Universal Dostoevsky / 2022
#USA

Fyodor Dostoevsky was a great Russian novelist whose masterpieces still inspire readers worldwide.

They learn Russian to read Dostoevsky’s novels in his native language and turn his works into pieces of art and performances.

Some of Dostoevsky’s fans re-invent his novels with the help of rap, allusions and video in the Dostoevsky Games, a contest for students at Duke University, North Carolina.

It is among the leading centres in the US for studying Dostoevsky and has a powerful Russian language, cultural, and academic tradition.

June 6 marks Russian Language Day. Celebrate it with the documentary Universal Dostoevsky.

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Marijuana Victims: Colorado / 2021
#USA

Can marijuana be dangerous and even deadly? Johnny Stack was only 19 when he took his own life.

His parents blame recreational marijuana that flooded Colorado’s many marijuana shops. Johnny had used marijuana since the age of 14, abusing high-THC concentrates, such as wax, oil and shatter.

In 2012, Colorado became the first state to legalise recreational pot. Since then, it has become more acceptable and legal in 18 more states.

In 2020, an estimated 3.43 million used recreational cannabis. But the cannabis they’re consuming is far more potent than joints passed around at Woodstock. Cannabis has become a lucrative business claiming lives.

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Sailing Seven Seas / 2021 🌊
#world

A group of four Siberian men take a voyage around the world in an inflatable catamaran that one of them designed.

This is not a movie plot but a real-life story. The crew members are engineers, extreme sports enthusiasts, and scholars. Their route is not for the fainthearted – they set off from Thailand, sail across the Indian Ocean, and reach South Africa. Then across the Atlantic to Brazil and a year to cross the Pacific.

The skipper, Anatoly, even earned the right to wear a silver ring in his ear for navigating the treacherous waters around the Cape of Good Hope.

The crew carefully documented life on the catamaran – how they slept, cooked, bathed, and remained sane during their trip without a roof.

Connect with nature in this documentary to mark World Oceans Day!

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Argentina’s Stolen Children / 2015
#Argentina

Juan Cabandie was 25 when he learned that all his life, he had lived under a false identity and with a family that had stolen him.

His abductor adopted Juan - a man who served with the federal police intelligence service during the military rule in Argentina in the 1970s.

He was one of some 500 babies taken by the Argentinian junta that ruled the country from 1976 to 1983. Political dissidents were kidnapped, tortured and killed, while their children were given away to childless families who worked for the military regime.

For decades, grandmothers of the ‘stolen children’ sought justice. So far, they have identified more than 120 people.

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Football Beasts / 2018
#Europe

Modern football hooliganism originated in England in the 1960s, when working-class football fans organised into gangs, known as ‘firms’. Now they are all over Europe, from Sweden to Greece. Hooligans are seen as the most fanatical followers of their football clubs, but the love of the fight often seems to outweigh the love of the game.

Many hooligans admit they like the sense of brotherhood and the buzz. They train, arrange fights with rival gangs and vent all their rage and violence on rivals. For more about the culture of football violence, check out Football Beasts.

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Denis Vashurin features in the following documentary. Look at his photo and guess how old Denis is.

Eternal Boy / 2021
#Russia

Denis is 33 but looks 13. A rare genetic disease has left him with a childlike face and an adolescent’s body. A pituitary gland problem prevents Denis from looking his age, but not from living life to the fullest.
Denis has a job at a power station. He’s in a long-term relationship and a keen hunter. Although Denis has to put up with insensitivity from outsiders and answer questions like ‘Aren’t you too young to drive a car?’, he is wise beyond his years. Denis is just an old soul trapped in a young body.

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The Ugly Face of Beauty / 2016
#India

Mica is what makes your eyeshadow and lipsticks shine and shimmer. It’s a natural mineral that can be found in India’s Jharkhand State. It has the world’s largest mica deposits, which are of high quality and in high demand.

Mica production was once a thriving industry but was made illegal in the 1980s. Nowadays, it’s a business where child labour is rife. They sell the mineral for around 30-50 cents per kilo - a sharp difference from the hundreds of dollars offered on the international market.

Child labourers toil away in abandoned mines, constantly risking cutting themselves from razor-sharp mica flakes and getting respiratory illnesses from inhaling dense mica dust. June 12 marks World Day Against Child Labour - watch the documentary, make informed decisions and learn if products you use are child-labour free.

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Imprisoned: The Man in a Tan Jacket / 2019
#USA

Otis Johnson was 69 when he got out of prison and re-entered a world that was very different from the one he remembered. Otis spent 40 years behind bars. When Otis was let out in Times Square, he gazed at people wearing headphones. Now he’s gradually getting used to video billboards, people dressing differently, premixed peanut butter and jelly and Ben & Jerry’s ice cream.

