Àrchive 2005
100% COTTON - MADE IN INDIA
Altemeier & Hornung Filmproduktion
Germany, 2003, 29 min, Betacam SP Pal
Category: Documentary
Written by: Inge Altemeier
Director: Inge Altemeier, Reinhard Hornung
Cinematographer: Reinhard Hornung
Music: Morning Ragas
Producer: Reinhard Hornung
Annotation: Cotton is the most important raw material for our textiles, especially those we wear directly on the skin. However during cotton production many pesticides are sprayed, even such poisons, which were formerly used as chemical weapons. Many of these pesticides are banned in Europe but are still used in India. Bayer Crop Science India is the main player in the poison business. In the cotton belt of India, pesticides are the killer number one. Farmers caught in the vicious circle of debt commit suicide, hundreds die of poisoning because of spraying. The residues of the pesticides in the textiles reach the European consumers and enter their bodies through the skin.
Awards: Oekomedia Film Festival 2003 – Special Prize from the Ministry of Environmental & Health, FIFE 3 Film Festival Tunis – Silver Carpet, VI FICA 2004 Brazil – Best documentary under 30 min
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
AIDANA AND THE OTHERS
RAI Radiotelevisione Italiana
Italy, 2004, 53 min, Betacam SP Pal
Category: TV Programmes
Written by: Bruno Mobrici
Cinematographer: Giuseppe Belviso
Producer: RAI / Speciale TG1
Distributor: RAI Trade
Annotation: Report unveils conspiracy of silence beyond ecological disaster in Kazakhstan nuclear site, the consequences of which hit little Aidana's life as well as those of almost 400 000 people in the region.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ALIVE DEATH
TV kanal VIS
Macedonia, 2003, 29 min, Betacam SP Pal
Category: Documentary
Written by: George Kalajdziev
Director: Jani Bojadzi
Cinematographer: Tane Kodjabasiev, Kire Pilichev
Music: Goran Trajkovski
Producer: Janko Micev
Distributor: TV kanal VIS
Annotation: The oldest and the smallest lake, but the richest with biological kinds, settled beside the town Dojran, built during the Ancient years, destroyed in WWI, is on the edge of ecological catastrophe. The countries Macedonia and Greece are sharing its territory and destiny. Only together they can save the lake from disappearing.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ALMENDRO - TREE OF LIFE
Austrian Broadcasting Company ORF
Austria, 2003, 51 min, Betacam SP Pal
Category: Documentary
Written by: Ina Knobloch, Barbara Puskas
Director: Barbara Puskas
Cinematographers: Robert Winkler, James Clare, Roberto Miranda, Jose Ramirez Sanchez, Marco Zimprich
Music: Kurt Adametz
Producer: Barbara Puskas
Distributor: Monika Neubauer
Annotation: Almendro must be the most impressive of all the jungle-giants in Costa Rica’s rainforest. From root to top, this unique tree accommodates almost one thousand different life forms, more than 60 animal species depend on its fruits – the Almendro is a world of its own. The Almendro tree has an important ally: the Great Green Macaw. The beautiful bird rears its young in Almendro knotholes and mostly feeds on Almendro nuts. To return the favour, the macaw disperses the Almendro seeds. But this alliance of two tropical beauties is now in danger: Deforestation has darkened the future for both of them.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ALPINE LAKES - QUIET BEAUTY
Austrian Broadcasting Company ORF
Austria, 2003, 48 min, Betacam SP Pal
Category: Documentary
Written by: Waltraud Paschinger, Erich Proell
Director: Waltraud Paschinger, Erich Proell
Cinematographers: Erich Proell, Hubert Doppler
Music: Kurt Adametz
Producers: Waltraud Paschinger, Erich Proell
Distributor: Monika Neubauer
Annotation: Mountains and water are Austria's chief treasures. Springs, brooks, ponds, lakes and rivers have formed the landscape of our country throughout thousands of years. The documentary ALPINE LAKES follows the ways of the water – from the glaciers down to the valleys, through the mountains to the springs, describing the beauty of these small natural lakes and their fascinating flora and fauna.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
AMAZONIA VERTICAL
K2 Studio S.R.O.
Slovakia, 2004, 63 min, DVD
Category: Documentary
Written by: Pavol Barabas
Director: Pavol Barabas
Cinematographer: Pavol Barabas
Music: Michal Nicik
Producer: Pavol Barabas
Distributor: K2 Studio S.R.O.
Annotation: Auyan Tepui... The highest table mountain in the Amazon... Indians believe that demons live on the top of it... Becko Ondrejovic managed the first complete traverse. He was so fascinated with its vertical lines that he decided to come back with his friends, so that they could climb up this totally virgin wall. Amazonia vertical is a film that presents the power of nature and adventurous discovery of a lost world. A film, which will affect the emotions in all of us...
Awards: Prize for the Best Expedition Film of Unexplored Territories - Poprad, Slovak Republic, 2004, Public Prize - Poprad, Slovak Republic, 2004, Main Prize of the Jury – Camera Slovakia, Slovak Republic, 2005
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ANIMAL RESCUE
RAI - Radiotelevisione Italiana
Italy, 2003, 58 min, Betacam SP Pal
Category: Documentary
Written by: Palolo Giani, Daniele Valentini
Cinematographer: Alberto Zappala
Producer: RAI / Speciale TG1
Distributor: RAI Trade
Annotation: Animal trafficking is a giant business of 5 billions euro a year, ending up in the hands of criminal gangs. The film shows miserable conditions of illegally imported animals and recovery centres for rescued animals.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
AT THE END AND THE BEGINNING
Czech Republic, 2004, 28 min, Betacam SP Pal
Category: Scientific
Written by: Josef Cisarovsky
Director: Josef Cisarovsky
Cinematographer: Karel Machon
Music: Kamil Holub
Producer: Josef Cisarovsky
Annotation: Fire marked the beginnings of mankind. Will it mark off its ending, too?
Awards: Techfilm Hradec Kralove 2004, CZ - Award for films up to 30 minutes
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
AUTUMN COMES TO FREELAND
Danish Broadcasting Corporation
Denmark, 2003, 28 min, Betacam SP Pal
Category: Documentary
Director: Anton Gammelgaard
Cinematographer: Guenther Andersen
Music: Sofa Surfers
Producer: Anton Gammelgaard
Distributor: Danish Broadcasting Corporation
Annotation: There is no nip in the air yet but the freelanders know that rain and wind are just round the corner. They need to protect their houses and themselves as well as they can and prepare to greet winter. It is also time to take stock: should they go on or stop while the going is good?
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A BILLION YEARS B.C.
Central bureau of the information of the Ministry of natural resources of Russia
Russia, 2003, 24 min, mini DV
Category: Scientific
Written by: Vsevolod Konstantinov
Director: Alexander Biryuk
Cinematographer: Alexander Biryuk
Music: Sound producer
Producer: Alexander Biryuk
Annotation: The film “A Billion Years B.C.” tells about the Kronotsky reservation, located in Kamchatka. The valley of geysers, the caldera of the vulcano Uzon are true masterpieces created by nature. Unfortunately, Kamchatka is far away and only few can afford a trip to this amazing land. We tried to share our own impressions of Kamchatka.
Awards: Agrofilm 2004 Festival, Slovakia – Second Prize, The Green Gate 2003 Festival, Estonia – Diploma of the festival in a nomination “Educational Film”
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
THE BIRDS OF OSOGOVO (FACE TO FACE WITH THE ANIMALS)
Bulgarian National Television
Bulgaria, 2004, 15 min, Betacam SP Pal
Category: Scientific
Written by: Katerina Zareva
Director: Dobrin Keresteliev
Cinematographer: Kamen Kolev
Music: Diana Tekelieva
Producer: Bulgarian National Television
Distributor: Bulgarian National Television
Annotation: A film about the ornithological variety of the Osogovo Mountain – one of the less known mountains in Bulgaria, but with an extremely large variety of fauna and flora. The Osogovo Mountain is located on Via Aristotelis – the Western Migration Way of the birds. The film shows beech and pine woods, where a lot of birds, such as the woodpeckers family (Picus), Alpine chough (Pyrrhocorax graculus), golden eagle (Aquila chrysaetos), the dipper (Cinclus cinclus) etc live. Besides birds it shows the life of other animals living in the mountain too.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
BISTRA
Macedonian Television
Macedonia, 2004, 28 min, Betacam SP Pal
Category: Documentary
Written by: Dragan Mihajlovski
Director: Dilaver Mustafa
Cinematographer: Cvetko Stojanovski
Producer: Macedonian Television
Annotation: This travel documentary film includes the most important places on Mount Bistra, in the nortwest part of the Republic of Macedonia. It begins with the Mavrovo lake and on to Medenica, the highest peak on Mount Bistra, the villages Galichnik, Janche, Tresonche and Lazaropole, then the caves Sharkova Dupka and Kalina Dupka. A special accent is given to the relief forms such as karst plains, and also to the flora and fauna of the area.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
BISTRISHKO BRANISHTE
RIEW - Sofia (Regional Inspectorate of Environment and Water)
Bulgaria, 2004, 12 min, DVD
Category: Scientific
Written by: Ivan Kojuharov
Director: Ivan Kojuharov
Cinematographer: Ivan Kojuharov
Music: Ivan Kojuharov
Producer: RIEW – Sofia
Distributor: RIEW - Sofia
Annotation: An educational film about the nature of Bistrishko Branishte Biosphere Reserve. The film reveals the damages that have been caused by storm to the forest in the Reserve and the scientific researches of the affected area.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
BLACKOUT - THE POWER OF FAILURE
RBB Arte
Germany, 2004, 44 min, Betacam SP Pal
Category: Documentary
Written by: Marcus Weller, Chris Humbs
Director: Marcus Weller, Chris Humbs
Cinematographer: Felix Greif
Producer: Volksfilm, Camelot
Annotation: The documentary film “Blackout!” is a picturized enquiry with an astonishing outcome. When in 2002 within only a few days blackouts happened first in the United States, then in Sweden and Denmark and finally in all of Italy a lot of people suspected that this was not a mere coincidence. Given the fact that 140 million people were affected, dozens of people seriously injured and a damage of more than 20 million Euros occurred – it seemed that those incidents were much too big to be just accidents. One year after the biggest power failures in history Chris Humbs and Marcus Weller went in search for causes, victims and the people, who were responsible. The results are alarming: further blackouts can and will happen to all of us soon. Blackouts of this dimension are the results of errors inherent to the system.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
BLACK SEA
Regional TV center-Varna
Bulgaria, 2004, 16 min, Betacam SP Pal
Category: TV Programmes
Written by: Iva Borisova
Director: Kiril Stoyanov
Cinematographers: Ilian Matev, Emil Zhupov
Producer: Regional TV center-Varna
Distributor: Bulgarian National Television
Annotation: The film is part of a series, named “Waters”, filmed and broadcast by a mutual project of Regional TV center-Varna and the Denmark agency for Preserving the Environment. It concentrates on the problems of preserving the Black Sea – the marine environment and the variety of organisms are still endangered by pollution and uncontrolled fishing. A threat to the Black Sea coast for the last few years has been intense building in the seaside towns and resorts.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
BREAD ON THE WATERS
Producer House FEB
Bulgaria, 2005, 27 min, mini DV
Category: Documentary
Written by: Yurii Yunishev
Director: Zvety Kodeva
Cinematographer: Ivan Michnevski
Music: Victor Hristov
Producer: FEB
Annotation: The TV series “Bread on the water” has three pilot episodes recorded, each 27 minutes long and is about the mineral spring waters in Bulgaria, their qualites and characteristics, their history and the significant effect they have on the day to day life in the country.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
CARCHARIAS THE GREAT WHITE
Czech Republic, 2001, 42 min, DVD
Category: Documentary
Written by: Steve Lichtag
Director: Steve Lichtag
Cinematographer: Andre Hartman
Music: Paul Kotzian
Producer: Comfact
Distributor: Comfact
Annotation: African diver Andre Hartmann is willing to face the man-eater, the Great White shark, without any protection. Francoise, his son, for first time in his life takes part in some dengerous scenes while facing the Great White face to face.
