On Deck, Offline / 2018
#Russia

Set sail aboard one of the largest sailing ships in the world, the Kruzenshtern! Cadets from the Baltic State Fishing Fleet Academy leave home and family for their first big voyage.

Not only do trainees learn the ropes, but they also gain life lessons. Check out how young cadets master seafaring arts and navigate the North Sea.

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Madman of the Cathedral / 2016
#Spain

Former Spanish monk, Justo Gallego Martinez, spent 60 years building his own cathedral. But, according to Don Justo, he had no blueprint or even drawings in mind. Instead, he was relying on proportions and intuition.

Some considered Don Justo a saint; others say he was crazy. He started the construction after tuberculosis forced him to leave a Trappist order. The former monk devoted almost all his life and most of his family inheritance to the cathedral.

Don Justo’s cathedral wasn’t completed during his lifetime. He died at the age of 96 in 2021.

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Reaping Divine Justice / 2019
#SouthAfrica

Every year, on July 18, Mandela Day celebrates and commemorate the legacy of South Africa's first Black president. Nelson Mandela brought an end to the segregationist policies of the country’s apartheid system.

Unfortunately, racial disparities in income, jobs and land ownership remain. White South Africans, who make up just 8 percent of the population, still own 72% of all rural land.

In 2019, the ruling African National Congress wanted to redress historical injustices through land reform. Their plans, however, sparked heated debate and wave of violence against white-owned farms.

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Dr Donbass: Behind the Frontline / 2022
#Donbass

'Here’s our dressing station. This is the projectile’s landing spot. You can see it’s very close. So the distance is small, about 10-15 meters. Almost all hospital windows are broken. All the right wing. Fortunately, there were no casualties. Everything here happens with such rumblings,' says Ivan, a 25-year-old surgeon from Donbass. He came as a member of a group to provide medical assistance to the wounded and injured in action. He decided to become a surgeon in his 3rd year of medical school; this job was his chance to test his skills.

'The deaths that we’ve faced, that I faced myself, the guys died because…for different reasons. You realise that if we had one more hour, he would have been [alive]… And right now, because it happened that way, he’s gone. Life is a very fragile thing,' says Ivan.

Learn more stories about the heroic routine of Donbass doctors in Dr Donbass: Behind the Frontline

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Lady Cops of Afghanistan / 2020
#Afghanistan

Before the Taliban returned to power in Afghanistan in 2021, women were making steps forward. They were granted the right to work and education. Some even got jobs with the police despite relatives’ disapproval or threats from criminals.

This documentary tells the stories of Afghan women who chose to put their lives at risk to have an independent career in the police force.

With the Taliban crackdown on women, they have been losing jobs fast. So now girls are banned from going to school after the sixth grade, while women aren’t allowed to leave home ‘without necessity’.

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Ranil Wickremesinghe has been elected the new president of Sri Lanka.

A week ago, Gotabaya Rajapaksa fled the country amid mass protests over the worst economic crisis in 70 years. So what has been happening in Sri Lanka?

Watch the video on the Docu Hub YouTube channel to find out more.

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I am Hunter / 2014
#Russia

The indigenous Chukchi people from the Chukotka Peninsula (west of Alaska) believe they come from whales. The life of the Chukchi revolves around hunting marine mammals - grey whales, seals and walruses. The men gather to go into the sea to ‘take’ food. The Chukchi don’t say ‘kill’.

Sea hunters spend days on the water, often risking their lives. But their job is in high demand. When hunters return with a catch, they share it with the community. They’re not allowed to sell it. Only 136 grey whales a year is a quota set for the Chukchi by the International Whaling Commission.

For more about Chukchi traditions, watch the documentary I am Hunter.

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Imprisoned: The Man with a Cigarette / 2019
#USA

Kenny Richey spent 21 and a half years waiting for the electric chair on death row. He was convicted of the murder by arson of a 2-year-old girl. Richey survived 13 execution dates, with one reprieve coming just an hour before his scheduled execution. He always maintained his innocence, and many human rights campaigners drew attention to Kenny’s case.

Some of the evidence in the investigation was eventually proven to be false, and Richey was released after accepting a plea deal. However, not everyone was convinced of his innocence upon Kenny’s release. His wife Karen claims the ex-con confessed to her he committed the crime.

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Ice Maiden / 2014
#Russia

Galina from Russia insists she doesn’t feel the cold. When everyone’ s wrapped up in sweaters and coats, she’s walking around in a beach dress and sandals…

She also eats raw squid and maintains a good mood at all times. She learned these practices from Dr. Vasily Makarov, the founder the ‘long lifer’ club, whose members must agree to live to over 100 and pay membership fees. The group makes use of charged water, positive vibes, and other longevity promoting methods that raise quite a few eyebrows.

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The Untamed Shrew / 2015
#Egypt

Sisa is a woman who pretended to be a man for more than 40 years. She was young and pregnant when her husband died. For an illiterate widow with a child in Egypt’s male-dominated society, Sisa had no choice but to remarry. But Sisa came up with a different way.

