COVID-19 is far from the first pandemic to wreak havoc in the world. A long line of infectious diseases have devastated and in some cases destroyed entire societies. Almost all of them started in animals and made the jump to humans. The Black Death spread across Europe and Asia in the 14th century leaving millions dead in its wake. Between the 15th and 18th centuries, European colonists brought smallpox to the Americas, the Pacific region and to Australia. In Europe, the 17th century saw a series of major epidemics. And at the end of the First World War, more people died of the Spanish flu than on the battlefield. This documentary examines the causes of these epidemics - whether it be lack of hygiene, interaction with animals, overcrowding, or the growth of cities - and how people travelling helped to spread disease and promote pandemics. It also sheds a light on the impact these infectious diseases have had on politics and societal change. Over the centuries, scientists managed to develop treatments and medicines to help control or even eradicate infectious diseases. Virologists are facing that task again with the coronavirus, as the world frantically searches for ways to overcome a pandemic which threatens our modern way of life.
How what began as a passion for the tantalising possibilities of jetpacks became an obsession. Shot over ten years, this documentary chronicles Australian David Mayman's seemingly impossible quest to fulfil his childhood dream to build and fly the world’s first jetpack. His ambition, which nearly cost him his life and family, culminates in an attempt to make the world's first jetpack flight around the Statue of Liberty.
Jaw-dropping exploration of our obsessions with high places and how they have come to capture our imagination. Only three centuries ago, climbing a mountain would have been considered close to lunacy. The idea scarcely existed that wild landscapes might hold any sort of attraction. Peaks were places of peril, not beauty. Why, then, are we now drawn to mountains? Filmed by the world's leading high-altitude cinematographers, narrated by William Dafoe and set to a specially curated musical performance by the Australian Chamber Orchestra, Mountain captures the fierce beauty of some of the world's most treacherous landscapes and the awe they inspire.
Experience up-close encounters with some of the most remarkable marine life ever captured on film while examining the impact of global climate change on the ocean wilderness as award-winning director/cinematographer Howard Hall travels from South Australia to the Indo-Pacific to teach viewers the importance of keeping our oceans clean for future generations. Just how great of an effect does global warming have on marine wildlife, and what can be done to ensure the future well-being of our planet? As the filmmakers reveal the delicacy of our fragile ecosystem, viewers are allowed the unique opportunity to see what we risk losing should we fail to address the issue of global climate change sooner rather than later.
A team of Australian and Chinese scientists discover mysterious ancient human remains from a remote cave in South West China. The bones are unlike any living human or any ancient human known to science, yet they were alive at the same time as humans of our own kind. Could they represent a new human species? And if so, what happened to these people?
14-year-old Laura Dekker sets out-camera in hand-on a two-year voyage in pursuit of her dream to be the youngest person ever to sail around the world alone. In the wake of a year-long battle with Dutch authorities that sparked a global storm of media scrutiny, Laura now finds herself far from land, family and unwanted attention, exploring the world in search of freedom, adventure, and distant dreams of her early youth at sea. Jillian Schlesinger's debut feature amplifies Laura's brave, defiant voice through a mix of Laura's own video and voice recordings at sea and intimate vérité footage from locations including the Galapagos Islands, French Polynesia, Australia, and South Africa.
This documentary examines the causes of these epidemics - whether it be lack of hygiene, interaction with animals, overcrowding, or the growth of cities - and how people travelling helped to spread disease and promote pandemics. It also sheds a light on the impact these infectious diseases have had on politics and societal change. Over the centuries, scientists managed to develop treatments and medicines to help control or even eradicate infectious diseases. Virologists are facing that task again with the coronavirus, as the world frantically searches for ways to overcome a pandemic which threatens our modern way of life.