ARTE Distribution

An underwater jewel stretches along northeast Australia. The Great Barrier Reef. Nestled within a maze of mangroves, islands and reefs, it houses some of the planet’s richest and most diverse forms of marine life. Each creature plays its part while sharks, saltwater crocodiles, snakes and jellyfish keep watch.  They are the silent guardians of a balance which is as beautiful as it is fragile. From the top of the food chain these predators conduct the orchestra of life.  But their power can’t protect them in a faltering world. An insidious threat rumbles; the climate compass is going off course. Wild lands are crumbling, gradually succumbing to human attacks. Boundaries blur, and the two worlds collide… and sometimes clash. The rules are being rewritten to the rhythm of this new disorder. But researchers know that ecosystems are unstable without their predators. So how can we coexist with them? How can we create a shared life, where everyone still has their place?

The Great Barrier Reef, one of the seven natural wonders of the world, is home to some of the most breathtaking life forms on the planet. Ravaged by the effects of climate change, some believe all hope is lost. Yet others, driven by courage and determination, are working tirelessly to find ingenious and practical solutions. This is the case for marine biologist Richard Fitzpatrick and his teams, who are dedicated to saving the Great Barrier Reef by implementing innovative scientific protocols to restore damaged coral. Stepping out of their labs, these field scientists show what imagination, science, and action can achieve.

What is the price of sugar, this delicious poison? WIth sequences set in the present day, this historical investigation reveals a global system still fueled by the exploitation of land and people that is rooted in its original sin: slavery.

What is the price of sugar? How much does the fleeting pleasure of this delicious but useless poison really cost? It's a global addiction that has been fueled by the exploitation of land and people for over five centuries. Sugar was the basis of a civilization which, from the transatlantic slave trade to modern forms of exploitation, has never ceased to brutalize labor in all its forms, and to perpetuate immense lies in order to guarantee the prosperity of its industry. The whole world has been shaped by sugar. From Brazil to Réunion, from Europe to South Africa and from India to the Dominican Republic, its production has laid the foundations for the modern capitalist system, devastated the environment, and led to massive population movements. As the curse of sugar continues to haunt certain parts of the world, we set off to these exploited lands to discover a history of which we are all heirs.

By promising to colonize the cosmos, the space industry is fueling dangerous illusions that accelerate the destruction of the only habitable planet we know of: Earth. Scientists, climate activists, and Indigenous peoples are speaking out against this new vision of space exploration, and calling for space to remain the shared domain of all humanity. What are the consequences of this new space conquest? Are we really on the path to becoming a multi-planetary civilization, or is this just a fantasy shaped by our cultural and historical narratives? And if it is all just a lie, who stands to win and who stands to lose?

By the end of the century, humanity will become an interplanetary civilization, with millions living in autonomous colonies on the Moon, Mars, and massive orbiting space stations, while pioneers journey toward distant stars. Once pure science fiction, these ambitions are now promoted by wealthy entrepreneurs, governments, and powerful networks who see space as both humanity’s next frontier and a lucrative solution to Earth’s limited resources. This vision fuels the booming “New Space” industry, driven by dreams of astronomical profits and fears about our planet’s future.
But for a growing number of space professionals, these projects are nothing more than dangerous illusions. Human biology is deeply tied to Earth’s atmosphere, gravity, and magnetic field, while space remains a hostile and deadly environment. Even in the face of climate catastrophe, overpopulation, and resource depletion, Earth is far more hospitable than any other place in the solar system. There is no Planet B, they insist. Instead of chasing fantasies of distant colonization, humanity should focus on making Earth livable again.
Yet in pursuit of these illusions, the New Space industry contributes to its own doomsday narratives by damaging the atmosphere, disrupting astronomy with satellite pollution, and threatening ecosystems and communities near launch sites.
Resistance is growing. Activists, astronomers, and scientists are working to reframe space exploration within a broader cultural, ecological, and scientific context, and to remind us that, ultimately, we are just a tiny speck in the vast universe whose survival depends on caring for the one fragile planet we already call home.
 

What is the price of our addiction to sugar? For five centuries, it has been a driving force in our history. The pleasure of its sweetness and the profits from its trade have justified the worst: conquest, colonization, slavery, and forced labor. Across Europe, the Caribbean, the Americas, and the Indian Ocean, in search of the sources of our addiction, the first episode of this historical investigation reveals the dark side of “white gold,” from Christopher Columbus to the dawn of the 20th century.

