The Story
There are few places on earth that have such a diverse variety of terrain and range of climates concentrated in a relatively small area – temperate coastline, scorching arid deserts and tundra, tropical rainforests and frozen snowcapped mountains. And there are few places that are as heavily exploited by humans, yet remain a wilderness.
These are the Canary Islands – an isolated chain of islands in the Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of Africa. Belonging to the Macaronesian archipelago, each island is unique, and together they possess all the features of a small continent, supporting one of the richest and most diverse ranges of native species on the planet.
Michael Schlamberger’s “The Canary Islands – World of the Fire Mountains” is a fascinating, insightful and thought-provoking cinematic nature documentary, produced in 4K, filmed from a new and unique perspective. The land, aerial and underwater imagery, together with high-speed filming, macro photography and CGI, will take the viewer on an adventure beyond tourism to experience the islands as never seen before.
2014 - 2016
4K & 5.1
16:9
1x 90 min, 2x 50 min
German & English
Production Team
Directed by Michael Schlamberger ● Written by John Dutton, Michael Schlamberger ● Photography by Michael Schlamberger, Pedro Felipe Acosta, Mario Cater, Jiří Petr ● Underwater Photography Rafa Herrero Massieu ● Aerial Photography Aleksandar Pejovic, David Rodriguez ● Editor Omer Sacic ● Music composed by David Mitcham, Janáček Philharmonie Ostrava ● Written by Michael Schlamberger ● Narrator Andrew Solomon ●Location Sound Christian Johansen, José Manuel Moreno, Magnus Robb, Yeray Seminario ● Foley Artists Stanislav Cajthaml, Jana Částková, Roman Čapek ● Sound Design and Dubbing Mixer Martin Rohrmoser ● Colourist Lee Niederkofler ● Animation Omer Sacic
Production Manager Anita Pfeffinger ● Executive Producer Rita Schlamberger ● Unit Managers ORF Gabriele Wistawel, Roman Landauer ● Commissioning Editor ORF Franz Fuchs ● Commissioning Editor NDR Naturfilm/doclights Jörn Röver, Britta Kiesewetter ● Series Editor Andrew Solomon ● Head of Factual ORF Gerhard Klein
In association with Viceconsejería de Medio Ambiente (Gobierno de Canarias), Cabildos de El Hierro, Lanzarote, Tenerife, La Palma, Fuerteventura, Gran Canaria, La Gomera; Parque Nacional de Timanfaya (Isla de Lanzarote), Parque Nacional del Teide (Isla de Tenerife), Parque Nacional de Garajonay (Isla de La Gomera), Parque Nacional de la Caldera de Taburiente (Isla de La Palma), OAPN – Organismo Autónomo Parques Nacionales
Thanks to Petr Benes, Andrea Casini, Román Espinel, Laura Gangoso, Marcos Felipe García, Chicho Jordán, Manuel López, José Juan Hernández Martínez, Miguel Ángel Rodríguez
A production of ScienceVision, for ORF Universum and NDR Naturfilm/doclights, in association with ORF Enterprise, SVT and DR.
Videos
Making of THE MUSIC
Photo Gallery
Awards
ITSA Filmfestival “Back to Nature Film Festival”
USA, April 2017, Winner „Best Film“ & „Best Cinematography“
Envirofilm/Ekotopfilm – International Festival of Sustainable Development Films
Slovak Republic, May 2017, Nomination
NaturVision Filmfestival
Germany, July 2017, Nomination “Special Prize: Die Stadt und das Meer”
Shanghai Television Festival
China, June 2017, Nomination “Best Documentary Series” Magnolia Award
Shanghai International Green Film Week
China, August 2017, Nomination “Best Cinematography”
Jahorina Filmfestival
Bosnia, September 2017, Nomination „Documentary TV”
Matsalu International Naturfilm Festival
Estland, September 2017, Winner category „Best Photography Nature“
Filmfestival Water, Sea and Ozean
Czech Republic, September 2017, Winner category „Documentary“
SILA Fest, Silver Lake Tourfilm Festival
Serbia, September 2017, „Special Jury Award” for the best mix of music and images of nature
Namur Nature Festival
Belgium, October 2017, Nomination “Best Picture Award”
Innsbruck Nature Film Festival
Austria, October 2017, Nomination
Baikal International Festival of Documentary and Popular-Science Films
Russia, October 2017, Nomination
Menigoute Filmfestival
France, November 2017, Prix des Clubs Connaître et Protéger la Nature
International Green Culture „Green Fest
Serbia, November 2017, Award “Best Nature Film”
CMS VATAVARAN – International Film Festival and Forum on Environment & Wildlife
India, November 2017, Award category „Series“
Jury Statement: A visual extravaganza, this film is a video documentation of wildlife in the Canary Islands. It is an almost poetic portrayal of nature.
International Mountainfilm Festival Domzale
Slovenia, February 2018, Nomination
Festival du Film animalier d’Albert
France, März 2018, Special Award for Best Editing
Festival de l’Oiseau et de la Nature
France, April 2018, Grand Prix of the “Bird and Nature Festival”
Terres – International Eco & Travel Film Festival
Spain, May 2018, Award „Sustainable tourism and ecology”
Wildlife Filmfestival Vaasa 2018
Finland, September 2018, 3rd Place category “Natural History”