Robert Morgenstern

Isolated since the time of the dinosaurs, New Zealand’s wildlife has been left to its own devices, with surprising consequences. Its ancient forests are still stalked by predators from the Jurassic era. It’s also one of the most geologically active countries on earth. From Kiwis with their giant eggs, to forest-dwelling penguins and helicopter-riding sheep dogs, meet the astonishing creatures and resilient people who must rise to the challenges of their beautiful, dramatic and demanding home.

Isolated from the rest of the world since the time of the dinosaurs, New Zealand’s magnificent wildlife has been left to its own devices for 80 million years, with surprising consequences. This series reveals New Zealand’s rich and intriguing wildlife stories, from the bustling communities of penguins hiding away in giant daisy forests to the kakapo – Earth’s only species of flightless nocturnal parrots. New Zealand was also the last place to be discovered and settled by people who brought with them new animals, like merino sheep and new predators like the stoat. Finally the series meets the pioneering conservation heroes who are fighting to save some of its most endangered species.

The North Sea, the largest sea on our doorstep, has many faces: wide tidal environments, high dunes, flat holms and rugged coastlines. Its beaches attract every season not only tourists but also countless seals. And beneath the cool sea surface hides a varied and fascinating underwater world: whether majestic basking before the chalk cliffs of Dover or combative gray seals on the beach of Helgoland, whether mighty squid on the Dutch Oosterschelde, or creepy Greenland shark in the Fjords of Norway.

Over a period of two years, Robert Morgenstern and his team captured the atmosphere and stories of Helgoland and woven them into a portrait of the island and its inhabitants. The primordial elements and moods, swarming water masses, the powerful play of colors of the sunset red, the vastness of the starry sky above the flashing lighthouse and the rustle of the flocks of birds at night give Helgoland a very special magic. Through slow-moon and time-lapse shots, this rhythm of the island becomes alive and vivid in this film. The special perspectives and animal shots in the first work by Robert Morgenstern trace the diversity and special features of the red island and also provide fascinating insights into the work of the ordianists.