Terra Incognita
★ 10 · 1963 · 27m · Documentary · Adventure
The Kerguelen Islands, nicknamed the "Islands of Desolation," are a French archipelago of subantarctic islands in the southernmost part of the Indian Ocean. They constitute one of the five districts of the French Southern and Antarctic Lands (TAAF). Uninhabited, the archipelago was discovered in the southern Indian Ocean on February 12, 1772, by the French navigator Yves Joseph de Kerguelen de Trémarec. This scientific film by Gilbert Dassonville, intended for the general public and for educational purposes, presents the scientific missions underway in 1963 on the Kerguelen Islands. The permanent station at Port-aux-Français, founded in 1950, the archipelago, and the surrounding wildlife are documented by following the multidisciplinary teams (biology, geophysics, geology, meteorology).
More Like This
The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou
2004 · ★ 7.1
Renowned oceanographer Steve Zissou has sworn vengeance upon the rare shark that devoured a member of his crew. In addition to his regular team, he is joined on his boat by Ned, a man who believes Zissou to be his father, and Jane, a journalist pregnant by a married man. They travel the sea, all too often running into pirates and, perhaps more traumatically, various figures from Zissou's past, including his estranged wife, Eleanor.
More info →
Ivohiboro, The Lost Forest
2024 · ★ 7.5
The film follows an expedition into Ivohiboro — a small, previously unexplored tropical forest in Southeast Madagascar rich with biodiversity.
More info →
Grand Canyon Adventure: River at Risk
2008 · ★ 5.5
A documentary about a 15-day river-rafting trip on the Colorado River aimed at highlighting water conservation issues.
More info →
Einsame Atolle, unbekannte Tiefen
2023 · ★ 8
The endless expanses of the Indian Ocean are home to the last natural paradises: Remote atolls surrounded by coral reefs in crystal clear water. Whole regions of this ocean are still unexplored, many reefs are not marked on any map. The departure of the research vessel Agulhas II from the island of La Réunion marks the beginning of one of the greatest scientific adventures of our time. The expedition, initiated by Monaco Explorations with the support of the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation, lasted six weeks and led into the Western Indian Ocean along the Mascarene Plateau.
More info →
Alien from L.A.
1988 · ★ 3.4
When her archaeologist father disappears on an expedition, Wanda sets out to look for him. What she finds is a secret underground world, where no one believes in life on the surface and where she and her father are taken for spies.
More info →
Jaws vs. Kraken
2022 · ★ 7
Something shocking is happening in the abyss around Guadalupe Island. Photos of great whites with strange scars believed to be from giant squids have surfaced. Dr. Tristan Guttridge leads a mission to get a glimpse into the battles between the two beasts.
More info →
She
1935 · ★ 5.6
Leo Vincey, told by his dying uncle of a lost land visited 500 years ago by his ancestor, heads out with family friend Horace Holly to try to discover the land and its secret of immortality, said to be contained within a mystic fire. Picking up Tanya, a guide's daughter, in the frozen Russian arctic, they stumble upon Kor, revealed to be a hidden civilization ruled over by an immortal queen, called She, who believes Vincey is her long-lost lover John Vincey, Leo's ancestor.
More info →
Silverback
2024 · ★ 8.2
Feature-length documentary following award-winning wildlife cameraman Vianet Djenguet as he documents a gruelling but vital mission to ‘habituate’ a notoriously protective 450lb silverback, in a last-ditch effort to save the critically endangered eastern lowland gorillas from extinction.
More info →
The Egypt Code Breakers
2022 · ★ 7
By decoding ancient hieroglyphic texts, Jean-François Champollion gave voice to an enigmatic civilization, but behind his legendary feat is a mysterious brother who made it possible. The recent discovery of correspondence between Jean-François Champollion and his brother Jacques-Joseph now allows us to fully understand how a young, self-taught genius was able to make one of the most important discoveries of the 19th century. Without the ingenuity and unfailing support of his older brother, Jean-François would never have succeeded in solving this enigma, which had international repercussions. With animated sequences of their private correspondence, and with the help of archives and expert analysis, this film revisits this unique scientific, human and intellectual adventure to celebrate the bicentenary of the decoding of hieroglyphics.
More info →
The Endurance
2000 · ★ 7
Documentary on the Shackleton Antartic expedition. A retelling of Sir Ernest Shackleton's ill-fated expedition to Antarctica in and the crew of his vessel 'The Endurance', which was trapped in the ice floes and frigid open ocean of the Antarctic in 1914. Shackleton decided, with many of his crew injured and weak from exposure and starvation, to take a team of his fittest men and attempt to find help. Setting out in appalling conditions with hopelessly inadequate equipment, they endured all weather and terrain and finally reached safety. Persuading a local team of his confidence that the abandoned team would still be alive, he set out again to find them. After almost 2 years trapped on the ice, all members of the crew were finally rescued.
More info →
Swimming with Legends
2014 · ★ 8.1
A biographical documentary about the Belgian free-diver Fred Buyle and his art of silent diving.
More info →