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Selection Fall/Winter 2017/18 yea

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Available: Fall 2018

Size Matters2 x 50’Science + Knowledge

Highlight — In Development

Every day we wake up on a different planet — with each new dawn the Earth is not the place it was the night before. This film tells the story of our planet’s geology on a human time scale. A new era of science allows us to watch as the Earth moves, breathes, shrinks and grows, and all within just 24 hours.

The story is driven by scientists, explorers and everyday people whose experiences link up with cutting-edge data, newly launched satellites and blue chip CGI to show us the true personality of the Earth … more dynamic than it’s ever been seen.

Every minute new land is born, every hour tons of rock arrive from space, before you go to sleep a cloud of dust from the Sahara will have fertilized the Amazon, and while all that was happening the North Pole moved nearly 200 meters …

Planet Earth is alive in ways we can hardly imagine.

Produced by: Screen Glue and Yap Films in association with ZDF Enterprises, CBC, WGBH/NOVA and France 5

A Day in the Life of Earth2 x 50’Science + Knowledge

Highlight — Available

4K / UHD

4K / UHD

Why are insects small and planets big? Why is Earth not the size of Jupiter, or why aren’t people the size of mice? And what would happen if we changed all that?

This larger-than-life two-part special will show that when it comes to the universe, size really does matter. We’ll take the audience to a series of parallel worlds where size can be changed, and in so doing, we’ll answer the biggest (and the smallest) questions in the universe in the most unforgettable way.

Size Matters explores a fascinating web of scientific concepts to uncover not just why things are as they are, but why they could never be any different. Along the way, we’ll discover why the sun and the planets are the size they are, how insects could one day be gigantic, how big the biggest building could be and how a tiny human would be almost superhuman!

Produced by: Screen Glue in association with ZDF, Arte, BBC4 and ZDF Enterprises

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New

Searching for the ultimate vacation destination? Once you’ve checked off Gough Island and the Kamchatka Peninsula, you should be all set for the next ‘it’ destination: Mars! Only the wealthiest individuals will be able to afford a journey to the red planet.

But rockets are being developed, scientists leading the cavalcade, and businessmen are ready to spend billions to help astrophysicist Stephen Hawking’s dream of Martian exploration come true.

Destination Mars examines the current interest in internationally manned flights to Mars, and portrays the scientists and engineers who will get us there. A global competition has already been set up to send the first humans on a one-way trip to Mars. The race is on, and capturing the imagination of the world. We don’t know what we’ll find, but there should be lots of ‘firsts’!

Destination: Mars1 x 50’

Produced by: Grand Passage Media in association with CBC

Science + Knowledge

New

The city of Hamburg had an ambitious dream: an iconic landmark to rival the Eiffel Tower, the Empire State Building, and the Sydney Opera. But were they taunting fate?

The spectacular site they chose was right next to one of the noisiest ports in Europe. And designing the acoustics of a concert hall is one of the toughest challenges in engineering. The project ran years behind schedule and hundreds of millions of euros over budget — yet the Elbphilharmonie was built.

Its sensational design is the work of star architects Jacques Herzog and Pierre de Meuron, the team behind Beijing’s Olympic Bird’s Nest stadium. Instead of putting the hall inside a dilapidated old warehouse, they boldly built it on top and wrapped it in a dazzling facade of glass. Just another episode in a daring saga of architectural mastery and madness.

Produced by: The Gamma Project in association with National Geographic Channel

Megastructures: The World’s Greatest Concert Hall

1 x 50’Science + Knowledge

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World War A — When Aliens Attack1 x 50’Science + Knowledge

Available

+ Virtual Reality Special

Scheduled for: Summer 2019In Development

This is the story of the activities of volcanoes over 24 hours, the people and wildlife that live alongside them, and their essential role in our world. Simultaneously connecting us to the beating heart of our planet and bringing life, we tell the incredible story of volcanoes from a unique orbital perspective 400 km above the Earth.

