In production. Completion december 2024. 4×42 Min (DE)/52 MIN (EN)
Script: Sonja Fröhlich, Adama Ulrich, Carsten Heider, Friederike Schlumborn
Camera: Michael Gügerl, Gerfried Guggi, Kyle Judd Smith
Editing: Alexandra Herzog, Alexandra Schneider
Music: Hannes Gill
Producer: Ulrike Neubecker
Executive Producer BSX: Hansjürgen Schmölzer
A production of Berlin Producers Media GmbH in cooperation with BSX Schmölzer GmbH.
Africa is more than just savannahs, desert sands and big game safaris. The shifting of the continental plates has piled up impressive peaks on the African continent, which offer a home to rare animals and plants. And above all, Kilimanjaro towers as Africa’s most famous and highest mountain massif. The documentary series embarks on a cinematic journey up to the African peaks.
In our imagination, Africa is often deserts and savannahs, through which herds of elephants and antelopes roam. But there is also an unknown side of Africa: the high peaks of the continent. Numerous mountains tower over the African landscape like silent guardians. They offer varied habitats for the already diverse flora and fauna: from glacial landscapes to sometimes dusty, sometimes bright green plateaus to warm, humid rainforest at lofty heights. Many animal and plant species live here in quiet harmony with humans and make tours “Beyond Kilimanjaro” a unique experience.
The documentary series takes viewers on a journey into the mountains of the African continent. From the rugged Abyssinian Alps in the north to the Ruwenzori Mountains with their mix of glaciers and rainforest in East Africa to the velvety green Drakensberg in the south. Hardly anywhere else can you find such a rich flora and fauna in a few square kilometres: Different climate zones and different altitude regions – from zero to almost 6000 meters. Steppe deserts meet wetlands, huge mountains meet dense jungle, glaciated peaks and mountain lakes meet rugged cliffs and green valleys.
Each mountain range has specific vegetation and rich animal life that has adapted to different geographical conditions. And mostly they are extraordinary animals that feel particularly comfortable in the shelter of snow-covered peaks, in caves, damp forests or on barren plateaus and that are only found here in their kind. Exotic animals such as the African civet cat, the Ethiopian golden-necked pipit or the rare species of monkeys in the Ruwenzori Mountains hide in the higher altitudes.
Together with the audience we embark on a journey of discovery into the distant and still largely unknown world of the African mountains, which are only gradually being discovered by the rest of the world as breath-taking natural landscapes. Many of the mountain massifs are of volcanic origin. Some, like our Alps, were formed when the African and Eurasian tectonic plates collided. This is how mountain massifs have folded up, which have formed very different landscapes. Rivers like the Nile are fed from them and bring life to the surrounding regions. The rugged gorges and myth-enshrouded rainforests shape the lives of the people who try to wrest something from the often barren or impenetrable land with simple means. Anyone who visits the peaks of Africa experiences loneliness, seclusion and freedom. Some regions have been declared national parks to protect nature permanently.