimes
even unwary hikers are swallowed. Mysterious bog bodies are witnesses
of this ongoing. When the shrouds of mist blow over the bog ponds, when
dead trees appear like skeletons in the moonlight and Jack with a Lantern
dances on the quaking bog – even the sophisticated spectator of
today can get the creeps… Gallery
River Rhine I+II (WDR / ARD / ARTE 2012) 2 x 45 min.
There is hardly any other river in Germany that is surrounded by as many myths and legends as the river Rhine. No other river has been the topic of songs, has been painted and travelled equally frequently. Despite this it still seems to be true today what the French poet Victor Hugo once said about this river – the Rhine is a river everybody talks about, nobody explores, everybody visits but no one really knows… Gallery
Geologist, Technical Diver and Wildlife Filmmaker Walter Sigl is “The Bavarian Aquarius”. Instead of filming the coral reefs of the world, Walter Sigl was right from the start in 1958 drawn into the freshwaters of his Bavarian home country and later of the whole world. He was the first man to film in freshwater and his work was rewarded many times. The film takes the viewer on an adventurous journey into the world of creeks and rivers – on diving trips that seem like a first ascent: into deep potholes, at night or underneath frozen waters. Gallery
Blooming Woods (SWR / WDR 2011) 30 min.
Which plants grow in our forests and how do they live? To answer these questions we started to portray a diversity of plants and their reproduction strategies. In our 30 minute feature film we show the unknown life of plants inside a well known habitat - our forest.
The Alps of Berchtesgaden
(BR / ARTE / NDR / WDR 2011) 45 min.
In the outermost South East of Germany lies the „Berchtesgadener
Land”. From the waveless water of Lake Königssee…to the
endless maze of rocks of the “Steinerne Meer”…up to
the peak of mighty “Watzmann” at 2713m, lies Germany’s
only Alpine National Park. The rocks of these mountains tell a story from
a time where everything was covered by a huge ocean. During the process
of upfolding the former ocean ground has been lifted up high… Gallery
Wild Scandinavia – Norway (NDR / ARTE / WDR / ORF 2010) 45 min.
Fresh-fallen snow in summer - on the high plateau regions of southern Norway, the “Fjells" or “Viddas“, that’s completely normal. As if time has stood still for 10,000 years, this region still offers sights that hark back to the last Ice Age: high treeless plateaus in which herds of reindeer and musk oxen range over a land dominated by meagre dwarf bushes and lichens. Gallery
Wild Scandinavia – Denmark (NDR / ARTE / WDR / ORF 2010) 45 min.
Denmark – at first glance its nature is rather dull. Neither can you find remote mountain ranges or untouched forests nor deep valleys or big lakes. Denmark’s highest mountain peaks at 171m. But still this country that consists of over 400 islands bears some great natural landscapes that are home to many plants and animals. Nowadays even some rare species are underway to return to their former home country. Gallery
The wolves of Langedrag (BR 2010) 30 min.
When we think of Norway – pictures of an open and wild landscape come to our minds. Despite the fact that Europe’s North is only sparsely populated it still seems to be too small for one of our most fascinating carnivores: The wolf. Gallery
En route to the Arctic Circle (NDR 2010) 45 min.
In Germany most of the land apart from designated protected areas is cultivated and formed by mankind. In the states north of Germany things are slightly different; vastness and wilderness are one reason for many of us to travel north. But how far must we go to find REAL wilderness, to find a nature that looks as if man had never had any impact on it? Gallery
Mission Gombessa (WDR / NDR 2010) 45 min.
The Comores – An Island paradise somewhere in the blue widths of the Indian Ocean. Home to a mysterious creature, a relict from the time of the dinosaurs, a fish that today looks the same as it did Millions of years ago – The Coelacanth. 21 years ago the world-famous adventurer and naturalist Hans Fricke was the first to descend into the realm of the dinofish, with a specially designed submarine – the images he brought to the surface attracted worldwide attention. Gallery
Poppy´s
Promise (BR / SWR / ARTE 2009)
15 min. / 45 min.
An organic cornfield, is a truly wild, species rich wonderland where wild
dramas, tragedies and even a few comedies take place on this stage of
life created by humans. In summer, our farmer raises a sea of waving heads
of rye; in winter he sows grasses and clover for hungry cattle. Then in
spring, corn is planted. As seed germinates, the field changes, as if
by magic, into a Garden of Eden, populated by the most varied and eccentric
life forms. Gallery
Myth
of the Forest (NDR / ORF / ARTE
2008)
90 min. / 2 x 45 min.
The forest has
always inspired various feelings in humans. We feel happy and secure in
a spring forest in which birds are singing. But noone likes to go into
the forest at night when owls are calling and trees are groaning in the
wind. The forest is a myth that noone is totally immune from. Gallery
Out of the Desert – The Story of the Donkey (BR 2008) 43 min.
To the peoples of the ancient Orient, the wild ass was noble game, perpetuated in numerous rock designs as “Kings of the Desert" and an enduring symbol of pride, liberty and steadfastness. Today the last of the wild asses fight for survival, and even some of their domesticated brothers, the donkey, have been placed on the Red List of Endangered Species despite the long journey that the sturdy grey animals have made in company with humans. Gallery
Fantastic
Phenomena (SWR / WDR 2004 - 2008) 7x15 min. for schools' broadcasts
Using storylines, documentary and trick photography methods, the functioning
of sight, hearing, smell, touch, taste, digestion and also how animals
learned to fly is explained and nature's various solutions in these matters
are explored.
