Eurimages Award Winner for Best Pitch at CPH:FORUM “Only on Earth” is Polar Star Film’s latest documentary in production. Directed by Robin Petré and co-produced with Hansen & Pederson (Denmark)
the film is a creative documentary exploring the relationship between humans, animals and nature in an environment marked by human influence and climate change.
“Only on Earth” takes us on a journey deep into one of Europe’s hottest fire zones, southern Galicia, where wild horses roam the mountains under the watch of local cowboys. With their specially adapted grazing skills, these horses are excellent at fire prevention, but today they are vanishing in the clash between humans and nature.
The film takes place under a sweltering sun in the Spanish regions of Galicia and Castilla y León, which stretch across what is likely Europe’s hottest fire zone. Nature is out of balance, and one reason is the lack of large, grazing animals to keep vegetation – and thereby the risk of fire – down. The recurring forest fires create a backdrop for the film – an unshakeable sense that something could burst into flame at any moment.
A 5-person international film crew has been shooting on location this summer in Galicia and Northern Spain. The crew followed local protagonists in intimate sequences, including a child cowboy “ganadero”, a horse vet, a professional firefighter and a female shepherdess as they take on the sometimes humble, sometimes heroic struggle to keep their traditions and dreams alive. Further film shoots include he native wild horses i that for centuries have helped to prevent the fires from ravishing the region entirely and the traditional annual curro – a spectacular type of rodeo that quickly turns into a raw physical battle between man and horse.
Director Robin Petré is no stranger to working on films relating to animals, her work revolves around our coexistence with nature while placing the audience at eye level with the animal world. Her feature-length debut FROM THE WILD SEA (2021) premiered at the Berlin International Film Festival with a nomination for the Berlinale Documentary Award, and received the Grand Prix at the Global Science Film Festival among other awards. Her short film PULSE (2016) was awarded the Silver Dove for An Outstanding Artistic Contribution at DOK Leipzig and screened at numerous festivals around the world.
“Only on Earth” is co-funded by the European Union / Creative Europe MEDIA, the Danish Film Institute, and ICAA (Spain).