In hand-built, double-hulled canoes sixty feet long, the ancestors of today's Polynesians sailed vast distances using only the waves, the stars, and the flights of birds to navigate. Anthropologist Sanford Low visits the Caroline Islands of Micronesia to meet Mau Piailug, the last navigator initiated on his island and one of few men still practicing this once-essential art. He demonstrates his skill by sailing a replica canoe 2500 miles from Hawaii to Tahiti with no modern navigational instruments.
In hand-built, double-hulled canoes sixty feet long, the ancestors of today's Polynesians sailed vast distances using only the waves, the stars, and the flights of birds to navigate. Anthropologist Sanford Low visits the Caroline Islands of Micronesia to meet Mau Piailug, the last navigator initiated on his island and one of few men still practicing this once-essential art. He demonstrates his skill by sailing a replica canoe 2500 miles from Hawaii to Tahiti with no modern navigational instruments.
1983-09-01
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AT SEA is a visceral and poetic short film that blends docu-style realism with narrative fiction, following a group of faceless sailors navigating the unpredictable seas of Greece. Through the fragmented memories of an unreliable narrator, the film weaves together a non-linear story that shifts in mood with each chapter, offering a fresh perspective on the sea. Based on true events… almost.
The US detonated 67 nuclear weapons over the Bikini Atoll in the Marshall Islands during the Cold War, the consequences of which still reverberate down four generations to today. "NUKED," is a timely new feature documentary focussing on the human victims of the nuclear arms race, tracing the displaced Bikinian's ongoing struggle for justice and survival even as climate change poses a new existential threat. Using carefully restored archival footage to resurrect contemporaneous islanders’ voices and juxtaposing these with the full, awesome fury of the nuclear detonations, NUKED starkly contrasts the official record with the lived experience of the Bikinians themselves, serving as an important counterpoint to this summer’s Oppenheimer.
The Living Sea celebrates the beauty and power of the ocean as it explores our relationship with this complex and fragile environment. Using beautiful images of unspoiled healthy waters, The Living Sea offers hope for recovery engendered by productive scientific efforts. Oceanographers studying humpback whales, jellyfish, and deep-sea life show us that the more we understand the ocean and its inhabitants, the more we will know how to protect them. The film also highlights the Central Pacific islands of Palau, one of the most spectacular underwater habitats in the world, to show the beauty and potential of a healthy ocean.
"Kon-Tiki" was the name of a wooden raft used by six Scandinavian scientists, led by Thor Heyerdahl, to make a 101-day journey from South America to the Polynesian Islands. The purpose of the expedition was to prove Heyerdal's theory that the Polynesian Islands were populated from the east- specifically Peru- rather than from the west (Asia) as had been the theory for hundreds of years. Heyerdahl made a study of the winds and tides in the Pacific, and by simulating conditions as closely as possible to those he theorized the Peruvians encountered, set out on the voyage.
Kalo (taro) production on each of the major islands of Hawai'i circa 1994. Meet the amazing people who love and continue to cultivate taro on lo'i that in some cases has been in the family for generations and centuries! Young, old, and family growers on Maui, Moloka'i, Hawai'i, O'ahu, and Kaua'i islands. Includes history/culture of kalo, Issues related to land and water, uses of kalo, and prospects for the future.
In the heart of New York City stands Grand Central Terminal. Explore the magnificent secrets of this iconic landmark as we take you inside the heart, soul and amazing engineering of this superstructure. From railroad cars to rush hours, we unlock the colorful tales of its past, present and future.
A crew including a Writer, two Musicians, an Artist and a Stonemason embark on the Camino by sea, in a traditional boat that they built themselves on an inspiring, and dangerous, 2,500 km modern day Celtic odyssey all the way from Ireland to Northern Spain.
Navigating the Indian Ocean in a reconstruction of a 1,200-year-old Arab ship, held together by 100km of rope and 127,000 hand-sewn stitches. The Jewel will sail more than five thousand kilometres across the Indian Ocean and do battle with the Monsoon – but for sailors it can spell danger and even death. It took a year to build: the Jewel of Muscat – a reconstruction of a 1200 year old Arab ship, based on an ancient shipwreck. Built from more than 18 tonnes of wood, the ship is held together entirely by 100 km of rope in over 127,000 hand-sewn stitches. Now the Jewel will sail more than five thousand kilometres across the Indian Ocean and do battle with the Monsoon – the mighty rain soaked wind that turns the arid land it touches green. But for sailors it can spell danger and even death.