Awards: Grand Prix Slovakia, Grand Prix Istambul, Grand Prix Strassburg, Grand Prix MonteNegro, Grand Prix Belgrade, 1st. IFF Czech Republic, 1st. IFF Uherske Hradiste, 1st. IFF Sardenia, IFF Award Barcelona, Grand Prix ECOMOVE Int. Berlin
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
CLIPS FOR RUBRICS AND BROADCASTINGS OF ECO TV
Eco TV
Bulgaria, 2004-2005, 6 min, mini DV
Category: TV spots
Written by: Emiliya Baharova
Director: Dimitar Dobrilov
Cinematographers: Tzvyatko Tzvyatkov, Todor Roussanov, Petar Kormoushev
Producer: Eco TV
Distributor: Eco TV
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
THE CIRCLE TO BE REBORN WITHIN
Czech Television
Czech Republic, 2004, 59 min, DVD
Category: Documentary
Written by: Viliam Poltikovic
Director: Viliam Poltikovic
Cinematographer: Viliam Poltikovic
Music: Ladislav Faktor
Producer: Milada Rebcova
Distributor: Filmexport Czech TV
Annotation: The main theme of this film taken in Tibet is the holy pilgrimage around the mount Kailash, the most sacred mountain in entire Asia. The most difficult pilgrimage on this world represents the way of life, death, period after death and new life. Via this we can know more about unique Tibetan culture. This deep culture was ever since furnishing it’s own people with humble understanding to the meaning of human existence.
Awards: Grand Prix Ekofilm, Diploma Tourfilm, Diploma Trilobit
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
COPING WITH CHEMICAL HYPERSENSITIVITY
Mainichi Broadcasting System, Inc.
Japan, 2004, 50 min, DVD
Category: Documentary
Director: Takeo Tsumura
Cinematographer: Masayuki Miyashita
Producer: Toshiki Yamamoto
Distributor: Mainichi Broadcasting System, Inc.
Annotation: In our materialistic modern society, petrochemical substances such as gas emissions from motor vehicles and factories are brutally pervading urban areas, while our rural farmlands are being steadily eroded by the heavy use of agrichemicals and various chemical fertilizers. Even in our daily dietary life, we live with the knowledge that ingesting harmful additives is often unavoidable. So, although our material civilization has brought us an affluent society, it has also resulted in creating and generating vast amounts of dangerous chemical substances. Under these conditions, the number of Chemical Hypersensitivity patients is gradually increasing around the world. These are people who suffer from even the smallest amounts of chemical substances contained in products such as detergents, shampoos, perfumes, and cosmetics. Although the capacity varies among individuals, the common cause of this illness is strongly believed to be the unwitting overdoses of chemical substances. However, modern medicine has not yet been able to analyze the continuum of this disease. Ai Shimizu, a fabric-dyeing artist, is one of those patients who suffers from the symptoms of Chemical Hypersensitivity. Ai lives in a secluded country house at the foot of the mountains with her husband. Her daily diet consists mainly of organically grown rice and vegetables, and as a matter of course, she uses only natural materials in her artworks. On becoming pregnant, Ai vows to have her baby at a chemical-free maternity-center rather than an ordinary hospital, rampant as it would be with chemical substances. Though she devotes herself to childrearing and strives to maintain a healthy lifestyle for the family, she nevertheless falls ill from the agrichemicals and pesticides spreading out from the surroundings. Ai cries out, “Everybody has to breathe… What gives them the right to spread that stuff all over?!” As long as this contamination of the global environment, so seriously invading our lives, goes unchecked, you or your children have a chance of developing Chemical Hypersensitivity at any time. Like the coal-miners who took with them into the mines a canary to warn them of the presence of toxic gas, so these patients of Chemical Hypersensitivity such as Ai, serve as human alarms to warn us of the deterioration of our present environment.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
CRIME AT NOAH’ ARK
RTP – Radio Televisao Portuguesa
Portugal, 2003, 59 min, betacam SP
Category: Documentary
Format: betacam SP
Written by: Antonio Marques
Director: Antonio Marques
Cameraman: Pedro Silveira Ramos
Producer: Amelia Gomes Ferreira
Distributor: RTP
Annotation in English:
Traffic of animal species is one of the most profitable worldwide business. In the end only one in ten animals survive. And it will never return to its habitat. Portugal is one of the main gate for animals coming from Africa and South America to Europe. No one seems to care. Here or in some European countries with links to this illegal trade. In this dramatic story we followed the traffic dealers, the official authorities inertia and the path of animals ending in tragic death.
AWARDS: CINE ECO PORTUGAL – First Prize “ wild Life”
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
DANCE OF THE BLUE ANGELS
Czech Republic , 2004-2005, 6 min, mini DV
Category: Documentary
Written by: Steve Lichtag
Director: Steve Lichtag
Cinematographers: Matej Cibulka, Tom Conlin, Jan Tutoky, Bill Parks,Steve Lichtag and Leonardo Blanco
Music: Paul Kotzian
Producer: Comfact
Distributor: Comfact
Annotation: The film is based on the true story of a 17 years old girl, Veronika. At the age of thirteen, a fall from a tree left her disabled for life. Today, Veronika dreams of turning into whale and making the oceans her home. Immobilized from her neck down, she has learnt to paint with her mouth. Her paintings help her to escape to the mysterious underwater world of gigantic mammals, which she loves and protects in her dreams. For Veronika’s sake, and for the sake of our children and the children of our children, let us protect them too.
Awards: MFF Envirofilm 2004 – Audience Award and The Jury Award, IFF Istambul 2004 – The Best Film Award, ISOD Frymburk 2004 – Audience Award, Ekofilm 2004 – Audience Award, MFPF Tatranska Lomnica 2004 – The Best Film Award, IFF Antibes 2004 – The Best Fiction Award, MFF Uherske Hradiste 2004 – The Best Film Award and Audience Award
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
DEAR OLIVE TREE
Italy, 2004, 63 min, mini DV
Category: Documentary
Director: Francesco Marano
Distributor: www.ethnodoc.org
Annotation: Angelo is a peasant and shepherd who lives among the mountains of Brienza (Basilicata, Italy). Even if he lives in an isolated place, Angelo is involved in the process of globalization. The movie follows him during eight years and tells in a poetic way Angelo’s everyday rural life with joy, pains, deaths, feasts, and hard work. But Angelo’s days are crossed also by the international conflicts happened in the last decade. Angelo holds a diary where he writes about all these events, among whose his journey in Argentina, where he met his migrated relatives. “Dear Olive Tree…”, that is the incipit of a diary’s page: the olive tree recurs in the movie as a symbol of the peace, of the love for a woman, of the past and the future. The filmmaker communicates his emotions and feelings, not removing them by the movie. Conscious of the impossibility to describe in just an hour the infinity and complexity of human life, Marano tries to portrait a person with whom he made fieldwork, films and publications. “Dear olive tree”, and the previous Marano’s movies “Santomartino!” and “Rumi’s Art” (both released in 2001) make the Angelo’s Trilogy. This latest movie add to previous ones – more stereotypically “ethnographic” – the importance of humanity as a value unneglectable in all ethnographic researches.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
DONANA (NATIONAL PARKS)
TVE
Spain, 2004, 30 min, DVD
Category: TV Programmes
Written by: Alfredo Ortega
Director: Antonio Domingo
Cinematographer: Jose-Manuel Palomares
Music: Pablo Miyar
Producer: Antonio Domingo
Distributor: RTVE
Annotation: Currently Spain has a dozen of large geographical areas declared National Parks and therefore considered places of special protection. Donana at the ends of the South of the Iberian Peninsula, on the edge of the Guadalquivir river was declared National Park in 1969. It is the most known Spanish protected area and one of the landmarks of the nature in the whole planet, a natural sanctuary of Europe, fundamental for the survival of numerous species.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
THE DRAGONS OF THE CANARY ISLAND
Power of Earth Productions
Austria, 2003, 52 min, Betacam SP Pal
Category: Documentary
Production company: ALS PRODUCTIONS LTD
Written by: Kurt Muendl
Director: Kurt Muendl
Cinematographers: Kurt Muendl, Franz Cee
Producer: Kurt Muendl, Franz Cee
Distributor: ALS PRODUCTIONS LtD
Annotation: This documentary points out the re-discovered giant lizards in the Canary Islands as well as the history behind it. The beautiful nature/wildlife will be part of the documentary. It also includes sensational first-ever filmings of only recently discovered giant lizards in the world.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ECOBELL
Eco TV
Bulgaria, 2005, 59 min, mini DVD
Category: TV Programmes
Written by: Emiliya Baharova
Director: Dimitar Dobrilov
Cinematographers: Tzvyatko Tzvyatkov, Todor Roussanov, Petar Kormoushev
Producer: Eco TV
Distributor: Eco TV
Annotation: The ecology is the subject of the century. We are part of the ecological revolution, which has the vocation to correct the mistakes of the industrial revolution. “Ecobell” reflects the Bulgarian and the European criteria and priorities connected with the new ecotechnologies and with the battle for achieving a stable world and protecting the biodiversity. Nanotechnologies and the Antarctic - these are the two basic topics of this copy of “Ecobell”. All these things side by side with the shocking news and the eternal secrets of the Universe.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
THE ECOLOGICAL CATASTROPHE IN GALABOVO
NTV
Bulgaria, 2004, 7 min, Betacam SP Pal
Category: TV Programmes
Written by: Marin Nikolov
Director: Albena Vikatanova
Cinematographer: Vesselin Stoyanov
Producer: NTV
Distributor: NTV
Annotation: 60 % of spontaneous abortion, 10 % increase of the premature birth, 50% of hundred more kids sick of asthma, four times more than the admissible people with affection of the lungs – this is the description, the doctors of the municipal hospital in the town of Galabovo give. The surveys of the atmosphere in the last few years registered content of forty two times sulfur dioxide (SO2) more than the admissible, dust - eight times more beyond the limit. This reportage poses the question, who is the guiltiness for the ecological catastrophe in Galabovo.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ESCAPING TO SPACE
Turkey, 2004, 18 min, mini DV
Category: TV Programmes
Written by: Haluk Cecan
Director: Haluk Cecan
Cinematographer: Haluk Cecan
Producer: Haluk Cecan
Annotation: All of humans have to move to other planets, because of environmental problems.
