Nature & Environment

Xianju, The way of balance

200 miles south of Shanghai lies a natural paradise: Xianju National Park. Literally called "the home of the immortals", geologists, botanists, ornithologists and other wildlife specialists are trying to preserve it. But how to protect and develop Xianju without disfiguring it? With the help of international cooperation and China's growing sensitivity to environmental issues, some avenues are being explored...

The dark side of green energies

Are electric cars, solar panels, wind turbines conserving earth's resources and putting an end to pollution? Quite the contrary; these technologies rely on rare minerals and add pressure on their resources. Mining for them releases radioactive substances & refining them needs thousands of gallons of water. Global leaders are aware of this. Why are they withholding the whole truth about green tech? Destinations: China, USA, Norway, Congo, Chile, Germany, France, Switzerland, Bolivia We are proud to announce “The dark side of green energies” got: “Special prize” at the Deauville Green Awards in France “Best Documentary Award” at the Italian Green Film Festival "Best Documentary Feature Film"  at the Port Blair International Film Festival in India “Social awareness award” at the Vegas Movie Awards in USA “Special jury award” at the Uruvatti International Film Festival in India “Best Documentary Featurette” at the Rome International Movie Awards in Italy “Gold Awards- Feature Documentary” at the Milan Gold Award in Italy “Best Documentary Feature” at the Oniros Film Awards in USA “Best Documentary Long” at the American Golden Picture International Film Festival in USA “Honorable Mention” at the New York International Film Awards in USA “Honorable Mention-Documentary Featurette” at the Los Angeles Film Awards in USA

Pelagos, a Mediterranean sanctuary

Just a few kilometres off the coasts of France and Italy, the pelagic fauna remains largely unknown! To reveal a whole ecosystem in pictures, we're off Marseille to meet the animals of the high seas: from the giant whale to the tiny plankton! Despite the intense human pressures from plastic and noise pollution, overfishing and heavy shipping traffic, this fauna seems to be holding its own. This film reveals the unsuspected and unprecedented behaviour of several emblematic species of the Mediterranean Sea. We are proud to announce “Pelagos, a Mediterranean sanctuary” got the Audience Favorite Award at the Lumexplore Festival

The Heart of Polynesia

For many of us French Polynesia can be summed up in one picture postcard island: Tahiti, with its beaches of white sand, a lagoon, fabulous underwater world and an easy way of life. And yet, all over this vast maritime country, daily life for most people is no Robinson Crusoe idyll. Through the daily lives of a Tahitian botanist, a Marquesas doctor and a family of amateur sailors who left the Paris region to sail around the world, we meet the people who experience a different Polynesia, far from the clichés and the post cards. From the Marquesas to Tuamotu, by way of the Society archipelago, we discover the interior life of Polynesia, far from the beaten tracks of the tourists.

In the heart of the mountains

Snow-capped peaks in the background. Green undulating meadows filled with flowers, this is the eternal image of mountain pastures that we holds in our imagination. But the heart of our mountains is first and foremost a place where men and women live and work to maintain this vast space but also to make use its resources. Some have chosen to maintain the age old traditions, to exploit resources, yet never over-exploiting them, to take advantage of the best nature has to offer while respecting the inherent balances. They are breeders, landscapers or producers; they make their livings from these landscapes while at the same time ensuring their preservation and their future. From the Alps to Corsica, via the Pyrenees, we take you to meet these enthusiasts who carry our mountains in their hearts!

Vanuatu, laboratory of climate change

Winds of over 300 kmh. On March 13 2015, Cyclone Pam ripped through Vanuatu with devastating power. This distant archipelago in the South Pacific is in the minds of the entire world. However, for ­Science, ­Vanuatu is the focal point of our concerns. Earthquakes, ­volcanic ­eruptions, coastal erosion, global warming, this Eden made of coral and ash is a veritable laboratory of environmental upheaval and natural disaster. At the heart of the storm are four men: a journalist from ­Vanuatu, a ­volcanologist, an explorer and a humanitarian worker trying to ­understand, raise awareness and rebuild this paradise that, more than anywhere else, is the victim of the forces of nature.

