0713 – The City Dark (2011 documentary)

THE CITY DARK is a feature documentary about the loss of night. After moving to NYC from rural Maine, filmmaker Ian Cheney asks a simple question – do we need the stars? – taking him from Brooklyn to Mauna Kea, Paris, and beyond. Exploring the threat of killer asteroids in Hawaii, tracking hatching turtles along the Florida coast, and rescuing injured birds on Chicago streets, Cheney unravels the myriad implications of a globe glittering with lights – including increased breast cancer rates from exposure to light at night, and a generation of kids without a glimpse of the universe above. Featuring stunning astrophotography and a cast of eclectic scientists, THE CITY DARK is the definitive story of light pollution and the disappearing stars. (imdb)

The City Dark is a documentary film by filmmaker Ian Cheney about light pollution. It won the Best Score/Music Award at the 2011 SXSW Film Festival and was nominated for at the 34th News & Documentary Emmy Awards. (wiki)

---

 “It looks like the stars have been scattered across the ground. Have you ever … Have you ever seen anything so full of splendor?” Dolores Abernathy

688 – IN DEFENSE OF PLANTS

“Since plants provide the ultimate power base for all the food and energy chains and webs that hold our natural world together, they also form the hubs of community structure and thus the centers of our focus.”

– John Eastman

http://www.indefenseofplants.com/

674 – Secret Life Underground: Series 1 (2016 documentary)

Nature Documentary hosted by Geoffrey Bateman, published by Arte in 2016 – English narration. (docuwiki)

The underground world is so unfamiliar to us that you only have to dig down a few yards to reveal a totally unknown realm, just beneath our feet. Today, only a fraction of the rich biodiversity that inhabits the soil has been studied. Scientists estimate that the ground is probably home to 70% of the living organisms yet to be discovered.

The Skin Of The Earth

We know less than 10% of the organisms that populate the underground world and that, each in their own way, take an active part in creating the soil. We are just beginning to discover that plants form partnerships and create complex unions. Welcome to this subtle, surprising and secret world.

Hidden in the Depths

Take a journey alongside scientists into an underground maze with huge surprises in store. They lead us into monumental cavities, shaped by water and by time. They reveal to us mineral jewels of staggering beauty, and shed light on certain species of fauna that defy the imagination.

mineral trees:

672 – Edwardian Insects on Film (2013 documentary)

In 1908 amateur naturalist Percy Smith stunned cinema goers with his surreal film The Acrobatic Fly. Featuring a bluebottle juggling a series of objects, the film became front page news. Now wildlife cameraman Charlie Hamilton-James attempts to recreate this fascinating film.

Along the way, Hamilton-James (helped by Sir David Attenborough who saw Smith’s films as a boy) tells the story of Percy’s remarkable career and reveals the genius behind this forgotten pioneer of British film. (docuwiki)

imdb

---

Minute Bodies: The Intimate World of F. Percy Smith (2016)

imdb  ( film and music )

667 – After Life: The Strange Science of Decay (2011 documentary)

If you have ever wondered what would happen in your own home if you were taken away and everything inside was left to rot, the answer is revealed in this programme which explores the strange and surprising science of decay. For two months, a glass box containing a typical kitchen and garden was left to rot in full public view within Edinburgh Zoo. In this resulting documentary, Dr George McGavin and his team use time-lapse cameras and specialist photography to capture the extraordinary way in which molds, slime molds, microbes and insects are able to break down our everyday things and allow new life to emerge from old. Decay is something that many of us are repulsed by, but as the programme shows, it’s a process that’s vital in nature. And seen in close up, it has an unexpected and sometimes mesmerising beauty. (docuwiki)

imdb

650 – Guest of Cindy Sherman (2008)

Cindy Sherman von Philipp Kaiser

Analyzing his relationship with the reclusive artist Cindy Sherman leads filmmaker Paul H-O (Hasegawa-Overacker) to confront his own identity in this personal and unexpectedly humorous documentary. Paul H-O became a fixture of the New York art scene in the 1990s with his public access show “GalleryBeat.” Armed with a video camera, he attended art gallery openings, intriguing many with his candid, witty assessments of the work and winning fans in the process. Among the latter was Cindy Sherman, the press-shy art superstar, who invited Paul to her studio for a series of exclusive filmed interviews. In these sessions, he gains insight into her artistic process and a romantic relationship blossoms as they fall in love. Their initial bliss takes a turn when Paul gets caught up in the aura of Cindy’s celebrity and he is subordinated to a role as Cindy’s guest at the star-studded openings and dinners she regularly attends. Spanning over 15 years and with unprecedented access to the great artist, including interviews with a veritable who’s who of the art and entertainment world, the film paints a vivid picture of the contemporary art scene and provides a witty, illuminating look at celebrity, anxiety, and art. (rottentomatoes)

Cindy was initially supportive, but later opposed the project.

imdb

0576 – The Titan (2018)

spacetime coordinates: 2048 NATO operating base Atlantic Ocean

The Titan is a science fiction thriller film directed by Lennart Ruff. It stars Sam Worthington, Taylor Schilling & Tom Wilkinson and deals with ideas surrounding ethics in science.

In 2048, on an Earth overpopulated and ridden by violent conflicts, scientists are looking to Saturn’s moon Titan as a new home for humanity, spearheaded by Professor Martin.

imdb

---

NASA‏Verified account @NASA 1 Nov 2014

Specular Spectacular: Here’s the sun glinting off of Titan’s north polar seas