Dark Biosphere
2024 | Spane | Directed by Javier Bollaín | Produced by Render Area | English, French, Spanish, German
27 min.
Licensing
Dark Biosphere takes us to the frontiers of knowledge of one of the most amazing phenomena we can study: life.
Deep beneath the earth's crust, hundreds of metres or kilometres below the surface, with no light, no air, and very little water, in pores and fissures of hard rock, scientists have found an enormous biodiversity of micro-organisms that thrive in extreme conditions. The Dark Biosphere challenges everything we thought we knew and challenges us to rethink not only the origin and evolution of life on Earth but its possible existence throughout the Universe.
AWARDS AND FESTIVALS
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- BEST SCIENCE AND EDUCATION FILM | Best Of Earth (2025)
- BEST SCIENCE FILM| Dome Fest West, Boulder (2025)
- BEST SCIENCE FILM | Dome Under Fest, Melbourne (2025)
- BEST MOVIE | Fulldome Festival, BRNO (2024)
CREDITS
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Directed by
Javier Bollaín
Animation director
Guillermo Bollaín
Scientific Advisors
Ricardo Amils
Carlos Briones
José Antonio Caballero
Asunción De Los Ríos
Jesús Martínez-Frías
Script Writers
Javier Bollaín
Beatriz Iso
Amaia Ruiz
Narrator
Viggo Mortensen
Producteur
Javier Bollaín
Javier Lafuente
Producer assistant
Laura Casamayor
Sound Postproduction
Rubén Carregal
Music
Sergio De La Puente
Nature recording
Carlos De Hita
RENDER AREA
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3D Artists
Guillermo Bollaín
Jorge Díaz
Francisco FDR
Carlos Gallego
Carlos Jiménez
Sergio Navarro
Eduardo San Nicolás
Manuel Segade
Rigging & Set Up
Francisco Fdr
Manuel Segade
Modeling & Texturing
Guillermo Bollaín
Jorge Díaz
Francisco Fdr
Eduardo San Nicolás
3D Lighting
Guillermo Bollaín
Jorge Díaz
Francisco Fdr
Editing
Javier Bollaín
3D Astronomical Simulations
Carlos Gallego
Matte Painting
Alberto Quirantes
Photogrammetry
Guillermo García-Burguera
Administrative managers
Miguel Bollaín
Natalia Caligaris
ALIVE VFX&DESIGN
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VFX Executive Producers
David Heras
Carlos Puchol
CFO
Raúl Bernabé
VFX Supervisor
David Heras
VFX Coordinator
Carlos Puchol
Design Producer
Elena Serrano
Design Supervisor
Daniel Mateo
Design
Silvia Barrio
Amelia Gayo
José Daniel Miranda
Motion Graphics
José Daniel Miranda
Flame Artist
Juan Arribas
Marco Hernández
3D Supervisor
Álvaro Carbajosa
3D Artists
Alberto Lozano
Diego Ruíz De Sotto
Elamedia eSTUDIOS
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PostProduction Supervisor
Pedro Lozano
Postproduction Coordinator
Javier Horcajada
Blanca Lozano
Carlos Rivero
Sandra Suarez
Grading
Juan Hernando
Sandra Otero
Grading Assistant
Jara Blanco
Postproduction Technicians
Beatriz Alía
Lis Cortés
Paco Ruiz
Mastering and copies
Delia Julían Martín
Production Coordinator
Soffía Álvarez
Systems Engineer
Enrique Calatayud
Jorge Morote
AUDIO BELUGA
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Sound design, Mixing and Recording
Rubén Carregal
WAVEHILL STUDIO
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Music Composition
Sergio De La Puente
Production
Sergio De La Puente
Sofía Sainz
Additional music
Sofía Sainz
Recording & Mixing
Wavehill Studio
Mixing Engineer
Alfredo Jiménez
Voice
Lucía González
Guitar
Luc Suárez
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Translations
Stephen Hugues
Didier Schreiner
Transperfect
Render Farm
Azken Muga
Scientific image
Nuria Rodríguez. Cab (CSIC-INTA)
Web & Promotional materials
Raquel De La Fuente
Mar Martínez
Voice Director
Javier Bollaín
Didier Schreiner
Voice
Juan Antonio Bernal
Bernard Gabar
Final credits
Francisco Fdr
3D Animation and model stock
Turbosquid / Sketchfab
With the collaboration of
Gobierno de Espana | Ministerio De Ciencia Innovacion Y Universidades
FECYT Innovation
With the support of
*e esa
Centro De Astrobiologica
European Astrology Institute
Mncn
Musea National De Ciencias Naturales
Technical collaborators
Orionis
Planetario de Madrid
Airbus
Planetario Pamplona
With the participation of
CosmoCaixa Fundacíon la Caixa
Marque de las Ciencias
Ministerio de Administraciones Publicas
CSIC
Casa de la Ciencia
Junta de Andalucia
Ayuntamiento de A Coruna Concello de la Coruna
Museos Científicos
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
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Ricardo Amils
Luís Alcalá
Jordi Aloy
Carlos Briones
Diego Bollaín
Julio Bollaín
Luis Bollaín
Sergio Bollaín
José Antonio Caballero
Marta Condado
Asunción De Los Rios
Yolanda Diaz
Cristina Escudero
Telmo Fernández
Emilio Gálvez
Antonio García
Bibiana García
César González
Cristina Garay
Leonor Ana
Javier Hidalgo
Fernando Jauregui
Daniel Marchenda
Jesús Martínez-Frías
Dr. José María Madiego
Proyecto Smart (IAA-CSIC)
Ibone Olza
Faustinp Organero
Marco Pérez
Rafael Zardoya
Roberto Sánchez
Didier Schreiner
Carl Sagan
Created by
RENDER AREA
A production by
RENDER AREA S.L.
Distributor
With the collaboration of
Whit the support of
Technical collaborators
With the participation of
Javier Bollaín
Director
Javier Bollaín is a Spanish director and producer specializing in fulldome cinema, an immersive format designed for planetariums. A trained geologist, he co-founded the company Render Área in Madrid in 1999, through which he has created more than 140 science outreach films distributed worldwide. His latest film, Dark Biosphere (2024), explores microscopic life deep within the Earth's crust, revealing an invisible and extreme biosphere. The film has been awarded at several international festivals for its scientific depth and immersive aesthetic.