Category: documentary

Generations of children have grown up with his stories. All over the world, Hans Christian Andersen is known and loved as a fairy tale author. On 2 April, his birthday is celebrated as Children’s Book Day.

In doing so, he wrote for children and adults: “I tell the children while I remember that father and mother often listen, and they must be given something for the mind.” He did. His tales, unlike the Grimms’ fairy tales, are often deeply sad and without happy endings. The mermaid who transforms herself into a human being for her prince does not get him in the end. The stalwart tin soldier, after a mad odyssey, ends up back in his sheltered home, but unfortunately also in the oven in the end. And The Girl with the Matchsticks, who freezes to death on a cold winter’s night, reads like a bitter social critique. The fairy tales often reflect Andersen’s own experiences.

For the Danish fairy-tale poet did not have an easy life. He grew up in poor circumstances in the small town of Odense. To escape the misery, he set off for Copenhagen at the age of just 14. Here he seeks his fortune and wants to become famous. After numerous disappointments and the search for his destiny, he becomes a successful writer. Of course, he only writes the fairy tales out of financial necessity. From being a lucrative source of income, they become his most important literary works.

The documentary tells of the eventful life of the Danish national poet and delves into the exciting world of his fairy tales.

Climate change is the big issue of our time. It is omnipresent, present in the media and part of our everyday lives, because it poses a high risk to the current and future health of the population. According to forecasts, the average temperature in Germany alone will rise by 1.0 to 1.3°C by 2050 and by 3.7°C by 2100. The frequency and intensity of heat waves will increase in Central Europe. If nothing is done, five more annual heat waves are expected in northern Germany by the end of the century, and as many as 30 in southern Germany. This has consequences for us: because climate change alters our entire ecosystem; and that affects our health. Rising temperatures, for example, promote the spread of the Asian tiger mosquito and other vectors of infectious diseases that were previously unknown here. They also change the biology of allergenic pollen, lengthening the duration of pollen flights and increasing the amount of pollen, which increases asthma and allergic reactions. Higher temperatures can lead to algal blooms by cyanobacteria (blue-green algae) in lakes and the Baltic Sea, which can cause skin irritation. In addition, warming of the Baltic Sea is expected to increase the risk of Vibrio infections. – In the meantime, it is no longer just schoolchildren worldwide who are protesting for effective measures to protect the climate. People are concerned: because it is no longer just about changing our environment, it is directly about our health.

But: To what extent does the environment make us sick and what developments must we expect in the future? – The 45-minute documentary “Is our climate making us sick?” asks questions and provides answers. It shows what effects climate change is already having on human health, what problems and risks we are confronted with in central Germany. But the documentary also wants to show opportunities and solutions to problems; ways to stop climate change and adaptation strategies to the consequences of the changed climate. We talk to scientists and researchers; to people who work every day to better adapt themselves and ourselves to the changed environmental conditions.

Turkmenistan was long considered the poorest region of the Soviet Union. It is probably one of the most unknown and closed countries in the world. Today, oil and natural gas have made the country in western Central Asia rich.  For the first time in 10 years, a film team was able to visit impressive excavation sites unhindered and accompany international research teams as they worked on sites that had been “forbidden” for a long time.

4000 years ago, a centre of power of the ancient world was located in Turkmenistan. Although flourishing at the same time as the advanced civilisations of Mesopotamia and Egypt, the ‘Margiana’ empire was completely forgotten. Only recently did archaeologists discover palace buildings and magnificent burial treasures in the middle of the Karakum desert in the former capital Gonur Depe.

Spectacular aerial photographs show the dimensions of the “lost” metropolises in a hostile environment. An international team of researchers is also uncovering monumental fortifications in neighbouring Ulug Depe. The ruined cities of Merw and Köneügentsch are declared World Heritage Sites by UNESCO.

Suddenly, Central Asia comes into the focus of science and the media. Why have powerful empires risen and fallen in Turkmenistan since the Bronze Age? DNA analyses prove a high mobility of the population, long-distance contacts reached as far as India, the Urals and the Mediterranean. The Silk Road between China and Europe became the world’s most important trade route for millennia and made Turkmenistan an important hotspot in history.

The Incas appear out of nowhere and within a few decades their empire develops into the largest empire in the world at that time. They ruled over more than 200 peoples with a good 10 million people.

At that time, there was talk of a fabulous land of gold in distant Europe, arousing fatal desires there. Gold is the “tears of the sun”, as the Incas saw it. For them, the precious metal had only spiritual value and no material value.

The culture is fascinating and at the same time strange to us. The Incas also sacrificed people – preferably children – to their gods. In the eyes of the Inca, they were considered the chosen ones.

To this day, the Inca are surrounded by an aura of mystery. How could their meteoric rise succeed in such a short time? And how did a handful of Spaniards manage to bring down the empire?

A glance at the map speaks volumes: they are easy to overlook. Sandwiched between the continent’s big players, they eke out an existence seemingly without the opportunity to develop, ridiculed for their helplessness. But they know how to preserve their very own traditions and protect the animals and plants that have become rare. Their exceptional location in often extreme mountain or coastal environments provides refuges for endangered species. This series not only celebrates the beauty of nature in the “micros” – it also aims to highlight environmental problems and present solutions.

SIX FILMS – SIX STATES

Each episode features a microstate: Andorra, Liechtenstein, Malta, Monaco and San Marino. They are shaped by their location: Malta at the crossroads of Europe and Africa, Monaco with its “back to the wall” and a view out to sea, Andorra hemmed in between mountains and neighbours, San Marino tolerated by an overpowering Italy and Liechtenstein as a fortress in the border triangle between Germany, Austria and Switzerland and Luxembourg. But the topography also creates the backdrop for grandiose natural spectacles.

The stories of the “Micronesians” tell of the courageous efforts to preserve their natural characteristics and cultural independence.

Episode Liechtenstein: by Anja Glücklich
Episode Monaco: by Michael Gregor
Episode Andorra: by Michael Gregor
Episode Luxembourg: by Susanne Utzt
Episode Malta: by Anne Wigger
Episode San Marino: by Sabine Bier