THE LARGEST COUNTRY ON EARTH
FILMED FROM THE AIR
Russia is by far the largest country on earth. Twice as big as the huge USA, almost 50 times the size of the European Union’s biggest country, Germany. From Kaliningrad on the Baltic Sea to the Bering Strait right next to Alaska Russia encompasses 11 timezones and 7,000 kilometres linear distance – but only if you take the shortcut over the North Pole.
The team of the multiple award-winning Germany From Above series and the overwhelmingly prize-winning ARTE series Migrating Birds this time undertakes a nine-month venture flying over the gigantic empire of the Russian federation: from the Arctic Ocean to the deserts of Kalmykia, from Europe’s highest peak Mount Elbrus to the volcanoes of Kamchatka.
Russia From Above is an unprecedented endeavor to experience the vastness of the the country, constantly from the bird's eye view. The results are spectacular aerials of wild, deserted landscapes, magical cities, wild animals, deserts, taiga forests - and of the hard work in the cold of Siberia. This is Russia as you have never seen it before, filmed from helicopters and with the best aerial cameras worldwide.
Russia From Above shows for the first time the metropoles of Moscow and Saint Petersburg from the air and astonishes with breath-taking perspectives of the Caucasus peaks and the Altay Mountains; it presents the celestial beauty of the 200 kilometer wide Volga Delta and accompanies the icebreakers in the Polar Sea, from Murmansk to Arctic Yamal; it features the playful brown bears in their salmon-hunting season in Kamchatka and flies along polar bear moms on the remote island of Wrangel when they are taking their offspring out for the first walks into life.
The once forbidden city of Norilsk, the hardest industrial city in the world, is featured as well as the steep and wild diamond mines of Mirny, with the deepest manmade hole on the planet. Russia From Above also glides over the frozen Lake Baikal with its biggest reservoir of sweet waterworldwide, as well as over the steppes of Kalmykia with their antelope herds and pelican colonies.
A breathtaking flight over a stunning country.
The team of the multiple award-winning Germany From Above series and the overwhelmingly prize-winning ARTE series Migrating Birds this time undertakes a nine-month venture flying over the gigantic empire of the Russian federation: from the Arctic Ocean to the deserts of Kalmykia, from Europe’s highest peak Mount Elbrus to the volcanoes of Kamchatka.
Russia From Above is an unprecedented endeavor to experience the vastness of the the country, constantly from the bird's eye view. The results are spectacular aerials of wild, deserted landscapes, magical cities, wild animals, deserts, taiga forests - and of the hard work in the cold of Siberia. This is Russia as you have never seen it before, filmed from helicopters and with the best aerial cameras worldwide.
Russia From Above shows for the first time the metropoles of Moscow and Saint Petersburg from the air and astonishes with breath-taking perspectives of the Caucasus peaks and the Altay Mountains; it presents the celestial beauty of the 200 kilometer wide Volga Delta and accompanies the icebreakers in the Polar Sea, from Murmansk to Arctic Yamal; it features the playful brown bears in their salmon-hunting season in Kamchatka and flies along polar bear moms on the remote island of Wrangel when they are taking their offspring out for the first walks into life.
The once forbidden city of Norilsk, the hardest industrial city in the world, is featured as well as the steep and wild diamond mines of Mirny, with the deepest manmade hole on the planet. Russia From Above also glides over the frozen Lake Baikal with its biggest reservoir of sweet waterworldwide, as well as over the steppes of Kalmykia with their antelope herds and pelican colonies.
A breathtaking flight over a stunning country.
First airing 5th July 2018, 8.15 pm, on ARTE
1.1 million viewers at first airing on Arte, making a market share of 4 per cent at primetime 8:15 pm. The average market share of Arte is currently at 1.1 per cent.
The 5 episodes of the series aired on the ZDF Terra X-slot reached incredible 30 million viewers in total, with sensational market shares of up to more than 17 percent.
The 5-part series is available on DVD and Bluray in stores and online, dubbed in German and English.
The accompanying pictorial book is published by the prestigious publisher Hoffmann und Campe and is available in bookstores.
The original soundtrack is available on all major download platforms (such as Apple or Amazon) and on Spotify.
A special 93 minutes version of the movie opened Moscow’s International Film-Festival 'Doker‘, attended by an audience of 1,600 in Russia’s largest movie theatre Oktyabr.
At New York Festival © 2019 Russia From Above was honoured with the Gold Medal Award in the category 'Best Feature Documentary‘.
Written and directed by
Petra Höfer and Freddie Röckenhaus
Senior Producer: Francesca D’Amicis and Susanne Rostosky
Line Producer: Svenja Mandel
Video Editing: Johannes Fritsche
Aerial Camera: Peter Thompson, Andrew Efimov, Anton Elchaninov, Ivan Golubkov and Igor Volkov
Production Deputy: Désirée Dolata
Producer: Friederike Schmidt-Vogt
Researcher: Marika Raffa
VFX Artist: Sebastian Salanta
Computer Animations: David Corfield, Liz Elkington, 422 South
German Narration (90min): Benjamin Völz
German Narration (TV-series): Dietmar Wunder
English Narration: Timothy Birkett
Editors: Marita Hübinger (ARTE), Peter Arens, Friederike Haedecke and Katharina Kohl (ZDF)
A colourFIELD production
In co-production withZDF
in cooperation with Arte