Nature Videos - The Documentary Network

Life Before Birth – In the Womb

Documentary.net staff — Tue, 20 Dec 2016 19:13:23 +0000

“My chances are 50-50. Not great odds. And that’s only to get to the starting line. The human race is not for the faint hearted, when half the runners are doomed to die, before the race gets started.” This documentary film explores the development of the growing fetus from conception to delivery. Open a window into the hidden world of the foetus and explore each trimester in amazing detail. It’s meant to be a joyous event, but in reality, it's a gripping battle for survival. Using cutting edge technology, we go inside the womb and follow the incredible nine month journey from conception to birth, showing how the struggle for life turns into the miracle of birth. Enhanced by poet Roger McGough’s reading of a series of poems written for the occasion. “Until now, I thought I was the universe. But everything that is, was within me. Now that I can touch these walls, I realise I must be deep inside a greater universe.”

The Antarctica Challenge: A Global Warning

Documentary.net staff — Fri, 20 Nov 2015 17:11:27 +0000

Al Gore’s Academy Award-winning documentary An Inconvenient Truth has done a lot to raise the international awareness of the environmental issue of global warming. But where do things stand today? The Antarctica Challenge: A Global Warning is a one-hour HD documentary that will go to the source of the climate change crisis: Antarctica. Here we will explore first-hand the environmental challenges facing that frozen continent and, by extension, the world. The International Polar Years 2007-2009 represent an incredible opportunity for the world to work together. This film will meet these brave scientists working at Vernadsky Station and with the British Antarctic Survey as they concentrate their efforts living in often harsh and life-threatening conditions in their heroic attempt to save the world. This documentary will also provide support interviews from polar experts and research scientists around the world as well as rare footage of wildlife including penguins in their hatching season. The film reports on the new phenomenon of suicide among penguins, the imminent rise of the world’s sea level due to ice melting and show amazing footage of new vegetation growing in the world’s largest desert. These new discoveries were considered so valuable that this film became the only one invited by the United Nations tom screen to world leaders during the Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen, December, 2009. The Antarctica Challenge: A Global Warning provides audiences with a rare glimpse of the Earth’s most undiscovered continent through the eyes of award-winning cinematographer, Damir Chytil, CSC, one of the world’s foremost polar cameramen and a pioneer of HD film photography. It is the mandate of this documentary to bring to light the theories and statistics first brought to the public’s attention in An Inconvenient Truth with hands-on exploration of the continent, its wildlife and the brave men and women who have given up the comforts of civilization in order to save it. Winner of three international environmental film awards: The Silver Sierra Award (Yosemite International Film Festival, USA), Best Environmental & Ecology Film (International Film festival Ireland) and Best Climate Change Film (New Delhi Environmental & Wildlife Film Festival, India).

Under the Dome – Investigating China’s Smog (Censored in China) CC available

Documentary.net staff — Tue, 10 Mar 2015 18:45:49 +0000

Former celebrity TV anchor Chai Jing quit her job after her baby daughter was born with a lung tumor, and after a year of rigorous investigation, launched this 1 hour 40 minute documentary about China’s smog: what is smog? Where does it come from? What do we do from here? "In Beijing in 2014, I could only take her out when the air was good," she says during a presentation to a studio audience that appears in the documentary. "There were 175 polluted days last year. That means that for half of the year, I had no choice but to keep her at home, shut in like a prisoner." Chai used $160,000 of her own money and one year to make Under The Dome, the same title as a Stephen King novel. Some scenes in the film are shocking, including a visit to a hospital operating room, where viewers see the damage China's polluted air can do to a person's lungs. Chai asks some tough questions about the politics and economics behind the smog, but often with a gentle, funny tone. She talks to a local environmental official so powerless to enforce the country's laws that he admits, "I don't want to open my mouth because I'm afraid you'll see that I'm toothless."

