The film follows Sam, a falconer and naturalist living on the North Mountain of the Annapolis Valley in Nova Scotia. Through performance and documentary, Tetrault conducted interviews with Sam on the relationship a falconer has with a bird of prey, and the possibility for over-identification and projection onto the bird.
2019-05-04
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8.0While the earliest works of art of mankind depicted horses, the early history of the two species remains largely unknown. From the last nomadic peoples of the Altai Mountains to the Bedouins of the Arabian Peninsula and the Blackfoot Indians, Canadian anthropologist and filmmaker Niobe Thompson traveled the world for two years. He went to meet these communities who live in osmosis with their horses, and tried to understand the history and the nature of the very special bond between man and animal. At the same time, the work of German evolutionary biologist Martin Fischer allows, thanks to a 3D animation, to bring back to life the ancestor of the horse, whose appearance is surprisingly reminiscent of a small fox.
6.0Ducks are true originals. There are more than 120 different species of ducks in all, a fantastical group of complex characters. Ducks have a talent for survival, and life stories filled with personality and charm. Each bird is more fun than the last, and will leave you wanting more.
Finland’s first nature documentary. The filmmakers’ expedition leads them all the way to the Åland Islands and the Karelian Isthmus.
7.9After years of swimming every day in the freezing ocean at the tip of Africa, Craig Foster meets an unlikely teacher: a young octopus who displays remarkable curiosity. Visiting her den and tracking her movements for months on end he eventually wins the animal’s trust and they develop a never-before-seen bond between human and wild animal.
10.0With narration from Paul McGann, this ground-breaking film sets out to solve one of nature's mysterious phenomena: the Bewick swan's dramatic decline. A pioneering group of scientists and conservationists sets out to discover why we have lost nearly half the Bewick population in the last twenty years. Every year, these majestic birds make one of the world's toughest migrations, across perilous land, sea and skies. Somewhere between the harsh Tundra landscape and the south of England lies the key to their disappearance. We join extreme sportswoman Sacha Dench and award-winning wildlife cameraman Benjamin Sadd, as they follow the swans over 7,000 km, on a journey that pushes both humans and swans to the limits of their endurance. Cutting-edge tracking techonology and innovative filming techniques give privileged insight into the birds' hidden world, providing stunning aerial views and the personal stories of swans, Charlotte, Daisy-Clarke and Leho.
0.0Set in the sparsely populated lobster fishing villages of southern Nova Scotia, Plains is a cinema vérité approach to documenting the curious lives of Jon and Cat, a young couple who are developing politically left-leaning virtual reality video games. Against the busy backdrop of their art practice, we sit in on their quiet rural life, which, in its proximity to nature and the vast green and oceanic spaces that surround, echoes the romanticism of a simpler time. As the decaying world of physical labour and the mechanical industry faces up to an expanding digital empire, Jon gradually retreats into the alternative realities of his own design.
0.0The south-eastern part of Venezuela is the Mecca of Birdwatchers from all parts of the world. Guided by an expert host, we will see fantastic endemic birds in outstanding close-ups, singing, calling or displaying their unique behaviour.
8.1In the mountains of Sichuan, China, a researcher forms a bond with Qian Qian, a panda who is about to experience nature for the first time.
6.0Arne Sucksdorff’s short documentary observes gulls raiding nests and stealing eggs with ruthless persistence. Though presented as pure nature study, the film was widely read as an allegory of Nazism—a symbolic parable of predation and violence during wartime. Sucksdorff himself denied such intent, but remarked that “a film that is not open to interpretation is a dead film.”
8.0An excellent display of how humans can rehabilitate and restore an area where a heavy industry polluted the water so severely that it was unsuitable to sustain any kind of life. A a film showing how birds returned to an environment once devastated by industry. The lakes around the northern Slovenian town of Velenje, placed in the Central Europe, are geographic center of the film. They emerged as the land above the lignite mines subsided and the depressions were filled with water. The mines started operating at the end of the 19th century. In the mid 20th century a power plant was built that caused a severe pollution of the lake waters to the extent of the lakes not being fit for any kind of life. As a consequence many birds moved from these parts. After a long ecological restoration that started in the mid 1980s, life returned to the water. Gradually the birds returned as well, including some there were previously never observed in this area.
8.1David Attenborough tells the remarkable story of how these " birds of paradise " have captivated explorers , naturalists, artists, filmmakers and even royalty.
8.3Dino Bird is a visually spectacular one-hour film that explores the life of the endangered southern cassowary through the eyes of matriarch Bertha, as she and her family strive to survive in the tropics of northern Queensland in the oldest rainforest on Earth. Over the course of one tumultuous season, Bertha, her partner and her chicks battle fearsome predators and formidable rains, but also play an invaluable role in sustaining life in this ecological hotspot. Dino Bird is an intimate and rarely seen portrait of one of Australia's last remaining southern cassowaries.
9.3Flyways follows endangered migratory shorebirds as they travel their ancient migration routes around the planet. Using nanotechnology and global tracking from the International Space Station, the project will uncover the paths of the world’s greatest, feathered endurance athletes and shine a light on the scientists and international lawyers who are collaborating to save them.
7.0Curiosity and Control examines our complex relationship to nature itself. A multi layered look at the world of Museums of Natural History and Zoological gardens, with voices from historians, authors, architects and zoo managers. It raises questions about how we perceive nature and our contradictory behavior of caging what we fear may be lost.
0.0The birdlife of Northumberland's Farne Islands comes under the spotlight.
7.2The domestic cat has conquered almost the entire globe with around 400 million animals and is now also the star of social networks. It is not clear when and how they secured the favor of humans. Archaeologists, geneticists and behavioral biologists around the world have been researching these questions for years. Their latest findings make it possible to trace the path of the house cat.
6.9Two years after the phenomenal success of the documentary Demain, Cyril Dion looks back at the projects the film inspired. He is accompanied by Laure Noualhat, a renowned investigator and sceptic of the ability of micro-initiatives to have any real impact in the face of climate change. Their humorous confrontation pushes them to their limits: what works, what fails? What if all this forces us to invent a new narrative for humanity?
9.5He has shared our lives for 20,000 years. Along the way, he has helped us find food, kept our livestock, protected us from our enemies, guided us in extreme conditions, and saved us from peril. Now, he comforts us, relieving loneliness and helping us cope with old age. How did dogs come about?
9.3The moral dimension of humanity's interaction with nonhuman animals and the industries that profit from their exploitation, as informed by world religions. A historical explanation of how the current global situation came to be.
8.8Famous and talented feature film director and scriptwriter Jan Kounen plunges the viewer into a unique and thrilling adventure of pregnancy, birth, and baby’s first swim, alongside marine creatures. Leina Sato is a Japanese professional free diver and is expecting her first child. Her partner, Jean-Marie Ghislain is a famous underwater photographer. They share a passion for the oceans, and believe that a strong bond between a mother-to-be and cetaceans exists. And they want to prove it. Leina will be multiplying her encounters with whales, dolphins and other underwater mammals. Mother Ocean is the incredible encounter between humans and under water species, around the universal question of giving birth and the power of creating life.