Living Europe
Duration of the whole series (eight parts): 416’
Format: 16:9 HD
Producer of Parts II and III: Jan Walencik
Series editor: Nick Upton
Series producer: Peter Jones
Executive producers: Hans Christian Alsvik, Arne Weise
A Green Umbrela Production for NRK and SVT in cooperation with DR, EO, ORF, TVP, WDR, YLE, ITEL and WGBH
Lead time: 1996–1998
End of production: 1998
The Living Europe series presents the best examples of eight life environments from across Europe.
It is made up of the following eight parts:
Living Europe. Part I. The Cradle;
Living Europe. Part II. Last of the Wild Woods ;
Living Europe. Part III. Fresh Water;
Living Europe. Part IV. Grasslands: Ancient and Modern;
Living Europe. Part V. Mountains and Moors;
Living Europe. Part VI. Sea and Coast;
Living Europe. Part VII. Land of Ice and Snow;
Living Europe. Part VIII. Citizens.
The producers of the series are, as it were, redrawing the map of Europe, full of lines that transcend national boundaries and make of Europe the nature layout you can really see – a great and rich mosaic of Nature’s possibilities. They present the story of how wild nature survived on The Old Continent alongside a rich human history. Most if not all of Europe has been touched by the human hand. However, wild forests and swamps, rolling plains, mountains and tundra are still the domain of many animal species, including bison, polar bears, lynx, brown bears, wolves, storks, vultures, eagles and vast colonies of seabirds. In all, more than 200 species of mammals, more than 500 species of birds, more than 130 species of reptiles and amphibians, and countless insects live among fantastically diverse plant species. Today, at the dawn of the 21st century, the slogan Europe, is much more than a currency, a flag and a community. As we discover eight distinctive environments in this series, we have a chance to start looking at Europe as a clear and rich mosaic of unique landscapes created by successive waves of civilization, combined with a wonderfully diverse mosaic of animals and plants.
QUOTE. The opening sequence of the series Living Europe. Part II. Last of the Wild Woods. Produced by Jan Walencik. Source: TVP.
Living Europe. Part II. Last of the Wild Woods
Duration: 52’ 00”
Format: 16:9 HD
Producer: Jan Walencik
Narrator: Peter Jones (Krystyna Czubówna – polish version)
Photography Jan Walencik
Editing: Darren Flaxstone
Assistant producer and writer: Jon Clay
Camera assistant: Krzysztof Komar
Additional research: Kathryn Jeffs
Production manager: Sarah Wade
Post production technical co-ordinator: Derek Kilkenny – Blake
Production assistant: Joanne Parsons
Production accountant: Joanne Millar
Location manager and sound recordist: Bożena Walencik
Music: Nigel Beaham – Powell, Bella Russell
Dubbing editor: Ken Barton
Dubbing mixer: Andrew Wilson
Graphics: 4 : 2 : 2 Videographic Design Kate Boulton
Series editor: Nick Upton
Series producer: Peter Jones
Executive producers: Hans Christian Alsvik, Arne Weise
The Producers wishes to thank: The Director and Staff of the Białowieża National Park/Poland, The Director and Staff of the Roztocze National Park/Poland, The Director and Staff of the Forest Inspectorate in Białowieża/Poland, The Director and Staff of the Forest Inspectorate in Bielsk Podlaski/Poland, The Director and Staff of the Polish Academy of Science, Mammal Research Unit in Białowieża/Poland, Czesław Okołów, The Director and Staff of Oulanka National Park/Finland, Join Aspi, Jyrka Mäkelä, Ilpo Hanski, Jari Peltomäki, Elina Torvinen, Ranua Wildlife Park/Finland, The Director and Staff of the Finnish Forest and Park Service, The Wessex Coppice Group/England, Heath House Estate, Hampshire/England, The Director and Staff of the Forestry Commission, New Forest/England, The Director and Staff of EKT Langedrag/Norway, Morten Bronndal
A Green Umbrela Production for NRK and SVT in cooperation with DR, EO, ORF, TVP, WDR, YLE, ITEL and WGBH
Lead time: 1996–1998
End of production: 1998
Frames from the film (QUOTES).