Awards: Insolit Prize Antibes Festival, France, October 2004, Beograd Festival, Jury Special Prize, December 2004
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
FASCINATION EARTH: ASIA - THE WATER OF LIFE
ZDF
Germany, 2004, 43 min 39, Betacam SP Pal
Category: Scientific
Written by: Dr. Joachim Bublath
Director: Dr. Joachim Bublath
Producer: ZDF
Distributor: ZDF
Annotation: In the last episode of the current series, Joachim Bublath reports from South-East Asia, a region abounding in natural beauty and cultural treasures. In the heart of South-East Asia we find what is probably the world’s most unusual lake, Tonle Sap. For several months of the year its size increases fivefold, until the floodwaters cover an area the size of Thuringia. This unique spectacle occurs every year in June. fed by monsoon rains and the summer thaw in the Himalayas, immense quantities of water pour down the Mekong to fill this gigantic natural basin, causing the lake to rise as much as four storeys in this densely populated area.
Awards: Ekotopfilm 2004
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
THE FINISHING TOUCHES
Danish Broadcasting Corporation
Denmark, 2003, 28 min, Betacam SP Pal
Category: Documentary
Director: Anton Gammelgaard
Cinematographer: Guenther Andersen
Music: Gotan Project
Producer: Anton Gammelgaard
Distributor: Danish Broadcasting Corporation
Annotation: Craftsmen have spent two weeks on the interior of Friland House; now it’s time to for surfaces, furnishing and fittings. A beautiful non-tiled bathroom; floors of clay and strawboard, and furniture in original Friland designs … and we watch the assembly of a unique kitchen made of bits from the scrap yard!
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
FIRE ON SNOW (ATLAS – “BULGARIA - THE UNKNOWN ONE”)
Bulgarian National Television
Bulgaria, 2005, 28 min, Betacam SP Pal
Category: TV Programmes
Written by: Kuzman Petrov, Valeri Yakov
Director: Rumyana Angelakova
Cinematographer: Lyuben Pankov
Music: Desislava Dimcheva
Producer: Bulgarian National Television
Distributor: Bulgarian National Television
Annotation: Each mountain has its own face and appearance, but also its character. This is especially so for Pirin mountain – different in every season but always mysterious and impressive. “Fire on Snow” is an attempt to understand the white magic of winter Pirin through meetings with people who best understand it and love it – mountaineers and rescuers – odd people with their own philosophy, behavior and thinking and value system that could only be understood in Pirin. All this, complemented by the magic of the authentic folk song and the Pirin exquisite gastronomy creates a feeling of having built a fire on the snow which warms up the heart and snow first and only then – the frozen fingers.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
FISHERMEN. THE CITY OF THE CLOSED EYES
Argentina, 2004, 53 min, DVD
Category: Documentary
Written by: Silvana Jarmoluk
Director: Silvana Jarmoluk
Cinematographer: Sebastian Schindel
Music: Carmelo Saitta
Producer: INCAA
Distributor: INCAA
Annotation: During the last few years, the Argentine sea has been depredated thanks to unscrupulous politicians who sold fishing permits. Little by little a town of 800 000 people is being exterminated. During summer, Mar del Plata is a tourist town for the people. The town of the Casino, the beaches... the town known to all Argentines by the name of “The Happy Town”. The rest of the year, it’s the town of harbour, the fishermen, the fillet-makers and of hundreds of thousands of families who earn a living from them.
Awards: Winer of the Contest “ARGENTINA DOC” - organized by the INCAA, Winer of the “Best Social Documentary” in VI Festival of Cinema y video, Argentina 2004
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
FIVE SEASONS
Central Australian Aboriginal Media Association
Australia, 2005, 52 min, Betacam SP Pal
Category: Documentary
Written by: Steven McGregor, Danielle Maclean
Director: Steven McGregor
Producer: Priscilla Collins / Citt Williams
Distributor: CAAMA Productions / Ronin Films (Australia)
Annotation: In these fast and modern times, the Numurindi people are still guided by the seasons and stories of the Dreamtime. This observational documentary focuses on Moses Numamurdirdi and his family's fight to hold onto their culture and ways in an ever-changing world.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
THE FLIGHT OF THE BALD IBIS
Austrian Broadcasting Company ORF
Austria, 2003, 51 min, Betacam SP Pal
Category: Documentary
Written by: Manfred Christ
Director: Manfred Christ
Cinematographer: Josef Neuper, Klaus Achter
Music: Andy Baum
Producer: Manfred Christ
Distributor: Monika Neubauer
Annotation: This is the story of a species persecuted to the point of total extinction in Europe. Since the 16th century, the bald ibis has been a mere historical footnote in every book on European birdlife. Now two Austrian ornithologists of the Konrad Lorenz research station have trained a hand raised group of birds for their first trip to the west coast of Tuscany, Italy. In summer 2003, they flew the route using ultralight planes to guide a flock of birds to their new winter quarters.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
THE FLOOD
Romanian Television
Romania, 2004, 23 min, Betacam SP Pal
Category: Documentary
Written by: Gabriel Geamanu
Director: Gabriel Geamanu
Cinematographer: Zomir Dimovici
Producer: Romanian Television
Distributor: Romanian Television
Annotation: The abusive explotation of the cooper ore in a pit in the Western Mountains, in romania, leads to an ecological drama, started in the eighties, with still damaging effects for the local environment. the flood of ore waste swallowed several villages together with the houses of the people living there and also with the graves where their dead were buried. The drama of those places, cursed maybe, is reported through the testimonies of the people who remained to live there through the image of the places damaged by the copper ore waste.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
FOOTPRINTS ON THE WATER
ZDF/ARTE
Germany, 2005, 43 min, Betacam SP Pal
Category: Documentary
Written by: Alan Miller
Director: Marjolein Duermeijer
Cinematographer: Rick Rosenthal, Robert Poole, George Evatt, Nan Hauser
Music: Audio network Plc.
Producer: Nature Conservation Films WW und Doculand Associated Media
Annotation: Footprints On the Water follows the personal quest of Nan Hauser as she journeys to some of the last unspoiled places on Earth. Nan is on a mission to unlock new clues to the behaviour of whales and dolphins. Her grounbraking workand dedication to saving the whales of Oceania has shown that one individual can make a difference in helping to stem the tide. Passionate educator and environmental champion she has proven this with her timely research activities in the Cook Islands.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
FORCED TO LIVE IN CITIES
Film Company “MIRIS”
Russia, 2003, 20 min, Betacam SP Pal
Category: Scientific
Written by: Galina Mikhailova
Director: Galina Mikhailova
Cinematographer: Vladimir Pesniakov
Producer: Victor Bocharov
Distributor: Victor Bocharov
Annotation: Not only people are stressed of pollution in the big cities. Animals and plants are also suffering from contaminated air and noise. People continuously reduce the space in the cities for plants to live, so the latter are forced to adapt to new conditions.
Awards: 8th IFF “To Save and Preserve” – The Best Educational Film
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
THE FREELAND HOUSE (2:3)
Danish Broadcasting Corporation
Denmark, 2002, 28 min, Betacam SP Pal
Category: Documentary
Director: Anton Gammelgaard
Cinematographer: Guenther Andersen
Producer: Anton Gammelgaard
Distributor: Danish Broadcasting Corporation
Annotation: Houses with no mortgages built of natural and recycled materials! The Freeland House is the start of the Freeland project, a village in Denmark built by the villagers themselves.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
THE GATES OF SIBERIA
International Television Studio RUS ECOLOGY FILM
Russia, 2004, 15 min, mini DV
Category: Video spots
Written by: Vadim Osadchy
Director: Vadim Osadchy
Cinematographer: Artyr Vasiliev, Vadim Osadchy
Producer: Vladimir Cheban
Distributor: EACAC, International Television Studio RUS Ecology Film
Annotation: Film about nature of West Siberia.
