Author: 4hunters

The North Sea and the Baltic Sea dominate the image of Schleswig-Holstein, but not only unique mudflats and coastlines, but also lake districts, cabbage fields and historic towns with canals impress from a bird’s eye view. Further southwest, moor and marshland landscapes fascinate, a flight of contrasts from the North Frisian Wadden Sea to the Ems in the far southeast of northern Germany. The Baltic Sea is quieter than the North Sea, white sandy beaches line the coast in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. Inland, there are large lakes with the sun breaking on their surfaces. In between, 2000 castles and stately homes, more than anywhere else in Europe. The country is flat until, south-east of Hanover, rugged cliffs, mountain meadows and forests completely change the picture, the Harz Mountains. In the west, the Weserbergland with its rolling hills and half-timbered towns along the Weser – that too is northern Germany. From April to November 2014, author Marcus Fischötter and cameramen Michael Dreyer and Reiner Bauer filmed “Northern Germany from above” and on the ground.

Equipped with the latest transmitter technology and a passion for adventure, he dives into the world of animals: How is climate change affecting the behavior and habitat of animals? What role do they play in the spread of disease or as a key species in our food chain? How can we use the animal behavior to predict natural disasters? We accompany Wikelski and his research colleagues around the world as they develop and use their ever shrinking, increasingly powerful transmitter systems. With the help of these mini computers they manage to analyze not only the group behavior of animals in real time but also track their individual decisions. While doing this they can also monitor either the animals’ immune or cardiovascular systems. Through the latest technological advances, we get new, unusual insights into the world of animals. After all, many animals still present great mysteries: How do kites cross the ocean without thermal currents? Why is the social behavior of monkeys so crucial to their survival? How can tiny butterflies cross mountains which are over 3000 meters high and travel a distance of over 2500 kilometers?

The Alps drop steeply into the sea – a bizarre but dreamlike landscape, olive groves, mountain and fishing villages. That is Liguria. Further south, in Tuscany, it becomes softer and more lovely. In Campania it’s bubbling under the earth, around Mount Vesuvius there are ancient sites and fertile cultivation areas. And so it goes on: Italy’s coastline is more varied than almost any other stretch of land in Europe. The 8000 kilometres of boot-shaped coastline not only offer beautiful beaches and ideal water sports opportunities, its often untouched nature is also an inexhaustible source of inspiration. Picturesque villages and sophisticated towns invite you to stroll around. “Il Bel Paese”.

ARTE travels once around the boot in five parts of 43 minutes each. The films show parts of the Italian coast from a completely new perspective and both well-known and less well-known regions with the people who shape them.

On five stretches of Italy’s coast we get to know people who have a special relationship to their region. They all love their land, their traditions and their work. We meet enthusiasts and life artists who allow us a glimpse into their everyday lives. Young Italians who are rediscovering nature and its treasures. Others who preserve the beauty, archaeologists who use completely new methods, farmers who plant only what the soil cries out for. Fishermen who fish as they did 100 years ago and tough guys who play tarantella. Dolphins, large sea turtles and pink flamingos being explored, nurtured or just observed. Cave explorers, sail makers and coffee specialists are also there.

The drone camera also offers spectacular images from completely new angles, hovering over the scenery. This gives us landscape overviews and detailed insights that we haven’t seen before. In five episodes we discover the most beautiful coasts of Italy.

Sunday, 11.12. at 13:00 – The Ligurian Coast

Sunday, 11.12. at 13:43 – The Coast of Tuscany

Sunday, 11.12. at 14:26 – The Coast of Campania

Sunday, 11.12. at 15:09 – The coast of Apulia

Sunday, 11.12. at 15:52 – The coast from Venice to Trieste

Did excessive ambition and competitive envy turn Italian archaeologist Luigi Pernier into a forger of history on Crete? Competing for world fame with Arthur Evans, the British excavator of ancient Knossos? The film is a scientific thriller set against the spectacular backdrop of Minoan Greece. Completely new insights emerge from the detective work of internationally renowned scientists between New York and Athens, which shed a whole new light on our image of Europe’s first advanced civilisations and their discoverers.

On the night of 29 May 1982, the Austrian-born singer died at the age of only 43, probably from an overdose of pills. Whether it was suicide or an accident has not been clarified to this day. With the help of scenic reconstructions, contemporary witnesses and diary entries, the film reconstructs the last day in Romy Schneider’s life and explores the question of how the acting legend died. From this scenery, the viewer looks back at important stations in Romy Schneider’s life, which make it comprehensible what kind of unstable and sensitive person was behind the actress’ myth.

The visits were fraught with bureaucratic hurdles and pitfalls, and hours of waiting were also part of the process. But that couldn’t stop the Berliners. Touching scenes took place, – and the odd family drama after almost two and a half years of separation. Then again there was no way for West Berliners to see relatives in the eastern part of the city, and it was uncertain whether there would ever be a new pass regulation. The poignant scenes were repeated on the following pass days, and they were always overlaid with the threat that this meeting could be the last. The third agreement at the turn of the year 1965/66 was used by 823,904 Berliners.