Dense and impenetrable primeval forests once covered all of Europe. Wolves, wild boars and other large and small animals lived in them. Today, only a few European forests survive in their former form. This video shows the last wild forests in Poland and Finland and their abundance, including bison, wolves, lynx, diurnal birds of prey, owls and black storks, but also forest dormice and flying squirrels. Meanwhile, the economic forests of Europe are also home to many creatures, even such as fallow deer, but the highly sterile conifer plantations are already a barrier to wild life. And the primeval forests…? Perhaps no other forest allows you to feel the wildness of the motherlode as directly as just the primeval forest. Among the forest relics surviving today in Europe, the Białowieża Primeval Forest stands out the most.
QUOTE. Excerpt from the film Living Europe. Part II. Last of the Wild Woods. Produced by Jan Walencik. Source: TVP.
Living Europe. Part III. Fresh Water
Duration: 52’ 00”
Format: 16:9 HD
Producer: Jan Walencik
Narrator: Peter Jones (Krystyna Czubówna – polish version)
Photography Jan Walencik
Editing: Darren Flaxstone
Assistant producer and writer: Jon Clay
Camera assistant: Krzysztof Komar
Additional research: Kathryn Jeffs
Production manager: Sarah Wade
Post production technical co-ordinator: Derek Kilkenny – Blake
Production assistant: Joanne Parsons
Production accountant: Joanne Millar
Location manager and sound recordist: Bożena Walencik
Music: Nigel Beaham – Powell, Bella Russell
Dubbing editor: James Mather
Dubbing mixer: Richard Crosby
Graphics: 4 : 2 : 2 Videographic Design Kate Boulton
Series editor: Nick Upton
Series producer: Peter Jones
Executive producers: Hans Christian Alsvik, Arne Weise
The Producers wishes to thank: The Director and Staff of the Plitvice National Park/Croatia, The Director and Staff of the Postojna Cave?Slovenia, Slavko Polak, Notranjski Muzej Postojna/Slovenia, Alojz Troha, The Director and Staff of the Hydrobiological Institute of Ochrid/Macedonia, The Management and Fishermen of the Fishing Plant Dojransko Ezero, Dojran/Macedonia, Branko Micevski, The Director and Staff of the Biebrza National Park/Poland, The Director and Staff of the Wigry National Park/Poland, The Director and Staff of the Polish Academy of Science, Research Station in Popielno/Poland, The Management and Staff of the Fishing Ponds in Siemień/Poland, John Colton, Staff of the Kingcombe Aquacare/England, Romanian Ornithological Society, The management of the Danube Delta Biosphere/Romania, James and Elana Roberts.
A Green Umbrela Production for NRK and SVT in cooperation with DR, EO, ORF, TVP, WDR, YLE, ITEL and WGBH
Lead time: 1996–1998
End of production: 1998
Frames from the film (QUOTES).
Inland water environments are formed from rain and snowfall in the highlands, mountains and plains of the lowlands. Water moves from there on an eternal journey towards the sea. Streams lead from springs and mountain lakes, grow in strength and, as small courses, merge with rivers, and these with the next, larger ones. Gradually, the water slows its course, sometimes spilling over and creating vast mosaics of meadows and flooded areas. Huge reed beds, ponds, lagoons, wet swampy forests are created – all of which become home to a variety of wetland plants and animals. In the past, many of Europe’s lowland landscapes were floodplains and marshes. Only later did people begin to tame the waters. Europe was once a land of rivers, lakes and streams. Today, many wetlands have been drained and rivers have been regulated, leaving no room for wildlife. However, there are still fascinating wild areas in Central Europe, untouched lakes, water-carved caves inhabited by strange creatures. There are also the great Danube reed beds and riparian forests, and in Poland, the magnificent wild marshes in the valley of the meandering lowland river Biebrza. In this part of Europe, people and wild creatures live together, as they once did across the continent.
QUOTE. Excerpt from the film Living Europe. Part III. Fresh Water. Produced by Jan Walencik. Source: TVP.
In 1999, in Missoula, Montana (USA), at the XXII International Nature Film Festival, the film Living Europe. Part III. Fresh Water received an honorable mention for outstanding filmmaking (for Green Umbrella Ltd.).