Awards: International television festival “Golden Buben” - Ugra 2004, The Ninth International Environmental Film festival “Wildscreen” - Brispoli Britain, International Earth Science Film Festival Italy, Florence, Participant 2005, 7th FICA - International Festival of Environmental Film and Video - Brazil
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
GLOBAL WOLF
Studio Hamburg Produktion, NDR Naturfilm
Germany, 2003, 50 min, Betacam SP Pal
Category: TV Programmes
Written by: Phil Coles, Beatrix Stoepel
Directors: Phil Coles, Hilmar Rathjen
Cinematographers: Uwe Anders, Birgit Kruschwitz, Christopher Landerer, Yossi Weissler, Markus Zeugin, Holger Vogt
Music: Andreas Dicke
Producers: Joern Roever (NDR Naturfilm), Carl Hall (Parthenon Entertainment)
Distributor: Parthenon Entertainment
Annotation: There is a creature that haunts our imagination: the villain of all good fairytales and a source of children’s nightmares. Fear of the secretive wolf has given it almost mythical status. The wolf has been a companion of early human beings for more than twelve thousand years. It is one of the most successful and widespread of all carnivores and yet we continue to fear attack and relentlessly hunt it down. The film examines our relationship with these dynamic hunters looking at wolf stories from throughout their range. We follow scientists in North America, who explore the relationship between wolves and caribous. We admire the wolves’ ability to adapt to the drought of the deserts of Israel. We come to know about child lifters in India and brutal wolf hunts in Russia. And we are curious to learn how the wolves come back in Germany after more than150 years. We follow this enigmatic predator and those at the forefront of the battle, as they work to ensure its status as the Global wolf.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
THE GREY SEAL OF THE BALTIC
Mandart Production
Finland, 2004, 50 min, Betacam SP Pal
Category: Documentary
Written by: Pekka Mandart, Juha Taskinen
Director: Pekka Mandart
Cinematographer: Juha Taskinen
Producer: Pamela Mandart
Distributor: ZDF
Annotation: The film describes the seals lives, we see a little baby seal grow up and get to know the dangers of their everyday-life. In the future is there a place in the Baltic Sea for the seal, which has been it’s inhabitant for thuosands of years?
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
HAZARDOUS WASTE DISPOSAL PLANT CONTROVERSY
bTV
Bulgaria, 2004, 26 min, betcam SP pal
Category: TV Programmes
Written by: Venelin Petkov
Cinematographer: Petko Gyulchev
Music: Yvlangelo 2000, VideoHelper Inc.
Producer: Gena Traikova
Annotation: A project by the Bulgarian Ministry of Environment and Waters has made public opinion explode in one of Bulgaria’s most polluted regions. The project involves the construction of a national hazardous waste treatment center in the area which is home to the country’s coal mining and electricity production giant “Maritsa-East”. The complex of mines and coal plants near Radnevo in south-central Bulgaria produces some 40 % of the country’s electricity. However, the area has suffered heavy coal-mining and coal-burning pollution effects for decades. Local residents have rebelled against the hazardous waste treatment center project believing it will bring new poison to their homes.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
IF RUBBISH COULD SPEAK
Spain, 2003, 24 min, Betacam SP Pal
Category: Documentary
Written by: Cosima Dannoritzer
Director: Cosima Dannoritzer
Cinematographer: Antoni Lopez Comas
Music: Northern Quartet
Producer: Amelia Tabernero
Distributor: TVE Spain
Annotation: Archaeologists like to study the rubbish of ancient societies to analyse their customs, values and standard of living. What does the rubbish of modern Barcelona say about its inhabitants? This film by Cosima Dannoritzer presents us with an offbeat portrait of the city through its rubbish containers.
Awards: Most original approach to reflecting environmental issues, Green Vision Film Festival, St. Petersburg, 2004
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
IN THE DEEP SILENT BLUE
ALS PRODUCTIONS LtD
Greece, 2004, 47 min, Betacam SP Pal
Written by: Yorgos Filipeos
Director: Yorgos Filipeos
Cinematographers: Yorgos Filipeos, Sakis Birbilis
Music: Costas Haritatos
Producer: Yorgos Filipeos
Distributor: ALS PRODUCTIONS LtD
Annotation: Shipwrecks! Just the sound of the word reveals a sense of mystery, something eerie and painful, while at the same time it excites our imagination for stories about lost treasures, pirates and shipwrecked persons battling against the waves. The sea could tell us a lot of stories about ships that each one for a different reason ended somewhere on the seabed. Far away from any fixed in advance course. Its hull, metallic or wooden, returns to where it belongs. To nature. As time goes by, a lot of oysters, sponges, mussels and a large number of aquatic organisms that from the very moment of their existence are looking for a foothold, grow on its hull. Around them a lot of small fish are wandering, feeding themselves with them. Around the small fish, bigger fish are also looking for their food. Here is a different world: The world of the silent deep blue.
Awards: Ochrid International Eco Festival 2003 – Best Direction
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
IN THE SPIDER NET
Environmental Association “Za Zemiata”
Bulgaria, 2005, 4 min, DVD
Category: TV spots
Director: Ivo Tasev
Cameraman: Borislav Georgiev
Music: Ivo Tasev
Producer: Environmental Organization ”Za Zemiata”
Distributor: Environmental Organization ”Za Zemiata”
Annotation: This clip was made recently to show how private investors with capital of untraceable origin are destroying protected areas in Bulgaria. The clip was created to show the destruction of landscape, forest, wildlife, water and soils, as well as the chance of local people to develop sustainably. The clip is several minutes of silence in memory of the lost nature.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
LAST JOURNEY FOR THE LEATHERBACK?
Turtle Island Restoration Network
USA, 2004, 27 min, DVD
Category: Documentary
Written by: Stanley Minasian
Director: Stanley Minasian
Cinematographers: various, archive footage
Music: Alan Hewitt
Producer: EarthViews Productions/Turtle Island Restoration Network
Annotation: “The Last Journey for the Leatherback?” documents the incredible life of the leatherbacks, at nine feet long the largest sea turtle, which can dive as deep as the whales and migrate across entire ocean basins. Much of the story is told through interviews with leading marine scientists, including Dr. Sylvia Earle, explorer-in-residence at the National Geographic Society and named Time magazine's first hero for the planet. “The Last Journey for the Leatherback?” also details the threat industrial fishing poses to the survival of Pacific leatherback sea turtles. Unchanged since the time of dinosaurs, scientists predict that leatherbacks could vanish in the next 5 to 30 years, due to billions of baited “longline” hooks and millions of miles of nets to catch swordfish and tuna.
Awards:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
THE LAST TREE
SOFTbimage
Germany, 2003, 6 min, DVD
Category: Video spots
Written by: Moritz Mayerhofer
Director: Moritz Mayerhofer
Cinematographer: Moritz Mayerhofer
Music: Kostia Rapoport
Producer: Moritz Mayerhofer
Distributor: SOFTbimage
Awards: Tadgell Bluebell Award at Auburn, Australia
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
LATVIA - WILDERNESS BETWEEN RUSSIA AND RIGA
Studio Hamburg Produktion, NDR Naturfilm
Germany, 2003, 43 min, Betacam SP Pal
Category: TV Programmes
Written by: Valdis Abols
Director: Aija Bley
Cinematographers: Uldis Jancis, Maris Maskalans, Andris Prieditis
Music: Valdis Muktupavels
Producer: Joern Roever
Distributor: German United Distributors
Annotation: Music professor Valdis Muktupavels likes to promenade through his homeland collecting traditional songs. On his way he learns to listen to the voice of nature – singing birds in the springtime, howling wolves in summer, belling red deer in autumn and the melody of the singing swan in winter.
Awards: Prize of the Mayor of Bratislava (Ekotopfilm 2003), Unesco Diploma (ECO 2004), First Prize in the category “Man and Nature” (Matsalu 2004)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
LET`S GO TO VITOSHA
RIEW - Sofia (Regional Inspectorate of Environment and Water)
Bulgaria, 2004, 21 min, DVD
Category: Scientific
Written by: Ivan Kojuharov
Director: Ivan Kojuharov
Cinematographer: Ivan Kojuharov
Music: Ivan Kojuharov
Producer: RIEW – Sofia
Distributor: RIEW - Sofia
Annotation: A film about the hardly known natural resources and cultural heritage of the Vitosha Nature Park.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
THE LIVING MARSH
Kaya
Bulgaria, 2004, 20 min, DVD
Category: Scientific
Written by: Ivailo Nikolov
Director: Dobrin Keresteliev
Cinematographer: Kamen Kolev
Producer: Kaya
Distributor: Balkani WS
Annotation: The film traces back the history of the draining of wetlands in Bulgaria and their transformation into lowest-quality lands under cultivation, thus obliterating the incredible biodiversity, inhabiting all these marshlands. As a case study the movie uses the Dragoman Marsh – unique Karst marshland, situated in Western Bulgaria. It has been drained for many years and used as arable land decades on end. Many plant species (some of them endemic) and other wildlife disappeared as a result of this violation. Due to economic difficulties the water from the marsh is not pumped out regularly during the last decade. Given the good environmental condition, growing in area permanent water bodies and extensive reedbeds began to restore the previous face of Dragoman Marsh. Today the marsh is declared Important Bird Area, housing many endangered species of birds. This gives people the chance to compensate to some degree the mistakes done so far and to ensure the marsh and its inhabitants better future! In recent days the Dragoman Marsh is used as a study area for many scientific research programs and also, but not the least, for outdoor education of children, showing them some of the most important ecosystem links and the true merits of wetlands for specialty tourism and recreation. The film “The Living Marsh” was produced upon an order of Balkani Wildlife Society – a Bulgarian NGO, dealing with studies, conservation and restoration ctivities of flora and fauna in natural ecosystems, their preservation for future generations and raising public awareness on the problems of nature conservation (http://www.balkani.org).
