NATURE . WILDLIFE

The Storm – Wildlife in Wild Weather

50' (ENG, GER)

Every year sees heavy summer storms with thunder and lightning, hail and torrential rain raging over the country. This nature documentary sheds a very new light on the animal and plant world – when the situation gets desperate.

It begins – literally – with a thunderclap. Crashing and flashing, a violent cloudburst descends on the highland landscape. No human being would choose to leave home in this weather. Animals, though, are at the mercy of the storm. The film shows the extraordinary strategies adopted by animals, from the tiniest insects to foxes and moles, to cope with the threat. Some species are highly weather-sensitive. They sense when a storm is brewing and take shelter. Other species actually benefit from storms breaking out – from newly formed bodies of water or unexpected feasts. While most nature films show animals only in the best of weather, in warm morning or evening light, here we’re dealing with desperate conditions. A wildlife documentary with the stylistic devices of a disaster thriller.