RELEASE: TV

Some would consider the dwarf mongoose the cutest creature on the African savanna.  Measuring 25 centimeters in length, they are actually the world’s smallest mongooses, living in a land with many predators.  They survive by forming packs of about 20 members and observing unique social rules.  In and around the anthills they call home, the mongooses follow a rigid hierarchy, where the lowest-ranking member of a pack is responsible for the most dangerous duties.  Eating and sleeping are secondary to watching out for enemies and protecting the pack.  Why do these animals risk their own lives to serve the other pack members?  It is, in fact, all part of an ingenious master plan.

The glorious Chitwan National Park extends over the foothills of the Himalayas in Nepal.  A large river fed by melted snow and monsoon rains runs through this World Heritage site, attracting endangered species such as Indian rhinoceroses and Indian elephants.  Mingling among them are gharials, one of the world’s largest crocodiles.  At six meters in length, the main feature of this conspicuous creature is its long, thin jaws filled with razor-sharp teeth.  Gharials swish their jaws back and forth to catch fish with impeccable timing.  Males also make an explosive sound when courting females.  This episode, filmed over an extended period between the dry and rainy seasons, reveals the wisdom behind the secrets to their survival.

The Galapagos Islands are home to a treasure trove of creatures that have gone through unique evolutionary adaptations.  One of the most extraordinary is the flightless cormorant, an endangered species.  These birds can swim and hunt on water, but because their wings are so small, they are the only cormorants among 30 or so species in the world that cannot fly.  Life on land is a series of challenges for them.  The parents use their small wings to protect their young against the scorching sun and predators.  However, once in the water, they are unbeatable.  Using intricate moves, they display impeccable hunting skills.  For the first time ever, cameras capture their tireless efforts to survive on a desolate, lava covered island.

The large-scale documentary series Aerial China showcases China’s history, culture, geology, and economic and social growth from a bird’s-eye view.  Covering 23 provinces, 5 autonomous regions, 4 municipalities, and 2 special administrative regions, a total of 34 episodes will be shot over five years entirely from the air.  Aerial China (Season I) includes Heilongjiang, Xinjiang, Shaanxi, Shanghai, Jiangxi, and Hainan.

Each episode selects the most representative features of the region to display China’s historical, cultural, societal, and natural landscapes.  As the striking visual story unfolds, the audience follows the flight route of the camera to uncover a vision of China that is at once fresh and familiar; a rich, beautiful, living and breathing China.

Matt Helliker and Jon Bracey aim to make the first ascent of the extraordinary 1200m long north-west ridge.

The stage is set for two mountaineers, who despite their many accomplishments, must still seek out new lines in unchartered territory.  The odds are stacked heavily against them.  It’s a hard and difficult climb to the top.  They test their endurance, will, and commitment to the climb.  Why?  So that they can experience the freedom of standing alone on a peak with no one else around for miles; the chance to chart their legacy as explorers and adventure seekers and make their own paths in life.

The Citadel is a stunning 3,000m peak in one of the remaining untouched corners of the Great Alaskan Range.  With the mantra “EatClimbRepeat,” the mountaineers need a minimum of 3 weeks to make it to the top.  Will they make it?  In the documentary we take a front seat ride on a trip through the unknown and are with Matt and Jon every step of the way through all the hardships and struggles, hopes, and disappointments.  What unfolds is a classic narrative arc where success is snatched from the jaws of defeat.

In a world where the fast paced life of metropolitan cities have infiltrated every aspect of daily life, everyone is searching for that one place where one can let one’s hair down.

These hidden gems do exist and it will be our honour to escort you there.  Rural Destinations in the World is a thirteen-episode documentary series that shows great vacation spots in Germany, the US, Poland, Iceland, Colombia, Spain, Portugal, Austria, or Switzerland.  It takes you on a trip around the regions of the world that are almost untouched by modernization.  Until recently, tourism meant a search for exotic destinations, idyllic beaches or endless tours across populous cities; in short, it was what we call “mass tourism.”  Nowadays, the average tourist looks for destinations that differ greatly from the frenzy of today’s lifestyles.