Each volcano has a unique story to tell, and we start our journey at sunrise in Hawaii with surfers on the edge of an active lava flow, then orbit east around the planet, spending the morning in Guatemala with daredevil scientists. By mid-afternoon, we’re in Europe before watching the sun set over a rift valley at an archaeological dig. As night falls, we toil with sulphur miners in Indonesia before finishing our journey staring into the center of the Earth at the world’s largest lava lake in Vanuatu.

Produced by: True To Nature in association with ZDF Enterprises

Volcano 241 x 50’Science + Knowledge

4K / UHD

Are there aliens and could they come to destroy our Earth? Many scientists, such as Stephen Hawking, are convinced that there are and warn against the consequences of contact. Could aliens be dangerous to us?

The film accompanies renowned scientists on their search for life in space. Are there planets where life is possible — maybe even a second Earth? Will we soon find life on Mars? How could aliens travel through the universe? SETI researchers are using radio telescopes to listen for signals from extraterrestrials. Some even want to send news into space. But is this really a good idea? What if we attract the attention of dangerous aliens? Would we have a chance against the attackers? Or would an alien invasion be the end of humanity?

Produced by: Story House Productions for ZDF, Arte and ZDF Enterprises

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Scheduled for: End of 2019In Development

From the mind-bending physics of Interstellar, to attempts at alien communication in Arrival: Hollywood movies are filling up screens with the latest scientific discoveries and theories.

In this series, physicist and in-demand Hollywood science advisor Clifford Johnson and paleontologist/science expert Trevor Valle review movies to reveal what they get right, what they get wrong, and how crazy occurrences such as superpowers and over-the-top car chases could be scientifically explained. True to his British roots, Clifford remains polite and respectful, even when confronted with movies that flout the laws of physics. Trevor, with his large beard and visible tattoos, is easily riled up by bad science.

If you love science and you love the movies, you will love The Science of Hollywood Movies.

The Science of Hollywood Movies — Truth and Myth

6 x 50’

Produced by: Flight 33 Productions in association with ZDF Enterprises

Science + Knowledge

What is the human world made of? All our genius and imagination would be nothing without the raw materials to turn dreams into reality. Stone, wood, metals, fuels — these are the basic elements of our material world.

This six-part series reveals the natural and cultural histories of the materials that define human civilization. The same iron that raised the Eiffel Tower gave a red tint to Stone Age clay, allowing our ancestors to start the first ‘art revolution’ on cave walls. Each episode traces the individual atoms and molecules of a single material from their origins to their incorporation in important historical objects. We observe hands-on demonstrations by master craftspeople and zero in on key objects and historical events to chart one substance’s path through human history — and into the future.

Produced by: Flight 33 Productions in association with ZDF Enterprises

Material World6 x 50’Science + Knowledge

Scheduled for: End of 2019In Development

4K / UHD

4K / UHD

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This is the inside story of the rise and fall of the Third Reich told like the drama it really was: from the perspective of those who made it happen — the movers and shakers of the most evil regime in history. They were Hitler’s henchmen — the small gaggle of war heroes, misfits, careerists and fanatical Nazis who had the ear of the Führer.

Men like ex-chicken farmer and leader of the SS — Heinrich Himmler, Hitler’s adoring but mentally unhinged deputy — Rudolf Hess, fighter ace turned morphine addict — Hermann Göring and sex-crazed propaganda chief — Joseph Goebbels. As they scrabble for power, they will turn on each other in a murky atmosphere of intrigue, betrayal and murder. In a regime where all power derives from one man, they strive to out-do each other in brutality and an unequivocal commitment to the Nazi cause.

Produced by: World Media Rights in association with ZDF Enterprises, Netflix and zdf.info

Hitler’s Circle of Evil10 x 50’History + Biographies

Highlight — Available

On 30 January 1933, Adolf Hitler becomes Chancellor of the German Reich, and sets out to build a new nation. But how do the Nazis convince ordinary Germans to support Hitler’s vision?

