Science & Technology
Understanding our solar system
This series is a fascinating journey beyond Earth to the farthest reaches of our solar system to unveil its history, its present, and future.
Every planet in our solar system, be it Venus or Jupiter, plays a part in it which we intend to discover through breathtaking images and scientific explanations.
BEYOND THE FAR SIDE [52’]
China's moon mission
The moon is far from having revealed all its secrets. A new and so-far discreet player is changing the game: China.
Its program to explore the moon's far side is a considerable endeavor that redefines the conquest of space.
This film takes us on a fascinating scientific mission to understand the challenges of this research and what is being played out for the future.
EXCEPTIONAL TRANSPORTATION: PLANES ON THE ROAD [52’] or [75’]
Supersize everything
On the Airbus assembly site near Toulouse, pieces of planes come from the 4 corners of Europe by air, road or water.
Shipping XXL cargo and putting together the puzzle of aircraft parts require complex and ingenious technology.
This film goes behind-the-scene of this technological prowess and the incredible machines used to achieve it.
Also available as a 75'
MUSIC’S SUPERPOWERS [52’]
A life changer
Why is music vital to our brain? How does it play a decisive role in our development?
Through an international scientific and neurological investigation, this film unveils the mystery of music’s multiple powers at every stage of our lives.
SPACE TOMORROW [6x52’]
The fabulous journey of a man passionate about the skies
When he took off to reach the International Space Station, the young French astronaut Thomas Pesquet became the new hero of a generation.
His exceptional destiny was probably the result of the epic stories he heard as a child: mythical conquests of Space, men walking on the moon and experiences defying the laws of gravity. But the astronaut of today is also a man of the future contemplating life in space or the first manned missions to Mars.
SPACE TOMORROW depicts the fabulous journey of a man passionate about the skies, the big adventures of the past and the challenges of tomorrow.
THE CHALLENGE OF BRIDGE MAINTENANCE [52’]
Massive constructions under pressure
Even the most basic bridges are engineering challenges exposed to the elements (wind, rain, seawater...) that damage these massive constructions. Intensive road traffic is also a factor of additional constraints. A crack, even a microscopic one, or a rust point in the wrong place can have serious consequences.
To avoid the worst, bridges are subject to permanent controls and repairs using advanced techniques such as, for example, breaking concrete with high pressure water or cutting a cable so tight that it could unleash like a giant whip.
Maintenance specialists perform daily tasks that are not well known to the public in order to prevent tragedies.
THE IMMORTALS [52’]
Living beings with superpowers
Living beings have a very variable lifespan; it can be centuries, years, or just a few days, but all eventually face extinction. Yet some animals defy both death and time. They are called tardigrade, lobster, and naked rat-taupe and possess real superpowers that enable them to fight disease and aging.
In trying to unravel their mystery, a question arises: do they have the secret of eternal life?
THE SOLAR SYSTEM [52’]
A journey through space and time
This film is a journey through space and time to understand our origins.
It starts from the creation of our solar system, 4.8 billion years ago, takes us through the changes and the evolutions that it underwent until today, and looks at its future.
THE ZIMOV HYPOTHESIS [52’]
Millions of tons of methane incubate under the permafrost
At the end of the world, past the Arctic Circle in the deep of Siberia, two Russian scientists are conducting a unique scientific and human experiment. Their aim is nothing less than saving the world from imminent destruction by trying to turn back time, going back to the Ice Age.
All scientists agree on one thing: the melting permafrost is one of the most dangerous and serious environmental catastrophes to come. This frozen layer under the earth’s surface incubates millions of tons of methane, a powerful greenhouse gas. A few degrees warmer, the fragile permafrost will set off a climate bomb.
Sergey Zimov claims he has found a way to counter this threat.
WORLD HERITAGE CANAL [52’]
An architectural wonder and a technical prowess
In the 17th century, Louis XIV financed the digging of a canal connecting the Atlantic to the Mediterranean, the second largest construction of his reign after the Palace of Versailles.