Steven Callahan gives a gripping first-hand account of his NYT bestselling novel "Adrift: 76 Days Lost At Sea." On the eve of February 4, 1982, in the middle of the night there was a loud boom as a whale collided with Steven's boat. Within minutes, his small craft was flooded with a rush of water. He grabbed what he could, heaved his life raft into the ocean, and snatched his emergency kit. Without food or water, for an incredible 76 days the inflatable raft was his home as he drifted across the entire Atlantic Ocean. Forced to come to terms with his own shortcomings and limitations, Steven finds a strength he never knew he had. This official documentary, executive produced by Callahan, brings the story to life with found 8MM footage, original stills of the time of the voyage, and first-person recreation. Still possessing many of the original artifacts, he takes us step-by-step through his harrowing and life-altering adventure.
This award-winning PBS documentary sweeps viewers into a seafaring adventure with a community of Polynesians, as they build traditional sailing canoes, learn how to follow the stars across the open ocean, and embark upon a 2,000-mile voyage in the wake of their ancestors.
Although the mountain volcano Mauna Kea last erupted around 4,000 years ago, it is still hot today, the center of a burning controversy over whether its summit should be used for astronomical observatories or preserved as a cultural landscape sacred to the Hawaiian people. For five years the documentary production team Nā Maka o ka 'Āina ("the eyes of the land") captured on video the seasonal moods of Mauna Kea's unique 14,000-foot summit, the richly varied ecosystems that extend from sea level to alpine zone, the legends and stories that reveal the mountain's geologic and cultural history, and the political turbulence surrounding the efforts to protect the most significant temple in the islands: the mountain itself.
Ocean Souls Films and Wildlife Media unite 100+ filmmakers, scientists, and leading experts to shine a bright, new spotlight on humanity’s closest living relatives - cetaceans (whales, dolphins, and porpoises). New footage and scientific discoveries reveal the extraordinary world beneath the ocean’s surface, where these majestic beings exhibit characteristics not unlike ours in terms of emotions, language, family, intelligence, and human interaction. Directed by Philip Hamilton, this multi-award-winning film inspires people to care and want to protect the oceans.
This short film showcases water sports activities such as sailboat racing and surfboard riding, including Christian Peterson doing a human surfboard at 45 mph.
Using nature shots with narration and a musical score, this documentary tells the story about the Moken, Myanmar's last sea nomads.
An urban documentary illuminating the struggles of pedestrians, bike and skateboard commuters in Charleston, SC experience on a daily basis.
Hawaii, Pacific Ocean. In this heavenly place, one of the most memorable battles of the Second World War took place 80 years ago. On December 7, 1941, at 7:53 am, a Japanese air squadron struck the American fleet which anchored in the waters of Pearl Harbor. The United States were struck at the heart of their defensive system and entered the conflict the very next day. How Pearl Harbor changed the face of World War II and therefore the face of the world? What are the diplomatic undersides of Pearl Harbor? Was the attack really a surprise attack? Is it really a Japanese victory?
Celebrates 30 years of televised specials by The National Geographic Society.
Adventurer, filmmaker, inventor, author, unlikely celebrity and conservationist: For over four decades, Jacques-Yves Cousteau and his explorations under the ocean became synonymous with a love of science and the natural world. As he learned to protect the environment, he brought the whole world with him, sounding alarms more than 50 years ago about the warming seas and our planet’s vulnerability. In BECOMING COUSTEAU, from National Geographic Documentary Films, two-time Academy Award®-nominated filmmaker Liz Garbus takes an inside look at Cousteau and his life, his iconic films and inventions, and the experiences that made him the 20th century’s most unique and renowned environmental voice — and the man who inspired generations to protect the Earth.
In 1879, Bolivia lost its access to the sea in a war. When I was a child I did not understand how we had lost it; he thought the Chileans had taken him away in buckets. It is a diary towards interior landscapes, myths, characters and contradictions in a country that relives this loss every day.