The
Crayfish in the Jam Jar (BR 2007) 43 min.
The 76 km long valley of the river Isen was formed by the glaciers of
the last Ice Age. Small alluvial forests flank the river and its banks,
which are home to many remarkable animals and plants; rare fishes such
as the rifle minnow, the undermouth and the loach can be found in the
Isen´s clear waters. Gallery
Turkey
– Bridge between Europe and Asia, Parts 1 & 2 (NDR
/ ARTE / ORF / Parthenon 2007) 2 x 45 min.
Turkey is an extremely
polymorphic and zoologically especially interesting country. Due to its
geographical location, representatives of entirely different flora and
fauna regions meet here. Animals and plants from Europe and Asia, from
Arabia, the Mediterranean region and the steppes of the east are at home
here. Gallery
Oldies
but Goldies (BR 2007) 43 min.
An expedition in the
Heimat. A journey to the most impressive trees between the Alps and the
North Sea; full of surprises and wonderful details. Gallery
The
Meadow (NDR / ORF / ARTE 2006)
43 min.
A blooming summer meadow appears like a sea of brilliant colours and filigree
forms. Not even the tropical coral reef can compete with a large farmer's
field in this respect. Gallery
Wild
Allgaeu (BR 2005) 43 min.
Dark
forests stand next to bright meadows, blooming Alpine meadows next to
dapper fruit gardens, bottle green mountain lakes next to ponds full of
reeds. Some mountain peaks look like carefully arranged rock gardens,
where entire bouquets of edelweiss, the quintessential mountain flower,
grow. Gallery
The home of the equestrian arts and herds of half wild horses. Black fighting bulls live in a paradise - and die in a precisely choreographed execution. Exuberant swamps full of life exist next to stunted desert landscapes. Nowhere are heaven and hell as close to one another than here. "Andalusia - land between heaven and hell" was the first German animal film in high resolution HD format.
Supermouse
(BR / ARTE 2004) 43 min.
This
is how most people like to see them: in the jaws of the cat or in a trap:
mice. Since humans began to practice agriculture, he has carried out a
fruitless war against the clever dwarves. But these unloved subtenants
represent only a minority in the large club of mice. And not everything
that is called a "mouse" is actually a mouse…
All animal species have their record holders for longevity, real Methuselahs. Whether fish, birds, mammals or reptiles. What is their secret, what do they have in common... Can these species help us to uncover the secret of aging?
Mystic
River (BR 2003) 43 min.
Where can one still find untouched nature in Bavaria? Not only
in remote Alpine valleys or behind the boundaries of the national parks.
It's still there: small natural havens, somewhere in the countryside;
not protected by any law and unnoticed by human beings. Gallery
The
Salamander´s Secret (NDR / HIT / Nat Geo 2002)
46 min.
An experimental nature film. The framework is provided by a brief criminal
act, at the start of which, in anno 1280, the lord of a castle was poisoned
by his wife Mechthildis. The witch prepared the poison for the murder.
Found in the cocktail: a fire salamander. Gallery
Bird of the
Gods – Gallows Bird (BR 2002) 43 min.
What is it about the clever raven? The film explores
the fascination and repulsion of ravens and attempts to clarify whether
the common raven and the other domestic breeds from the clan of the raven
are truly intelligent.
Return of the
Beaver (BR 2001) 43 min.
Not only the natural history and the behaviour of the
European beaver, but also interesting aspects of the relationship between
human and beaver find their place in this documentary. The film thus begins
in an old monastery, where the novice serves the monks a very special
fasting food following prayers...
Expeditions
into the Animal Kingdom No. 250:
Best of 40 Years (NDR 2001) 43
min.
"Meine lieben Zuschauer..." who doesn't immediately link these
words to an equally loveable and dedicated Heinz Sielmann and the series
"Expeditions into the Animal Kingdom". With a good fourty years
and 250 episodes, it is one of the oldest programmes of the ARD; the evergreen
among the animal films... Gallery
The list of new animal immigrants is long. Vicious piranhas, bothersome Pharaoh ants, Vietnamese pot-bellied pigs, jellyfish, crabs and snnakes are suddenly appearing at latitudes where noone would have previously expected them. The film shows several of the most attention-getting invasive species in the world and their effects on the environment.
The documentary portrays a single, muggy summer day on an old, intensively operated barnyard. But there are no cows or cats to be seen. From sunrise to sunset, the busy activity of the secret inhabitants in and around an old barn is observed.
Five stories about beetles and their sometimes bizarre relationship with human beings: Giant beetles at the spaceport, June bugs as a soup ingredient, a beetle collector in Africa, oil beetles as a potency enhancer, useful pests.
A film about the diverse conglomeration of animal species that have made themselves at home in the major city of Munich. Including raccoons, noctule bats, beech martens, band-winged grasshoppers, rooks and the "Royal Bavarian Groundwater Amphipoda“.