Using the latest technology of its time, the beautifully conceived Canal du Midi is among the oldest functioning canal in Europe and is listed as a Unesco World Heritage site.
WORLDS [2x52’]
A journey through space and time
How was the solar system created? Why did life appear on Earth and nowhere else?
These are the questions that WORLDS tries to answer by taking us on a journey through space and time to understand our origins.
20,000 LEAGUES UNDER THE SEA [52’]
On board a nuclear-powered submarine
On board the Vigilant, one of France's 4 nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarines, men and women are working in the greatest secrecy.
This ultra-sophisticated vessel is capable of diving to a depth of 400 meters and staying undetected for several months.
Its highly qualified and trained crew regularly embarks on missions in real conditions.
ANTS! [52’]
Nature’s superpower
They wage wars and administer medicines. They are farmers and graziers. They live in a world of coded communications, strict chains of command, secret poison mixtures and prodigious strength.
They have inhabited our planet for millions of years and yet no living creature seems more alien to us. They are the ants.
With its striking visual images, this groundbreaking filml takes us into a mysterious yet fascinating world.
AVIATOR [2x52’]
Masters of the sky
From inside the cockpit, a flight is no longer exactly the same.
This series focuses not only on pilots but also on the mythical planes that have graced our skies.
During a flight aboard one of these extraordinary aircrafts, we discover the reality, the complexity, the ingenuity of the machines and the men who work in this world driven by passion.
BAT & MAN [52’]
A mammal that causes leaps in science
Bats were already on earth during the dinosaurs’ era, 60 million years ago, and this incredible species has actually not evolved since.
Today, scientific studies of bats have revealed astonishing discoveries in the fields of bionics, disease prevention and containment which can crossover to the human world.
BEHIND AI [52’]
The science powering “smart algorithms” in question
Everything seems possible thanks to AI, Artificial Intelligence, but at what cost?
Though technology is a powerful driving force for our society’s development, critics within the scientific community are expressing doubts.
Deep learning multilayers form opaque, flawed systems that reproduce stereotypes. It is now an emergency to delve into the science behind the “smart algorithms” in order to better understand how machines come to their results.
BEHIND THE SCENES OF THE PARIS SUBWAY [52’]
An engineering feat
The first subway line in Paris was inaugurated on July 19, 1900. This new means of transportation was a response to the city's traffic problems.
The project was rushed to be ready for the Universal Exhibition and the Olympic Games which were held in the French capital that year.
How did the engineer Fulgence Bienvenüe, one of the fathers of the subway, imagine and build this network?
COSMIC FLOWS [52’]
Enhancing our perception of the universe
Since the beginning of time, Man has been constantly pushing the boundaries of his world. From 16th century explorers to 20th century astronomers, they have sailed across celestial waters, taking their dizzying chart-making skills to new heights.
At the forefront of technology, they have used increasingly powerful and spectacular telescopes to push our knowledge ever further.
From Hawaii to Australia via South Africa and China, this film embarks on an incredible human and scientific adventure to the greatest exploration sites on the planet in order to enhance our perception of the universe.
DENISOVA UNVEILED [52’]
A third human species
In 2008, during excavations in Siberia, a team of Russian archaeologists unearthed a small human bone. However, genetic analysis reveals some surprising conclusions: it belonged indeed to a prehistoric man, but it was neither that of a Homo Sapiens nor of a Neanderthal.
It is linked to a third, previously unknown, human species, which is named Denisova, after the cave where it was discovered.
Scientific expeditions followed, from Europe to Tibet to Papua New Guinea, to answer the question: who was the Denisova Man?
DRONES, THE SENTINELS OF THE ENVIRONMENT [52’]
Research and observation tools
Scientists working on the environment are using drones as research and observation tools.
These scouts, whose usefulness is only beginning, are opening up new avenues for the protection of natural habitats and animal species, the fight against invasive species, and the assessment of natural risks.
