At the equator the sun rises over the greatest rainforest on earth – Amazonia. Here one thousand rivers flow, the water and the sun fuelling an environment that is home to half the known species in the world.

Equator: Rivers of the Sun takes viewers on a journey through this wonderful, mysterious and vast land and waterscape. Here there is a diversity of species like nowhere else on earth, the bizarre and the beautiful, the iconic and the obscure.

This great abundance of life is the result of intense heat from the equatorial sun and the rains that come every November.

Brought by trade winds from far out in the Atlantic, heavy clouds pass over the great South American landmass. Grown even more bloated from the rich forest, the clouds reach saturation point, the rain is released.

The vast river system of Amazonia receives twenty percent of all the fresh water in the world. The land is perfectly flat, the rains fill the valleys faster than they can drain and every year Amazonia floods.

From the collusion of climate and topography comes an abundance of life. Under the waters of the flooded forest swims the ancient pirarucu fish. This armoured dinosaur has swam among the submerged forests for one hundred million years; its heavy scales belie the speed with which it hunts. This predator is as swift as it is deadly.

Above the water the air hangs heavy with moisture. A three-toed sloth chews on the leaves of the cercropia tree and uacari monkey sits high in the trees, cracking nuts and seeds with its strong jaws.

Amazonia is a massive landscape filled with tiny dramas. In a sheltered pool a pair of copella arnoldi fish perform their spawning ballet as they leap side-by-side out of the water, leaving behind a cluster of eggs on a low hanging leaf. The male vigilantly keeps the eggs cool, smacking his tail on the surface, splashing water on the cluster. Eventually the fries enter the water, the splashing water prompting the eggs to hatch.

From the giant manatee or ‘fish cow’ casually munching on the acres of water lettuce that fill the rivers, to the drama of courtship, mating and death existing beneath the water. Amazonia is a world abundance, diversity and beauty.

Equator: Rivers of the Sun is a stunning examination of one of the world’s great locations. Portraying both the vastness and the detail of Amazonia, Equator: Rivers of the Sun is an unforgettable journey into an incredible place.