Producers: Village Distribution

Once upon a time, there was a flea who lived buried deep in the feathers of a Laysan Albatross. Together, they travelled across the tormented oceans of the Pacific Ocean landing only on very rare ocasions. Until one day… the albatross chooses to land on Midway an island 3000km off any land coast, to mate and start a family. Taking advantage of the physical closeness of this bird couple, the flea seizes the opportunity to explore the feathers of the female, from where she will witness the hatching of an egg. Then, the flea quickly prefers to jump onto the soft duvet of the young bird, not yet able to fly. In the nest, the young albatross discovers all the dangers which surround him, such as the penguins who come and steal food left by his parents. This provides an excellent opportunity for the flea, who decides to discover new feathers – the first of many to come. The flea will, from here on, share the same life style of the petrels, royal penguins, both adult and juvenile. In its little air bubble, the flea is protected from the pressure of the water whenever its hosts go for a dip in order to hunt for krill or anchovies. To keep a safe guard over its territory, the flea will confront tics and other lice who will have, like itself, colonised the fur of their hosts. This documentary, based on scientific research and fact, unites harmoniously the natural habits of these birds, who will be filmed by our team during 4 months in Hawaii, and digital images of the flea created through computer graphics.

Il était une fois une tique. Une femelle tique qui vivait dans le plumage d’un Albatros de Laysan. Ensemble, ils parcouraient les vastes étendues du Pacifique Nord , entre l’archipel d’Hawaii et les Aléoutiennes. Pendant que son hôte errait au gré des tempêtes en quête de quelques poissons, elle vivait une paisible existence et se cramponnait dans la douce chaleur d’une couche de duvet et de plumes. Puis vint le temps des amours de l’albatros synonyme de retour àterre obligatoire pour les vagabonds de l’océan. Les ébats et leurs inévitables épouillages mutuels mirent provisoirement fin à la douce quiétude : face aux becs qui pénêtrent réguliêrement dans le plumage, la tique préfêre lâcher prise et se laisser tomber sur le sol où l’attendent d’autres dangers. La tique va alors montrer d’incroyables capacités de résistance : piétinée par des pattes palmées, soulevée par quelques facétieux courants d’air, ou encore écrasée par un œuf chutant d’une hauteur équivalent àmille fois sa taille, elle survit tant bien que mal et donne vie à la génération suivante. Pour les tiques fraîchement écloses, une existence hasardeuse commence alors : selon les vents et les rencontres, les plus fortunées s’accrocheront àoiseau de passage, d’autres attendront au coin d’une pierre des jours meilleurs, d’autres finiront dévorées avec leur hôte par un requin tigre.

Before being an earthly paradise with enchanting colours, the lagoon of New-Caledonia is above all a paradise for sharks. Usually considered as fierce predators, sharks really are opportunistic scavengers. Scavengers that are not too picky when it comes to their menu: feathers, fins or fur, anything will do. Amongst the most striking scenes which punctuate this documentary filmed for four years in New Caledonia, is the never-seen-before sequence of the planet’s greatest animal, a weakened blue whale, attacked and cleaned up by hordes of sharks from the surface down to the abyss. High quality images and a dramatic backdrop soundtrack plunge us into the shark’s world.

As soon as a wild beast dies, lions will feed on its carcass for a week or more. Soon after, other scavengers will come for their share: vultures, marabou storks, and hyenas will all come to feed. Over a period of five months, using the latest techniques of macro and aerial photography, this film will follow the life and death of wild beasts, to reveal the world of the scavengers in the plains of Tanzania and Kenya.This extraordinary film features the largest wildebeest migration of the XXst century : a drought following an extreme El nino pushed all the beasts toward the green plains of Kenya. Some very unique material has been gathered during this epic shoot;like the unforgetable footage of hippos removing wilderbeest carcasses from the Mara river’s oxbows or several young zebras caught in the dangerous river flow.

During four years of shooting in the icy waters that surround the volcanic archipelago of the Crozet Islands, we have followed the trial and tribulations of Delphine, a young female adolescent killer whale. Living and growing within her family group she gradually learns how to find her bearings, how to hunt king penguins or Minke whales and how to get stranded in order to catch sea elephants. For the first time divers have dared to swim next to these great predators and have brought back an amazing collection of unique shots. Come and join us in the world of the Crozet Islands and their undisputed masters….To date,, this film is the only one-hour pure blue chip featuring killer whale in a unique environment. It has no equivalent and will not until a dedicated filming crew is willing to spend such a long time in a hostile environment….diving in icy cold waters while killer whale eating a minke whale, spending a full year in a remote hut waiting for the animal to visit the shores, or risking ones’ live to dive among preys while killer whale are hunting.