ARTE Distribution

Fogo Island, in Cape Verde, is dominated by the very active Pico do Fogo volcano. For more than two centuries, a community of irreducibles has settled in the crater and cohabits with the fire monster despite the dangers.

In the Tigray region of Ethiopia, Orthodox Christians confront their fears and baptize their children in churches perched high in the sky. At 800 meters, the troglodyte church of Abuna Yemata Guh is possibly the most inaccessible church on the planet.

Every day in this extraordinary place, men and women risk their lives to edge along the narrow crest to place their dead in the cavities in the rock, and to baptize their newborns on the top of the mountain.
On the day of the baptism, Khasa and her baby leave the village and head for the church. Draped in the traditional white, they walk for more than an hour to the mountain. At the bottom, the young mother scales the rock face, her feet and hands bare. The climb is difficult and extremely dangerous.
In the church, the priest and his assistant are waiting. The murals and ceiling of the church date from the 14th century and have been perfectly preserved. They are considered to be the most exceptional in the region of Tigray. The ceremony begins…

In the Marquesas Islands, an archipelago floating in the Pacific a thousand leagues from any continent, tattooing was a strong marker of identity. But with the arrival of colonizers and missionaries, this ancestral custom was banished. Now considered an art form in its own right, Patutiki is reclaiming the hearts, bodies and even faces of the inhabitants of these beautiful Polynesian islands.

Iceland is a land of glaciers and volcanoes. This island with its black soil was still wild and uninhabited when the first Vikings arrived in the 9th century. The first colonists settled in the bay of Reykjavik and soon spread across the whole territory. 

From the first Icelandic parliament in Thingvellir to the myths that endure today, the arrival of these pioneers would change this isle of ice and fire forever.

We are thrilled to present the WILDLIFE & DISCOVERY COLLECTION!

CLICK HERE TO DISCOVER THE INTERACTIVE COLLECTION

Guillaume and Marie, professional wildlife photographers, venture to far-flung corners of the world, with their 3-year old daughter, to capture on film the lives of animals in their natural habitats.
 

They invite us to share their unique way of life, the secrets of their profession, and their experiences with the people they meet. Each episode focuses on a particular animal and their individual characteristics. Each time, Guillaume and Marie return with a detailed photographic account of their adventures.
 
 
 

This 10-part series takes you on an anthropological and cultural journey to ten destinations around the world, to reflect on our globalized consumption patterns. An invitation to travel in the most beautiful way possible to the last bastions of local customs and cultures.

Let us meet the men and women who make these markets a place of commercial and cultural exchange. While the globalized economy leads to a standardization of tastes and consumption, going to a market allows you to dive immediately into a local culture, to meet its inhabitants, its food, its smells, its colors, its customs. An invitation to travel in the most beautiful way possible, to enjoy the abundant and varied riches of nature and meet people from different cultures around the world, who are the beating hearts of these markets. 

From India to the Bissagos Islands, discover the world’s last matriarchies through the stories of the women who run them. Each of the 5 films in this collection is an immersion in one of these societies, as seen through the eyes of a woman.

Follow an international team of scientists on a mission to develop groundbreaking solutions to save the Great Barrier Reef and its 9,000 unique species from extinction.
 

These species interact with the coral to form a complex and delicate ecosystem whose survival depends on each and every one of them. Yet today the coral—and therefore all the organisms that depend on it—is in great danger. In a visually stunning series about one the most beautiful natural habitats on Earth, our international award winning crew has followed a team of scientists for 5 years. Their mission is to develop groundbreaking technological solutions to save the GBR from destruction.

Every culture has its own rituals for dealing with the different stages that punctuate our lives (being born, growing up, seducing, bonding and dying). Each episode of this series will focus on two different cultures and their distinct or similar ways to deal with these issues. 

Being born, growing up, seducing, bonding, dying: this cycle of life is immutable. It is the very foundation of our condition as human beings, beyond culture. It leads us inexorably towards the end – after all, moving forward in life means moving closer to death, and from that point of view, living becomes a frightening adventure! This is why humans have invented accompanying rituals that help structure life in specific stages: the collective rites of passage from one stage to another provide individuals with a calmer perception of their mortal condition.
 

Meet those who, throughout the world, celebrate these life's transitions. Purification, isolation, pain, transformation of the body: every group has its own practices, beliefs and prohibitions that reveal its identity. By sharing these rituals with them, we gain an insight into their culture, their fears, their desires, their vision of life, their way of responding to “the difficult task that is growing up”.

It allows us to question our own anxieties and perspectives and reflect on the usefulness of these ritualized occasions. Today, our Western societies are becoming more and more emancipated from them: people are free to live out their love with whomever they choose, cremation is secular, and graduating is no longer a widely recognized official entry into adulthood. What do rites of passage teach practitioners? How do they help them move on to the next step? What kind of transformation does one undergo?

Discover the heart and diversity of our living planet. With stunning images and unique stories of mankind's relationship with these natural wonders, Season 2 reveals never-before filmed volcanoes.
 

Together, for the scientific aspect of the episode, we explore the very diverse range of questions raised by volcanic phenomena in such varied fields as earth sciences, climatology, biodiversity, oceanography, geography, agronomics, and archaeology. The cultural part of the show delves into mythology, religion, philosophy, folk and artistic traditions, cooking, and ways of life. No two volcanoes are alike; each one has its own distinctive landscape, climate, and geological context. Just as unique are the people we meet along the way who help us comprehend how greatly our planet – and our lives – have been shaped by volcanic phenomena.

Fire dancing in Papua New Guinea or climbing to the top of the Ethiopian cliffs to introduce one’s child to God: this series reveals how some people today still practice rituals that structure their lives and become, beyond a simple social bond, a structuring force and a source of culture.

In societies that struggle to find their bearings, rituals - whether pagan or mysterious - are of particular importance when people are confronted with the unknown, illness, death, not knowing what tomorrow is made of. Rituals help organise chaos, warding off our fears and bringing to light the meaning in our lives.
Anthropologist, Anne-Sylvie Malbrancke, helps us understand and experience these moments with those who practice them.​