Three young pumas rest on frosted ground, surrounded by icy plants. One cub looks directly at the camera while the others face away, embodying the solitary essence of their natural habitat.
A small owl with striking yellow eyes perches on a frosty tree branch, reminiscent of a lone predator surveying its domain. The winter setting, much like the snowy haunts of elusive pumas, features snow-dusted branches and a soft, muted background. The owl's feathers are fluffed against the cold.
Four majestic pumas stand on a rocky hilltop against an overcast sky. Sparse vegetation, including tufts of grass and small shrubs, surrounds them. The vigilant pumas gaze in different directions, embodying the essence of the wild.
A solitary puma stands in the snowy terrain, surrounded by snow-dusted vegetation. With its soft, light-colored coat seamlessly blending with the winter landscape, it gazes intently into the distance.
Snow-capped mountains are reflected in a serene lake under a clear blue sky. Pumas roam the surrounding terrain, their stealthy presence adding intrigue to the scene. The landscape features rugged peaks and smooth water creating a mirror effect, set against a backdrop of green hills.
A group of deer walks cautiously along a snowy slope with a rugged, snow-capped mountain in the background, as if aware that elusive pumas might be lurking nearby. The sky is overcast, and the scene is enveloped in a soft, misty light.

Pumas – Legends of the Ice Mountains

Nature & Wildlife·2 x 50 min·Completed

In Patagonia's wild beauty, follow a puma family’s struggle for survival – tragedy, rebirth, and breathtaking landscapes in this intimate two-part journey.

Factsheet

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Genre
Nature & Wildlife
Duration
2 × 50 min
Definition
4K
Audio
5.1
Status
Completed
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Synopsis

There is a puma paradise at the end of the world – a stronghold for these magnificent cats, amidst the mountain wilderness of Patagonia in South America. Torres del Paine National Park in Chile provides everything for pumas to survive and thrive: plenty of space to roam the region, vast herds of guanacos to prey on, and no competition from other large predators.

This two-part documentary tells the amazing and dramatic story of a bloodline of pumas, from mother to daughter, and further on to the next generation. It is an intimate story, moving, sad, joyful – all set against some of the most spectacular landscapes in South America.

Our film begins in the snow, as a solitary puma mother attends to her four kittens in the shadow of Torres del Paine. Her name is Solitaria, her spotted female cub is the beautiful girl, La Bella Casadora, and part one of our tale begins – “Birth”.
We follow Solitaria through the difficulties of early motherhood, as she develops techniques to outsmart the guanaco herds and avoid conflict with other pumas in the area. Some of the most breathtaking, almost otherworldly scenery is the backdrop to amazing hunting and family behavior with these cats.

But tragedy strikes, and she is isolated and goes missing, the cubs stranded and left to their own survival. That is what happens in this place, one of the harshest on the planet. The odds of cubs this age surviving is remote. But…

Part two is called “Rebirth” – and it starts with a strange cat wandering the hilltops. At least she seems strange, but she’s no stranger to the area from the way she moves around, swimming the river, crossing places that only a cat with experience could know.
She is young, vibrant, a little clumsy for a puma, and her immediate hunting tactics leave a lot to be desired. She fails spectacularly. But she also seems to have knowledge of where the guanacos go to breed and fight and give birth. She is the beautiful Casadora, who somehow survived a summer all alone. And while her siblings vanished and never showed up again, she made it back to her mother Solitaria’s valley.

She is the bloodline of these mountains and lakes. She is the future of pumas in Torres del Paine…

This production was filmed over three years – a two-part journey into one of the most beautiful places on Earth. It leads through two seasons, through ice storms, over frozen lakes and melting rivers, and it follows two generations of hunting mountain lions, these pumas, these legends of the ice mountains.

Team

Written and directed by Dereck and Beverly Joubert
Executive producers Sabine Holzer, Ivo Filatsch
Production companies A Terra Mater Factual Studios / Wildlife Films production in co-production with Thirteen Productions LLC and Doclights/NDR Naturfilm in association with PBS, CPB, Vision Hawk Films and National Geographic Channels

Awards & Recognitions

New York, USA News & Documentary Emmy® Awards Nomination (Category: Outstanding Cinematography: Documentary) 2022
Bristol, United Kingdom Wildscreen Festival Nomination (Category: Scripted Narrative) Episode 02 2022
Domzale, Slovenia FGF - Festival Gorniskega Filma Official Selection Episode 01 2022
Cannes, France Cannes Corporate Media & TV Awards Silver Dolphin Episode 01 (Category: Nature and Wildlife) 2021
Cannes, France Cannes Corporate Media & TV Awards Silver Dolphin Episode 02(Category: Nature and Wildlife) 2021
New York, USA New York Festivals TV & Film Awards Gold World Medal Episode 01 (Category: Nature & Wildlife) 2021
New York, USA New York Festivals TV & Film Awards Gold World Medal Episode 02 (Category: Nature & Wildlife) 2021
New York, USA New York Festivals TV & Film Awards Silver World Medal (Category: Best Camerawork) 2021
New York, USA New York Festivals TV & Film Awards Silver World Medal (Category: Best Writing) 2021
Lihula, Estonia MAFF - Matsalu Nature Film Festival Winner Special Prize of Tallinn Episode 01 2021
Lihula, Estonia MAFF - Matsalu Nature Film Festival Winner Special Prize of Tallinn Episode 02 2021
Goethe Science Film Festival Official Selection Episode 01 2021
Namur, Belgium FINN - Festival International Nature Namur Official Selection Episode 01 2021
Rotterdam, Netherlands WFFR - Wildlife Film Festival Rotterdam Official Selection Episode 01 2021
Sondrio, Italy Sondrio Festival Nomination Episode 01 2021
Eckernförde, Germany Green Screen - Internationales Naturfilmfestival Eckernförde Official Selection Episode 01 2021
Ludwigsburg, Germany NaturVision Filmfestival Nomination Episode 01 (Category: Camera Award) 2021
Gödöllö, Hungary International Nature Film Festival Gödöllö Official Selection Episode 01 2021
Gödöllö, Hungary International Nature Film Festival Gödöllö Official Selection Episode 02 2021
Jackson Hole, USA Jackson Wild Media Awards Special Jury Award 2020
Jackson Hole, USA Jackson Wild Media Awards Finalist (Category: Best Limited Series - Long Form) 2020
Jackson Hole, USA Jackson Wild Media Awards Finalist Episode 01 (Category: Best Editing) 2020
Jackson Hole, USA Jackson Wild Media Awards Finalist Episode 02 (Category: Best Animal Behavior Film - Long Form) 2020
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