Planet in Focus: films that inspire change
Beamafilm
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24/06/2026
There’s no better time to celebrate the remarkable stories that remind us just how extraordinary our planet really is.
From breathtaking wilderness and incredible wildlife to the inspiring people working to protect them, Beamafilm's Planet in Focus collection brings together powerful documentaries and thought-provoking films that explore our relationship with the natural world.
Discover the world through new eyes
The best environmental films don't simply present facts. They tell unforgettable stories. Travel from pristine oceans and ancient forests to remote deserts and bustling cities. Meet passionate conservationists, Indigenous knowledge holders, scientists, and everyday people finding innovative ways to protect the places they call home.
Whether you're fascinated by climate, wildlife, sustainability, food, oceans, or the future of our planet, these films offer fresh perspectives and unforgettable journeys.
Stories that matter
Environmental storytelling has never been more relevant. The films in our Planet in Focus collection celebrate resilience, innovation, and hope, while also encouraging us to think more deeply about the choices we make and the world we share.
You'll discover:
* Inspiring environmental documentaries
* Extraordinary wildlife adventures
* Stories of conservation and restoration
* Indigenous perspectives on caring for Country
* Films exploring food, farming, and sustainability
* Global stories of communities adapting to change
Entertainment with impact
One of cinema's greatest strengths is its ability to connect us with people, places, and experiences far beyond our own. These are films that spark curiosity, start conversations, and often leave us seeing the world just a little differently. Whether you're watching alone, with family, or as part of a community group, every film offers an opportunity to learn, reflect, and be inspired.
Explore the collection
Beamafilm's Planet in Focus collection celebrates the beauty, complexity, and resilience of our world through exceptional independent cinema and award-winning documentaries from Australia and around the globe. Because every great story has the power to change the way we see the world.
Explore the Planet in Focus collection today and discover stories that celebrate our extraordinary planet, one film at a time.
Watch for FREE with a participating library card or on a 30-day trial. Also, you can rent a film for 72 hours.
Sea Lions Life By a Whisker goes inside a colony of Australian sea lions, where a life of great intimacy, tenderness, and clumsiness must often give way to a life of great sacrifice and bravery.
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Award-winning director Damon Gameau explores what the future would look like by the year 2040 if we embraced the best solutions currently available to improve our planet & shifted them to the mainstream.
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Rongoā is the healing practice of Māori, the indigenous people of Aotearoa New Zealand.
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Take a birds-eye-view journey into the world of the migratory shorebird. The world's greatest endurance athletes fly up to 9 days non-stop, and they need your help. Come along and hear the message from the birds
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Is there an age at which you stop being an activist for change? Not according to the inspiring 85-year-old change maker, Helen Dew.
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The documentary tells the story of how the small New Zealand territory of Tokelau switched its power supply to 100% solar energy.
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Narrated by Dan Aykroyd, Defend, Conserve, Protect, pits the marine conservation group, Sea Shepherd, against the Japanese whaling fleet, in an epic battle to defend the majestic Minke whales.
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This documentary takes us on a journey of discovery through the Alblasserwaard, unveiling the wild side of this classic and bucolic Dutch landscape throughout the change of seasons, and with it the staggering...
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Back in 2019 we visited Kat Lavers at her Melbourne home, The Plummery.
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It’s one of the greatest strokes of luck in human history: competitors and opponents in the struggle for survival became our companions. This two-part documentary shows the rise of humankind through the lens of the animals...
In Ben & bEartha we follow the story of passionate composter Ben Bushell of Community Compost and the machine he's built to revolutionise small-scale composting.
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There is something perverse in our food system. Sunraysia is one of Australia’s great food bowls with the nation’s largest agricultural export income. But residents find themselves buying produce that has travelled thousands of...
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Follow the building of a beautiful urban eco-home with straw bales & traditional timber joinery.
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How to grow a fair and sustainable food system?
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Australian scientist and conservationist Tim Flannery is on a search for leadership on climate change. Interviewing everyone from CEOs to politicians and activists, he poses the question: Do we have what it takes to get out of this...
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A feel good film out of Africa. See how 7,000 Shona Africans moved from malnutrition to abundance. Using sustainable farming including permaculture methods they have turned their lives around.
