Jan Haft

Butterflies and Music, The male purple emperor possesses the iridescence that gives it its name: the metallic purple shimmer is a structural colour created by light refraction through special scales. Its scientific name (apatura iris) also reflects this: Iris is the goddess of the rainbow. The butterfly is often seen feeding on faeces, carrion, or even human sweat, as it primarily obtains nutrients from minerals

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„The Fabulous Insects – Ants“ shows the diversity, beauty and exciting strategies of ants in their respective habitats. Whether in the tropics of South America or in the native climes of Europe - the world of ants is full of surprises. The biomass of ants and humans in the world is about the same. Next to us, ants are probably the most adaptable creatures on the planet. Whether rainforest, savannah, forests or moors - ants populate every terrestrial habitat. You can observe particularly exciting natural history not only in the distant tropics, but also in densly populated Central Europe.

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„The Fabulous Insects – Beetles“ presents colourful and bizarrely shaped species as well as the largest beetle in the world, in its habitat in the South American rainforest. The film also shows that the colourful diversity and beauty of beetles and their exciting natural history can be experienced right on our doorstep, in Central Europe. In aesthetic and never-before-seen macro slow-motion and time-lapse shots, the viewer experiences the world of beetles, which is more beautiful, colourful and surprising than many of us realise. No other group of animals on earth is so diverse: beetles come in a wide variety of ‘models’, from miniature versions a quarter of a millimetre in size to large versions twenty centimetres long. Some beetles flaunt jewel-like iridescent colours, while others wear plain black. Some come in eye-catching warning colours, while many wear an astonishing camouflage.

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"A Butterlfy's Tale" is a nature film in the guise of a road movie. Filmmaker Jan Haft and his team go in search of one of Europe's rarest butterflies.

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In southern Germany, winter can still be admired in all its glory every year. With its white coat of snow and icicles and myriads of small crystals that look like geometric works of art. In the valleys and on the slopes the snow is still so thick every year that the alpine huts are snowed in up to the windows. Cows and dairymen are safe in their farms at lower altitudes. But not the wild creatures of the mountains! They need strategies to survive the cold season and to defy snow masses, cold and ice. And some seem to do it so easily that they even raise their young in the middle of winter. But how do animals, plants and fungi cope with the annually recurring ice age, which from our perspective is a time of need? The many adaptations in nature prove that winter is an integral part of the natural cycle of the year and the living environment of species. They are adapted to cold and frost. That is why the animals and plants at the edge of the Alps suffer particularly from climate change!

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"What Is Wilderness?" asks what wilderness actually is. We learn that the greatest biodiversity occurs where large grazing animals are part of the habitat, yet the species-rich megafauna that once existed disappeared from Europe with the arrival of modern humans. Domestic animals, too, can provide the same “ecosystem engineering services” when they graze in the right numbers as substitutes for the large herbivores that have been driven to extinction. This offers an opportunity for our future, not only because wild pastures have been shown to store more carbon than forests. Wherever many natural processes are allowed to take place, we can achieve a state that resembles wilderness. Perhaps it is a new kind of wilderness, but one that is beneficial and important for biodiversity, animal welfare, and the climate.

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Now threatened with extinction, the last populations have entrenched themselves in Romania, where the more traditional agriculture and the diversified landscapes give a glimpse of the nature of yesteryear in Central Europe. Like a road movie, filmmaker Jan Haft goes in search of the small daytime butterfly with golden reflections whose survival depends on the rich variety of its ecosystem.

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In the Southeastern-most part of Germany, rises Mount Watzmann. This mighty peak is a stone guardian of a remarkable wild region that holds tight to its secret nature. There are more secrets to reveal where the mountains disappear into the depths of Lake Königssee, a lake that holds a stark resemblance to a fjord at the coasts of the Atlantic ocean. Underwater, fossil marine creatures in limestone rock tell of an ancient seabed, buried deep then heaved skywards by battling tectonic plates. Deep grooves and gouges in the rock were left by an ice age glacier, more than one kilometer thick as it chiseled its way down the valley. Though the ice age ended 12,000 years ago, the mountains still carry echoes of that frozen past. "Echoes of the Ice Age" is a portrait of the wildlife in this breathtaking scenery of the Berchtesgaden Alps.

