Germany is a diverse country - and one with comparatively little space. In their newest film, "Germany from Above," documentary filmmakers Petra Höfer and Freddie Röckenhaus show Germany from a bird's eye perspective. They unveil an impressive panorama, including Halligen on the North Sea, pictured here.
Here, on the other side of the country, are the Alps in the South. Near Obserdorf in Allgäu, a pack of chamois leaps up mountain cliffs at a breath-taking pace. "Germany from Above" shows a wide range of landscapes, natural wonders, and cities through various seasons, as well as the historic development of the country.
Germany is a modern, bustling country. Here an ice breaker makes its way on the Elbe River near Hamburg. With temperatures below -20 Celsius, the ice breaker keeps the waterway to the Hamburg harbor clear. Were northern Germany's most important intersection of commerce to come to a standstill, many factories would be forced to stop production.
Fortresses and castles dominate the horizon in many areas of Germany. Hohenzollern in Baden-Württemberg is pictured here. The filmmakers mounted a pivoting camera to a helicopter for the project. In total, some 600 flight hours were turned into about 110 minutes of film.
In flying over German cities, like Lübeck pictured here, medieval urban planning becomes visible. Many of these cities, however, were destroyed during World War II. The filmmakers purposefully incorporated historical footage of war-time destruction into the film.
The film offers a striking view of humans' attack on nature. Highways cut the landscape in two. The music stalls for effect during a look at traffic, and the brown coal mine pit in Lausitz is portrayed as a gaping wound.
The last blast furnaces in Duisburg create a fascinating image. Many manufacturing plants have come to a standstill as Germany has evolved from a manufacturing to service-based economy. From a bird's eye perspective, it's harder to capture the digital service economy.
The fields here at Lenggries in Bavaria are divided by rows of hedges and look like they were drawn with a ruler. Eighty percent of Germany's surface is used for agriculture and wood production. From high above, the landscapes look like paintings.
Green is certainly the most common color throughout Germany. Even the large cities are criss-crossed by green spaces and surrounded by beautiful landscapes. Pictured here is a terraced vineyard in Kaiserstuhl, near Freiburg in south-western Germany.
The water in the Königssee in south-eastern Germany is crystal clear; it's one of the cleanest lakes in Germany. "Germany from Above" was originally filmed as a four-part documentary for television, but was so successful that its creator decided to produce the film version now playing in German cinemas.
A new documentary film shows Germany's natural diversity from the sky.