She shaved her head and started acting like a man. She was prepared to take any manual work. Now in her 60s, Sisa still works as a shoe shiner, runs a small kiosk in Luxor and remains the matriarch of her family.

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Azov’s Last Stand / 2022
#Donbass

'Azov deserves the death penalty. But not by a bullet, by hanging. Because they are not soldiers, not warriors,’ says Yashat standing near his destroyed house. He lived near the Azovstal plant with his family. They’ve been hiding in the basement from Azov attacks for over a month. It was not safe to leave shelter even at night. ‘We’d go outside at night. They [Azov] would see us from nine-storey buildings. They’d shoot our legs with bullets so we couldn’t reach the toilet… We lived like dogs.,’ recalls Irina, Yashat’s wife. More witnesses of Azov’s actions in our premiere Azov’s Last Stand

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Gone with the Wing / 2017
#Spain

A group of friends from Spain are addicted to BASE jumping and wingsuit flying. They soar in the air, through gorges, and over rivers and trees in their colourful, nylon costumes. Leaping off cliffs, mountains, and high-rises makes these adrenaline junkies feel ‘sheer explosions of joy’.

The sensation of freedom that comes from flying like a bird comes with a price. Even highly experienced jumpers sometimes pay for making a slight error with their lives. They lost three friends over four years, but the rest of the group won’t give up the sport.

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Cicadas v USA / 2021
#USA

Cicadas are the world’s loudest insects. When they’re around, they’re hard to ignore. But once every 17 years, their singing becomes as loud as 100 decibels - imagine standing just a few feet away from a lawn mower.

Periodical cicadas, known as Brood X, come out every 13 or 17 years. In 2021, billions of cicadas emerged in the eastern US. They had only a few weeks to find mates and reproduce.

Cicada fans, in the meantime, had fun, enjoyed chocolate-covered roast cicadas, made up songs and designed cicada-inspired artwork.

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Freeze divers / 2019
#Russia

Andrey Matveenko traded his accounting career in an office for records in freediving. After quitting his job, Andrey set multiple records by diving deeper than 100 metres. Then, having conquered warm seas, his friends dared Andrey to try it in cold water, under the ice.

Freediving is challenging in itself, as athletes plunge to great depths while holding their breath. Try doing that when the water is minus 2 degrees Celsius. Andrey took it to a different level and decided to break the world record of 71 metres.

🌍 Freeze Divers on rt.doc

Tough Love / 2016
#Vietnam

Phuc Tong from Vietnam made an unusual pact with God. He helps pregnant women in difficult situations and tries to talk them out of having an abortion. Then, if an expectant mother can’t take care of the child, Phuc Tong raises them as his own.

When he can’t save a baby, Phuc Tong gives aborted foetuses a proper burial, so they aren’t disposed of as trash. He built a cemetery for unborn children.

Vietnam has one of the highest abortion rates in Asia. Being pregnant out of wedlock carries a social stigma.

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Bad Blood / 2019
#UK

More than 4,000 with haemophilia in the UK contracted HIV or hepatitis C from contaminated blood products from the US in the 1970s and 1980s. Patients with a rare and severe disorder received the infected Factor VIII drug. It was later revealed it had been made using blood from high-risk paid donors, including prisoners and drug users.

July 28 marks World Hepatitis Day. Learn more about the contaminated blood scandal and why victims are still seeking justice decades later.

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Freed to Be Wild / 2020
#Russia

Birch forests in the Russian Far East are home to Amur tigers, the world’s largest tigers. They’re undisputed rulers of the wilderness, but their numbers are tiny. Up to 500 adult Amur tigers are left in the wild.

Pavel Fomenko, the head of WWF Russia’s rare species conservation branch, has been protecting tigers for 25 years. He was even attacked by a tiger once when it crashed through a chain-link fence. Despite the disfiguring scars he still bears on his face and shoulder, the conservationist remains undeterred

Celebrate International Tiger Day with the documentary, Freed to Be Wild! It shows three conservation enthusiasts from Russia who help save endangered species.

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Virus Whisperer / 2020
#USSR

Lev Zilber fought the plague epidemic in the USSR, discovered a tick-borne encephalitis vaccine, developed a cure for pellagra and put forward the theory of viral cancer. But instead of awards, Zilber was arrested and sent to labour camps as spy mania swept over the country at the time.

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No Fun in the Sun / 2018
#USA

Xerodermia pigmentosum (XP) sounds like a Harry Potter spell, but in reality, it’s a rare genetic disease. Patients with XP can’t stand sunlight and even some lightbulbs.

To go outside, they must be fully clothed, covering every part of the face and body. Avoiding the sun is difficult, but XP patients and their families don’t miss on experiences.

Camp Sundown is where children and grown-ups with XP can make friends and enjoy summer despite all precautions they need to take.

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