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Home > Screenings > ORF-Enterprise GmbH & Co. KG > A Raven's Tale - Mystic Czechia

Director: Michael Schlamberger

Producer: A co-production by ORF, NDR, ARTE G.E.I.E, Česká televize and ScienceVision in association with ORF-Enterprise

Executive Producer: Gernot Lercher

Writer: Michael Schlamberger

Genres: Documentary


52 min., 45 min.

In "A Raven's Tale", a clever female raven takes us on a journey through a country that seems to have sprung from a fairy tale - Czechia. Mountains, dense beech forests, wild valleys, lakes and thousands of ponds, mazes of sandstone, cliffs, caves and gorges. And between them… ancient castles and picturesque palaces telling of a colorful past. This is the Nature of the Czech Republic. No wonder this became the land of fairy tales. “Once upon a time” - all fairy tales have these three magic words in common - but not only that. These are stories where good and evil are sharply defined, where the hero fights against dark, often supernatural forces. By the end there’s punishment for the bad, and reward for the good. Czech habitats and landscapes are portrayed as enchanted kingdoms, where animal rulers and their courtiers are threatened by evil forces. A small, innocent hero pitted against them finally saves the kingdom and wins the princess.

„A Raven's Tale“ links natural history stories set in the Czech forests with the magic of fairy tales. Animals, big and small: from wisents, the European bison, to hamsters and even dung beetles - play their natural roles in this endless drama. Current environmental issues play their role too. Butterflies and birds are returning to the forests because here they can still find an intact life cycle – based on the natural recycling of waste! "A Raven's Tale" is filmed in locations that breathe the magic of a fairy tale romance and adapts the narrative typical for the genre - always in the service of ScienceVision's award-winning pure wildlife cinematography.