A vibrant red and purple crown-of-thorns starfish rests majestically on the coral reef. Sunlight from above filters through the blue ocean waters, illuminating this underwater kingdom, a scene emblematic of Stories of Hope as various fish swim gracefully in the background.
A manta ray glides gracefully above a vibrant coral reef in clear blue ocean waters, embodying the essence of *Stories of Hope*, surrounded by colorful marine life.
Three rhinos drink from a waterhole, their reflections mirroring a tale of hope. They stand closely together, surrounded by grass and trees in the background—a scene from the critical kingdoms of nature where every moment tells stories untold.
A close-up of a black-crested macaque with striking orange eyes and distinct facial features, as if whispering tales from the
Amid tall orange flames, a firefighter battles a blaze in the dense forest. Wearing protective gear and helmet, they spray water on the rapidly spreading fire. It's one of those stories of hope where courage stands tall against nature's critical kingdoms of destruction.
A cheetah gracefully descends a sandy dune in a desert landscape, leaving a trail of dust behind. Like stories of hope in critical kingdoms, the sight is mesmerizing. The background features distant mountains under a bright blue sky.

Critical Kingdoms: Stories of Hope

Nature & Wildlife·3 x 50 min·Completed

Explore Earth’s fragile ecosystems and inspiring conservation stories as humans race to pull species back from the brink of extinction.

Factsheet

You are currently viewing a placeholder content from YouTube. To access the actual content, click the button below. Please note that doing so will share data with third-party providers.

More Information
Unblock content Accept required service and unblock content
Genre
Conservation
Nature & Wildlife
Duration
3 × 50 min
Definition
HD
Audio
5.1
Status
Completed
Back to all projects

Synopsis

Our world is in the midst of its sixth mass extinction. Only this time, humans are the cause. From the sea to the sky, from deserts and jungles to mountains and lakes, Earth supports 8.7 million kinds of life. Its biodiversity stretches our imagination – even as our quest for raw materials shrinks its natural resources. An astounding ninety percent of species haven’t even been named yet. If we don’t scale back our environmental destruction, many will never be.

But all is not lost. In Critical Kingdoms, we visit fragile ecosystems around the globe to share stories of hope as scientists, governments, and selfless volunteers work tirelessly to pull species back from the brink of extinction and preserve our planet for future generations. Through spectacular locations, captivating storytelling, insightful interviews and eye-popping revelations, Critical Kingdoms will inform, entertain and inspire.

EP01: Australia
Only recently, the coverage of huge forest fires sweeping through Australia shocked the world. Thousands of acres of wilderness and its inhabitants were consumed in a flash. But we’ve also seen locals come to the rescue, often risking their lives to save the animals, continuing an Australian tradition of caring for creatures. In this episode of Critical Kingdoms, we’ll follow Stuart Blanche, planting the first of millions of trees in a crucial habitat for koalas; and Dana and Sam Mitchell and their tireless efforts at Kangaroo Island Wildlife Park. And we’ll meet Skye Cameron, a conservationist safeguarding against future fires by combining ancient knowledge with modern technology.

Global climate change is one of the culprits behind these new, more intense blazes. Our use of fossil fuels also has a negative impact on the Great Barrier Reef, the largest living organism in the world. Overfishing, commercial mining and tourism hasn’t helped. But now, ingenious efforts are underway to restore the coral reef to its former glory. Professor Peter Harrison of the Southern Cross University is looking into coral reef repopulation, while others are working at attacking one of the reefs’ indigenous saboteurs, the Crown of Thorns starfish.

Above water, pilot Peter Gash and his family are restoring Lady Elliott Island using organic methods including composting and desalinating sea water with energy from solar panels. Working since 2005, they’ve made tremendous progress. The future’s looking even brighter.

EP02: Indonesia
Indonesia, an archipelago of thousands of islands, stretches 5,000 kilometres along the equator between Asia and Australia. Historically a vital source to the spice trade, today Indonesia is the largest economy in Southeast Asia. It’s also unparalleled in the richness of its biodiversity, especially its jungles. This has proved to be a double-edged sword. Rainforests on the island of Borneo are under extreme threat from deforestation, mainly from the palm oil industry. As palm oil farming endangers the habitats of the gibbon, Chanee Kalaweit fights for their survival.  He has established a rescue centre for injured animals, and started broadcasting success stories, calls for help and pop music in a spectacular mix via his own Borneo-based radio station, Radio Kalaweit.

The Indonesian island of Sulawesi is home to another endangered species, the Black Crested Macaque. Having endured centuries of deforestation and hunting, the last few thousand macaques now live in the protected area of Tangkoko National Park. Even so, they’re still being poached for their meat, a longstanding local delicacy. But a new generation of native conservationists, like Reyni Palohonen, have started raising awareness of the macaques’ plight among the local people, getting them to rethink their dietary traditions.

Under the sea, Manta Rays were over-hunted for their gills to supply the black market in China. Dolphins have been captured as circus entertainment. Sarah Lewis of the Indonesian Manta Project and Femke den Haas, a Dutch activist, are both fighting for these animals’ return to the oceans.

EP03: Africa
Earth’s last great wilderness is under threat like never before. From illegal mining and logging causing desertification, a rampant trade in animal parts, and the incursion of human settlements into the wild, Africa stands on the brink of ecological catastrophe. However, remarkable efforts are underway to reverse our human impact. We look at the growing illegal wildlife market and the modern technologies used to disrupt poachers in Kenya. We’ll also meet local tribes that are bucking tradition and working to preserve endangered lions. Samuel Mutysia, director of the Ol Pejeta Conservancy in Kenya, and his colleague, William Njoroge, demonstrate FLIR, one of the newest methods to foil poachers. It’s a surveillance system promoted by the WWF that has caused massive disruption to poaching expeditions.

We’ll also follow the Cheetah’s dramatic race against extinction in Namibia and the Horn of Africa. In 1990, American scientist Laurie Marker established the Cheetah Conservation Fund. Where once only 7,000 cheetahs were left in the wild, 30 successful years later, their numbers are on the rise. But success brings a new challenge: the illegal wildlife trade of living cubs.

Finally, we venture into the heart of Africa where efforts are being made to save the Mountain Gorilla population in Virunga National Park. Dr Martha Robbins tells of her efforts to raise awareness amongst the local population; to distract poachers; and to move international communities to acknowledge the problems the gorillas are facing. All in all, it’s a story of hope and success: in 2018, the status of the mountain gorilla changed from Critically Endangered to Endangered.  The fight continues.

Team

Written by Antonio Pedro Nobre, Steven Zorn and Romily Menzies
Directed by Max Serio
Executive producers Birgit Peters, Sabine Holzer
Production companies A production of Terra Mater Factual Studios produced by KM Plus Media and Picasso Film

Awards & Recognitions

Lihula, Estonia MAFF - Matsalu Nature Film Festival Official Selection Episode 02 2022
Adelaide, Australia SCINEMA International Science Film Festival Finalist Episode 01 (Category: Best Documentary) 2022
Gödöllö, Hungary nternational Nature Film Festival Gödöllö Official Selection Episode 02 2022
WCSFP - World Congress of Science & Factual Producers Buzzies Awards Nomination Episode 02 (Category: Green Impact of the Year) 2021
Distributor

Talk to our Distributor

Interested in licensing and watching the full production? Contact our distributor here.

Get in touch
Footage rights

Licensing & Usage

Interested in licensing or footage usage?
Contact us directly.

Get in touch

In the same Genre