EARTH, A LIVING BODY [2x52’]
The link between the microscopic and the cosmos
This series explores our planet in a unique way, by making a link between microscopic life and the cosmos, marine bacteria to the Earth's respiration, and by studying the astonishing formation of nature, whether in savannahs, forests, or oceans.
We enter the multiple dimensions of the living world and reveal the unsuspected mechanisms that contribute to the Earth's balance.
EQALUSUAQ, ON THE TRAIL OF THE HIDDEN PREDATORS [52’]
The salmon run and those awaiting them
In July, in Alaska, millions of salmon run up the rivers. Many are anxiously waiting for them: grizzlies, sea lions, orcas, eagles, sharks... and young divers/photographers.
Paul and Thomas, two marine biologists, are here to live their passion for open spaces and memorable encounters with animals as impressive as extraordinary.
Among all these great predators, there is one in particular they have been on the lookout: the salmon shark.
EXPEDITION PETRA, FOLLOWING THE INCENSE ROAD [52’]
A people who keeps all their mysteries
Archeologist Laïla Nehmé is leading a expedition in the deserts of Saudi Arabia and Jordan to map out the exact incense trade road.
This unprecedented investigation, in the form of a road movie, explores the civilization of the Nabateans, the masters of the desert. Who were they? How did they manage to build such a powerful kingdom? What was their religion, their beliefs? How did they live?
Thanks to the latest discoveries made in Hegra and Petra, the capital of the kingdom, we gain a better understanding of this still very mysterious people.
EXTREME ELEVATORS, SKY IS THE LIMIT [48’]
A sophisticated and high-performance equipment
The elevator is an invisible means of transportation and yet the most used worldwide. Every day, more than a billion human beings take them.
Since its creation in 1853, it has followed the industrial evolution and accompanied innovative technologies. Today, it is a sophisticated, high-performance piece of equipment.
When we enter an elevator, we are far from imagining all the innovations it has benefited from over the past decades.
EXTREME LANDS [6x45’]
Overcoming Nature's wrath
When nature rages, humanity excels.
This series explains our planet’s most spectacular natural phenomena and examines human inventions designed to deal with them.
FORBIDDEN PARIS: UNDERGROUND MEGASTRUCTURES [52’]
Beneath the City of Lights
Everyone has heard about Paris and its architectural treasures. But the City of Lights has many secrets yet to be discovered. Indeed, under its pavement, the French capital hides megastructures that are mysterious, dangerous and unknown to the public.
These underground constructions are unique and essential for the city and represented huge challenges for their builders.
A journey into the construction of Paris' foundations.
FRANCE, A JOURNEY THROUGH TIME [52’]
Making past and present collide
Imagine traveling back in time: the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris encircled by a mysterious tropical mangrove swamp; the Loire valley rising from a forgotten lagoon; the Mont Saint Michel looming over a smoking volcanic plain.
This spectacular production shows how the wonders of modern France are rooted in its fabulous past. None of the marvels that make the country famous today could have existed without those primal origins.
Using cinematic compositing and matte painting techniques, the present and past collide in a unique film.
FRANCOIS MITTERRAND ARCHITECT OF MYSTERIES [52’]
An innovative and unexpected policy of large public works
In 14 years of the French presidency, François Mitterrand commissioned 11 major works like the Grande Arche de la Défense, the Opéra Bastille, and the Louvre Pyramid.
Initially, nothing was planned in his campaign promises. His policy of large public works was innovative and unexpected.
Did the former President take himself for Louis XIV? Was there a mystical dimension in the making of these pharaonic monuments? Was this believer in spiritual forces anxious to leave a trace?
FUTUROPOLIS [2x45’]
Mapping the city of tomorrow
More than any city in the world, Singapore is a laboratory for urban development and the best place to figure out how life will look in megacities at the end of the 21st century.
With extensive computer-generated imagery, FUTUROPOLIS explores the concepts, ideas, and innovations required to face the challenges of the coming decades.
