ARTE Distribution

What is hair really for? From ants to polar bears, from crabs to whales, hair — fur, bristles or baleen — is almost everywhere in the animal kingdom. A masterpiece of natural engineering, scientists reveal the hidden powers of fur and hair. A journey across the animal world to uncover how this essential feature helps animals survive, adapt and thrive.

ALL ABOUT FUR is a natural historical journey exploring the extraordinary diversity of animal hair and its often overlooked functions, across the wild landscapes of the animal kingdom worldwide. This documentary series examines the role of hair through three fundamental challenges of life: facing the climate, feeding, and defending. De l’Arctique à la Namibie, du Costa Rica aux Etats-Unis, du Canada au Mexique, de la France à l’Inde, ce voyage visuel prouve que le poil est une invention géniale du vivant : bouclier thermique, arme de chasse ou camouflage, il a façonné la vie animale sur Terre.

First there was Big Tobacco, now it’s time for Big Food. The first lawsuits are being filed. Children are at the heart of the matter since it has been revealed that the junk food industry targeted them all over the world with dangerously sophisticated marketing methods.

After The Great Greek Myths, The Iliad and The Odyssey, and The Viking Myths, get ready to dive into the fascinating world of ancient Egypt and the secrets of the gods who shaped its mythology.

The Egyptian civilization, both fascinating and millennial, is one of the richest and most mysterious civilizations in the world. It survived for twice as long as the current Western Christian civilization. It was built around a constellation of gods and goddesses. Between ancient papyri, betrayals and secret powers, Egyptian mythology reveals a spiritual world where each deity, protagonist of the greatest legends of our culture, embodied a facet of life and nature. A journey into the heart of the invisible and the sacred, where beliefs and art collide.

The Dark Side of Cruising reveals what is really going on in the cruise industry, a booming sector whose image of luxury and escapism hides a much darker reality: that of massive pollution, labor exploitation, corruption, privatization of public land and the destruction of marine ecosystems. A two-part, 45-minute investigation into this secretive and extremely powerful industry, which welcomes 30 million passengers each year and generates $75 billion in revenue.

A dive into the world’s biggest cocaine-producing country, this investigation reveals the underground networks ruling a country on edge and the dynamics behind a chaos fueled by growing global demand.

Through a thrilling investigation that takes us into the impenetrable world of drug trafficking in Colombia, we follow the main sources of world cocaine production, which have poisoned the country for more than 50 years. Thanks to exclusive sources (go-fast crew members, journalists, politicians, incarcerated drug lords…), the investigation reveals the inner workings of a business that is more thriving than ever. A sprawling system that is once again leading Colombia towards instability while the United States are strengthening their presence and influence in the region.

The "Die Hard" saga, whose first installment was released in 1988, revolutionized action cinema with its raw intensity, sharp wit, and a groundbreaking hero played by TV star Bruce Willis. A fresh, humanized take on the genre, it set a new standard for high-stakes thrillers.

For 25 years, the Hollywood actor wore his signature smirk as he portrayed the iconic tough guy John McClane in all five Die Hard films.
He saved the Nakatomi Plaza from terrorists in 1988, an airport in 1990, New York City in 1995 and America in 2007. The world owes him a big thank you as he prevented a nuclear catastrophe from happening in 2013. However, in his personal life, John McClane didn’t manage to save his marriage, often argued with his children, sometimes spiraled into alcohol abuse and usually ruined everything he touched. He even shot himself but never has he gotten rid of his dishonesty, dark humor and determination.
Despite the franchise’s diminishing returns and the proliferation of pale imitations, McClane remains a pop culture icon; a fragile, human, and indestructible hero, Hollywood's most likable cop.

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.
 

The struggle for survival is not always fought with teeth or claws.Hair can intimidate, deceive, protect or warn — sometimes preventing conflict before it begins. From gorillas to decorator crabs, tarantulas to spiny rats, the art of keeping danger at bay sometimes comes down to a single filament.

The struggle for survival is not always fought with teeth or claws.Hair can intimidate, deceive, protect or warn — sometimes preventing conflict before it begins. From gorillas to decorator crabs, tarantulas to spiny rats, the art of keeping danger at bay sometimes comes down to a single filament.

Survival does not always rely on powerful jaws or speed. Recent research reveals the surprising role of hair in feeding strategies. From Yucatán lagoons to Pacific depths, from French meadows to Indian forests, whales, manatees, bumblebees and yeti crabs use hair as a key tool in their search for food.

From polar bears to Namibian elephants, from sloths to Pacific otters, how do animals face ice, heat and humidity? The answer often lies at the surface of life itself — in a seemingly simple material with extraordinary properties, shaped by each species to meet extreme environmental conditions.

From polar bears to Namibian elephants, from sloths to Pacific otters, how do animals face ice, heat and humidity? The answer often lies at the surface of life itself — in a seemingly simple material with extraordinary properties, shaped by each species to meet extreme environmental conditions.