Planet Ocean

Documentary.net staff — Fri, 01 Aug 2014 15:49:24 +0000

he film narrates the most marvelous and also the most terrifying human experiences of our time. Filmed in extreme geographical conditions all over the globe, it describes the modern Odyssey of people who go out to discover their blue planet. Can we imagine a film that would change the way people look at the ocean? Can we explain simply, to everyone, the greatest natural mystery of our planet? And lastly, can we help our children believe in a better and more sustainable world tomorrow? This is the triple challenge of a new cinema adventure signed by Yann Arthus-Bertrand and editor- in-chief Michael Pitiot, who brings with him the scientific missions of TARA, a unique pool of researchers, oceanographers and biolo- gists from several countries. Thanks to its astonishing photography, the film takes us on a magnificent and unprecedented journey into the heart of the least known regions of our planet. The film is also a plea for humanity to respect the world in which we live. It serves a noble and universal cause that will be defended at the next Earth Summit, in Rio, in 2012.

The secret life of plankton – by Tierney Thys

Documentary.net staff — Fri, 01 Aug 2014 15:25:49 +0000

New videography techniques have opened up the oceans' microscopic ecosystem, revealing it to be both mesmerizingly beautiful and astoundingly complex. Marine biologist Tierney Thys teamed with Christian Sardet (CNRS/Tara Oceans), Noé Sardet and Sharif Mirshak to use footage from the Plankton Chronicles project to create a film designed to ignite wonder and curiosity about this hidden world that underpins our own food chain.

Forest Man – Planting trees to save Island

Documentary.net staff — Mon, 21 Jul 2014 17:06:45 +0000

Since the 1970's Majuli islander Jadav Payeng has been planting trees in order to save his island. To date he has single handedly planted a forest larger than Central Park NYC. His forest has transformed what was once a barren wasteland, into a lush oasis. Humble yet passionate and philosophical about his work. Payeng takes us on a journey into his incredible forest.

The Killer Storm

Documentary.net staff — Tue, 10 Dec 2013 13:38:13 +0000

The Philippines sits on a typhoon belt and is battered by super storms every year. But at 4.40am on Friday, November 8, 2013, the central island province of Leyte was hit by the most powerful storm to ever make landfall. Super Typhoon Haiyan tore through six provinces with winds of over 320 kilometres per hour. Her fury came hours earlier than expected and dragged the sea onshore. The surging waves killed thousands of people and flattened entire towns. Today, more than four million Filipinos are homeless and displaced in the catastrophic aftermath. Many people have left to seek sanctuary in cities like Manila and Cebu, after 80 percent of the buildings that were in the super typhoon's path were destroyed. With no clean water, no electricity and very little food, officials have struggled to distribute aid. And looting was widespread in the early days. Despite the world’s attention on this storm-ravaged island, one city, Tanauan, was cut off for days. According to one national government agency and World Vision International, Tanauan was the hardest hit town by the storm. And its plight went largely unreported - 95 percent of the buildings in this coastal town were flattened. We meet the local mayor Pel Tecson, who lost almost all of the town’s relief supplies because like the others, he did not anticipate the storm surge. Medicine and food were washed away because they were kept on the ground floor of the City Hall. The local government says it is also a victim of the calamity. The team also filmed the City Hall as it was transformed into a casualty ward flooded with people desperate for medicine and treatment for severely infected wounds. When the town rebuilds, the mayor wants to move entire communities away from the shoreline and review building codes. In neighbourhoods along the coast, which authorities call the danger zone, reporter Drew Ambrose hears dramatic stories of survival against the odds where entire families clung desperately to wooden planks and fridges to survive the five-metre torrent of water. Many of them lost loved ones to Super Typhoon Haiyan with some of their family members still missing, all are struggling to survive. And just 15 minutes outside the provincial capital, residents of this city are struggling to receive aid in the aftermath of the storm. In the initial days after the disaster, the film documents the chaos and the challenges of Typhoon Haiyan.

