Armchair travel

FRENCH FILM FESTIVAL UK

Curzon at Home

For a flavour of France from your sofa, subscribe to Curzon Cinema’s streaming platform Curzon at Home from 2 November to 15 December and tune into the 30th anniversary of the French Film Festival UK. Taking place at more than 35 Curzon cinemas across the UK and via streaming, the programme includes the Opening Gala, with director Eric Gravel’s propulsive new drama Full Time (À Plein Temps) starring Call My Agent actor Laure Calamy. Curzon at TV Home viewers will also be able to watch five additional new and recent titles, including Both Sides of the Blade (pictured).

36 ISLANDS: IN SEARCH OF THE HIDDEN WONDERS OF THE LAKE DISTRICT

By Robert Twigger

Poet, artist and travel author Robert Twigger loves uninhabited islands and has a lifelong passion for the Lake District. Combining the two, he set off on a mission to visit all 36 islands in the National Park, armed only with an inflatable canoe. Inspired by Ransome, Wordsworth and Wainwright, Twigger’s tale travels beyond the tourists to these unusual lands; some little more than a rock breaking the surface of the water, others ideal for a wild camp. Along the way he discovers curious historical facts and a new sense of discovery about the world we live in.

Book

ARMCHAIR travel time

Immerse yourself in a French film festival, the Lake District’s uninhabited islands, the rescue story of India’s sloth bears and vampires in Iberia

VAMPIRE ACADEMY

Now TV TV

The long-awaited series of the much-loved Vampire Academy fantasy horror book by Richelle Mead, season one is now available to stream on Now TV. But why are we telling you this? Because whether you’re a fan of the book or not, much of the show was filmed in Spain and Portugal, and gives a sumptuous view of both countries. Locations to swoon over include Navarra, a Spanish northern province, San Sebastian, a city in the Basque region, Zaragoza’s fortified medieval palace, and Lisbon and the Queleuz National Palace in Portugal.

SAN SEBASTIAN

Sid Saxena at Unsplash

SAVING THE DANCING BEARS

ecoflix.com

This new documentary from the not-for-profit streaming platform ecoflix.com tells the story of the rare sloth bear in India. For over 400 years they were targeted for human exploitation. Saving the Dancing Bears follows Kartick Satyanarayan and Geeta Seshamani, the founders of WILDLIFE SOS, who decided to end this cruelty. They’ve rescued the remaining bears in captivity and created a sanctuary for them to heal and live happily, but they’ve also helped the people whose livelihood had depended on these bears – more than a wildlife rescue film, Saving the Dancing Bears saves a human community too.

TV