The series explores how Germans were seduced into supporting Nazism through the persuasive power of outstanding design, brilliant engineering, and insidious propaganda. How incredible that a small and extremist political party under the leadership of a failed artist was able to convince an entire nation to give it total power. What was the stupendous sham behind the original Volkswagen (the ‘people’s car’)? Not to forget Germania, the never-to-be World Capital, with its assembly hall for 150,000 people, as well as the 1936 Berlin Olympics filmed by Leni Riefenstahl with a new type of camera capable of recording the events in 3D …

Produced by: Midnight Oil Pictures in association with AHC and ZDF Enterprises

Project Nazi6 x 50’History + Biographies

Highlight — Available

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Available: Spring 2018

Available: End of 2017

This ground-breaking series explores the different chapters of Europe’s eventful history. It’s a journey through time and space, from the continent’s physical beginnings to the arrival of the first human settlers.

We follow the evolution of European culture and religion, as well as the historical achievements in exploration, technology and politics. We also take a daring look at the continent’s present and future. Europe has been at the heart of world events for thousands of years and laid the foundations for much of modern society worldwide, while its perpetually fluctuating landscapes, climate, fauna and flora have shaped its own story.

This mesmerizing portrait of Europe is available in different versions: without presenter or hosted by the renowned Australian-born historian Sir Christopher Clark.

Produced by: Gruppe 5 Filmproduktion and interscience film for ZDF and Arte

The Story of EuropeHistory + Biographies

Highlight — In Production

Weapons are instruments of war, uniquely designed to both protect and harm mankind. But they also trigger innovation and accelerate human progress. History of Violence showcases the evolution of weapon technology throughout the history of the world, in a way which has never been seen before.

Some of the most renowned international experts in the world will explore the secrets of these weapons in a complete hands-on approach. These experiments will illustrate how weapons have changed the tides of history and how they have shaped human destiny. Elaborate animations grant the viewer an intimate look at the moments when these weapons changed history. History of Violence highlights the scientific and historical significance of weapons, and how they have shaped modern society.

Produced by: Storyhouse Productions in association with ZDF and ZDF Enterprises

History of Violence10 x 50’History + Biographies

Highlight — Coming Soon

6 x 50’

version with or without presenter available

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New

In The Ascent of Civilization: Season 2, our scholars take a new approach to the rise, glory and collapse of empires around the world. It’s a mission to understand the ancient world of the Arabs, the Carthaginians and the Germanic tribes.

Whilst the Carthaginians taught us how to conquer the seas, the Arab nations are often wrongfully seen as one undifferentiated block — perhaps because the Arabs have been bringing knowledge of the ancient world to Europe since the 8th century in the fields of medicine, mathematics, philosophy and more. There was little Arab unity for a long time; a situation that didn’t change until Mohammed ended polytheism, founded a new religion and united all of the Arabic tribes in their faith in one God. As for Europe, only the sturdy Teutons with the strong Germanic roots were able to take it up with one of the greatest civilizations of all time: Rome!

The Ascent of Civilization: Season 2

Produced by: Gruppe 5 Filmproduktion for ZDF and ZDF Enterprises

History + Biographies

New

The symbol of the SS, Hitler’s Schutzstaffel, stands for terror and the murder of millions. The penniless graphic artist Walter Heck was given the job of designing the jagged, rune-like characters in 1929. The ‘sig’ rune was rooted deep in the ideological cosmos of the Nazis and their supporters. They saw themselves as the descendants of the Teutons and declared the runes to be humanity’s original Germanic script. The symbol was meant to unite Heinrich Himmler’s ‘Black Order’. But did it escape their notice that it was originally of Semitic origin?

In October 1945, the Allies passed a law banning the Nazi Party and all associated organizations, including the SS. The young Federal Republic even forbade all Nazi symbols. This documentary tells the gripping story of the SS symbol, from the Middle Ages to the present day.

