99% of the plastic that should be floating in the oceans is missing. Even accounting for the plastic that washes up on beaches or is trapped in arctic ice, millions of tonnes has simply disappeared. As most plastic never deteriorates, it simply breaks down into smaller and smaller particles that are invisible to the human eye, what happens to this missing ocean plastic is a mystery. In this investigation, scientists embark in search of the micro-plastics. Small, mostly invisible, toxic, they are home to the new ecosystem: the plastisphere. But where are they? Ingested by organisms? Buried under the ocean floor? Degraded by bacteria? And what is the impact of them entering the food chain?
A look at the state of the global environment including visionary and practical solutions for restoring the planet's ecosystems. Featuring ongoing dialogues of experts from all over the world, including former Soviet Prime Minister Mikhail Gorbachev, renowned scientist Stephen Hawking, former head of the CIA R. James Woolse
The 11th Hour
2007
6
Professor Alice Roberts follows a decade-long historical quest to reveal a hidden secret of the famous bluestones of Stonehenge. Using cutting-edge research, a dedicated team of archaeologists led by Professor Mike Parker Pearson have painstakingly compiled evidence to fill in a 400-year gap in our knowledge of the bluestones, and to show that the original stones of Britain’s most iconic monument had a previous life. Alice joins Mike as they put together the final pieces of the puzzle, not just revealing where the stones came from, how they were moved from Wales to England or even who dragged them all the way, but also solving one of the toughest challenges that archaeologists face.
Stonehenge: The Lost Circle Revealed
2021
7
The Living Sea celebrates the beauty and power of the ocean as it explores our relationship with this complex and fragile environment. Using beautiful images of unspoiled healthy waters, The Living Sea offers hope for recovery engendered by productive scientific efforts. Oceanographers studying humpback whales, jellyfish, and deep-sea life show us that the more we understand the ocean and its inhabitants, the more we will know how to protect them. The film also highlights the Central Pacific islands of Palau, one of the most spectacular underwater habitats in the world, to show the beauty and potential of a healthy ocean.
The Living Sea
1995
7
In 2001, satellite imagery captured a mysterious “thermal anomaly” on an unexplored volcano at the ends of the Earth. What lies inside could provide new clues to help predict volcanic eruptions around the globe. But the island is so remote with conditions that are so extreme. No one has ever been able to reach the top to investigate what lies inside.. until now.
Explorer: Lake of Fire
2023
7
60 years ago, almost nothing was known of elephants in the wild. But then one young Scottish biologist changed that forever. In 1965 Iain Douglas-Hamilton arrived in Tanzania to live alongside African elephants. Later joined by his wife Oria and daughters Saba and Dudu, elephants became central to their lives with matriarch Boadicea and gentle young mother Virgo cherished like human relatives. But this garden Eden was short-lived as an ivory poaching epidemic swept across Africa forcing Iain to switch from pioneering scientist to maverick conservationist. He became a lone crusader against the international Ivory trade which was finally banned in 1989. Now back in the field and revealing even more about the fascinating world of elephants, Iain’s work continues alongside a new generation of Kenyan conservationists. This inspiring documentary combines stunning wildlife imagery with the story of a remarkable life showing how sometimes you have to stand alone to protect what you love.
A Life Among Elephants
2024
10
Discover the evolutionary secrets of some of the world’s most majestic creatures. From voracious crocodiles and acrobatic birds to stupendous whales and majestic elephants, this documentary follows top scientists on a global adventure as they follow clues from the fossil record and change what we thought we knew about the evolution of iconic beasts.
When Whales Walked: Journeys in Deep Time
2019
8
The Mandrin Cave in the Rhône Valley is a fascinating excavation site. Archaeologist Ludovic Slimak discovered fossils and flints here, proving that Neanderthals inhabited the cave for over 80,000 years. The first Neanderthal in France for half a century was also unearthed in the cave: He was given the name Thorin.
Thorin, le dernier Néandertalien
2024
8
Does infinity exist? Can we experience the Infinite? In an animated film (created by artists from 10 countries) the world's most cutting-edge scientists and mathematicians go in search of the infinite and its mind-bending implications for the universe. Eminent mathematicians, particle physicists and cosmologists dive into infinity and its mind-bending implications for the universe.
A Trip to Infinity
2022
7
Documentary on the Shackleton Antartic expedition. A retelling of Sir Ernest Shackleton's ill-fated expedition to Antarctica in and the crew of his vessel 'The Endurance', which was trapped in the ice floes and frigid open ocean of the Antarctic in 1914. Shackleton decided, with many of his crew injured and weak from exposure and starvation, to take a team of his fittest men and attempt to find help. Setting out in appalling conditions with hopelessly inadequate equipment, they endured all weather and terrain and finally reached safety. Persuading a local team of his confidence that the abandoned team would still be alive, he set out again to find them. After almost 2 years trapped on the ice, all members of the crew were finally rescued.
The Endurance - Shackleton's Legendary Antarctic Expedition
2000
6
In a society where "celebutantes" like Paris Hilton dominate newsstands and models who weigh less than 90 pounds die from malnutrition, female body image is one of the more dire problems facing today's society. "America the Beautiful" illuminates the issue by covering every base. Child models, plastic surgery, celebrity worship, airbrushed advertising, dangerous cosmetics - no rock is left unturned.
