An older man with white hair inspects a glowing blue liquid in a test tube, reminiscent of scenes from a David Attenborough documentary. Sitting at a table with several other test tubes in wooden stands, the dimly lit room emphasizes the ethereal blue glow of this light on Earth.
In this enchanting scene reminiscent of a David Attenborough documentary, glowing green bioluminescent mushrooms light up the darkness. Their fan-like structures are brilliantly illuminated, revealing intricate gill patterns that seem to be a natural celebration of light on Earth.
An elderly man in a blue shirt stands in a dimly lit grassy area, reminiscent of a scene from

David Attenborough’s Light on Earth

Nature & Wildlife·1 x 50 min·Completed

This film, led by David Attenborough, explores the mysteries of bioluminescence, unveiling unseen creatures and behaviors through groundbreaking technology.

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Genre
Nature & Wildlife
Science
Duration
1 × 50 min
Definition
4K
Audio
5.1
Status
Completed
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Synopsis

Luminous beings, creatures with their own internal light, enchant and astonish us. Anyone who has seen a firefly or glow-worm cannot help but fall under their spell. The sea at night sparkles, as millions of luminous plankton reveal the shapes of dolphins, fish and whales in a truly spectacular and magical light show.

But why do animals produce living light? For centuries we could only marvel at the beauty and the mystery.

But now, for the first time we can begin to reveal the amazing truth about living lights. It has taken 3 crucial technological breakthroughs. Firstly, colour cameras have improved dramatically; they are now over 4000 times more sensitive than a decade ago. The cameras are so sensitive they are revealing startling discoveries that until now we could not see. Secondly, scientists have entered the unknown world of the boundless deep open ocean with the help of a new generation of submersibles and robots. Thirdly, Ammonite Films have invented and built a series of unique cameras that can capture the faintest ephemeral glow of luminous life.

By combining these 3 innovations this film will show creatures and behaviours never seen before. Sir David Attenborough will be our guide as we venture into a new hitherto unseen world.

The soil beneath our feet glows. The threads of fungi create a light-emitting matrix in the damp dark earth. A radiant network that can stretch kilometres! The simplest creatures on earth talk to each other using their own living lights (and have been doing so for billions of years). Dig in a garden in France and there is an earthworm that glows with an eerie blue light – a creature thought to be extinct turns out to be common, but only when you can see the light.

Wherever the scientists look, they find living lights. We will enter into the unknown universe of the dark deep sea where the only illumination is living light. Here weird and wonderful creatures hunt, mate and even hide using light!

Bioluminescence is everywhere, in the soil, on the land and throughout the oceans. Astonishingly, living light may be the norm, not the exception. And it is important. For the luminous life of the vast ocean depths plays a crucial role in the biological balance of the planet; and their environment may be a key to global warming.

Join Sir David Attenborough and a team of the world’s leading scientists and deep-sea explorers on a quest to reveal the secrets of living lights.

Team

Written and directed by Martin Dohrn, Joe Loncraine and Paul Reddish
Executive producers Ivo Filatsch, Sabine Holzer
Production companies A Terra Mater Factual Studios production in co-production with CuriosityStream in association with BBC, UKTV and ABC Australia produced by Ammonite

Awards & Recognitions

Tokyo, Japan Japan Wildlife Film Festival Best Presenter Award 2017
New Delhi, India WIFF - Woodpecker Film Festival Best Film of the Festival 2017
New Delhi, India WIFF - Woodpecker Film Festival Best Film Award:Forest and Wildlife 2017
Wyoming, USA Jackson Hole Wildlife Film Festival Best Host/ Presenter Led Program 2017
Eckernförde, Germany Green Screen Film Festival Praising Mention for Advancement in Camera Technology 2017
Shanghai, China Shanghai International Green Film Week Best Cinematography Award 2017
Cogne, Italy Grand Paradiso Film Festival Prize Progetto Natura (awarded by technical jury) 2017
Cogne, Italy Grand Paradiso Film Festival Stambecco d´Oro Junior Trophy (awarded by children´s jury) 2017
Chicago, USA US International Film & Video Festival Gold Camera: Craft/Production Techniques: Cinematography 2017
Chicago, USA US International Film & Video Festival Gold Camera: Science, Research, Technology 2017
Gödöllö, Hungary International Nature Film Festival Award for International Film Festival /Scienticific documentaries 2017
New York, USA New York Festivals Grand Award 2017
New York, USA New York Festivals Gold Medal: Nature & Wildlife 2017
New York, USA New York Festivals Gold Medal: Best Camerawork 2017
New York, USA New York Festivals Gold Medal: Best Host 2017
New York, USA New York Festivals Gold Medal: Best Original Music/Lyrics 2017
Bristol, UK Wildscreen Panda Awards NHK Science Award 2016
Bristol, UK Wildscreen Panda Awards Technical Innovation Award 2016
Jackson, USA Jackson Hole Wildlife Film Festival, Science Media Awards Grand Helix Award 2016
Cannes, France Cannes Corporate Media & TV Awards Golden Dolphin (Category: Nature, Environment & Ecology) 2016
Cannes, France Cannes Corporate Media & TV Awards Black Dolphin (Category: Best Camera) 2016
Rotterdam, Netherlands Wildlife Film Festival Rotterdam Jury Award in Best Film Professional 2016
Innsbruck, Austria INFF - Innsbruck Nature Film Festival Grand Prize for Best Nature Documentary 2016
Vaasa, Finland Wildlife Vaasa International Nature Film Festival rd Prize: Science 2016
Pamplona, Spain #LabMeCrazy! Science Film Festival Finalist: Best Documentary 2019
Olomouc, Czech Republic Academia Film Olomouc Nomination 2018
Bruxelles, Belgium Équipe FFSB - Festival du Film Scientifique de Bruxelles Nomination 2018
Goethe Science Film Festival Nomination 2017
Ménigoute, France Festival International du Film Ornithologique de Ménigoute Nomination 2017
Wyoming, USA Jackson Hole Wildlife Film Festival Nomination: Best Science in Nature Film 2017
Tehran, Iran Iran International Green Film Festival Nomination 2017
Peterborough, United Kingdom Grierson Awards Nomination: Best Science Documentary 2017
New York, USA News & Documentary Emmy® Awards Nomination: Outstanding Nature Documentary 2017
New York, USA News & Documentary Emmy® Awards Nomination: Outstanding Cinematography: Documentary 2017
Shepherdstown, USA ACFF - American Conservation Film Festival Nomination 2017
Bois-de-Villers, Belgium FINN - International Nature Namur Festival Nomination 2017
Libramont, Belgium Go Future Nomination 2017
Ludwigsburg, Germany Naturvision Film Festival Nomination 2017
BAFTA - Virgin TV British Academy Television Awards Nomination: Specialist Factual 2017
Missoula, USA IWFF - International Wildlife Film Festival Nomination 2017
London, UK Royal Television Society Nomination: Production 2017
London, UK Royal Television Society Nomination: Best Editing 2017
Bratislava, Slovakia IFF Ekotopfilm - Envirofilm Festival Nomination 2017
Washington, USA DCEFF - Environmental Film Festival Nomination 2017
Lisbon, Portugal European Science TV and New Media Festival and Awards Nomination: TV documentary 2016
Graz, Austria Mountainfilm Graz Nomination 2016
Athens, Greece International Science Film Festival Athens Nomination 2016
Paris, France Pariscience Film Festival Nomination: Competition Science Television 2016
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