Arte Distribution

Hernin and Marcellin Abong are two Vanuatu twin brothers with very different backgrounds: one has become the “Very Great Chief” of his tribe, while the other is an ethno-archaeologist. 

Their culture is slowly but surely disappearing forever. To keep a record of it, they both delve into the most remote parts of Vanuatu in search of the customs and rites of their people. On foot and by canoe, their journey takes them to grandiose and isolated territories, to discover spectacular and unknown rituals, even for them.

From India to the Bijagos archipelago, discover the last of the world’s matriarchies through the stories of the women who run them. Each of the five films in the collection is an immersion into one of these societies, through the eyes of a woman.

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.​

A remarkable series portraying heritage in a world undergoing profound change.

We travel to the planet’s 34 most beautiful coastal and maritime destinations. On the beaches, coasts and islands of all the world’s continents we discover societies with little-known cultures, in natural environments that are often endangered.
All in 20 minutes.

Mountains, people and stories..

 
A fascinating, menacing, fragile and mysterious world. People live among rocky peaks in freedom, in a natural environment that is sometimes dangerous and isolated. Magnificent landscapes where a population proud of its culture and traditions lives in harmony with nature.
 
Also available as 49x3'.

Sarah Schwartz has been travelling the world, from big top to big top, for over twenty years. She has made the circus her world. A high wire at her feet leads her from one country to the next. 

In this collection, she invites us behind the scenes of the circus dream, revealing its highly singular world. Taking part in a convoy with Sarah Schwarz means discovering a country in a different way: through the steamed up window of a caravan, a different shade of world goes past, a nomadic world, a world of freedom.
With Sarah, we set out to discover a universe that will help us understand the countries visited, bringing us wisdom and knowledge, but also magic and poetry. From the family circus to contemporary circus, from the travelling circus to the permanent circus, we discover countries that are different from each other, yet are all planets in the same galaxy. Roll up, roll up, for a magical, brightly coloured world tour!
 
EPISODES AVAILABLE IN ENGLISH DUBBED VERSION: 
MEXICO
INDIA
 
EPISODE AVAILABLE IN ENGLISH SUBTITLES: 
RUSSIA
 

The history of man, told through uncharted sites, traditions and peoples, with, as a guide, the talented 34-year old paleopathologist Philippe Charlier, who is also a historian, anthropologist and forensic pathologist.

Via the scientific studies he has either taken part in or knows everything about, Philippe Charlier takes us on a world tour of secret splendours, all of which reveal a little more about the history of peoples, via their ways of life, their culture, their rites and their religion. Amidst breathtaking landscapes, we discover mythical places and traditions that are shrouded in mystery.
 

Nestled in the heart of the Himalayas, the small kingdom of Bhutan has decided to do away with the dictatorship of Gross Domestic Product and economic growth at all costs. A new wealth indicator has now become the country’s gold standard: Gross National Happiness. 

Launched by the country’s fourth King, the “new paradigm” is based on four pillars: protection of the environment; conservation and promotion of Bhutanese culture; good governance; and responsible and sustainable economic development. 

Following the Korean War between North and South, South Korea was considered to be the world’s third poorest country. In the space of 50 years, it has become one of the most prosperous nations of all. 

How did this miracle happen when the country is still at war, and the North is bowed down under the weight of a communist dictatorship?
 
A journey through the Korea of yesterday and today, in 5 episodes. 
 

This straight-talking investigation travels to all four corners of Europe, from East to West, in search of the answers, in a bid to understand the phenomenon, to sift truth from myth, and to discover the reality behind the clichés.

 It examines issues such as nomadism, economic transition, positive discrimination, the racialization of social problems, delinquency, European Union expansion and transitional measures.  
This film also explores the role the European Union plays in the process of stigmatisation of the Roma. Today in both East and West, extreme-right wing parties - but not solely these parties - are using the Roma as a tool to rise to power. What weight does the EU carry in relation to the Nation states? And more importantly, what are its values?     
 
 

20 years after the genocide, former goalkeeper of the Rwandan national football team Eugène Murangwa returns to his birth country.

Along with his former teammates, who protected him in 1994, Eugène is today committed to reforging broken ties. He starts out on a journey to confront the history of football, a sport that has close links to the colonial past, and to the tragedy of his country. In the image of Rwanda, Eugène is seeking redress, visiting the past in order to rethink the future.

2015 : Etoiles de la SCAM (Paris - France).