dir. Krystian Matysek
photo Krystian Matysek
sound Wojciech Mielimąka
Prod. Dorota Roszkowska
Polska/Poland

The film tells the story of the rebirth of traditional bee-keeping methods, the secrets of bee-keeping in cities and the fascinating life of bees. “Honey Hunters” is a film about the life of bees as well as the life of humans. A swarm of bees has to keep moving in order to stay alive. To explore and expose the secrets of the life of bees to the viewer, the camera enters the modern beehive and the traditional beehive – carved inside an old tree. The camera wanders through fields, wild forests, mountains and… the big cities of Europe and Asia. 

dir. Franz Hafner
photo Dietrich Heller/ Oliver Indra
sound Thomas Kathriner
prod. Interspot Film GmbH, Dr. Heinrich Mayer-Moroni
Austria/Austria

The Oetscher massif, called „The Gentle Giant” lies at the outer edge of the Alps. It is an ancient, inaccessible landscape – a region of extremes. It contains the last great primeval forest of the Alps. In the Rothwald, Austria`s oldest trees can be found – over 1000 years old yews. The mountain also provides a habitat for some impressive animals – Ural owls, otters, goshawks, wolves and lynxes – all have reappeared in the region. The documentary “Gentle Giant” presents all these stunning faces of nature – and even more. 

dir. Bogusław Sępioł
photo Bogusław Sępioł
sound Bogusław Sępioł
prod. Bogusław Sępioł
Polska/Poland

The movie shows three species of birds. They distinguish themselves from the local avifauna with their nesting methods. The sand martin, the European bee-eater and the kingfisher nest underground. Their offspring hatch in nests dug by the parents. Kingfishers and bee-eaters are amazingly brightly colored, but their biology is just as fascinating. The film shows us the unusual character of this magical bird world. 

dir. Zdeno Vlach
photo Zdeno Vlach
prod. Štátna ochrana prírody SR
Słowacja/Slovakia

Dobročský Prales is one of the oldest nature reserves of Europe. In 1998 it received the Diploma of the European Council. For over 100 years no human activity takes place here. Old and extremely big trees grow in the forest. The fir, which was broken in 1964, was 450 years old. Nowadays, the tallest fir of Europe grows here. The movie shows this nature cathedral at all times of the year. We can watch the inhabitants of the forest: various species of owls and woodpeckers, black storks, bears, wolves, lynxes, wildcats, wild boars, deer. 

dir. Krzysztof Sarapata, Tomasz Kotaś 
photo Krzysztof Sarapata, Tomasz Kotaś
sound Marek Kubik
prod. Krzysztof Sarapata, Tomasz Kotaś
Polska/Poland

Imagine a beautiful land, filled with life, where every spring everything explodes in full glory of the various shades of green and remains bright until autumn comes. A space, where countless animal species found their safe place. Their home. Imagine the Life.

And now watch all of this disappear under the cold water. See it die under its surface, fade away to become only a memory.

dir. Grzegorz Szczepaniak
photo Daniel Wawrzyniak, Marek Kozakiewicz
sound Paulina Bocheńska
prod. Wajda Studio
Polska/Poland

The French are outraged! Every second snail on their tables is from Poland. The snail industry is blooming, and polish snail breeders export their snails not only to France or Italy, but to China and Japan. On the wave on the "golden" snail business, two friends – Andrew and Konrad – decide to start their own snail farm and make a lot of money. Grzegorz Skolimowski, known as the “Snail King”, shows them the secrets of the snail world

dir. Rita Schlamberger
photo Jiri Petr, Michael Schlamberger
prod. Michael Schlamberger, Science Vision Filmproduction
Austria/Austria

Forests are far more complex than previously imagined. This film travels deep into the remote forests of the Kalkalpen National Park in Austria – the largest area of wilderness in the Alps. Abandoned and unmanaged by man for close to a quarter of a century, the forest`s dramatic cycle of growth and decay now rules the landscape. What appears at first to be devastation and destruction is in fact a part of the fundamental process of the forest`s regeneration and transformation back to its natural, primeval state, luring even the lynx to return “home” after 115 years of absence. 

dir. Tomasz Ogrodowczyk, Michał Ogrodowczyk, Sławomir Skupiński,
photo Michał Ogrodowczyk, Sławomir Skupiński, Tomasz Ogrodowczyk, Rafał Siek, Bartosz Klamra
sound Tomasz Ogrodowczyk
prod. Ośrodek Rozwojowo-Wdrożeniowy Lasów Państwowych w Bedoniu
Polska/Poland

People rarely arrive at the centers of the marshy forests. They have no opportunity to see even the most common marsh animals at close range. The camera shoots show what is hardest to access and most unique in those marshy refuges. Wading birds, moose of the Biebrza Marshes, great grey owls, European pond turtles, beavers and wolves appear in the camera shoots. 

The beautiful, yet hard to access landscapes of the marshy forest along with their inhabitants create the unique character of the movie.

dir. Dr. Birgit Hermes
photo Michael Habermehl, Alexander Sommer, Andreas Buhrow, Ralph Zeilinger
sound Lasse Brünjes
prod. ZDF Mainz
Niemcy/Germany

11th competition viewing 16:50-18:30

{slide=1. 49` | Wetlands Work Wonders}

dir. Tomasz Ogrodowczyk, Michał Ogrodowczyk
photo Michał Ogrodowczyk, Tomasz Ogrodowczyk, Sławomir Skupiński
sound Tomasz Ogrodowczyk
prod. Ośrodek Rozwojowo-Wdrożeniowy Lasów Państwowych w Bedoniu
Polska/Poland

The film was produced in the so-called North Polder in the Ujście Wisły National Park – nearly 5000 hectares of meadows, included in the European Nature 2000 Network. In the past, those were some of the least accessible and wildest wetlands in Europe. The terrain has been meliorated nearly 3 centuries ago. Nowadays it is being restored to the environment and the people. Why? Because wetlands are dying in plain sight. Wetlands are very valuable to the nature, filled with unique and rare species on flora and fauna. They store and purify great amounts of water and balance the climate. Because wetlands simply work wonders! 

dir. Zoltan Török
photo Jan Henriksson, Zoltan Török
sound Ola Eliasson
prod. Simon Riedel, Zoltan Török, Jörn Röver
Szwecja, Niemcy, Węgry/ Sweden,Germany, Hungary

They are small. They are angry. And every four years or so they appear in masses seemingly from nowhere. Meet the Norway Lemming, perhaps the most misunderstood and mysterious animal of the Scandinavian mountains. The film follows the unfolding ecological thriller of the exploding lemming population that creates a domino effect in the entire Nordic nature. Finally, it inevitably leads to a dramatic climax with the crash of the lemming population and then a sudden lack of prey for the predators…