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
LUCIENNE SHEVALLAS - THE MINISTER OF FLOWERS
Evrocom Bulgaria cable TV
Bulgaria, 2004, 26 min, DVD
Category: TV Programmes
Written by: Mariela Borisova
Director: Mariela Borisova
Cinematographer: Iliya Ivanov
Music: Deniza Skerleva
Producer: Evrocom Bulgaria
Annotation: The famous Plovdiv sculptor Zviatko Siromashki – Ombre is ready with the project for a monument of a Swiss park engineer. Lucienne Shevallas spent most of his life in Plovdiv and created its parks and gardens. Plovdiv citizens called him “the minister of flowers”.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
THE MAGIC OF THE WETLANDS
AV-Media Jamtlands lan AB
Sweden, 2003, 52 min, Betacam SP Pal
Category: Scientific
Written by: Lars Norman, Kurt Skoog
Director: Kurt Skoog
Cinematographer: Kurt Skoog
Music: Mats Sundin, Lars Normalm
Producer: Kurt Skoog
Distributor: SVT Sales
Annotation: In Europe there are very few pristine wetlands left. Big wetland areas can only be found in the northern Scandinavia and in the eastern parts of Europe. Key issues in the wetland complex are biodiversity and the rain cycle. Wetlands are of great importance for the biological diversity. Wetlands can be very rich environments with a lot of rare species. Wetlands also have ecological and hydrological functions. They show a complex interaction between land and water, an interaction that ultimately is a part of the giant rain cycle.
Awards: Best film about the Baltic Sea Region, St Petersburg 2004
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
THE MAP OF PLACES SACRED AND CURSED
Czech Republic, 2003, 28min, Betacam SP Pal
Category: Scientific
Written by: Josef Cisarovsky
Director: Josef Cisarovsky
Cinematographer: Karel Machon
Music: Kamil Holub
Producer: Josef Cisarovsky
Annotation: In the past, each evil place was counterbalanced by a place benefitial and sacred. But today, we do not care for sacred places and thus the harmony is damaged.
Awards: The First Prize in the D Category of Environfilm, Prize of the International Jury at the Ekofilm
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
MAROONED
Sapiens Productions/Television for the Environment
United Kingdom, 2004, 23 min, DVD
Category: TV Programmes
Written by: Joshka Wessels, Janet Boston
Director: Joshka Wessels
Cinematographer: Joshka Wessels
Music: Archive/Fungu Boyz
Producer: Joshka Wessels
Distributor: Television for the Environment
Annotation: Descendants of escaped African slaves, the Maroons of Surinam have preserved their culture in their jungle refuge. Timber and mining companies are starting to move in on one of the world’s last untouched tropical forests. The Maroons and the indigenous Amerindians don’t want the government to sell off their inheritance. What can Surinam do to make use of its natural resources in a sustainable way, still beneficial for the environment and local forest communities?
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
THE MINE
Belarusfilm
Belarus, 2004, 16 min, 35mm
Category: documentaries
Written by: Victor Asliuk
Director: Victor Asliuk
Cinematographer: Anatol Kazazaev
Producer: V. Shenko
Annotation: A poetic and not so poetic visual and sound impression from the interior of a coalmine.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
NEVERTHELESS
Documentary Educational Resources
USA, 2003, 49 min, DVD
Category: Documentary
Written by: Judith Grey
Director: Judith Grey
Cinematographer: Judith Grey
Producer: Katherine Cheng, Eva Orner
Distributor: DER
Annotation: After the revolution of 1959 and the U.S. embargo that followed, the people of Cuba were left to fend for themselves. Deprived of even the most basic goods, they scavenge the alleys and scrap heaps, giving new vitality to the discarded. Their recycled products are often remarkably ingenious and creative. For Andr?s the sculptor, Tomas the canary breeder, and the other subjects of Sin Embargo, even the greatest pressure – whether levied by government or circumstance – cannot crush the spirit nor quash the desire to forge a better life for themselves and their families. Shot entirely in Cuba, Sin Embargo is a look into the hearts and dreams of struggling peoples and a tribute to their optimistic and resourceful determination to survive.
Awards: Best Environmental Documentary, Vermont International Film Festival, Burlington, 2004, Honorable Mention – Environment & Social Justice, Earthvision Environmental Film Festival, Santa Cruz, CA, 2004, Best International Feature, Planet In Focus, Toronto Environmental Film Festival, 2004, Best Integral Realization Award, Honolulu Film Festival, 2004, Best Documentary, Festival de Cine de Granada, Spain, 2003
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
THE NEW FOODS
Nova Televisia
Bulgaria, 2004, 34 min, Betacam SP Pal
Category: Documentary
Written by: Galina Shtarbeva
Director: Svetoslav Draganov, Galina Shtarbeva
Cinematographer: Zornitza Mihaylova
Music: Milcho Leviev
Producer: Nova Televisia
Distributor: Nova Televisia
Annotation: Two families – one lives in the city and the other in the countryside. One of them is producer and the other is consumer. The common thing is that they both do not know exactly what they consume. The low life standard in Bulgaria sharpens the need for profit. The farmer is forced to choose - rich yield of genetically modified crops or poorer harvest with pure production. Most of them choose the profit, at the expense of ...something else!
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
NO DRINKABLE WATER (a series)
Rapsode Production
France, 2003-2004, 78 min (23 min, 23 min, 32 min), Betacam SP Pal
Category: Documentary
Written by: Marina Galimberti
Director: Marina Galimberti
Cinematographer: M. Galimberti, A. Girardaud
Music: O. Sternan, A. Nikonov
Producer: Rapsode Production
Distributor: Rapsode Production
Annotation: “No drinkable water” - a documentary triptych about citizen actions to guarantee drinkable water for all: “Water is a common good, it is not a merchandize, but a source of life”.
1 - “No Drinkable Water”. The inhabitants of Garla Mare, a small village in Romania on the banks of the Danube, try to improve the drinking water from their wells, polluted by nitrates, bacteria and pesticides, by eco-sanitation, organic farming and water-filters for vulnerable groups.
2 - “Water, a Catalyst for Peace”. In Akurana live next to one-another the three ethnic groups of Sri Lanka: the Singhalese, the Tamils and the Muslims. A state of submerged violence subsists and prevents any dialogue. The pollution and mismanagement of the Pinga Oya River is a main source of tension. The women of the three communities have started concrete initiatives to transform water from an issue of dispute into a catalyst for peace.
3 - “Water Mamas”. Ukrainian mothers, worried about the effects of pollution on their children’s health, are a remarkable example of determination and courage. They are recognized for their defence of citizen’s rights and have successfully lobbied against the privatisation of the public water company of Odessa whilst at the same time promoting water consumer’s responsibility through water saving in homes.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
NOAH’S ARK
Iranian young cinema society
Iran, 2003, 26 min, 35mm
Category: Documentary
Written by: Soudabeh Babagap
Director: Soudabeh Babagap
Cinematographer: Nader Masoumi
Music: Omid Rayeesdana
Producer: Iranian young cinema society(Iycs)
Distributer: Iranian young cinema society
Annotation: Noah`s Ark is investigating the consequences of sea war on the southern coastland specially the fate of wrecked ships such as Mina, Marjan and Farnaz.
Awards: 21TH FAJR international film festival- Crystal symorgh for the best Iranian documentary, Kish documentary film festival – First Prize of the Board of Jury, Golden Statue for the best Iranian documentary, Roshd international film festival – Special Jury’s Prize, Aftab film festival – First Prize for the best film, Belgrade documentary and short film festival – Grand Prix for the best film and Golden Medalion for the best movie in internationl competition, Golden Knight international film festival in Russia – Special Diploma.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
OCEAN CHRONICLES
Ocean Chronocles
Spain, 2003, 6 min, DVD
Category: Documentary, video-spots
Written by: Leandro Blanco
Director: Leandro Blanco
Cinematographer: Leandro Blanco
Music: Leandro Blanco
Producer: Leandro Blanco
Distributor: Bonton
Annotation: Ocean Chronicles is a kaleidoscope of images and sounds reflecting man’s relationship with the sea. They are unfinished chronicles, for the responsibility on how the final chapter is written will depend entirely on each one of us.
Awards: Image 2003 Birmingham – Silver Medal, Il Mare Milano 2004 – Grand Prize, Vodam Film Festival 2004 – First Prize, Algrave Film Festival – Trofeu Tematico, Pelagos 2003 Italy – Third Prize, Marmara 2003 Turkey – Second Prize, Aqua Planet Video Festival Seian University of Art and Design Japan – Silver Prize, Epic Chicago – First Prize, International Wild Life Film Festival USA – Honorable Mention, 6th International Underwater Film Festival Belgrade – Second Prize, Fete de l’image sous-marine Strasbourgo – First Prize, 2nd Festival Internacional de Imagen Subacuatica Barcelona – Best Editing, Los Angeles Photographic Society USA 2002 – First Place, Belgrade Film Festival 2002 – Grand Prize, Eco Film Festival Portugal 2002 – First Prize, Bratislava Film Festival 2002 – Grand Prize, Antibes 2002 – Special Jury Prize.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
OGRAJDEN AND MALASHEVIA (ATLAS – “BULGARIA - THE UNKNOWN ONE”)
Bulgarian National Television
Bulgaria, 2004, 27 min, Betacam SP Pal
Category: TV Programmes
Written by: Kuzman Petrov, Valeri Yakov
Director: Rumyana Angelakova
Cinematographer: Lyuben Pankov
Music: Desislava Dimcheva
Producer: Bulgarian National Television
Distributor: Bulgarian National Television
Annotation: Documentary TV travel note for the two mountains – Ograjden and Malashevia located to the very South West part of Bulgaria. These two mountains do not have the glory and the natural beauty of Rila, Pirin and Rhodopa mountains but are comparable by spirit, traditions, ethnography and folklore to many of Bulgaria’s regions of national importance and contribution. Anywhere in the villages of these mountains, one can find the projections of fatal historical moments complemented by the proven virtue and spiritual momentum of the people having lived and still living in these regions. After having enjoyed these TV series one can get the feeling of having touched living water.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ON THE EDGE
Environmental Association “Za Zemiata”
Bulgaria, 2003, 56 min, DVD
Category: Documentary
Written by: Tania Cheshmedjieva
Director: Borislav Georgiev
Cameraman: Borislav Georgiev
Music: Balkan Horses Project
Producer: Environmental Organization ”Za Zemiata”
Distributor: Environmental Organization ”Za Zemiata”
Annotation: On The Edge was created to increase awareness regarding the state of the Bulgarian environment and the threats posed to it by the rapid development of highways, unsustainable forestry practices, poor energy strategies, the lack of adequate waste management policy and the loss of habitats. The film shows the valuable work these organizations are doing to improve these crisis situations.