It is a thrilling exploration of the city of tomorrow which most likely will be vertical and floating.
GIANT VIRUS [52’]
Could mankind be descending from a giant virus?
Mimivirus (for microbe mimicking virus) is the first member of a family of unsuspected organisms, some vastly different from each other, all astonishing by their sizes, genes, and ‟performances” - one of them has survived 30,000 years in the Siberian permafrost.
These giant viruses seem to fill the gap between the viral and the living cell worlds. Do they represent a new branch of life on our planet? Were their distant ancestors living creatures? And could these ancestors have been at the very origin of all the eukaryotes, which we are part of? In other words: could mankind be descending from a giant virus?
A field of new research is opening with this film dedicated to a new animal species.
HUBBLE ODYSSEY, 30 YEARS IN SPACE [2x45’]
An eye into the stars
The Hubble Space Telescope has spent 30 years scanning the cosmos to unlock the secrets of the universe. During that time, it has also provided us with some magnificent and unique images.
This film shows how this space superstar has revolutionized modern astronomy and changed our view of our infinite world.
INNOVATION EFFECT [13x26’]
Science demystified
Do you think you’ve never been scientifically minded? Are maths, physics, and science disciplines that leave you puzzled?
Finally reconciling the two hemispheres of our brains, this is a series where science is explained by non-scientists for non-scientists
LAMARCK [52’]
Precursor of Charles Darwin
Born in 1744, Jean-Baptiste Pierre Antoine Monnet de Lamarck was enthralled by the science of life.
He studied not only botany but also physics, chemistry, meteorology, and even hydrogeology.
Unfortunately, his ideas did not appeal to his contemporaries. It took the writings of Charles Darwin to bring his work to light.
MOBYDICK: THE OPERATION [52’]
The secrets of the sperm whale
The sperm whale is one of the most impressive and lesser known animals on the planet.
This film is a playful and fascinating investigation into the mysteries that surround these giants of the seas: an ability to defy the laws of physics, their complex social relationships, a technique for long-distance communication and a sophisticated echolocation system.
Thanks to stunning visual sequences, these leviathans from another age have never been filmed so closely in their daily lives.
MYSTERIES OF THE GIANTS [6x52’]
They came after the dinosaurs
After the extinction of the dinosaurs, the Earth was still populated by other gigantic animals: a 13m long snake weighing as much as a truck, a shark as big as a school bus, a 20-ton rhinoceros and a sloth 200 times the size of current ones.
Although they dominate their ecosystems, giant animals are often more vulnerable than others. They are susceptible to climate change, loss of habitat, shortages of food and competitors invading their territory. In fact, today’s last giants – the descendants of those behemoths – are all in decline. Some of them are even threatened with imminent extinction.
The series looks back on the evolutionary history of 8 giant prehistoric animals.
NATURE = FUTURE [46x5’]
A source of scientific and technological innovations
Nature is perfect. For 3.8 billion years, it has found sustainable solutions to the problems it encounters. Through biodiversity, it is a source of limitless innovations that we are only beginning to explore.
This series focuses on biomimicry, the study of nature in the service of scientific and technological discoveries.
Each episode highlights a specific application or research.
SISTERS IN ARMS [52’]
An unrelenting struggle to save the planet
In Greta Thunberg’s wake, youth has commenced an unrelenting struggle to save the planet. Young women have become the movement’s figureheads, sometimes despite themselves.
We follow 6 extremely driven activists, like Julia Butterfly Hill, who, 20 years ago, after having lived for 738 days at the top of a majestic California redwood tree, managed to save the trees in an age-old forest from being felled.
THE BRIDGES OF PARIS [52’] or [70’]
Pushing back the limits
The bridges of Paris follow one another along the Seine river, all different since they were built over centuries and reflect the most advanced techniques of each era. First in wood, then in stone, metal and today in high-performance alloys, they have each time pushed back the limits of know-how.
How have these superstructures withstood the test of time? What challenges were met to gain in lightness and sturdiness, to improve span and strength?
