ecology

Silvan Skrivanic was the last inhabitant of a remote island in the Adriatic Sea, but even the traces of his existence are gradually disappearing – whether in the memories of others or in a landscape ravaged by a harsh climate. With the fading shadows of the human soul, it is as if life itself is disappearing from the island, leaving behind only the wind, the skeletons of animals and the inscriptions on the walls that have lost their meaning for others.“The traces of the last soul and the prints of its existence, the messages of a place where everything has disappeared.”

Birth, mating and death under the microscope – that's the life cycle of fruitflies, the laboratory insects at the Centre for Animal Behaviour Research. With fascination and ironic detachment, this portrait of laboratory routine conveys how scientists dissect members of another species in the belief of their own superiority. White-robed gods deconstruct the living into the inanimate, turning organisms into numbers, categories and definitions, unaware that they themselves are captives of a giant human insectarium with its own collective behaviour, hierarchy and culture.

The United States is the largest producer of pistachios in the world. Growing them in California requires huge volumes of water, which many people can no longer get in the quantities they need. In the meantime, the vast inland plains, once plundered by oil production in the state, have become giant industrial farms. Investigative journalist Yasha Levine's reporting journey uncovers the context of the reckless trafficking of one of the most basic raw materials – water. Changes in legislation and massive encroachment on natural watercourses are transforming not only the landscape, but above all the human value of this life-giving liquid.“The thing I find most shocking is comparing the images of the past—a lush wetland with abundant bird life—to now, a landscape dominated by industrial farming.” Quote source: Film Fest Report

In the middle of the Utah desert, near the Skull Valley Indian Reservation, is a heavily guarded military base where the U.S. military has been developing and testing chemical, biological and nuclear weapons since World War II. It was here that the pilots who dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima were trained. Anyone working at the military facility is bound by confidentiality. Nevertheless, the filmmakers piece together a complex picture of the high price the United States pays for wars that take place thousands of miles away, yet are painfully etched into the American landscape and mentality.“There is no one reality, especially not in documentary film. Our film is more a reflection on the costs of war and human existence.” — Michael David BeamishQuote source: der Freitag