Wilde Pyrenäen - Berge des Lichts

(Wild Pyrenees - Mountains of Light)
by Jürgen Eichinger
44’, Germany, 2009

The Pyrenees range extends for more than 400 kilometres of high massifs, lush forests, waterfalls, and mountain lakes that form a unique landscape between the Mediterranean and the Atlantic. They form a natural barrier that separates the sunny, arid Spanish side from the French, which is humid, heavily forested, and rich in water. Here thrive precious and rare species of fauna and flora. On the rocky peaks and in the deep canyons, carved out over time by torrents, raptors are a common sight, while the rocky ravines host flowering plants that grow only here. The human presence fits naturally into the life of these mountains, favoured by the Mediterranean climate. Throughout the seasons, man’s work and nature’s rhythms intertwine, immersed in vast panoramas and dominated by a huge, natural painting created by the sun, the winds, and the clouds that have given the Pyrenees the appellation, “mountains of light”.

Jürgen Eichinger
Born in 1961 in Rotthalmünster, he began making short films while studying geography. His first film for television dates to 1985. In the same year he founded his own production studio that is dedicated to the creation of documentaries. Since 1989 he has worked as an author and director of films about nature and culture for Bayerischer Rundfunk.