From the forests of middle Europe to the shores of Spain, we will introduce you to old traditions that still live on today, the thrills of rock climbing in remote areas and the breath taking scenery of rural destinations.  We will focus on historic heritage, wine tourism, bird watching, fine cuisine, nature, and leisure.  Each episode will uncover secret places, unknown corners, hiking trails and leisure activities that are sure to delight the viewer.  Our goal is to discover some of the most stunning and treasured treats of nature and make known the less known regions of Europe.

The 3-part series features both, charismatic animals such as puma or condor, and unique behavior of the rarest animals of the continent.  You will experience how the most demanding environments, from mystical forests down to majestic valleys formed the wildlife inhabiting this dynamic mountain chain. 

The Andes is not just the longest chain of mountains on the planet, it is the most dynamic.  Its relatively recent and sudden rise has been like a giant geological shock.  Nature has had to respond, and as this spectacular mountain kingdom continues to rise, it pushes animals to ever-extraordinary limits: Monkeys snuggled in thick woolly coats against the lofty cold; scimitar-billed hummingbirds specialized to court and survive in remote, knife-sharp valleys; tiny cousins of the camel that sprint across arid grassland; and the ultimate glider through rarefied air – the Andean condor. 

This three part exploration of the earth’s youngest, most exciting mountain range is a journey up humid, mystical, forested slopes, across lonely, high-altitude pastures studded with snow-capped volcanos, and down majestic glacial valleys.  Each film will portrait – in fresh and intimate detail – the lives of charismatic residents such as puma and spectacled bear, but will also reveal little-known behaviour of colourful and unique Andean animals that have adapted in surprising ways to their mountain kingdom’s urgent demands.  Even more remarkable, this is a chance to showcase some of the rarest animals on the continent, such as the recently-discovered olinguito.

From the tropical northern Andes to the chain’s frigid southern tail, this will be an emotional, exhilarating, cinematic revelation!

Behind the veil of tourism in Asia’s most stunning National Parks people and animals share the same backyard.

Follow us into the unfamiliar and fascinating lands of Asia, where opulent images allow us to experience the unique beauty of nature and the stories of people and animals that live in a world that remains untouched.  In the second part of our series, we also lead the viewer into paradisiac places few away from our civilized world.  Here you will witness the beautiful blood orange sky as the sun sets, watch the majestic birds of the region survey the land for preys, explore hidden caves among the wide expanse of mountains, go on fishing expeditions with the native where you discover the marine life among the coral reefs and take part in tradition unique to Asia.

In Asia there are enormous areas of wild, breath-taking beauty that entices and lures visitors.  The parks covered are in china, Indonesia, India, Malaysia, and Vietnam.  Each them has its own particular gems, whether above or below the water.

Unlike protected areas in North America and Europe, the diverse endangered habitats of Asia are almost always home to people as well as wildlife.

Proximity is a film that pairs surfing’s living legends with today’s most progressive young surfers.  The film is directed by award-winning filmmaker Taylor Steele, produced by Teton Gravity Research (TGR) in association with Garage Productions.  Proximity will explore the delicate relationship between people, time, and place, showcasing surfing icons from different generations in diverse locations around the world.

For more than 80 years, fire ants have raged havoc across the United States, racking up six billion dollars every year in crop damage, equipment repair, and pest control.  They have conquered more than 320 million acres in 13 U.S. states and killed at least 80 people.  Embolden, they march on to conquer the world … Now, scientists are cracking the ants’ ancient secrets to success, enlisting crime scene forensics to track it, and breeding winged assassins to hunt them down.  Directed by Award-winning filmmaker Michael Watchulonis and shot in stunning 3D macro photography – you will never look at an ant the same way again.

Pollution, climate change, while some predict the apocalypse, others are building the future.  They are the heroes of Planet Home, and they already have solutions for housing in the future.  In Planet Home, our adventures are grounded on the architecture and the exemplary nature of the sites we discover.  Beyond just buildings, these places house people who are just as inspiring in matters of sustainable development.  Our hosts tell us about their homes as well as their lifestyles.  We enter inside their daily life and home, and also meet those outside who share their philosophy.  Whether we are highlighting the technological excellence of a location, an architect’s crazy ideas, or a family’s new lifestyle, Planet Home is the only documentary series, which offers a map of ecological and sustainable habitats throughout the world.