America The Beautiful
2008
6
By decoding ancient hieroglyphic texts, Jean-François Champollion gave voice to an enigmatic civilization, but behind his legendary feat is a mysterious brother who made it possible. The recent discovery of correspondence between Jean-François Champollion and his brother Jacques-Joseph now allows us to fully understand how a young, self-taught genius was able to make one of the most important discoveries of the 19th century. Without the ingenuity and unfailing support of his older brother, Jean-François would never have succeeded in solving this enigma, which had international repercussions. With animated sequences of their private correspondence, and with the help of archives and expert analysis, this film revisits this unique scientific, human and intellectual adventure to celebrate the bicentenary of the decoding of hieroglyphics.
Dans le secret des hiéroglyphes : Les Frères Champollion
2022
8
Most of us think of death as something clear-cut, and that medical science has it neatly figured out. This feature documentary explodes such assumptions through its exploration of a phenomenon that blurs life and death to an unprecedented degree. In what Tibetan Buddhists call tukdam, advanced meditators die in a consciously controlled manner. Though dead according to our biomedical standards, they often stay sitting upright in meditation; remarkably, their bodies remain fresh and lifelike, without signs of decay for days, sometimes weeks after clinical death. Following ground-breaking scientific research into tukdam and taking us into intimate death stories of Tibetan meditators, the film juxtaposes scientific and Tibetan perspectives as it tries to unravel the mystery of tukdam.
Tukdam – Between Worlds
2022
8
Druids have existed far longer than hitherto assumed, since the 4th century BC. Their traces are found all over middle Europe: from the northern Balkans to Ireland. Their cultural achievements were equal in almost every way to those of the Romans and Greeks: They could read and write and spoke Greek and Latin - for centuries, they were the powerful elite of their culture. Only one single Druid is known by name to history: Diviciacos - an aristocrat of the Aedui and personal friend of Julius Caesar. Diviciacos was a politician, a judge and a diplomat, but he lived at a time when the Celtic lands of Gaul were conquered by the Romans. Greek and Roman contemporaries distrusted the actions of this forbear of the famous comic book druid Getafix: They imagined him in bloody rituals in somber woods.
Die Druiden: Mächtige Priester der Kelten
2021
8
Three million years ago, camels roamed through Greenland’s endless forests and our ancestors lived in the trees. It all came to an end with the Ice Ages. What died and what survived, as natural selection shaped the evolutionary tree during this epochal shift from hot to cold? Until now, scientists have known less about the natural world before the Ice Age than they did about the age of dinosaurs, which ended 64 million years ago. A new discovery is set to reveal this lost world, species by species. Led by Danish gene-hunter Eske Willerslev, a team of scientists for the first time in history is sequencing DNA from before the Ice Age. The picture that emerges is of a hot planet, when forests blanketed the Arctic and carbon levels matched those in our atmosphere today. Is this a portrait of our own climate future?
The Hunt for the Oldest DNA
2024
8
Chris Hemsworth has a real passion for sharks. The Hollywood star talks to experts to find out more about the apex predators of the oceans.
Shark Beach with Chris Hemsworth
2021
6
On the shores of Jeju Island, a fierce group of South Korean divers fight to save their vanishing culture from looming threats.
The Last of the Sea Women
2024
7
The world's leading Egyptologists are on a quest to uncover the secrets of Howard Carter's history-making discovery of Tutankhamun's tomb on the 100th anniversary of its discovery. Now, as the treasures of Tut are being moved from the Cairo Museum to the brand new Grand Egyptian Museum at the foot of the pyramids, Zahi and others can examine them up close with the latest technology like never before. The result rewrites what we thought we knew about the Boy King.
King Tut: A Century of Secrets
2022
7
While life expectancy is increasing in Western countries, cases of diabetes, hypertension, obesity and cancer are increasing, and the use of medication has exploded. Does this mean that in order to live to a ripe age we are condemned to swallow more and more drugs? What if there was another way? For half a century, in Russia, Germany and the U.S., doctors and biologists have been exploring a different therapeutic approach: fasting. The results are amazing. Soviet researchers have provided a body of clinical studies of exceptional health…only published in Russian, and thus unknown in the West. Young biologists from the University of Los Angeles have overturned conventional wisdom and used molecular biology to demonstrate the powerful effects of fasting. This research suggests a wide-ranging potential, which could include treatments for the disease of the century, cancer. If these scientists are right, maybe our approach to disease and treatment will need a rethink.
Le jeûne, une nouvelle thérapie ?
2013
7
In a quiet forest, a sign warns of radiation hazard. “Is this the past or the future?” muses the masked figure who appears like a kind of ghost in nuclear disaster areas. At a time when nuclear power may be re-emerging as an alternative to fossil fuels, this calmly observed and compelling tour takes us to places that may serve as a warning.
无去来处
2025
0
Werner Boote presents an up-close and personal view of the controversial and fascinating material that has found its way into every facet of our daily lives: plastic. He takes us on a journey around the globe, showing that plastics have become a threat for both environment and human health.
Plastic Planet
2009
6