The history of the conquest of the Americas cannot be told without mentioning sugar, and the history of sugar cannot be told without mentioning the triangular trade and colonization. A luxury product that became a staple of the European diet, sugar is a globalized and destructive success story. From the beginning of colonization in the 15th century to the Industrial Revolution in the 19th century,
it contributed to Europe's prosperity at the cost of enslaving the indigenous peoples of the Americas, then, on a massive scale,
men and women from Africa. The successive abolitions of slavery in the 19th century weakened this highly profitable sugar economy. But it held on, and even invented new models of servitude. Since its origins, the sugar economy has constantly reinvented itself. At the end of the 19th century, it was booming and about to reach its peak. Its fate was now linked to that of the new power, the United States.

In the shimmering waters of the Great Barrier Reef, the tiger shark reigns supreme. A legendary predator and essential to the balance of the reefs, it fascinates as much as it frightens. Australian scientists decipher its behavior, its migrations, and the complex interactions that bind it to humans. Thanks to new technologies and an unprecedented approach to cohabitation, this film unveils the mysteries of a giant of the seas, the silent guardian of a fragile world.

Why have humans felt the need to wear masks for thousands of years? What is liberated when we leave our everyday identity behind? To understand this, anthropologist Anne-Sylvie Malbrancke will attend two festivals in which anonymity, made possible by costumes, plays a central role: the Diablada de Pillaro (Ecuador), during which men, despite being devout Catholics, transform themselves into devils, and the masked ball of the Cayenne Carnival (French Guiana), dominated by a mysterious figure... the “Touloulou.”

How did a failed coup d’état carried out by a handful of generals in July 1936 turn into one of the most brutal civil wars in history? Largely because of General Franco’s rallying who joined the insurgents with Hitler’s support.
For its part, the Republic realized that it was being abandoned by the Western democracies and could only count on the International Brigades - and on the limited, yet very interventionist, support of the USSR. 

Brazil, 1964. With support from the United States government, the first military dictatorship, also referred to as the Fifth Brazilian Republic, was established. Many opponents of the regime fled to Chile. But in 1973, with the support of President Nixon, General Pinochet overthrew Salvador Allende. Right-wing dictatorships across South America launched Operation Condor to coordinate their repression. Carter’s rise to power brought hope: he returned control of the Panama Canal to Panama and allowed the Sandinistas to take power in Nicaragua. But Reagan being elected in 1980, marked the beginning of a new era.

In over a hundred countries worldwide, especially in Europe, but not exclusively, May 1st commemorates the struggles of the labor movement with union marches and celebrations. It is a day of protest that has gradually turned into a public holiday, one of the few in the calendar not rooted in a religious tradition. Yet this date weaves together several (hi)stories at once…

Dominating the Romanian Carpathians, Bran Castle stands guard over a land of legends. Associated with the most famous of vampires, Dracula, it attracts crowds in search of artificial thrills. But in the dark woods surrounding the fortress, other wild creatures lurk, far more real than the old count... Bears, lynx and wolves have made these ancient forests their main refuge in Europe. In the shadow of the castle, between flourishing tourism and the need for preservation, a new cohabitation between humans and beasts is taking shape.

China maintains that it is a peaceful power and neutral in other countries’ conflicts. But the country has a long history of aggressive expansion and has also suffered from the belligerence of European powers.

The benefits of reef sharks to coral are immense and still largely unknown to the public. In fact, sharks protect coral reefs by hunting mid-level predators like groupers and barracudas (not the small fish that clean algae or help coral spread). By controlling these predators, they indirectly safeguard the grazers that keep coral healthy. Thus, sharks act as protectors of coral’s essential cleaners so much so that, when threatened, these small fish emit distress calls to summon sharks for help.
 
Yet today, some shark species have never been observed alive, and for others, we know nothing about their prey or hunting methods. Without this knowledge, it’s impossible to grasp the critical role they play in reef ecosystems.
 
This "Shark Mission" has two clear objectives:
 
- Uncover the importance of completely unknown shark species to reef health.
 
- Field-test simple, scalable coastal protection systems that can be easily adapted to other coral barriers worldwide — ensuring shark populations remain large enough to curb the unchecked proliferation of mid-level predators, which, if left unchecked, will gradually destroy the reefs.