Calm Beneath Castles

Nanook of the North(en)

This pioneering documentary film depicts the lives of the indigenous Inuit people of Canada's northern Quebec region. Although the production contains some fictional elements, it vividly shows how its resourceful subjects survive in such a harsh climate, revealing how they construct their igloo homes and find food by hunting and fishing. The film also captures the beautiful, if unforgiving, frozen landscape of the Great White North, far removed from conventional civilization.

Blindsight(en)

Six blind Tibetan teenagers climb the Lhakpa-Ri peak of Mount Everest, led by seven-summit blind mountain-climber Erik Weihenmayer.

Strokkur(pt)

In the beginning the idea was to make something from nothing, in a neutral and unknown place. Collect images and sounds instead of producing them. The camera, the microphone and the mini-amplifier: tools that take away and then give back. We defined a rule: the sound shouldn't illustrate the image and the image shouldn't absorb the sound. Less than a hundred kilometres from Reykjavik we found Strokkur. For three days we saw and heard the internal dynamics of the crevice: the boiling water that spat out every seven minutes and the thermal shock, given the eighteen degrees below zero of the atmosphere.

Manaslu: Mountain of Souls(de)

The great successes and tragedies in the life and work of Hans Kammerlander, the renowned mountaineer.

The Arctic: 66.5 Degrees North(de)

The beauty of the Arctic is breathtaking. For as long as we can remember, the Arctic has been associated with inhospitable cold. But the climate is changing, and with it the northern polar region, which begins beyond latitude 66.5 degrees north. Climate change is now happening four times faster north of the Arctic Circle than on the rest of the planet, making the future outlook dire. At the moment it is still possible for polar bears to raise their cubs, but hunting is becoming increasingly difficult on the drastically shrinking pack ice. The disappearance of the ice also affects the marine fauna. The wintry ice bridge between Canada and Greenland is threatened with collapse. The unstoppable melting of the permafrost, which has held the tundra together for thousands of years, is worrying. But the Arctic is still one of the wildest and loveliest regions on earth. A documentary visit to the Arctic - as long as it still exists.

Snow(en)

Comprising train and track footage quickly shot just before a heavy winter's snowfall was melting, the multi-award-winning classic that emerged from the cutting-room compresses British Rail's dedication to blizzard-battling into a thrilling eight-minute montage cut to music. Tough-as-boots workers struggling to keep the line clear are counterpointed with passengers' buffet-car comforts.

Tanner Hall Forever(en)

With seven Winter X-Games gold medals and a career spanning twenty years, Tanner Hall has cemented himself as an icon and legend in the sport of skiing. Now, at age 35, he’s decided to enter the Freeride World Tour; a five-stop competition circuit in which skiers are judged on their ability to descend through rugged, un-groomed terrain. Having never competed in a freeride competition, Tanner embarks on the latest chapter of his career, struggling against the limits of an aging body while confronting the darkest memories of his past.

March of the Penguins(fr)

Every year, thousands of Antarctica's emperor penguins make an astonishing journey to breed their young. They walk, marching day and night in single file 70 miles into the darkest, driest and coldest continent on Earth. This amazing, true-life tale is touched with humour and alive with thrills. Breathtaking photography captures the transcendent beauty and staggering drama of devoted parent penguins who, in the fierce polar winter, take turns guarding their egg and trekking to the ocean in search of food. Predators hunt them, storms lash them. But the safety of their adorable chicks makes it all worthwhile. So follow the leader... to adventure!!

K2: The Impossible Descent(pl)

On July 22 2018, a Polish ski mountaineer clicked into his bindings at an altitude of 8,611m to make history. Follow Andrzej Bargiel’s expedition from Poland to Pakistan, as he descends K2 on skis.

White Death(es)

Impressionist portrait of a landscape forged by tragedy. A ghostly wanderer among the vestiges of a story where 44 young soldiers and a sergeant were pushed to their deaths

Keď zima k riekam prichádzav(sk)

White Winter(de)

In southern Germany, winter can still be admired in all its glory every year. With its white coat of snow and icicles and myriads of small crystals that look like geometric works of art. In the valleys and on the slopes the snow is still so thick every year that the alpine huts are snowed in up to the windows. Cows and dairymen are safe in their farms at lower altitudes. But not the wild creatures of the mountains! They need strategies to survive the cold season and to defy snow masses, cold and ice. And some seem to do it so easily that they even raise their young in the middle of winter. But how do animals, plants and fungi cope with the annually recurring ice age, which from our perspective is a time of need? The many adaptations in nature prove that winter is an integral part of the natural cycle of the year and the living environment of species. They are adapted to cold and frost. That is why the animals and plants at the edge of the Alps suffer particularly from climate change!

When Night Falls in Late December, Everything That Was is Left Behind(en)

A series of vignettes captured in Brevard, North Carolina at the end of December.

Esperanto(en)

Esperanto is TGR’s latest action-packed mountain bike film with an added twist. Mixing the rock stars of the sport with a cast of unknown and up-and-coming heroes, the film explores how we share our dreams through a universal two-wheeled language no matter what our native tongue may be. The sacred ritual of the ride might sound different all across the world – whether it’s a full-face getting pulled down to drop into a big jump line or wheeling a beat-up bike out of a mud hut to pedal to school – but it’s a universal process no matter what language we speak. There are more than 7000 languages spoken on Earth. In 1887 a Polish-Jewish doctor named L.L. Zamenhof created a new one, a universal second language based on a combination of existing widely-spoken European languages. Its goal, to help bring people together from different ideologies, beliefs, and nations and ultimately to help end war. The language was called Esperanto. Translated into English it means ‘one who hopes.’

Face of Winter(en)

Watch the world’s best skiers and riders cover ground in some of the most legendary destinations to honor a face that launched a thousand quips and got us all started on this long, crazy ride. Visit some of Warren’s favorite locations from Switzerland to Chamonix, British Columbia to Alaska, Chile, Iceland, New Zealand, and more.

Alone, 180 Days on Baikal Lake(fr)

Steep(en)

Steep traces the legacy of extreme skiing from its early pioneers to the daredevils of today.

Welcome(en)

Welcome is an introduction to the skiing and creations from the Strictly family, a document of our season together spent throughout North America between December 2018 and April 2019.

Ice Bridge - Mackinac Island’s Hidden Season(en)

Mackinac Island, Michigan, is a tiny island in the center of the Great Lakes. Besides being a world favorite "Horse Drawn" and "Victorian Era" summer destination, the island holds another treasure few have ever seen: its wild, magical and beautiful winters. The 72-minute film Ice Bridge follows islanders' unique and quirky lifestyle throughout an entire year while tracing the formation of the spectacular phenomenon known as the "ice bridge" (a three-mile span of ice that allows islanders to cross to the mainland).

No Way They Want to Slow Down(en)

Filmmaker Giles Walker takes an informal look at how our best skiers work and live. Filmed in 1976, this short movie follows the Canadian ski team on a tight schedule in Chile and Argentina. With 2 ½ tons of equipment, speeds of up to 140 km/h, gruelling workouts and a dramatic theft, it's safe to say that downhill racing is not for the faint of heart.