The documentary film On The Edge is the product of the combined efforts of ten Bulgarian non-governmental organizations working to protect Bulgarian natural resources and quality of life. The crew and writers for On The Edge traveled across Bulgaria to film the various projects presented. This meant many nights on trains and filming in sometimes-difficult situations. In all locations we tried to capture the larger picture and the concerns of those most directly affected by environmental threats. Through interviews with the passionate people working in these organizations, we aim to show the urgency of the issues at hand.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
PAIR OF EAGLES- FIVE INSTINCTS
Press-in-SKY
Slovakia, 2003, 25 min, Betacam SP Pal
Category: Documentary
Written by: Leos Presinsky
Director: Leos Presinsky
Cinematographer: Leos Presinsky, Richard Galas
Music: Anton Stredsky
Producer: Leos Presinsky
Annotation: Deep in the hearth of the Slovakia and Hungarian flatlands two Slovak film makers reveal the secret of the Omperial Eagle the gem of the European lowlands. Over the period of tree years they documented the previously unseen natural behaviour of these unique birds.
Awards: The Prize for Best Slovakian Envirofilm 2004
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
PIRIN - CRIME WITHOUT PUNISHMENT
Environmental Association “Za Zemiata”
Bulgaria, 2003, 9 min, DVD
Category: Documentary
Written by: Filka Sekulova, Desislava Stoyanova
Director: Borislav Georgiev
Cinematographer: Borislav Georgiev
Music: Balkan Horses Project
Producer: Environmental Organization ”Za Zemiata”
Distributor: Environmental Organization ”Za Zemiata”
Annotation: Pirin – Crime without Punishment was created to increase public awareness regarding the crimes in Pirin. We meant to reveal the brutal disregard of law by the big investors, who are interested in fast profit on the cost of our priceless nature. The film also exposes the role of the governmental institutions, e.g. the Ministry of environment and waters, who do not keep their own regulations.
Pirin National Park was inscribed in the List of UNESCO’s Convention on the conservation of cultural and natural heritage in 1983 for its primeval alpine landscape, old growth forests and endemic species. The site is also a National Park, which is high conservational status according to the Bulgarian environmental legislation. The history of ski-tousim above the town of Bansko dates back from the 80s when a ski-zone was illegally constructed wthin the boundaries of Pirin National Part. In recent years under the pressure of Bulgarian private investors (IULEN Shareholding), supported by the Bulgarian First Investment Bank which is supported by EBRD, project for threefold enlargement of the ski-zone was started in the National Park. The recent enlargement of the ski zone is in violation of a number of national and international conservation laws. There is a lack of official governmental policy for the development of nature preserving forms of tourism as an alternative to the destructive new ski-facilities construction.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
PLITVICE - LAND OF THE FALLING LAKES
Austrian Broadcasting Company ORF
Austria, 2004, 53 min, Betacam SP Pal
Category: Scientific
Written by: Harry Marshall, Martin Meszaros
Director: Michael Schlamberger
Cinematographers: Michael Schlamberger, Rolando Menardi, Paul Johnson
Music: Andreas Fabianek
Producer: Michael Schlamberger
Distributor: Monika Neubauer
Annotation: In the 50ies, they shot to fame as locations for many a movie - the Plitvice Lakes on the border between Bosnia and Croatia. The Plitvice Lakes are Europe's first national park and were quite early on turned into an international nature preserve by UNESCO. On a filmic journey, award-winning Austrian wildlife filmmaker Michael Schlamberger shows Plitvice's wonders of nature: Its famous 16 karst lakes arranged in the form of stairs, covering a length of seven kilometres and connected by waterfalls. He also examines the secrets of karst and introduces Europe's most feared and most endangered predators – the bears and wolves in the “Land of the falling Lakes”.
Awards: Price for Cesky Krumlov Price, Bester Internationaler Film, Best Camera in a Nature Documentary
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
THE PRICE OF THE BIRDS
Bulgarian National Television
Bulgaria, 2004, 29 min, Betacam SP Pal
Category: Documentary
Written by: Katerina Zareva
Director: Albena Pouneva, Krassimir Simeonov
Cinematographer: Yaroslav Yachev
Music: Ivan Dinev
Producer: Bulgarian National Television, SVIDAS Filmproductions
Distributor: Bulgarian National Television
Annotation: This film aims at introducing the Bulgarian, European and world audience to the unique and rich ornithological variety (about 480 species) of Bulgaria, some of them shown also in unique aerial frames. In the film are shot many of Bulgarian nature beauties, which are combined with the unique sound of native Bulgarian music. The ornithological treasure is subject to great scientific and amateur interest of ornithologists from all over the world. Many scientific institutions and non-government environment-protection organizations work for the protection and study of the ornithological fauna of Bulgaria.
Awards: UVT Award for Best DOP – Popovo, Bulgaria, Best Script - 5th IFF ECO – Ohrid, Macedonia, Grand Prix - Balfest 04, Balchik, Bulgaria
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
THE PRINCE OF THE MOUNTAIN STREAM (FACE TO FACE WITH THE ANIMALS)
Bulgarian National Television
Bulgaria, 2004, 15 min, Betacam SP Pal
Category: Scientific
Written by: Rumyana Mecheva
Director: Dobrin Keresteliev
Cinematographers: Kamen Kolev, Iordan Yankov, Emiliyan Dinov
Music: Diana Tekelieva
Producer: Bulgarian National Television
Distributor: Bulgarian National Television
Annotation: A documentary about the life and the habits of an extraordinary ornithological species – the dipper (Cinclus cinclus). This bird spends all its life in every season near water. Water is its home-place and source of nourishment. Usually it builds its nests behind waterfalls. The dipper never stays near polluted waters. In Bulgaria this species is widely distributed, which means that Nature in our country, especially in the high mountains, is still preserved and unpolluted.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
PROFILE
Simply Cinema
Czech Republic, 2004, 52 min, DVD
Category: Documentary
Written by: Eliska Fuchsova, Jakub Wagner
Director: Jakub Wagner
Cinematographer: Viktor Smutny
Music: Varhan Orchestovic Bauer
Producer: Eliska Fuchsova
Distributor: Bonton
Annotation: A documentary portrait of a Czech architect and The London Future Systems Studio founder Jan Kaplicky. The film is in a form of a dialog between the director and the architect about present times, green buildings, non-attainable dreams, or bad benches as well as about freedom, beauty, sensuality, sexuality and creativity. A time when ecological issues are becoming the focal point, a time when many of us suffer from a lack of living space it is worth trying to make a film portrait of a man who dealt with these issues a long time ago, through architecture. Long before 1968, he decided to leave the country as a consequence of the then political turmoil and it was only in emigration that he proved his exceptional talent. Jan Kaplicky is living and working in England, where he also founded with his wife Amanda Levete Future Systems, a prestigious society recognized throughout the world. He visits Prague, his native town, partly because of the fact that he feels homesick and also because he pursues various projects. Unfortunately, all his proposals usually meet opposition in the Czech Republic, both due to personal intolerance, associated with envy – a typical Czech character, as well as due to a number of absurd decisions about what to build, where bribery often plays an important role. Similarly to Milan Kundera, Jan Kaplicky has not become very popular in his home country.
Awards: Audience award - Atarax 2004, Slovakia
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SAVE POSIDONIA OCEANICA MEADOWS - TREASURY OF BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITY OF THE ADRIATIC SEA
Udruga Zelena Istra - NGO Green Istria
Croatia, 2003, 15 min, DVD
Category: Scientific
Written by: Barbara Mikac
Director: Barbara Mikac and Zoran Mikletic
Cinematographer: Ante Zuljevic
Music: Zeljko Herceg and Marijan Jelenic
Producer: Udruga Zelena Istra - NGO Green Istria
Distributor: Udruga Zelena Istra - NGO Green Istria
Annotation: This film talks about beauties, richness and importance of Posidonia oceanica seagrass meadows - the richest community in the Adriatic Sea. Only a few decades ago Posidonia meadows were widely distributed along the whole Istrian coast in Croatia. Due to the human impact, they are today almost extinct. We will save them!
Awards: Special award, B GROUP films (amateur film makers, independent producer), 3rd place, Documentary, Professional category
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
THE SECRET OF A TREE (FACE TO FACE WITH THE ANIMALS)
Bulgarian National Television
Bulgaria, 2004, 15 min, Betacam SP Pal
Category: Scientific
Written by: Diana Zlatanova
Director: Dobrin Keresteliev
Cinematographer: Kamen Kolev
Music: Diana Tekelieva
Producer: Bulgarian National Television
Distributor: Bulgarian National Television
Annotation: A film about the role of the tree in the life of different animals. One tree “narrates” about the animals, the birds and the insects, which live on, around and in it. The tree lifetime – from its “birth” till its “death” – is shown in the film. In every single stage of its life, the tree appears home, food and shelter for the animals.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SILIVRYAK
Sinismm Film Agency
Bulgaria, 2003, 17 min, Betacam SP Pal / DVD / mini DV
Category: Scientific
Written by: Agop Melkonian
Director: Stoian Enev
Cinematographer: Mario Markov
Music: Mariana Valkanova
Producer: Mario Markov
Distributor: Sinismm film agensy
Annotation: On the road to the discovery.
