

ALTAYFILM
natural history documentaries
PRESENT PRODUCTIONS

BADASS BEARS
IN PRODUCTION FOR NDR / ARTE
Distributed by ZDF STUDIOS
1 x 50 min. - DELIVERY 2023
Deep in the forests of Transylvania, the clocks turn slower. Here, at the very edge of Europe, the nights are still dark, the winters cold and the paths tangled. Behind snow-covered Carpathian peaks, hidden in the dark pines, a millennia-old cult has survived to this day - a bear cult.

BEARS OF BURDEN
IN PRODUCTION FOR MDR / NDR / BR / ARTE
Distributed by Albatross World Sales
1 x 50 min. - DELIVERY 2023
We often see bears as dangerous, aggressive thieves. But are bears all bad, or is there a lot more to the bear than meets the eye? This remarkable film reveals the challenges bears must overcome, to show just what amazing survivors they are, from spending half their lives in a troubled, hungry sleep, to the rest of the time hunting ingeniously for food. From the Arctic, where giant polar bears go without a meal for months on end, to the fish-rich coasts of the Pacific Ocean, where patient brown bears await a flood of salmon, sometimes feasting, at other times driven to attack their own. And in the enigmatic forests of the Sea of Japan, the Asiatic black bear may find itself pursued by a deadly foe – the tiger.

surfing hippos
IN PRODUCTION FOR WDR / NDR / ARTE / ORF
Distributed by Albatross World Sales
1 x 50 min. - DELIVERY 2025
Somewhere along a coastline, unspoiled and wild, big bellies roam the beach. A place where nobody is watching, nobody is judging, and body shape doesn’t really matter… Have you ever dreamed of such a place? Here it is: Welcome to the beaches of Gabon - Africa‘s last living Eden.
PAST PRODUCTIONS















Based in Berlin and Leipzig (Germany), Altayfilm produces natural history documentaries all over Planet Earth.
We make epic and beautiful films for a wide range of broadcasters and distributors, including BBC, National Geographic, Doclights/NDR Naturfilm, WDR, MDR, ARTE, FRANCE 5, Channel One Russia, Terra Mater, Albatross World Sales and others.
Our projects typically require dynamic research and planning, followed by extensive periods of time in the field. The results are breathtaking stories from the natural world, filmed with finesse and produced in dramatic style.
Our name derives from the remote Altai Mountains in Central Asia, a part of the world where we established ourselves as filmmakers. Whilst we now undertake filming expeditions on other continents on Earth, we continue to work in Russia, Siberia, Mongolia and throughout Asia, where we love to capture some of our planet's wildest and least told stories.
![]() HENRY M. MIXCEO | ![]() YANN SOCHACZEWSKIMANAGING DIRECTOR | ![]() BOAS SCHWARZPRODUCER |
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![]() MARLEN HUNDERTMARKCINEMATOGRAPHER | ![]() MIRCO TRIBANEKEDITOR | ![]() DR. MIRIAM KUNDERESEARCH |
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