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Home is where we grow up or settle permanently. And this home is always shaped by nature. Today, we human beings change and shape this more than any law of nature. HEIMAT NATUR is a visually stunning journey through the nature of our homeland, from the peaks of the Alps to the coasts and the depths of the North and Baltic Seas. In between is a cinematic foray through steaming forests, shimmering moors, over rose-blossoming heaths and the colorful cultural landscape around our villages and towns. In extraordinary images this nature is shown from its most beautiful side, examining the state of the native habitats. Slow-motion and time-lapse photography as well as intimate shots of familiar and unfamiliar species, some filmed for the first time, making the film a cinematic nature experience for the whole family.

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The Norwegian fjords are among the most impressive landscapes in Europe. In the deep, cold waters lies a surprisingly rich underwater world: from vast coral reefs full of luminous sea creatures to herring orcas and humpback whales. The prize-winning nature filmmaker Jan Haft reveals the special and enchanting richness hidden in the dark water. In the deep fjords, animals and plants survive in a fascinating society that is being portrayed for the first time. Fjord is an intimate portrait of a unique wilderness.

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Norway’s fjords are a little-known wilderness. Billions of herring darken the waters and orcas feast on the banquet. Salmon leap up waterfalls and colourful sea slugs glow in the deep. Diving below the surface, award-winning filmmaker Jan Haft reveals the extraordinary diversity of life hidden within the deep waters. It’s an intimate portrait of a unique landscape - in the dark, icy grip of winter, under the magical glow of the northern lights, and during the long polar nights of the midnight sun.

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In Iceland, volcanoes line up like pearls on a string. In the mountains and valleys the ground boils. It smokes, hisses and bubbles. Although rising from the sea as a bare lava island, life thrives on Iceland's volcanic slopes. Whether in icy heights or abysmal crevasses that tell of the fact that the earth is tearing apart here, between the North American and Eurasian tectonic plates - Iceland is a natural paradise. Magical Iceland: Living on the World's Largest Volcanic Island is a testament to the island's unexpected biodiversity and spectacular landscapes, both above and below the water.

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Intact ecosystems provide the best defense against climate change! The ecosystem of a small creek is complex and diverse – the shocking reality is that in Central Europe only one in a thousand is still intact, today. What happened to our streams and brooks? What does the future hold? The film ‘One in a Thousand’ portrays the diverse wildlife inside and alongside a stream, explains the importance of this habitat and identifies the sources of its destruction. A blue-chip wildlife film that carries an important message.

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For most people, "the bee" is the honey bee, busy producing flowers and honey and wax. But very few people know that there are more than 560 other bee species in Central Europe, most of which live as solitary creatures. The behavior of wild bees is as diverse as their appearance, size and habitat

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Butterflies are certainly the most popular of all insects. Hardly anyone can resist the grace and beauty of these colorful jugglers as they fly from flower to flower. But butterflies offer even more surprises: There is hardly any other group of animals with such a variety of shapes and colors as butterflies.

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In his film, Jan Haft shows the almost unbelievable diversity of native wild bees and their amazing adaptations to a wide variety of habitats and living conditions. For most people, "the bee" is the honey bee, which diligently visits flowers and lives as a colony, consisting of a queen and several tens of thousands of workers, in a wooden box or a woven beehive, where it produces honey and wax. However, very few people know that there are over 560 other bee species in Central Europe, the vast majority of which do not live in colonies but as solitary bees. The behavior and lifestyles of these so-called wild bees are as diverse as their appearance, size and habitats. Among the wild bees there are giants with a body length of three centimetres, but also dwarfs that are just three millimetres long. Most wild bees are rather inconspicuously colored.

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An epic journey from the geysers of Yellowstone to the rugged Pacific coast of the Olympic peninsula, from the hot desert of Saguaro to the icy Gates of the Arctic, from the subtropical sea of grass in the Everglades to the world-famous peaks of Yosemite and from the mystic Smoky Mountains to the biggest gorge on Earth: the Grand Canyon.