Time Lapse of Earth from the ISS (4K)

Documentary.net staff — Tue, 10 Dec 2013 13:29:31 +0000

This montage of time-lapse photography from the International Space Station is collected from many taken in Expeditions 29, 30 and 31. The goal with this sequence was to bring a bit more attention to the station itself, including the humans aboard it, particularly Don Pettit (appearing in the final shot) who took many of the sequences in this montage. (Video is in 4K, if you have problems with viewing it you should reduce the resolution to HD.) Images: http://eol.jsc.nasa.gov/ Music: 'Fill My Heart' by Two Steps from Hell Editor: David Peterson Sequences: 0:03 - Bosnia & Herzegovina to Ukraine Mission: ISS031, Frames: 55446-55591 0:08 - South Atlantic Ocean, between Brazil and Liberia Mission: ISS031, Frames: 154281-154472 0:16 - Greece and Turkey Mission ISS031, Frames: 26008-26202 0:24 - South Pacific Ocean, near Peru Mission: ISS031, Frames: 48993-49186 0:32 - Turkey to Syria Mission: ISS031, Frame: 76590-76782 0:39 - Libya to the Mediterranean Mission: ISS031, Frames: 25782-25972 0:47 - Indian Ocean, between Kenya and Madagascar Mission: ISS031, Frames: 50818-51010 0:54 - Pacific Ocean, south of Japan Mission: ISS031, Frames: 117700-117772 0:58 - Pacific Ocean, facing North passing Hawaii Mission: ISS031, Frames: 101027-101674 1:02 - China, Japan, Pacific Ocean Mission: ISS030, Frames: 112458-112553 1:06 - South Pacific to North Atlantic, across Colombia/Venezuela Mission: ISS031, Frames: 75421-75513 1:10 - South Pacific to South Atlantic, across Chile/Argentina Mission: ISS031, Frames: 42147-42242 1:14 - South Pacific to North Atlantic, across Colombia/Venezuela Mission: ISS031, Frames: 48140-48199 1:17 - Pacific Ocean, from New Zealand to USA Mission: ISS031, Frames: 66043-66136 1:22 - Southern Chile to Angola, facing south Mission: ISS031, Frames: 49203-49277 1:25 - Iran to Australia Mission: ISS031, Frames: 180064-180120 1:29 - North America to South America Mission: ISS031, Frames: 180172-180222 1:33 - Pacific Ocean to Chile/Argentina/Brazil, facing south Mission: ISS031, Frames: 48094-48139 1:37 - South Pacific/Japan & North Pacific Mission: ISS031, Frames: 154164-154204,154205-154256 1:40 - South Pacific to South Atlantic, across Chile/Argentina/Brazil Mission: ISS031, Frames: 44598-44645 1:44 - South Pacific to North Atlantic, across Chile/Argentina/Brazil Mission: ISS030, Frames: 159064-159113 1:48 - India/Thailand/Indonesia/Australia/New Zealand Mission: ISS031, Frames: 177704-177764 1:52 - South Pacific to South Atlantic, across Chile/Argentina/Brazil Mission: ISS031, Frames: 37675-37735 1:56 - DR Congo/Zambia/Mozambique/Madagascar/Indian Ocean Mission: ISS030, Frames: 21632-21819 2:03 - Lovejoy Comet over Australia Mission: ISS030, Frames: 14225-14455 2:11 - Moon rising over China Mission: ISS031, Frames: 27699-27763 2:13 - Moon rising over Pacific Ocean, south of Japan Mission: ISS031, Frames: 27468-27526 2:14 - Moon rising over Taiwan & Philippines (with Don Pettit) Mission: ISS031, Frames: 27802-28017

A Year of Recovery After Hurricane Sandy

Documentary.net staff — Sun, 03 Nov 2013 17:15:01 +0000

Times Documentaries presents "Coming Back: A Year of Recovery After Hurricane Sandy." A video portrait of four neighborhoods struggling in the aftermath of the 2012 storm. "With the first anniversary of Hurricane Sandy approaching, we asked readers who had been affected by the storm to tell us how they were recovering. They responded with stories of frustrations and silver linings, offering glimpses at the physical, financial and emotional impacts that remain. Here are their stories, in their own words, of lives divided into before and after the hurricane." Watch the film & Read the full story here: nytimes.com

