109 Below tells a tale of resilience and grit when rescue volunteers go to save the lives of strangers. An attempted rescue on Mount Washington in 1982 changed not only the course of two climbers’ lives, but the lives of the rescuers who attempted to save them — and the future of prosthetics, forever.
An artist's sculpture is burnt down, a protester is charged with a criminal case, and a democracy movement is violently attacked. In the United States, three Chinese dissidents fight for democracy against a superpower through art, petition, and grassroots organizing, but not even exile is safe.
Discrimination, body shaming & violence. This is ballet in 2024. But a group of defiant dancers, survivors of industry abuse, want to form a radical, diverse company that opens its doors to others who have also suffered abuse, and gives these talented, traumatized survivors a chance to fight back, on stage. They find a run-down studio, and Chase Johnsey, a gender-fluid dance insurgent, to direct them. But, they have no money, no reputation, and Chase has never directed before. The dancers are brave, but young and deeply fragile. They must confront their traumas and find belief if they are ever to retake the stage. It is a journey of pain, hope, and above all resistance -to fight for justice, change lives, and create groundbreaking, liberated ballet- one choreographed step at a time.
1986 was a special year in the development of hip-hop. The Dutch TV documentary BIG FUN IN THE BIG TOWN captured this on film. And 15-year-old Pascal Garnier was immediately fascinated by New York’s young rap celebrities. Almost 40 years later, with the assistance of Bill Adler - the former publicist of the legendary Def Jam label - he tracked down the artists of that time. Roxanne Shanté, DMC and Def Jam’s creative director Cey Adams reminisce and also talk about their current lives. In his grandmother’s house, hip-hop icon LL Cool J talks about the meaning of “I Need Love”. Pure emotion - for viewers and everyone involved.
How do you cover a war in your own country? We spent two years with journalists from Ukraine's public broadcaster and saw how Russia's invasion transformed their profession and changed their beliefs. Broadcast on 5/4/2024
After ABBA won Eurovision in 1974 Sweden was tasked with hosting it the next year. This documentary tells the story of that production and places it in the social and political context of Sweden in 1975 and a music scene that was anything but supportive of the endeavour.
50-year-old Romanian Sadina Lungu is a 24-hour caregiver. She has been looking after 85-year-old Mrs. Pöschl in Bad Vöslau for years. Sadina's life is monotonous and exhausting. Loneliness gnaws at her. Fitness exercises, smoking and online conversations with family and friends in Romania help her get through the days. For 14 years now, Sadina has endured three to five months at a time before she can go home for a month to be with her loved ones, whom she supports financially, and do what she wants to do.
With her long assignments, Sadina is a rare phenomenon in the industry. How does Sadina manage her life away from home? What does she do to combat the danger of alienation from home? How does she manage to stay with herself in the face of various physical and mental challenges and get something out of life herself?
China’s presence in Rwanda has gone beyond construction and investment. Today, icons, such as Jackie Chan and Donnie Yen, have sparked a growing fascination for Chinese sports and culture. Kung Fu: Made in Rwanda follows the journey of two martial artists as they go the extra mile to immerse themselves in the culture.
About the passion and perseverance of Tam Nguyen, a refugee from Vietnam who came to Canada in the ‘80s as part of the Vietnamese “boat people” and used his masterful tailoring skills to craft a new life for himself and many others.
Piirissaar is a tiny Estonian island in Lake Peipus, on the very border of Russia. The Russian Old Believers who inhabited the island appeared here 300 years ago, during the Great Northern War, fleeing from the religious reforms in the Orthodox Church and to avoid being mobilized in the Russian army. As the waves have washed the island smaller and smaller, the community here has also fused over time, inevitably reaching the brink of extinction. However, the local culture and sense of life that developed in isolation from the rest of the “Russian world” has not yet completely disappeared from Piiriissaar.
Astronomers look through telescopes and see that the universe has a structure — it’s shaped like a web. Slime mold researchers look through microscopes and see that the tiny organisms form similar patterns. In their quest of discovering the nature of things, they both show the beauty of curiosity.
At last it can be told! The sickening saga of Exhumed, from the band's formation, early years and subsequent hiatus, through their resurgence in 2011 and onward - this fetid fable has been decades in the making. Chock-full of never-before-seen interviews, photos, and video clips, this is the band in their own words and in the raw.