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With energising stories of people pioneering change in their communities and in their own lives, 'Living the Change: Inspiring Stories for a Sustainable Future' explores solutions to the global crises we face today,
The story unfolds in a setting where activists make a moral case for acts of civil disobedience using the necessity defense. Movement lawyers defending activists in court must prove that the threat of the climate emergency justified...
The sixth extinction of species is in full swing. In the race against time, researchers around the globe are increasingly turning to high-tech. This visually stunning documentary shows how they are working flat out on futuristic...
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Follows scientists, activists, artists and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander leaders who are exploring how to use diversity, collaboration and creativity to create a resilient future.
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Sea turtles are some of Earth’s most ancient and majestic creatures; for over 100 million years, they have traversed the seas, surviving multiple mass extinctions and playing critical roles in maintaining healthy marine food webs....
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A unique and captivating documentary following the friendship of acclaimed Badu Island artist Alick Tipoti and Prince Albert II of Monaco. Even though they live worlds apart, the two have united to help protect the world’s oceans and...
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Following Chief Dean Sayers through a series of conversations with community members to reveal the cultural, political, and ecological relationships surrounding their fisheries, Lake Superior Our Helper explores stories vital to...
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‘Archipelago New York’ is a three-part documentary series presenting a modern-day exploration of the surprisingly exciting and diverse natural landscape of New York Island by sailboat.
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Are solutions already available to the climate crisis? Academy Award-winning documentary filmmaker Charles Ferguson turns his lens to address worldwide climate change challenges and solutions.
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The Disenchanted Forest is an intimate portrayal of the world of orangutans.
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A new industrial revolution is gathering pace. New technologies already in our midst will change how the world makes energy, materials, and food.
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In an emotional and revealing journey, THE POWER OF ACTIVISM shines a positive new light on a group of young female activists who are risking it all to change the future thinking of governments and major companies....
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From fly fishing conservationists in the Pacific Northwest to a young Lakota woman creating a girls’ boxing team, this collection of Indigenous stories highlights the ingenuity and tenacity of Indigenous people across the world.
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Marine life experts focus on the mysteries and biodiversity of Earth's oceans.
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What is the solution to overfishing? Small-scale, ethically conscious fishing is typically seen as no longer financially viable. But Nate Smith’s Aotearoa New Zealand-based Gravity Fishing business is directly tackling the effects of...
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An eye-opening vision of climate change.
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Moving from the deep Amazon rainforest to Washington D.C. and back, Spears From All Sides follows the battle between big oil and the native Waorani people in Ecuador.
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This powerful 2020 documentary transcends the rhetoric, following the inhabitants of San Juan County to reveal the mutual ideals between opposing ideologies: love and awe of a beloved land.
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Filmed over 211 shoot days in nine countries and five continents over four years, "This Changes Everything" is an epic attempt to re-imagine the vast challenge of climate change.
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The birth of Greenpeace.
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An exploration into the use of lunar calendars in the Pacific in the late 1800s.
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What is the true cost of doing business? Australia’s vast and unspoiled Kimberley region is under threat, with mining, pastoralism and irrigated agriculture driving an unprecedented land grab.
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A trapper and his wife brave the harsh Yukon climate, trecherous landscape and dangerous wildlife in an attempt to live a life of solitude.
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Celebrating the diversity of natural heritage in the Dutch delta region, this film uses cutting-edge cinematic techniques to outline the cultural context that has played such a vital part in shaping it.
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The lakes of Italy’s far north are known for their enchanting allure. The series ‘Jewels of the Alps’ explores the five largest of them. Each film portrays one of the lakes, introducing us to a distinctive natural environment and to local...
Greece is a land of natural beauty rivalled only by its historic relevance. It’s seen Europe’s earliest civilizations and decisive battles. Aerials show scenic bays, breath-taking mountains, picturesque villages. The landscapes are allowed to...
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A wandering journey across borderlands, showcasing some of the most beautiful and adventurous long-distance hiking trails in Europe’s frontier regions.
Join sustainable tourism guru Richard Crawford as he unearths extraordinary eco-friendly travel destinations worldwide, providing insider access to bucket-list places and experiences while promoting sustainable tourism.
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