Amazon Alliance

Documentary.net staff — Wed, 23 Oct 2013 15:27:11 +0000

Agriculture in Brazil is booming, with beef exports alone generating almost $6bn a year, and soy production set to surpass that of the US and become the largest in the world. But these economic successes are eating away at the Amazon rainforest, as vast swathes of trees are cleared for farmland. This is especially true in Mato Grosso, the state at the heart of the forest's southeastern 'arc of deforestation'. Here 136,000 square kilometres of forest have been cleared in the past 25 years - more than anywhere else in Brazil. After moving to Mato Grosso in 1996 and witnessing what he likens to an "environmental holocaust" wrought by bulldozers, chainsaws and fire, Texan rancher John Carter came to believe there was only one way to slow the destruction: working with landowners. Operating in lawless frontier territory, his organisation Alianca da Terra (AT) has now recruited over 500 ranchers and farmers who have signed up to curb their impact on the forest. Keen to supply the growing market in sustainably sourced produce, the members - who own a combined total of 30,000 square kilometres of land, which is an area the size of Belgium - invested nearly $10m in environmental and social improvements between 2009 and 2012, and are conserving half of their land as forest. When a new member joins up, AT's environmental analysts audit the farmer's property and agree on an action plan, which includes re-planting or preserving all riverside forests, building fire guards, reducing soil erosion and pledging not to cut down trees illegally. Anyone who fails to make the required changes is booted out. To help them comply, AT offers members everything from fire fighting training to business help so they can make a living without clearing any more trees. Next year they plan to start putting their logo on beef products that will only be supplied by AT members and which will hopefully fetch a premium - rewarding responsible farmers for conservation. AT’s dedicated fire crew also put out fires in reservations and national park, and have trained over 100 indigenous people, including members of the Kamayura and Xavante tribes, to combat fire. Thanks to the training and assistance of the fire brigade, landowners are nearly 40 percent less likely to suffer fire on their land after joining up.

The World According to Monsanto

Documentary.net staff — Wed, 23 Oct 2013 15:20:55 +0000

The World According to Monsanto is a 2008 film directed by Marie-Monique Robin. Originally released in French as Le monde selon Monsanto, the film is based on Robin's three-year long investigation into the corporate practices around the world of the United States multinational corporation, Monsanto. There's nothing they are leaving untouched: the mustard, the okra, the bringe oil, the rice, the cauliflower. Once they have established the norm: that seed can be owned as their property, royalties can be collected. We will depend on them for every seed we grow of every crop we grow. If they control seed, they control food, they know it -- it's strategic. It's more powerful than bombs. It's more powerful than guns. This is the best way to control the populations of the world. The story starts in the White House, where Monsanto often got its way by exerting disproportionate influence over policymakers via the "revolving door". One example is Michael Taylor, who worked for Monsanto as an attorney before being appointed as deputy commissioner of the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 1991. While at the FDA, the authority that deals with all US food approvals, Taylor made crucial decisions that led to the approval of GE foods and crops. Then he returned to Monsanto, becoming the company's vice president for public policy. Thanks to these intimate links between Monsanto and government agencies, the US adopted GE foods and crops without proper testing, without consumer labeling and in spite of serious questions hanging over their safety. Not coincidentally, Monsanto supplies 90 percent of the GE seeds used by the US market. Monsanto's long arm stretched so far that, in the early nineties, the US Food and Drugs Agency even ignored warnings of their own scientists, who were cautioning that GE crops could cause negative health effects. Other tactics the company uses to stifle concerns about their products include misleading advertising, bribery and concealing scientific evidence.

