Shells: Shaped by Nature

Iceland You Think You're Alone

2018 · ★ 8.2

Iceland is one of the wildest places on earth. You could be caught up in the midst of snowstorms and blizzards, but you are never alone... Although tourists from all over the world have started a silent invasion, nature keeps on winning.

The Secret World of Plants

2003 · ★ 7

The secret world of plants gets us closer to these motionless and quiet creatures, so attractive and surprising as the rest of the living creatures. The documentary reveals the most unknown aspects of the vegetable kingdom. We learn about the secret of the eternal youth of a 3500 years old sequoia and be charmed by the 'rafflesia arnoldi' flowers, able to reach up to one meter of diameter.

Witness: Joplin Tornado

2012 · ★ 10

Weaving together dozens of professional and amateur archival sources, along with dramatic interviews with the people behind the cameras, Witness: Joplin Tornado reconstructs the deadliest tornado in modern times, through the eyes of those who lived through it. A group of strangers huddle together in a convenience store cooler, shrieking in terror as the tornado tears apart everything around them. A husband-and-wife stormchasing team find themselves caught in the teeth of the storm, then pressed into service when it finally passes. A young mother sobs as she surveys her daughter’s destroyed bedroom. Yet all the while they film, using their cameras to record both the harrowing experience of the storm itself and the shock of what confronted them after — homes destroyed, neighborhoods flattened, a city devastated. Witness: Joplin Tornado tells the story of that day and its aftermath entirely through the videos and voices of the survivors.

Watershed: Exploring a New Water Ethic for the New West

2012 · ★ 6

As the most dammed, dibbed, and diverted river in the world struggles to support thirty million people and the peace-keeping agreement known as the Colorado River Pact reaches its limits, WATERSHED introduces hope. Can we meet the needs of a growing population in the face of rising temperatures and lower rainfall in an already arid land? Can we find harmony amongst the competing interests of cities, agriculture, industry, recreation, wildlife, and indigenous communities with rights to the water? Sweeping through seven U.S. and two Mexican states, the Colorado River is a lifeline to expanding populations and booming urban centers that demand water for drinking, sanitation and energy generation. And with 70% of the rivers’ water supporting agriculture, the river already runs dry before it reaches its natural end at the Gulf of California. Unless action is taken, the river will continue its retreat – a potentially catastrophic scenario for the millions who depend on it.

Die letzten Paradiese - Die Ökosysteme der Erde

2016

No synopsis available.

Beavers: Patagonia invaders

2015 · ★ 8.7

In 1940 twenty Canadian Beavers were brought to 'Tierra del Fuego' island in southern Patagonia for commercial fur production. However, beavers having no natural predators, quickly spread throughout the island, causing massive destruction of trees threatening the entire Patagonian forests rivers and species. Why wildlife conservationist are convinced that 150.000 beavers must be killed? Why some of the most recognized specialist are convinced that an eradication is not possible? Meanwhile truism is capitalizing on the situation: a man dressed as a beaver passes out flyers promoting a famous sky resort: 'Cerro Castor' - Beaver Hill. Hunters claim for subsidies, scientists are researching, rangers do what they can and restaurants tray to offer beaver meat to tourist.

Arctic

2020 · ★ 8

This film shows the splendor, enormous scope and indescribable beauty of this untouched land far to the north of Alaska, one of the last havens for caribou herds and polar bears. Shot over a period of four years, this film offers a unique insight in the lives of the most charismatic arctic animals.

The Call of the Forest

2021 · ★ 2

No synopsis available.

The Mystery of the Giant Birds

Journey to far-flung islands off Africa, South America, Australia and Oceania for a look at the bird species that lived alongside our ancestors.

Silencing the Thunder

2014

When temperatures drop in Montana, wild bison migrate to lower elevations outside the boundaries of Yellowstone National Park. But once outside, they run the risk of being killed because some carry a chronic disease called brucellosis that ranchers fear could spread to cattle.

Oldest and Newest Places on Earth

2025

It all started with a simple question: Is it possible to travel to the oldest and newest places on Earth? YouTuber, author and filmmaker Joe Scott looked into it, and it turned into the trip of a lifetime. It's a journey across 4 billion years of geologic history that explores the past and present of our remarkable planet, the absurd immensity of deep time, and our tiny but important place in it.

The Wild Forest

2021 · ★ 7.3

“Let nature be nature” is the philosophy of the Bavarian Forest National Park. Despite massive resistance, this vision has become a groundbreaking showcase project. Because humans do not interfere with nature, the former commercial forests grow into a primeval forest, a unique ecosystem and a refuge for biodiversity. People from all over the world come here. They are looking for answers to the question of why we need more wild nature and what we can learn from it to preserve forests for future generations in times of climate change.