Signs of Evil — The Runes of the SS1 x 50’History + Biographies

Produced by: Februar Film in association with ZDF

3 x 50’

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Scheduled for: Winter 2018/2019In Development

Alexander von Humboldt — a name recognized the world over: aside from over 300 species of plants, there are streets, glaciers, ocean currents and entire mountain chains named after him right across the globe. With good reason: his tireless work in the name of science and exploration decisively shaped the way we view nature today — as one big interconnected entity.

Humboldt was already a celebrity during his lifetime, the most famous person in Europe alongside Napoleon. To mark the 250th anniversary of his birthday in January 2019, this lavish production traces his extraordinary life in unprecedented detail, revealing the man behind the name with the help of best-selling author, historian and Humboldt-expert Andrea Wulf.

Just who was Alexander von Humboldt? What drove him, who inspired him and what kind of a person was he?

The Humboldt Story1 x 50’History + Biographies

New

An ardent Stalinist for many years, it was nevertheless Khrushchev who put an end to his predecessor’s terror. He desires a peaceful accommodation of the contending systems (of global order) and he brings the world to the edge of nuclear war during the Cuban Missile Crisis. He builds the Berlin Wall. He is a reformer who is defeated both by the system and by himself. What remains is the memory of a shoe he pounded on a table during a UN General Assembly session. Stalin’s terror, World War II, de-Stalinization and the gravest crises of the Cold War — all this is closely entwined with Nikita Khrushchev.

The film is living history. Nikita Khrushchev’s closest family members and historians tell a story from the center of power. This unique biography of a witness of the century comes alive in the shadow of the events he was part of.

Nikita Khrushchev — The Red Tsar1 x 50’

Produced by: doc.station in association with ZDF and ZDF Enterprises

History + Biographies

Produced by: Spiegel TV for ZDF and ZDF Enterprises

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Highlight — Available

Big PacificWildlife + Nature

Few places on Earth are as magical, mysterious, daunting or beautiful as the seething ribbon of biodiversity that lies beneath the Equator. That invisible line stretches 40,076 kilometers around the belly of the planet, linking an extraordinary profusion of landscapes, animals, plants and people in a sultry, ageless climate.

It is a region of jungle and volcano, of sandy islands and sparkling sea, of tortoises older than time and leopards who hunt by night — all beneath a broiling sun that offers no real seasons and brings, twice a year, the strange spectacle of days without shadows. Most incredibly, the Equator is, literally, the font of all life. It is the Eden where we and all other creatures began.

This is an extraordinary television and online project, worthy of a region that boasts an unbelievable wealth of visual beauty. Filmed over many months, the project will take viewers on a journey right around the Equator, bathing the audience in the cornucopia of life flourishing there.

Equator — No Shadows12 x 50’ / 3 x 50’People + Places

Produced by: Primitive Entertainment and Spiegel TV in association with ZDF, Arte and ZDF Enterprises

4 x 50’

+ Behind the scenes

The Pacific Ocean covers one third of the Earth’s surface. It is greater than all Earth’s land combined, holds half of our world’s water, and hides the deepest place on our planet. It’s what huge and iconic, rare and dazzling creatures call home — and where creatures yet to be discovered lurk.

Over four cinematic episodes, Big Pacific breaks the boundaries between land and sea, moving throughout the Pacific Ocean to present a broad range of locations, species, natural phenomena and behaviors. Each episode focuses on an iconic characteristic of the Pacific: Passionate, Voracious, Violent, and Mysterious.

Filmed in Ultra High Definition, Big Pacific will present the ocean and its denizens in a way never before seen on television — exploring the monstrous to the minute; the alien to the intimate.

Produced by: NHNZ in coproduction with PBS, CCTV9, ZDF, ZDF Enterprises, Discovery International, Channel 9 and Arte

Available: Spring 2018Highlight — In Production

4K / UHD + Virtual Reality Special

4K / UHD

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Scheduled for: Summer 2019

Set in Latin America, this series immerses us in three spectacular journeys across Central America, Peru and Cape Horn. We are guided by nature and reveal amazing stories about the lives of people and animals that are shaped by natural forces and changing landscapes.

