Mátyás Attila Merkaba

A new nature documentary created by Szabolcs Mosonyi and Erika Bagladi, the makers of Vad Balaton, Vad Kunság and Vad Szigetköz. Breathtaking sequences reveal the river valleys, deep canyons, sunlit crags, misty hillsides and rich wildlife of the North Hungarian Mid-Mountains. The spectacular, widescreen documentary filmed with special techniques (e.g. 4K) introduces the diverse flora and fauna of the North Hungarian forests from the ground to the canopy, in the most intimate ways and uncommon situations.

The Balaton is the biggest shallow water lake in Central Europe. Although vacationers invade its coast every summer, the lake and its surroundings contain almost unbelievable natural treasures. The volcanoes, caves, tufaceous limestone stairs, sandhills and valleys are parts of the European Geopark Network, the moors are water habitats of international significance. Ground squirrels, wildcats, peregrines, ravens, mass-nesting egrets and herons, filber mice going on night adventures, asps doing wedding dance live here. The odd marriage of geology, wildlife and humans created this spectacular landscape.

Not far from Budapest, in the outskirts of Táborfalva, a board stops the arriving: "Keep out! Entry is dangerous and forbidden!" The Forbidden Zone starts here, the second biggest shooting and drill ground in Hungary, where military field exercises have been performed for one and a half century. In spite of the danger and prohibition, the area is densely populated. Many plant and animals species live their secret lives here, some of them being rare creatures that almost completely disappeared from the cultivated parts of the Hungarian Alföld. They are protected by weapons...

At first glance, it's just like other European plains. Once the wind and rivers worked on it, today it bears the signs of human activity. The Hungarian Puszta is different nonetheless: it lives a secret life where always happens something. Big birds hustle and push each other, the traffic of the white, salty lakes competes that of major airports, antlers clash like swords, and an owl claps on all this. The most peculiar creature is the protagonist itself. The golden jackal once lived here, but it vanished for decades because of constant persecution. But this four-legged predator, defying the danger, has returned and founded a family. The new pack howls in the frosty night: "This is our land!"

We're at Hungary's western gateway. The landscape is ruled by the representatives of economy: motorways, cities, industrial parks, wind farms, as well as the hydroelectric power plant commissioned exactly 20 years ago. But something hides among them. A giant alluvial fan with small, island-like villages, forests, wetland fields, reed beds, all of which are encircled by countless small and big watercourses and prongs. This inland delta is unique in Europe, and was created by the Danube coming out of the mountains. But today the river is not as free to move as once. Seeing the grip of the built environment, the question arises: Can the wildlife retain its former richness and beauty?