Hyena – Queen of the Masai Marai

HyänenThe unusual portrait of a much maligned hunter, the hyena – a dramatic story built around the competition for prey and territory and the fight for survival. The setting is Kenya’s legendary Masai Mara.
Michigan State University biologist Kay Holekamp and her team travel into hyena territory, observing from the air and the ground. Kay reveals the extraordinary intelligence of the hyenas, hunting tactically in groups, always led by females; hyenas also launch crafty solo attacks on their favourite prey, topi antelopes; and even hunt flamingos!
Lions, cheetahs and hyenas form a triangle of top predators on the savannah. They steal from, attack and harass one another and will kill each others’ young if they get the chance. Surprisingly, this film suggests that of them all, the hyena may well be «Number One», Queen of the Masai Mara.
50 minutes, written and directed by Harald Pokieser. A co-production by ORF, Cosmos Factory and Fremantle Media.


Extreme! – Light and Dark

Auf Spitzbergen

Humans prefer moderation – neither too hot nor too cold, neither too light nor too dark. But Earth doesn’t cater to our preferences. Our planet offers an abundance of extreme conditions, and people everywhere have had to learn to adapt to their surroundings.

«Extreme! – Light and Dark» is a journey to the brightest and darkest inhabited areas of the world: places where a cloud hardly ever crosses the sky – or months pass without a single ray of sunlight reaching the ground. How does so much light, or so little, affect the mindset and emotional well-being of the people who live with it? How do they protect themselves? And how do they take advantage of their situation?
Directing and camera: Udo Maurer, written by Manfred Christ. Commissioned by ORF.


Greece in Bloom

GriechenlandUnemployment, poverty, upheaval, bankruptcy – Greece’s image has hit rock bottom. The country is finished in the eyes of Europe. But what is life really like out there, in the olive groves, on the islands and in the tavernas?
In April, the most beautiful time of the year, the filmmakers explore the mood among ‘the simple people’ during a several week long boat-trip from Crete to Western Greece. How are they experiencing the crisis? What do the reformations mean to them? What happened to ‘good old Greece’?

Fabian Eder finds out during his survey that surprisingly many people manage to put aside GNP, debt cut and economic crisis. One escapes to the tried and trusted: music, mediterranean lifestyle and the blessings of the greek cuisine. The tour through the Greek islands shows a country worth living in – it produces hope and contradicts the daily coverage of Greece’s situation. A Backyard/Cosmos Factory production (50 minutes)