Continuously on the move and eye to eye with nature, a collection of drones, hand-held gimbals and cable-cameras grant us intimate perspectives. We fly alongside brightly coloured wild parrots, float among wispy clouds over the Andes, collide with gigantic blocks of ice tumbling off a melting glacier, and swim with sea lions in the Pacific Ocean.

This is the natural world on the go, captured in-depth and up-close in 4K. Navigated only by nature and enabled by technology, this series allows us to take truly authentic and wild journeys like never before.

Produced by: True to Nature in association with ZDF Enterprises

Incredible Wild Journeys3 x 50’Wildlife + Nature

New

Tasmanian Devils are the world’s largest carnivorous marsupials and they are only found in Tasmania.

Through hundreds of hours of filming in the wild, we reveal how fights over food are a carefully choreographed ritual, we witness the seemingly brutal mating process, see tiny young developing inside their mother’s pouch, and visit wild devil pups play-fighting and hunting, as they prepare for life in the outside world.

This remarkable documentary also shows how vulnerable devils are, with a deadly disease sweeping across their island, survival seems almost impossible. With wild behavior, breathtaking landscapes, and a range of colorful animal characters from throughout Tasmania, this film will delight, educate and surprise, as we spend time with these unusual, surprising and delightful characters.

Produced by: Warehouse 51 Productions in association with National Geographic, Arte and ZDF

Last Devils1 x 50’Wildlife + Nature

Highlight — In Development

4K / UHD

4K / UHD

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Selection Fall/Winter 2017/18

Monterey Bay, located along the central coast of California, is a frontline of deep-sea biological research. Here we’ll take a glimpse into the mysterious world of the curious life forms with luminous bodies and their predatory enemies that have survived the harsh, pitch-dark marine environment that quietly lies off the U. S. Pacific coast at the depths of 200 to 1,000 meters — a region called the ‘Twilight Zone’. An enormous canyon equivalent in scale to the Grand Canyon lies beneath the waters of Monterey Bay.

As the crew dives in manned submersibles, together with Bruce Robison, an enthusiastic marine biologist who has long surveyed the area and Edith Widder, an expert in bioluminescence of oceanic life, they encounter a spectacular light show at the deep fathom of our planet.

Produced by: NHK in association with ZDF and Curiosity Stream

Deep Ocean — Lights in the Abyss1 x 50’Wildlife + Nature

New

ZDF Enterprises GmbH | Erich-Dombrowski-Str. 1 | 55127 Mainz | GermanyT: +49 (0) 6131- 991 1611 | zdfe.factual @ zdf-enterprises.de | www.zdf-enterprises.de

In the southwest corner of North America sits a desert unlike any other: the Sonoran desert. It is the setting for many of Hollywood’s most iconic Westerns and because of that we tend to think of it as a barren wasteland only fit for cowboys and tumble weed; but this dry strip of land carries more life than many of the Earth’s more fertile regions. In two episodes we reveal the abundant and often deadly creatures that have adapted to life in this sea of dust. This is the true wild Wild West.

Produced by: NHNZ TV for National Geographic Channels in association with ZDF Enterprises

The Desert Sea2 x 50’

The Kinabatangan River is at times a destructive torrent, and others, a gentle stream. From the mountains, to its meeting with the sea, the river is flanked by mysterious jungle. Borneo stands at a triple junction of three tectonic plates and at the crossroads of two oceans. The river is home to 50 mammal species, 200 types of bird, and countless insects. Fuelled by yearly monsoons, it courses through a hub of diversity. From source, to sea, and back again … this is Borneo’s Secret Kingdom.

Borneo’s Secret Kingdom

Produced by: Wild Bear Entertainment in association with Scubazoo and National Geographic Channels

3 x 50’

Available New

Wildlife + NatureWildlife + Nature

4K / UHD 4K / UHD

4K / UHD