Verrückt nach Tornados(2009)

WEED(en)

This 1971 color anti-drug use and abuse film was produced by Concept Films and directed by Brian Kellman for Encyclopedia Britannica. “Weed: The Story of Marijuana” combines time-lapse, montage, illustrations, animation (by Paul Fierlinger and emigre Pavel Vošický) and dramatized, documentary-style interviews to survey the evolving role of cannabis in U.S. society, with emphasis on the legal risks faced by young people. A unique score of experimental synthesizer music is provided by Tony Luisi on an EMS VCS 3 “Putney”

Microcosmos(fr)

A documentary of insect life in meadows and ponds, using incredible close-ups, slow motion, and time-lapse photography. It includes bees collecting nectar, ladybugs eating mites, snails mating, spiders wrapping their catch, a scarab beetle relentlessly pushing its ball of dung uphill, endless lines of caterpillars, an underwater spider creating an air bubble to live in, and a mosquito hatching.

Countdown to Survival: Tornado(en)

Commissioned by the U.S. Government Defense Civil Preparedness Agency, the film describes the elements of a modern tornado warning system as was developed at the Texas Tornado Warning Conferences in 1953 and included radar detection of tornadoes, a spotter network, and improved communications between the U.S. Weather Bureau, spotters, and public officials to better disseminate warnings to the public. In the 1960s TV changed the way tornado safety and preparedness information was disseminated and this film is likely a product of that development. This film opens with vignettes of people in a small town somewhere in America’s suburban midwest. It then goes on to display the moments before and after the onset of a tornado and informs the audience of appropriate safety response measures.

The Meteor(sv)

A large iron meteorite is found by two enthusiasts. But who owns it? A subtle film about property rights that develops into a philosophical and slightly absurd story.

Root of All Evil?(en)

In this two-part Channel 4 series, Professor Richard Dawkins challenges what he describes as 'a process of non-thinking called faith'. He describes his astonishment that, at the start of the 21st century, religious faith is gaining ground in the face of rational, scientific truth. Science, based on scepticism, investigation and evidence, must continuously test its own concepts and claims. Faith, by definition, defies evidence: it is untested and unshakeable, and is therefore in direct contradiction with science. In addition, though religions preach morality, peace and hope, in fact, says Dawkins, they bring intolerance, violence and destruction. The growth of extreme fundamentalism in so many religions across the world not only endangers humanity but, he argues, is in conflict with the trend over thousands of years of history for humanity to progress to become more enlightened and more tolerant.

Rat Brain(en)

Rat Brain is a documentary that highlights Dr. John D. Douglass and his team's research at Seattle Pacific University on chronic stress' neurological impact, striving to uncover its link to suicidal behavior. Their work navigates ethical dilemmas while aiming to showcase vital insights into mental health and suicide prevention.

Small Town Universe(en)

An intimate portrait of life in Green Bank, West Virginia, home to the world's most sensitive radio telescope and the only U.S. town where Wi-Fi and cell phones are banned. In this radio-quiet community, scientists search for signs of extraterrestrial life while residents share everyday moments of joy and loss. But when government defunding threatens the telescope's future, the town must consider which connections matter most.

Cosmic Dawn(en)

For over three decades, NASA and an international team of scientists and engineers pushed the limits of technology, innovation, and perseverance to build and launch the James Webb Space Telescope, the most powerful space observatory ever created. Cosmic Dawn brings audiences behind the scenes with the Webb film crew, and never-before-heard testimonies revealing the real story of how this telescope overcame all odds.

Horizon: Which Universe Are We In?(en)

Where Was God?(en)

May 20, 2013––an EF5 tornado ripped through Moore, OK. The magnitude of devastation measured over eight times greater than the atomic bomb that leveled Hiroshima. As the world watched, one question continued to surface—Where Was God? This story follows several families and individuals who recount the timeline of destruction and share their experiences of the devastating and miraculous events that changed their lives forever.

The Magical World of Moss(fr)

They have no roots, no seeds, no flowers, but mosses show immense survival capacities and can suspend their biological activity for long periods. Today, researchers are exploring the exceptional resistance of these archaic organisms. British ecologists have even resurrected a "zombie" moss that has been trapped in the permafrost for 1,500 years. Associated with decay and disliked in Europe, mosses are deified in Japan. With 25,000 species worldwide, bryophytes - their scientific name - are the seat of real ecosystems, and can develop in inhospitable landscapes, through an extravagant reproduction cycle.

Red Glory(en)

Documentary about humankind’s first walk on the moon with Apollo 11, NASA’s first test mission of Orion for beyond low-space orbit, and Mars 1, the upcoming first manned mission to the red planet.

Hawking: Can You Hear Me?(en)

A documentary telling the remarkable human story of Stephen Hawking. For the first time, the personal archives and the testimonies of his closest family reveal both the scale of Hawking's triumphs and the real cost of his disability and success.

Why Dinosaurs?(en)

A dinosaur-obsessed teen and his filmmaker father travel the world interviewing paleontologists about the latest discoveries, tracking down the crew of Jurassic Park, digging up 150-million-year-old bones, and meeting dino fanatics of all walks of life.

Kingdom of Saturn: Cassini's Epic Quest(en)

Before the joint NASA/ESA Cassini-Huygens mission, humanity only knew what had been learned, decades earlier, with the previous limited, rapid "fly-by" Pioneer and Voyager missions. Cassini-Huygens spent more than 13 years in wildly varied orbits around Saturn, allowing the spacecraft to pass near many of its moons, as well as execute a soft-landing of its Huygens lander on the moon Titan. By mission end, it accumulated a mountain of imagery and scientific data that will continue to be studied for years to come. This film is a testament to the amazing efforts of the scientists who planned and executed the mission. It combines breathtaking images, movies, and a variety of animations to take the viewer into Saturn's complex system of rings and moons, as well as stepping viewers through some of the more exciting scientific discoveries made over the course of the elaborately complex mission.

House of Grucci(en)

An illuminating look inside the lives of the Grucci family, whose Long Island-based fireworks business has been lighting up night skies around the world with spectacular displays since the 1800s.

Deadliest Tornadoes(en)

Scientists strive to understand what caused the devasting tornado outbreak of April 2011. Could their research improve future tornado prediction?

Perseverance, une année sur Mars(fr)

Wild Weather(en)

An innovative documentary that illustrates how weather works by performing brave, ambitious (even unlikely) experiments that show how nature transforms simple ingredients like wind, water and temperature into something spectacular and powerful.

Attacking the Devil: Harold Evans and the Last Nazi War Crime(en)

Before the internet. Before social media. Before breaking news. The victims of Thalidomide had to rely on something even more extraordinary to fight their corner: Investigative journalism. This is the story of how Harold Evans fought and won the battle of his and many other lives.