We have not been on this road for the pleasure of the sight of nature. We have been drawn by instinct and the belief that we will discover something sacred, something new. Maybe it was this instinct that led a goat-herd child many centuries ago, to find the miraculous icon among the rocks. It was this instinct that also helped Imre Frivaldsky, when he discovered the miraculous plant, which he named after his teacher - Prof. Haberle and the Rhodope Mountains. - Haberlae rhodopensis, also known in Bulgarian as silivryak, kitara, for in spring, then the wind blows , the plant emits sounds similar to that of the quitar, shap , shapovo bile, (the herb treating foot and mouth disease), as for centuries shepherds cured their sheep with a herb, which had survived the Ice Age
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SIX WOMEN
Bulgarian National Television
Bulgaria, 2005, 47 min, Betacam SP Pal
Category: Documentary
Written by: Detelina Kamenova, Veselina Antonova
Director: Vladimir Kondov
Cinematographer: Nikola Todorov, Iliya Uzunov, Vladimir Iliev
Music: Elena Djelepova
Producer: BNT
Distributor: BNT
Annotation: 1980’s. For 8 years Rousse has been gassed with chlorine and chlorine compounds by the Giurgevo Chemical Plant in Romania. The then Party and state leaders closed their eyes before the ecological genocide against one of the most beautiful Bulgarian cities. Apart from that, the major culprit is a brotherly socialist country. Public protests of the citizens of Rousse are a precedent in Bulgarian history after 1944. Six women organize them, whose names are remembered by just a few today. Because neither of them went into the big political game of small Bulgaria. What did actually do those six women not only for saving Rousse, but also for the changes, which took place in Bulgaria after the end of 1989? See this film and you will find the answer.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SKREI - COD SEASON AT THE LOFOTS
Hochschule fuer Fernsehen und film Muenchen
Germany, 2005, 45 min, Betacam SP PAl
Category: Documentary
Written by: Juli Lambert
Director: Juli Lambert
Cinematographer: Meike Birck
Producers: Evi Stangassinger, Natalie Graefin von Lambsdorff
Annotation: The cod season lasts three months on the Lofots – a group of islands off the Norwegian coast north of the polar circle. Only three months Knut and Havard Jacobsen have time to fish cod. They and their families have to live all year on what the catch brings in... But the fish population is getting less and not only Knut and Havard are depending on cod: also fourteen-year-old cod tongue cutter Erlend Fredriksen, fish factory owner Aivind Arntzen, just as much as Else-Marie and Otto Larsen, who serve traditional fish dishes in their restaurant, and Eirik Michele, Jurgen Pedersen and Hans-Birger Gullbekkhei, who hang up cod for drying. Without the
tourists a lot of people can’t make their living any more. That’s why Oddleif Nilsen is the last fisherman in Å. A documentary film about the people and their fish in the beautiful nature of the Lofots.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SMOKE SACRIFICE
Filmkraft Filmproduktion Peter Heller
Germany, 2003, 58 min, Betacam SP Pal
Category: Documentary
Written by: Peter Heller
DIrector: Peter Heller
Cinematographers: Klaus Lautenbacher, Jan Betke, Mohamed Kisoki, Lupo Weyer, Peter Heller
Music: Laye Mansa, Habib Koite
Producer: Filmkraft Filmproduktion Peter Heller
Distributor: Telepool
Annotation: A film about the world of smoke and ecological deserts; about the cultivation of tobacco and its disastrous effects on Africa’s famers and youth. Smoking has become less of a threat to the health of the developed world. Although consumer habits and cultivation have drastically changed in the northern hemisphere, the smoking industry now endangers the health of the rest of the world. Smoking causes serious health problems, not only to each individual, but also to the planet itself: Smoking creates deserts. The expanding cultivation of tobacco requires razing of entire forests, both for new farmland and as source of fuel for drying tobacco leaves. The habit of smoking is causing ecological change of global dimensions.
Awards: Prix Leonardo, Parma - Grand Prix Leonardo
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SPECIES HUNTER
Studio Hamburg Produktion, NDR Naturfilm
Germany, 2004, 50 min, Betacam SP Pal
Category: TV Programmes
Written by: Lothar Frenz
Director: Lothar Frenz
Cinematographer: Lothar Frenz
Music: Ben Medcalf
Producer: Joern Roever (NDR Naturfilm), Carl Hall (Parthenon Entertainment)
Distributor: Parthenon Entertainment
Annotation: You think the time for sensational discoveries in the animal kingdom is over? Well, you don’t know Marc van Roosmalen then! The Dutch biologist has found a terra incognita in the Amazonian rainforest where he discovers new species all the time and we are not talking about small insects here. He has found until now more than 20 new monkey species – that is about 10 % of all known primates. More than anybody else. We follow him on a new expedition to the Rio Aripuana. At the end we will witness a real zoological sensation – the team films a new species of peccary. The first discovery of a big land living animal during the last ten years.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
STOLEN PROTEIN
Altemeier & Hornung
Germany, 2004, 29 min, Betacam SP Pal
Category: dokumentalni filmi
Written by: Inge Altemeier
Directors: Inge Altemeier, Reinhard Hornung
Cinematographers: Reinhard Hornung, Michael Wulfes
Music: Hari Prasad Chaurasia
Producer: Reinhard Hornung
Annotation: International fishing fleets are emptying the seas for consumers in the industrialized countries. The result is that the population of the Indian coastline is loosing its major protein source. At the same time, Indian prawn farms are likewise producing for export. This film uncovers the mechanisms of globalisation.
Awards: Oekomedia 2004 - 21th International Environmental Film Festival
- Special Price from the Ministry of the Environment & Health - Germany
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
STORK STORIES IN THE NETHERLANDS
Filmproductie van den Ende
The Netherlands, 2002, 26 min, Betacam SP Pal
Category: Documentary
Written by: Jan van den Ende, Monique van den Broek
Director: Monique van den Broek
Cinematographer: Jan van den Ende
Music: library
Producer: Filmproductie van den Ende
Distributor: Filmproductie van den Ende
Annotation: Never has a bird experienced such a spectacular comeback in the Netherlands as the stork. After its alarming disappearance around 1970, the Dutch Society for the Protection of Birds instigated a re-introduction programme. With enormous support from volunteers, this programme has become a success. The storks’ feeding areas are being restored and protected so that the birds are better able to fend for themselves. The filmmakers spent many hours observing the storks from the time of their courtship through to the care of their offspring. They travelled with the young birds, who, without their parents, found their way by instinct to Africa. You, too, can experience the pleasure of following the thousands of storks, gliding on the thermals, as they journey to Morocco.
Awards: International Puchalski Filmfestival Lodz, Poland June 2003,
Prize from the Ministry of Environment of the Czech Republic in Uherski
Hradiste, Czech Republic November 2003.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
STRANGE ENCOUNTERS OF THE THIRD KIND
Power of Earth Productions
Austria, 2004, 47 min, DVD
Category: Documentary
Written by: Kurt Muendl
Director: Kurt Muendl
Cinematographers: Kurt Muendl, Franz Cee
Producer: Kurt Muendl
Annotation: There are plants, there are animals - and there are mushrooms, tousands of them. From Giant Puffballs weighing up to 50 pounds to microscopic funghi - the world ist full of mushrooms. Alttough everybody believes that they are plants, they are neigther plants no animals but a totally separate life form. With excessive use of sophisticated timelapse equipment we will lead you througt the secret world of mushrooms - a world of poison, murderers and famous chefs du cuisine. We also will give insight into the whole chain of life which is totally dependant an these strange alien creatures.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
THE STRANGER
Public Television of Armenia
Armenia, 2003, 28 min, Betacam SP Pal
Category: Documentary
Written by: Susanna Simonyan
Director: Artak Margaryan
Cinematographer: Artak Margaryan
Producer: Artak Margaryan
Annotation: The film is devoted to a famous soviet forester Edmond Leonovich who lived 53 years in Armenia, in the forest of Lori, in solitude. His father was a pole from Krakov. Mother was a French. He tried to reproduce the European gardening traditions at the foot of Pushkin mountain pass. What kept the pole scientist in Armenia? There is no a right answer for this question. They praised him but did not understand. Even the nearest persons left him alone and went away from Armenia. He did not have relatives, so he did not speak Armenian. But till the end of his days he stayed correct to the forest he made and was buried there.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A STRIPE OF THE SHORE
Studio Family ZOMMER@ZOMMER
Russia, 2002, 32 min, mini DV
Category: Scientific
Written by: Elena Zommer
Director: Elena Zommer
Cinematographer: Eduard Zommer
Music: archive
Producer: Studio Family ZOMMER@ZOMMER
Annotation: The extent of coast of Baikal of 2000 km. It is a film about its beauty, about life of flora and fauna on the verge of three elements - air, water and a land during all seasons of year.
Awards: The honourable letters from Administration of St. Petersburg and New Acropol Management
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
TARA
TV5 Uzice
Serbia, 2005, 21 min 46 sec, DVD
Category: Scientific
Written by: Dragan Panic Panja
Director: Dragan Panic Panja
Cinematographer: Dragan Panic Panja
Music: Archive
Producer: Predrag Kovacevic
Distributor: TV5 Uzice
Annotation: Good God Tar chose this beauty among mountains to live his godly at it.Tara accepted him generously and presented to him its priceless beauty...
Awards: only in Serbia
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
THE TATRAS A MYSTERY
K2 studio S.r.o.
Slovakia, 2003, 11 min, DVD
Category: Documentary
Written by: Pavol Barabas
Director: Pavol Barabas
Cinematographer: Pavol Barabas
Music: Oskar Rozsa
Producer: Pavol Barabas
Distributor: K2 studio S.r.o.
Annotation: A romantic nature postcard in the original sense of the word, The Tatras: A Mystery explores the mysterious interconnectedness of mountains and the human being, whose essence is hidden in the depth of nature. Man will never be ready to understand the absolute, transcendent value of nature; she can touch it, try to know it through its details and love it through his/her own meekness. By revealing the forces of nature human beings embark on their own internal journey of spiritual exploration.