Africa seen and described through the eyes of a wildlife photographer who has always been fascinated by the unique atmosphere of this extraordinary continent.  A tale of the sensation of breathing the air of Africa, admiring its fiery skies and observing the daily activities of its animals, frequently caught in unusual poses.  A story that shuns the spectacle of animals suffering and dying in favour of striking colours and the light, smells, and landscapes unique to this continent.  A story that describes the cause of his longing for Africa, the sweetest sadness.

The Arctic is accessible to man only because of ice dogs.  As hunters, haulers and guardians, for thousands of years they have been a vital link to nature.  Dogs led the Sarqaq people out of Siberia and, a millennium later, led explorers to the North Pole.  Amundsen won the race to the Pole because he relied on ice dogs.  As the light returns to Greenland, we arrive in Scoresbysund with a troop of the only companions worth having.

People have an insatiable and timeless appetite for the bizarre.  Modern media is an incubator of hysteria and excitement, as strange and unexplained stories gain traction and capture the public mind.  In Strange World, our host, journalist Alex Hannaford, travels the planet in search of the truth behind these mysteries.  This is a one-stop-shop for all your conspiracy theory urges!

If you think that people with ‘extraordinary’ abilities are only in comic books or in Hollywood movies — then think again.  Living amongst us are people who have amazing abilities that seemingly defy explanation.

In each episode we meet 2 real life super humans — we explore their world: their family, their friends, how they discovered their amazing powers, and we build up to them pushing their abilities to the very limits of what they are able to achieve.

We also put our characters under the microscope by challenging them to a variety of revealing, scientific tests in order to discover whether or not they are for real, highly trained or mutant individuals.

The series Around the World in 80 Islands proposes these strips of land that seem to float on the seas and that are embraced by soft winds and tides, but also seas that are navigated by boats, canoes, windsurf, land that has been reclaimed by the miracle of nature and land eco-systems that are protected by long-sighted human beings.  As well as sea-beds inhabited by fascinating and mysterious marine organisms.  A series of documentaries that is at the same time, adventure, tourism, ecology, sailing, diving, sports, and hobbies, but also ways of life and customs of different populations that live on these little pieces of our world dotted around the globe, with land itineraries which also introduce us to different foods and cooking methods.  All of this and much more will be revealed to a discerning and passionate eye by traveling around the Mediterranean, but also to the Seychelles, the Maldives, Indonesia, Thailand, Mozambique and so much more.

The series Around the World in 80 Islands is now at its fifth series and has reached 143.994 monthly contacts with peaks of 25 thousand AMR (average ratings each minute). The series is produced in two languages languages: Italian and English.

The series Around the World in 80 Islands not only wants to demonstrate the beauty of our planet but also wishes to our spectator to appreciate the beauty of Italy and also of other international territories, and above all, wishes to suggest: lifestyles, respect for the environment and help each human-being to safe-guard the dignity of the World.

Zion Canyon: Treasure of the Gods makes it possible for viewers to explore the hidden recesses and dizzying heights of the canyon in breathtaking detail.  The immense panoramas filling the screen make viewers part of the journey to discover the real Zion Canyon and its treasures, as well as the treasures of other beautiful canyons of the Southwest.

Autumn has arrived in Yosemite Valley.  The iconic National Park, with its soaring granite walls and untamed wilderness is on fire.  The low humidity of autumn draws rock climbers from all over the world; and simultaneously exposes the fragility of the wild ecosystem.  Climbers band together to play in the park, and to act as responsible stewards to preserve its future.

Yellowstone showcases the spectacular beauty, dramatic geothermal activity, and wildlife unique to this region.  From the quintessential sunrise over the Grand Tetons, a river-running trip with the Hunt Party, to the brink of the Lower Falls of the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone and even down inside Old Faithful, this film captures moments and experiences that one does not encounter on a cursory visit to the park.

From the explosive Tavurvur in Papua New Guinea to the lava lakes of Nyiragongo in the Democratic Republic of Congo, this series reveals a string of active volcanoes filmed before, during and after each eruption.  How do humans and animals deal with the planet’s geological upheavals?