High up on the Tibetan plateau. Amongst unexplored and inaccessible valleys lies one of the last sanctuaries of the wild world, where rare and undiscovered fauna lives.  Vincent Munier, one of the world’s most renowned wildlife photographers takes the adventurer and novelist Sylvain Tesson (In the Forest of Siberia) with him on his latest mission. For several weeks, they’ll explore these valleys searching for unique animals and try to spot the snow leopard, one of the rarest and most difficult big cats to approach.

The Velvet Queen

Sylvain Tesson, une liberté vertigineuse

French author Sylvain Tesson pays tribute to the heroes of the Russian Revolution as he crosses the Pamir mountain range in Tajikistan, which boasts a multitude of peaks at more than 7,000m. They will have the occasion to look back on some of the major figures and events of the Revolution. Lenin Peak, Revolution Peak, Karl Marx Peak, and also the October Glacier and the Soviet Officer range – all names which evoke the Revolution in these remarkable yet little-known locations. He is accompanied by two friends, author and lover of all things Russian, Cédric Gras, and the former Soviet mountaineering instructor, Nicolay Taran. Along the way, the author and his traveling companions observe the traces left by the former USSR on daily life here, and they listen to the memories of the populations who live in the Pamirs, whether Kyrgyz nomads on the high plateaus or Ismailis in the valleys. For Sylvain Tesson, the journey will serve as a source of inspiration for his future writing.

Octobre blanc: Sylvain Tesson sur les sommets de la révolution

Les îles Eparses avec Sylvain Tesson

The medium that gives voice to those who have no voice is radio. In northern Iraq, seven young journalists, Muslims, Christians and Yezidis, are giving their microphones to those who want peace. They work for Radio Al-Salam, a station free from political and religious influences. In total freedom, voices are raised on the airwaves and bring back the link within a nation.