They scared off Mongols, impressed kings and turned a few individuals into heroes: fireworks. Their century-old career began as a weapon of war, but the higher and louder and more colourful they became, the more their centre of power shifted. Deployed by the Chinese as a secret weapon, fireworks went on to become the first visual mass medium and a force behind the progress of the Europeans: the incredible career of pyrotechnics.

WRITER: Tamar Baumgarten-Noort, Stefan Schneider     DIRECTOR: Stefan Schneider, Florian Breier     CAMERA: Martin Christ, Adnane Korchyou, Franz Lindinger, Torbjörn Karvang, Tobias Akly Manuel     EDITOR: Ramin Sabeti, Marie Wilbers     COMMISSIONING EDITOR: Tina Weimer (ZDF), Peter Allenbacher (Arte)