Awards: Prize of the Prezident of the Slovak Republic - Ekotopfilm, Bratislava, Slovak Republic 2003, Zlin Region Award - Uherske Hradiste, Czech Republic, 2003, Literary fund prize - Mountains and City, Bratislava, Slovak Republic 2004, Public prize - Mountains and City, Bratislava, Slovak Republic 2004, Jury’s special mention - Teplice nad Metuji, Czech Republic 2004, 1st prize in the “Documentary and publicity films produced for TV broadcasting” category - Tourfilm, Karlove Vary, Czech Republic 2004, Prize for the author’s contribution - Agrofilm, Nitra, Slovak Republic 2004
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
THIRSTY PLANET (a six part series)
Deutsche Welle TV
Germany, 2003, 26 min each, Betacam SP Pal
Category: Documentary
Reports by: Timur Diehn (P1), Dieter Roser(P2), Jens-Uwe Rahe (P3), Henno Osberghaus (P4), Christian Ostermann (P5), Henning Hesse (P6)
Cinematographers: Hans-Juergen Kassube, Christof Nowicki, Juergen Voigt, Stefan Eichberg, Chris Rowe, Jochen Schmoll, Christian Dransfeld, Roland Gockel, Miguel Mur, Dirk Poetsch, Pepe Sospedra
Programme Producer: Joerg Seibold
Distributor: Deutsche Welle TV
Annotation: Fresh water, one of the requirements of life, is in drastically short supply for many people. Lack of drinking water is currently a fundamental problem of survival for one fifth of the world’s population. Some 1.2 billion people have no potable water. Each year, this means that some five million people die of thirst or from drinking contaminated water. The series “Thirsty Planet” comprehensively addresses both scientific and political issues related to water as a raw material. Many scientists say that by the year 2050 it will become more important to humans than oil. What are the natural and man-made causes of the global water crisis? What financial and technical contributions can Germany make to combat the problem? Possible solutions are addressed and examples and models for sustainable economies from all over the world presented.
Part 1 - Water for the Fields, Part 2 – Water for the Cities, Part 3 – Testing the Limits of Possibility, Part 4 – Water for Profit, Part 5 – Waters of Discord, Part 6 –Watery Visions
Awards: International Cultural Film Symposium, Missoula, Montana/USA 2004, Prize “Hands Around the World Award” for “Thirsty Planet (5): Waters of Discord”, Screening Awards for “Thirsty Planet (2): Water for the Cities” and “Thirsty Planet (4): Water for Profit”, Green Vision Festival St. Petersburg/Russland 2004: Special prize “Best Film about Water” for “Thirsty Planet (2): Water for the Cities”
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
TUNNEL VISION
Sapiens Productions/Television for the Environment
United Kingdom, 2003, 26 min, DVD
Category: TV Programmes
Written by: Joshka Wessels, Roger James, Robert Lamb
Director: Joshka Wessels
Cinematographer: Joshka Wessels
Music: Archive
Producer: Joshka Wessels, Roger James
Distributor: Television for the Environment
Annotation: Dutch film-maker and anthropologist Joshka Wessels spent two years making “Tunnel Vision” whilst she lived in Aleppo, Syria. She has recorded the revival in Syria of an ancient system of underground irrigation that started to fall into disuse at the time of the Roman occupation. The qanats are a membrane of tunnels starting again to supply water to farmers in this arid country. In the Gulf it’s called the “Fallaj”. It is believed the Persians invented the system almost three thousand years ago. Today, this sustainable method of irrigation could contribute to the solution of the looming water crisis in the Middle East. A case of back to the future ?
Awards: skoda general partner award ekofilm
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
VILLA FLORES
Rapsode production
France, 2004, 27 min, Betacam SP Pal
Category: Documentary
Written by: Rapsode production
Director: Marina Galimberti
Cinematographer: Marina Galimberti
Producer: Rapsode production
Distributor: Rapsode production
Annotation: A report about a successful experience of popular and participative economics. Since a dozen of years the municipality of Porto Alegre supports the development of small trade enterprises and cooperatives of mutual solidarity and establishes with the citizens approval different instruments for participative democracy.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
WANDERERS OF THE NORTH
GEO TV Company & TaimyrRosGeo
Russia, 2004, 52 min, mini DV
Category: Documentary
Written by: Vasily Sarana
Director: Vasily Sarana
Cinematographer: Vasily Sarana
Music: sound producer
Producer: Alexander Biryuk
Annotation: There are very few places on this Earth of ours where Nature remains untouched. One of the islands of a paradise of wilderness is in the Far North of Eurasia. Its name is Taimyr. It is a kingdom of snow, ice and cold. It is here, in the vast and empty expanses of the Arctic that the world’s biggest population of the wild northern deer lives. Each spring these animals start on a long journey. They cross the vast peninsula from south to north, reaching the shore of the Arctic Ocean, and in the autumn they return to the mountains in the south. Nothing in the world can stop their eternal movement. What guides them, why do they doom themselves to such trials and tribulations? Scientists have so far been unable to give exact answers to these and many other questions and explain the mysteries of land migrations. To unravel one of the riddles of Nature and see the route by which the deer travel in the snowy and icy vastness of Taimyr we decided to meet and accompany them on their long and arduous journey full of mortal dangers, the route of the wanderers of the North.
Awards: Diploma of the winner, 2nd Prize in a nomination “the Nature and the person”
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
WOODEN DOLLARS OF PRIMORIE
Central bureau of the information of the Ministry of natural resources of Russia
Russia, 2003, 26 min, mini DV
Category: Documentary
Written by: Tatyana Leje
Director: Eugeny Fershter
Cinematographer: Eugeny Fershter, Vasily Sarana
Music: sound producer
Producer: Alexander Biryuk
Annotation: Film tells about the problems connected to illegal cutting down of a taiga in Primorski Krai. The journalist takes part in road of inspection group “Cedar” which purpose struggle against wood poaching, and traces all way of illegal wood: from illegal allotments and forging of documents up to the moment of direct sending this wood to China.
Awards: Diploma of the winner in a nomination “the Best author's work”, Special Prize “For boldness in creation of ecological films”
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
THE WORLD OF GASTROPODS
Belgium, 2004, 20 min, mini DV
Category: Scientific
Written by: Danny van Belle
Director: Danny van Belle
Cinematographer: Danny van Belle
Music: Eric Bettens
Producer: Danny van Belle
Annotation: The world of snails and nudibranchs is fascinating colourful but still very unknown.
Awards: Palme d’Or - Golden fin Antibes France 2004, Grand Prix - High Tatras Slovakia 2004, Grand Prix - 1st place – Tachov Czech Republic 2004, 1st place 17th Nelos Underwater Foto and Filmfestival – Middelkerke Belgium 2004, Silver Medal - Celebrate the Sea Festival - Kuala Lumpur Malaysia, 2nd place Silvershark Filmfestival - Kiev – Ukraine, 2nd place - 8th International Underwater Filmfestival – Belgrade Serbia and Montenegro, 2nd place Festival de l’Image sous-marine - Straatsburg - France 2004, Brigitte Cruickshank award World Festival of Underwater Images - Antibes - France 2004
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
WORLD OF SOLITUDE
KVIK film productions
Iceland, 2004, 52 min, Betacam SP Pal
Category: Documentary
Written by: Magnus Magnusson
Director: Pall Steingrimsson
Cinematographer: Fridthjofur Helgason
Music: Hilmar Orn Hilmarsson
Producer: Pall Steingrimsson
Distributor: Filmstransit, Jan Rofekamp
Annotation: The film centres on the debate on Vatnajokull in Iceland, the world’s largest ice cap outside of the polar region. Ideas are circulating on the establishment of a National Park linked to the glacier, but work has already commenced to the north of it, on a hydroelectric power project. According to international definitions, a national park and hydropower plant are irreconciable. The latter undertaking is hotly debated in Iceland, and is of concern to environmentalists throughout the world. It is safe to say that no individual issue has received as much discussion in the Icelandic media as has the proposed power development. The glacier is unique in concealing one of the largest volcanic areas in the world and it’s area of influences stretches to the sea on three sides. To the north of Vatnajokull lies the largest untouched wilderness in Europe, a vast area of unvegetated lava, gravely plains and surprising patches of vegetation. The rivers draining from the glacier form entrancing rapids and waterfalls on their way to the sea. In a worls which is steadily becoming more cramped, pristine land becomes ever more important and worthy of our consideration. Welcome to a World of Solitude - the huge and endlessly fascinating area of the East Central Highlands of Iceland.
Awards: Green Vision - Prize for the Courage in making an environmental film, Matsalu II Nature Film Festival in Estonia - 3rd Prize
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
VIDEOSPOTS
Government Information Service
Bulgaria, 2004, DVD
Category: Video spots
Producer: Government Information Service, Bulgaria
Annotation: “I want it clean” campaign. The idea of the campaign was born in December, 2004. Its main target is teaching children to keep their living and learning environment clean. The realization of the campaign will guarantee its true success. It was the message of the three videos of great public interest that have been shot by the Government Information Service and aired by all 3 national televisions and by almost all of the cable TV stations in Bulgaria.
Videos’ main character features in different situations like during a walk, in the playground, at Christmas Eve. His lines “ I want it clean” that are pronounced in his still timid voice have turned into campaign’s motto and a favourite phrase of thousands of children. A number of initiatives are under way as a result of the campaign. In their advertisements they all use the videos’ logo.
“Christmas forest” initiative. The TV studio of the Government Information Service made a video devoted to the ‘Christmas forest” initiative, which went under the aegis of Prime Minister Simeon Saxe-Coburg. The idea of the project belongs both to the Government Information Service and the “Mission for environment and waters protection” foundation. The Christmas forest was planted in the capital’s South park.
The video lasts 36 seconds. It was given as a distributed as a present to all televisions in this country, which showed interest to have it.
The video shows the contrast between a home decorated for Christmas and the indiscriminately cut of pine-trees, which we witness every year. The footages are authentic and were taken following a police action against poachers. With this video we appeal to people to get involved in the initiative to decorate live Christmas trees and to replant them in parks and forests after the holidays.
By this manner the administration supports the eco project to help limit the cutting of thousands of trees that happens every year.
