Thomas Horat

Wolves divide and fascinate us. 150 years after they were driven to extinction in Central Europe, they are returning slowly but inexorably. Are they dangerous to humans? Is it possible to coexist? Using Switzerland as a point of departure, where wolves have returned in the very recent past, this documentary sheds light on the wolf situation in Austria, eastern Germany, Poland, Bulgaria, and even Minnesota, where freely roaming packs of wolves are more common sight.

There are many reasons why a dead body might need an exhumation: police investigations, transfer to another country, cemetery renovations or an administrative expiration of the grave. In all these cases Heinz is there to assist. He treats bodily remains with care and respect, whispering to the dead as if they were still alive. Carrying out this traditionally hidden work for 40 years, Heinz has become sensitive to not only the care of the bones, but the spirit and energy that lingers around them.

In the heartland of Switzerland and particularly in the Muota valley an old tradition is still alive. An old tradition that is under threat of being forgotten by the modern age of satellite pictures and computer generated weather predictions. It is the prophesying of the weather on the basis of in-depth observations of animals and plants, winds and clouds. This documentary accompanies seven weather prophets, from the Swiss interior, on their surveys of nature through the changes of the seasons. Landscapes, the music of the “Hujässler” and the unadulterated dialect of the locals, enables the viewer to experience a nearly forgotten, archaic world.

Food, medicine, weapons and ammunition. During the war, the young Antonietta transported all this at night in a heavy backpack to her partisan group in the mountains at great risk. She breaks her silence about this time because she fears that her memories of the resistance will die with her.

Sixth-graders have many things on their minds. But they are confronted with an important decision: do they continue their education in secondary school A, B, or C, or do they go to grammar school after all? And what even are those things? How do children deal with the hopes and fears associated with this step?

'Alpsummer' provides deep insight into everyday life in the alps of Central Switzerland. It tells the story of four families of different generations, who administer these alps with their animals in conventional ways. The modest life they chose to live during the summer also dictates the rest of the year's cycle. In a time in which society is more and more dependent on consumption, it's refreshing to see how a simple life can make us happy. Next to the ever-ringing bells of the goat and sheep, the breathtaking landscapes are accompanied by the archaic 'Naturjuuz' (and old way of jodeling).

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Our image of short men is clichéd. But isn't there a grain of truth in every cliché? Tall men are successful, short men have problems.

Snow, sweat, testosterone and the sound of chainsaws. Every four years, over a period of three months in winter, wood is being cut in a steep mountain, high above Lake Ägeri, and prepared for log rafting. Neither economic change nor technology has been able to replace this traditional and sustainable craft in Switzerland.