Thanks to 3D images and the participation of the best experts, this film takes us back in time to discover the incredible story of the bridges of Paris.
Also available as a 70'
THE DRONE REVOLUTION [70’]
Smarter and more versatile
The value of drones is no longer in doubt with their multiple applications and functionalities.
In the beginning, they were mainly used for observation and to take pictures. Over time, they have become much more intelligent and have found a place in many sectors such as media, agriculture, industry, surveying, thermography, security, and transport.
THE FUNNY SIDE OF SCIENCE [52’]
The advances behind ludicrous research
How do roller coaster rides affect the treatment of asthma? Do we swim faster in water or in syrup?
Hundreds of similar research subjects have won awards at the now famous "Ig Nobel" ceremony, the satirical equivalent of the Nobel awards. But the craziest questions can have useful applications or even lead to genuine progress in fundamental science.
This film brings together the finest discoveries of the Ig Nobel Prizes with the aim to reveal the genuine advances in science behind projects that have deceptively ludicrous titles.
THE MEDIEVAL CITY OF ROCAMADOUR [52’]
The secrets of a pillar of faith
Rocamadour is a breathtaking medieval citadel built on the edge of a cliff in the center of France. Seemingly defying the laws of gravity, it stands at 364 meters, 40 meters higher than the Eiffel Tower.
This medieval city owes its fame to the fabulous treasure it conceals.
Nine centuries after its foundation, this film reveals the secrets of a pillar of faith, renown for extraordinary technical feats and legends.
THE SECRETS OF MARS AND THE MOON [2x52’]
The closest stars
The Moon and Mars are the stars closest to our planet.
Despite their proximity, there are still many things we do not know about them.
THE UFO'S OFFICE [47’]
Trying to explain the inexplicable
In Toulouse, France, the National Center for Space Studies has a department that is unique in the world; it is called the Study and Information Group on Unidentified Aerospace Phenomena.
Created more than 40 years ago, the purpose of this little-known public service is to collect, investigate and try to explain testimonies regarding unidentified flying objects (UFOs).
This film unveils the incredible story of this office.
TREES: A GLOBAL SUPERPOWER [52’]
Much more than mere static and lonely plants
Trees, these earthly giants, far from being mere static and lonely plants, actually feel a wide range of emotions. They are sensitive to pain, selfless towards the weaker trees, and capable of memorizing data and sharing it with other trees.
In light of the latest discoveries from the botanical, forest ecology and "plant neurobiology” worlds, we are invited to enter the realm of these mysterious ecosystems and their wonderful treasures which we are only now just starting to understand.
VENICE, THE TECHNOLOGICAL CHALLENGE THROUGH THE AGES [52’]
10 centuries of impossible challenges
Venice has been a laboratory of technological and architectural endeavors since its beginnings. Its very construction during the 9th century in a marshy environment hostile to human habitat represented an unrealistic gamble.
The water is now threatening its very existence. Scientists from the world over are trying by all means possible to save the city, turning it into a unique experiment using oceanography, robotics or big data. The stakes couldn’t be higher: can they save Venice and its lagoon?
At the intersection of science and technology, as well as urban planning and history, this film tells the story of 10 centuries of impossible challenges.
VERSAILLES, THE CHALLENGES OF THE SUN KING [2x50’]
A testament to creativity
Louis XIV was determined to build the greatest palace of his time. To realize his dream he summoned the best mathematicians, astronomers, engineers, agronomists and hydraulic experts of the time expecting nothing but their utmost.
The Palace of Versailles is a testament to the creativity of an era which made everything possible.
SEARCHING FOR LIFE IN THE UNIVERSE? [52’]
A hatching of new worlds
Men are born naturally curious of the Universe and the most being the scientists hunting for "exo planets", the ones outside our solar system.
European researchers are far ahead in this field and, in this film, they share their professional curiosity about the organization of other planetary systems as well as their thoughts on the ultimate question in human mind: should life exists somewhere else, what would it look like?