It was a beautiful summer morning in the middle of June when we received a phone call from BBC studios London. They were producing a documentary about the Danube, the world’s most known river, and were looking for an A-class production company to shoot the film’s intro scene. 

Morteratsch glacier
Morteratsch glacier

The Danube has its source high up in the Alps and flows all the way through 21 countries to end up in the Black Sea.  One of the Danube’s tributaries being the 518km long “Inn” River, which originates from the “Monteratsch glacier” in the Swiss valley of the Engadine. 

Anne-Marie Flammersfeld running in Engadine
Anne-Marie Flammersfeld running in Engadine

The BBC was looking for a Swiss film team to help with the opening scene of the film.  They wanted to start at 3000 meter above sea level with the German trail running legend Anne-Marie Flammersfeld descending down the ice glacier.

Morteratsch glacier
Morteratsch glacier

The idea was to connect the river to a human experience and demonstrate through her running how ice transforms into water shaping the magical Danube river.We found that there was a substantial increase in international enquiries during the last 2 years.

Anne-Marie Flammersfeld running on the Morteratsch glacier
Anne-Marie Flammersfeld running on the Morteratsch glacier

This just goes to show that among the many problems that the global pandemic brought, there are also opportunities opening up for local film teams. We were ready to capitalize on that.

Morteratsch glacier
Morteratsch glacier

When it comes to nature documentaries BBC Studios really are the best of the best. So it goes without saying that we felt pretty honoured and kind of intimidated to be able to work with these guys. But, there was a mutual respect and trust that set the stage for amazing things to come. In the end we spent almost a week in the Alps giving our all to achieve the most beautiful images possible.

Anne-Marie Flammersberg
Anne-Marie Flammersberg

Being on set everyday 5am to 8pm to capture the most amazing scenery during the golden hour. For most of the crew there were lots of firsts. An interview at an altitude of 3000m, a helicopter landing midst of a glacier.Jumping crevasses and running over the slippery ice to follow the fast moving Anne-Marie.

The Danube
The Danube

What an adventure! Dear BBC, please feel free to call us again in case you need any filming in the Swiss mountains, we got your back! 

Credits:

Client: BBC Studios

Production: Otakus GmbH

Talents: Anne-Marie Flammersfeld

Executive Producer: Jody Bourton, Bethany

Producer: Thomas Gassoul, Axel Duarte

Production Assistant: Niklas Burn

Camera Assistant: Sven Emmenegger

Mountain Guide: Gian Luck

Helicopter Transport: HeliBernina, Go Vertical

Camera Rental: Eberle Filmequipment Zürich

Light and Grip: FTK Zürich

Director: Xaver Walser