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Jan Haft is without doubt a nature filmmaker with a gifted knack for the very special regions of the world. A few years ago, in Das grüne Wunder - Unser Wald, he dedicated himself to the place that all Germans long for, and in his new film he explores a similarly mythologically and historically charged topography, which is nevertheless much less present than the murmur of the forests. It is about the mainly northern European moorland landscapes and their rich and unique flora and fauna, whose magic he traces in an opulent visual arc of exquisite beauty.

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Slovakia lies in the heart of Europe. What natural treasures the small country holds, what spectacular nature and what peculiarities of flora and fauna, it is told in "Wild Slovakia".

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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.

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It covers thirty percent of the Earth's land mass and yet, most of us barely scratch the surface. Now, discover what few people have seen, as The Green Planet follows the stories of forest inhabitants, from graceful red deer to cunning foxes and impressive wild boar. With cutting edge technology, we also explore some of the more bizarre and wonderful forest dwellers: the purple emperor, liverworts, stag beetles and corydalis. See flowers bloom and blades of grass cut through the snow. Spend time in a foxes den with her new born cubs and follow tiny insects and creatures with microscopic detail. Be a part of a journey that takes you through the seasons and be prepared to be amazed by the natural wonder of creation, destruction and rebirth in this incomparable landscape.

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"Kingdom of the Forest" explores the wildlife of Europe's primeval forests. The full range of charismatic mammals and birds are captured with fascinating insights into hunting, reproduction and other behavior. This fascinating documentary also explores the hidden elements of the woodlands using long-term time lapse, super slow motion and extreme macro-photography.

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The fairytale river landscape of the Spreewald, the flocks of birds of the North Frisian Wadden Sea and the striking chalk cliffs on the island of Rügen. You can see unique landscapes and their fauna in the different regions of Germany.

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An exploration of Scandinavian landscapes, including fjords and forests.

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How much natural life dwells in a cornfield? This film explores the diverse range of species who inhabit these food-producing areas.

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The flower meadow is home to countless species of animals. Some live underground, some among the blades of grass and others populate the colorful canopy. It's a genuine paradise, but one that is increasingly rare. This award-winning documentary is a technical tour de force that uses time-lapse photography, special effects and CGI to track the development of one meadow back to the ice age.

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Tigerenten Club is a German children's television programme. The programme involves a mix of games, quizzes, cartoons and outside reports from the presenters and children, with the aim to educate and entertain. It is produced by SWR in co-operation with other regional broadcasters, and is broadcast on ARD and KiKa. The logo and the name of the programme is based upon the Tigerente or 'Tigerduck', created by German cartoonist Janosch.

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Every evening at 6:45 p.m. sharp, a prominent guest takes a seat on the red sofa—and DAS! provides daily updates on what's hot in the north.

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A forest is not only the realm of trees, but also a world of animals. When it gets dark in the forest, we humans leave this place, we are not made for darkness. This is different with nocturnal forest inhabitants: they communicate with sounds, orient themselves with ultrasound and their often looking eyes are perfect to find their way in the jungle of trees.

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In southern Germany, winter can still be admired in all its glory every year. With its white coat of snow and icicles and myriads of small crystals that look like geometric works of art. In the valleys and on the slopes the snow is still so thick every year that the alpine huts are snowed in up to the windows. Cows and dairymen are safe in their farms at lower altitudes. But not the wild creatures of the mountains! They need strategies to survive the cold season and to defy snow masses, cold and ice. And some seem to do it so easily that they even raise their young in the middle of winter. But how do animals, plants and fungi cope with the annually recurring ice age, which from our perspective is a time of need? The many adaptations in nature prove that winter is an integral part of the natural cycle of the year and the living environment of species. They are adapted to cold and frost. That is why the animals and plants at the edge of the Alps suffer particularly from climate change!

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"What Is Wilderness?" asks what wilderness actually is. We learn that the greatest biodiversity occurs where large grazing animals are part of the habitat, yet the species-rich megafauna that once existed disappeared from Europe with the arrival of modern humans. Domestic animals, too, can provide the same “ecosystem engineering services” when they graze in the right numbers as substitutes for the large herbivores that have been driven to extinction. This offers an opportunity for our future, not only because wild pastures have been shown to store more carbon than forests. Wherever many natural processes are allowed to take place, we can achieve a state that resembles wilderness. Perhaps it is a new kind of wilderness, but one that is beneficial and important for biodiversity, animal welfare, and the climate.

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