Otis was convicted of the attempted murder of a police officer - a crime he says he didn’t commit. Otis could’ve walked out 15 years sooner. All it took was to plead guilty, but he disagreed. Check out Otis’s amazing story in the documentary.

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Mariupol: A Homecoming / 2022
#Ukraine #Donbass #Mariupol

‘Today, we have the same situation in Ukraine that was in Germany in 1941, with the difference that Germany was in Europe and Ukraine is near Russia,’ says the Donetsk People’s Republic’s first defence minister, Igor Khakimzyanov. In 2014, he was captured and tortured by Azov nationalists. After the Maidan, Ukrainian nationalists occupied Mariupol clamping down on civilian unrest with the use of arms. They shot citizens and killed policemen who dared to oppose them, claiming that Mariupol was theirs.

In 2022 things changed. After 83 days of fierce city combat, Russian troops and Donbass militia managed to liberate the city. Since 16 May 2022, 2,439 soldiers have surrendered, while the rest of the Azov nationalists and Ukrainian army were trapped on the Azovstal plant. In our new film, you will learn the timeline, shocking witnesses of Mariupol residents and militia, and the story of great victory.

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You’re My Type / 2020
#Russia

Gosha, 11, survived leukaemia after a bone marrow transplant from a stranger. His donor, Rishat, didn’t even know whose life he was saving. Every day, bone marrow and stem cell donors save the lives of leukaemia and anaemia patients. Finding a suitable donor is like winning the lottery - the chances are 1 in 10,000. And since relatives aren’t always suitable, patients rely on a donor registry.

In Russia, with a population of 144 million people, there are nearly 100,000 potential donors. However, the chances of finding a donor in Russia are relatively low compared to Germany, which boasts almost nine million donors in its population of 80 million people.

June 14 marks World Blood Donor Day! Becoming a donor is a simple but selfless act - watch the documentary and learn more about it.

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Freegans of New York / 2021
#USA

Some people don’t buy their groceries in a supermarket. Instead, they get their food for free from a dumpster. It’s called ‘freeganism’, which is how people save food from waste. An astonishing 100 million tons of food go to waste in the US annually.

Join freegans on a dumpster diving trip around New York and hear more about their philosophy. Why let perfectly good food go uneaten?

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🎲 Food Waste Facts
What do you know about food waste? 🍎 Put your knowledge to the test!

🖊 5 questions · ⏱ 1 min

Зашто? (WHY?) / 2014
#Yugoslavia

Hundreds were killed, thousands injured, and parts of a city destroyed. In 1999, NATO launched airstrikes on Belgrade.

Operation Allied Force launched 2,300 missiles and dropped 14,000 bombs during the Kosovo campaign. Collateral damage included schools, libraries, hospitals and homes. The alliance blamed Belgrade for ‘excessive and disproportionate use of force’ in a conflict with an ethnic Albanian insurgency in Kosovo.

In ZASHTO (WHY?) American and Serbian journalists look at the legacy of NATO’s bombing of Yugoslavia and how it was portrayed in their countries

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Red Waters / 2014
#Denmark

Up to 1,000 pilot whales are killed for meat each year on Denmark’s Faroe Islands. Dozens of men in small boats drive the mammals into a bay and use hooks and knives to kill them. Called the grind, it’s a terrifying sight but also a centuries-old tradition. As a result, the Faroese are sometimes called the last barbarians of Europe.

While animal rights activists call for an end to the custom, the islanders say the grind is part of the Faroese identity. Is it culture or animal cruelty?

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Theatre of War / 2022
#Ukraine #Donbass #Donetsk

'Why should I move somewhere because of somebody? My soul is right there,' says Yuri Paramonenko, the chief conductor of the 'Donbass Opera' theatre. Like many Donbass performers, he didn’t leave his hometown when Ukrainian shelling started.

They performed on stage even when the bomb explosions shook the theatre. His orchestra continues to work, although some musicians were connoscripted into the DPR forces, and the talent shortage was critical. Nevertheless, the 'Donbass Opera' never intended to stop performing during the war and continues to brighten up Donbass people’s days now.

Today many dancers and singers serve in the ranks of the DPR forces. They share their stories in our new documentary

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The Immortals / 2016
#India

Ziona Chana from India had 39 wives and up to 94 children, making him the head of arguably the world’s largest family. They all lived under one roof in a pink four-storey house they built themselves in the foothills of the Indian Himalayas.

Not only did they live together, but they all also worshipped Ziona as their God. He was the leader of the ‘New Generation’ sect, whose members believed in immortality, practice polygamy and led a communal life.
Ziona died in 2021.

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