Montserrat, the Pompeii of the Caribbean

Volcanic eruptions can cause massive damage, as has been seen on the Caribbean island of Montserrat, which was devastated in 1995. The history of this island and the people who live here is very unique and representative of what can cause a such a terrible natural disaster. We travel here to meet the few inhabitants who continue to live here but also the scientists who have made the island a giant laboratory.

Green Paris

A big vegetable garden at the foot of the Eiffel tower, a nature zone where once there were train tracks, a primary forest and a savannah in Vincennes and in Boulogne’s woods architecture and plants blend perfectly. Paris reveals its surprising green areas. This path of discovery is full of surprises. Who would have thought it possible to grow lettuce on rooftops in Paris’s chic neighborhoods? Yet this is one of the harvests from the garden of a prestige hotel next to the Eiffel Tower. This garden is highly domesticated, unlike the wild environment created on the former train line circling Paris with its wild fig trees and small wildlife. This biodiversity is a treasure. Natural environments have also been developed to the East, in the Vincennes Woods, for example this primary forest born after a great storm hit. And there is this wild savannah, which was been planted by the Vincenne Zoological Park’s landscape design staff. Our adventure comes to an end in the Boulogne Woods, in the Jardin d'acclimatation. Here wildlife marries perfectly with the new Foundation Louis Vuitton, designed by the architect Franck Gehry. The blend of plant life with the museum’s glass facades is spectacular.

Nature's invaders

The damage caused by invasive species in New Caledonia is now reaching dramatic proportions: deer, ants and cats are wreaking havoc with its biodiversity. Even when tiny, like the little fire ant, they are able not only to destroy specimens that are unique in the world but also bring turmoil to human lives. Scientists even believe that these clandestine varieties are responsible for the sixth extinction crisis.

Mont Blanc, exploration by rope

Mont Blanc, an internationally famous natural monument, excites the fascination of both passionate devotees of the mountains and laymen alike. It’s an exceptional object of research that both Humans and Science have been eager to decrypt for ages. In order to discover this unique “being”, a multidiscipline, scientific roped expedition has been assembled under the leadership of an Alpine guide. Five days of progress and climbing to fully understand this massif and its most famous personality: Mont Blanc.

Tales From the End of the World

Antartica. The glaciers and the mystery of this far-away and unknown land have always given cause to dream. And yet, Antarctica is not hospitable to people. Antarctica is beyond human norm. Its winds are super powerful, its temperatures the lowest in the world, its glaciers are fearsome. With my film crew I sailed aboard the Admiral Viel, a Chilean Navy icebreaker, for an exceptional voyage to the white continent. We had the good fortune and the dazzling experience of encountering the wild life, of sharing the lives of the sailors and scientists living in the most total isolation, surrounded by Nature at its most sublime. To see and to understand the exciting work these men and women accomplish every day in the protection of nature is to receive a simple, yet wonderful lesson in humanity.

The Austral road

Along the narrow strip between the Andean Cordillera and the Pacific Ocean, Chilean Patagonia is one of the last virgin territories on the planet. A territory of extremes, composed of vast spaces, volcanoes, fjords, wind and rain. Its official title is “The Austral Road”, but Chileans also call it “Route Seven”, the Chilean “National 7”. This road, which was built in the 70s, crosses Chilean Patagonia from North to South and covers nearly 1,000km. A source of progress for the inhabitants, this road has, paradoxically, weakened the regions it runs though and renders the future of Patagonian Chile uncertain. The proliferation of fish farming, the projects to construct a series of hydroelectric dams and climate change bring the looming threat of unpredictable consequences. A visit to the heart of one of the last virgin territories on the planet where the power of nature contrasts with the fragility of the ecology.