Canada’s Toxic Chemical Valley

Documentary.net staff — Thu, 12 Sep 2013 17:28:35 +0000

The first thing you notice about Sarnia, Ontario, is the smell: a potent mix of gasoline, melting asphalt, and the occasional trace of rotten egg. Shortly after my arrival I already felt unpleasantly high and dizzy, like I wasn't getting enough air. Maybe this had something to do with the bouquet of smokestacks in the southern part of town that, all day every day, belch fumes and orange flares like something out of a Blade Runner-esque dystopia. Sarnia is home to more than 60 refineries and chemical plants that produce gasoline, synthetic rubbers, and other materials that the world's industries require to create the commercial products we know and love. The city's most prominent and profitable attraction is an area about the size of 100 city blocks known as the Chemical Valley, where 40 percent of Canada's chemical industry can be found packed together like a noxious megalopolis. According to a 2011 report by the World Health Organization, Sarnia's air is the most polluted air in Canada. There are more toxic air pollutants billowing out of smokestacks here than in all of the provinces of New Brunswick or Manitoba.

Samsara

Documentary.net staff — Sun, 25 Aug 2013 13:14:04 +0000

SAMSARA is a Sanskrit word that means “the ever turning wheel of life” and is the point of departure for the filmmakers as they search for the elusive current of interconnection that runs through our lives. Filmed over a period of almost five years and in twenty-five countries, SAMSARA transports us to sacred grounds, disaster zones, industrial sites, and natural wonders. By dispensing with dialogue and descriptive text, SAMSARA subverts our expectations of a traditional documentary, instead encouraging our own inner interpretations inspired by images and music that infuses the ancient with the modern. Expanding on the themes they developed in BARAKA (1992) and CHRONOS (1985), SAMSARA explores the wonders of our world from the mundane to the miraculous, looking into the unfathomable reaches of man’s spirituality and the human experience. Neither a traditional documentary nor a travelogue, SAMSARA takes the form of a nonverbal, guided meditation. Through powerful images, the film illuminates the links between humanity and the rest of nature, showing how our life cycle mirrors the rhythm of the planet. The filmmakers approach non verbal filmmaking with an understanding that it must live up to the standard of great still photography, revealing the essence of a subject, not just its physical presence. SAMSARA was photographed entirely in 70mm film utilizing both standard frame rates and with a motion control time-lapse camera designed specifically for this project. This camera system allows perspective shifts to reveal extraordinary views of ordinary scenes. The images were then transferred through the highest resolution scanning process available to the new 4K digital projection format that allows for mesmerizing images of unprecedented clarity. SAMSARA will be a showpiece for the new, high-resolution 4K digital projection, the HD format, as well as standard digital and film projection.

Alaska’s Big Thaw

Documentary.net staff — Sat, 27 Jul 2013 17:53:56 +0000

You would be forgiven for thinking that the freezing wilderness of Alaska would be one of the last places on earth to feel the impacts of global warming. Instead it's warming at twice the rate of the rest of the planet... Aaron Thomas investigates the consequences of Alaska's big thaw. Aaron visits Newtok, a native Alaskan community, which is predicted to be underwater by 2017 unless they find the money to move upriver, and it’s not the only place pleading for more government help. Aaron also sees amazing timelapse footage of fast receding glaciers, with one expert believing that all

Turning the Desert Green in Qatar

Documentary.net staff — Mon, 01 Jul 2013 13:55:35 +0000

Petroleum-rich Qatar is spearheading projects to tackle the problems facing desert communities worldwide; from energy to fresh water and food production. But does their expensive, high-tech solution make sense? "Qatar in many ways is ground zero for a lot of the challenges we're going to see in the century ahead", argues US ex-pat Jonathan Smith, from the Qatar National Food Program. Soaring temperatures, swelling populations and minimal rainfall plague the otherwise booming nation. Now its leaders are pushing ambitious experiments like the Sahara Forest Project, transforming seawater and sunlight into fresh water, vegetables, electricity, biofuel and animal feed. "The techniques we're developing here can be applied in many regions in the world", the project scientists insist.