Sleepy Hollow, Kazakhstan / 2014
#Kazakhstan

In a small Kazakh village, people suddenly fall asleep and don’t wake up for days. Since 2013, residents have been complaining of sleepiness, hallucinations and memory loss. The inexplicable sleeping sickness epidemic has gripped the village, forcing locals to flee and scientists to scratch their heads.

If you try to wake up an affected person, it seems they can’t open their eyes. Researchers are trying to work out what’s causing the sleeping sickness. From mass psychosis to food poisoning, they’ve put forward various theories. More recently, they were looking into groundwater contamination by the uranium mines.

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Free to Be Yourself / 2018
#Indonesia

Arseny had been involved in extreme sports for years. Snowboarding, surfing, skateboarding - he’d done it all. ‘I was dreaming of conquering every mountain, every wave,’ Arseny says. His life changed dramatically one day on the way to work when he lost his leg in a motorcycle accident. Determined to keep living life to the fullest, he heads to Bali to catch a wave. Surfing instructor Nikita is willing to help him.

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Danceducation / 2019
#Ghana

Students adore their teacher, Percy Jackson. Instead of giving boring lessons, he makes children dance. ‘When we go to church, we are dancing, when we go to a funeral, we are dancing, even in bed we are dancing, because it’s part of us. So what is wrong when we use it as a tool in class?’

Percy encourages his students to study and overcome fears of teachers and their failures. His unconventional teaching method has already made him a local celebrity. Check out his story and learn what dance means in the Ghanaian culture in the documentary.

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📍Russia RETREATS: Mistake or MANOEUVRE?

⚡UKRAINIANS tried to KILL Italian journalist and BLAME Russians!

☄ WHO are the new TROOPS on the move to PACIFY Kiev?

❗Watch ALL special military operation UPDATES in Military Wave channel!

Follow: https://news.1rj.ru/str/militarywave

Girl Power: Hindi Style / 2021
#India

Sampat Pal is dressed in a bright pink sari and armed with a bamboo stick. She’s the leader of the Pink Gang, an all-women vigilante group that fights domestic violence. Sampat teaches members of the Pink Gang self-defence and helps them fight for their rights. Over one million women from all over India have joined the Gang in search of support and safety.

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Saviour St. / 2017
#ElSalvador

El Salvador is one of the five most dangerous countries in the world, according to the UN. Gang violence is endemic in the country, with MS-13 and Barrio 18 gangs notorious far beyond El Salvador. Many see no choice in life but to join the criminal world. Few take up a different path - ex-gang members and youth find refuge with volunteer ambulance corps.

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Spyfall / 2021
#Syria

Eli Cohen was an Egyptian-born Jewish Mossad agent. He was deployed as a spy to Damascus where he successfully lived in the guise of a Syrian businessman. He was thought responsible for missions that could shape the fate of the whole region. Using his connections, Cohen visited military bases and outposts and gathered intelligence ‘that saved Israel many brigades’ during the 1967 war, according to former prime minister Levi Eshkol. A mysterious film discovered in a Moscow flat 60 years later provides a glimpse of the spy war in the region in the 1960s.

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Breaking Bread / 2022
#world

Up to 49 million people in 46 countries are knocking at famine’s door, according to UN food agencies. Grains and oil seeds can’t get to countries most dependant on others for food, especially in Africa. World leaders are blaming Moscow for the hunger crisis, claiming it deliberately creates shortages. However, Western sanctions imposed on Black Sea ports and Russian ships are stopping Russia from exporting food and fertiliser. The documentary explores the real reasons behind a looming food crisis.

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Esports. Tapping for Glory / 2021
#Russia

Playing video games and getting paid for it sounds like a dream job, but for a small number of top cyber athletes it’s a dream come true. They train hard to compete in big tournaments. Elite players can earn as much as conventional sportsmen, while championships bring more spectators than a Beyonce concert. This documentary explores how video games have evolved into a thriving industry that’s only expected to explode over time.

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Moldova’s Survival Games / 2022
#Moldova

Every year, about 3,000 people leave Moldova, one of the poorest countries in Europe. Inflation is off the charts, while wage and pension aren’t keeping up. At the same time, Moldovans are at a crossroads over common national identity. While some eye closer relations with the EU and even unification with Romania, others risk being left out.

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No Woman, No Crime / 2015
#Israel

Some Israeli men feel women have become too empowered, and gender equality has turned into repression. They say accusations of sexual harassment have become a tool to manipulate and intimidate men. If a woman makes false accusations of sexual assault, it's up to a man to prove it’s not true. A woman who fabricates allegations faces no legal repercussions and risks nothing, while a man's reputation can be destroyed. Men who have been victimised by lies share their stories in the documentary.

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Women Built This City / 2019
#Colombia

On the outskirts of Cartagena, Colombia, there is a unique place called the ‘City of Women’. It’s a close-knit community of some hundred homes built entirely by women for women.

They were forced to flee their homes by the brutal conflict between guerrillas, paramilitaries and government forces. Over the decades, more than seven million people have been internally displaced, half of them women.

Throughout the conflict, the female population has suffered sexual violence, slavery, and exploitation. The documentary shows how women are rebuilding their lives in a place they built themselves.

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Operation Ukraine: Crime without Punishment / 2022
#Ukraine #Donbass

Kiev has carried out numerous war crimes against civilians in Donbass. The Western media has kept silent or put blame on Russia. In the documentary, investigative journalists trace back major attacks on Donbass civilian residents perpetrated by the Kiev authorities.

The film also shows how nationalist battalions became part of the Ukrainian Army and why the Western media turn a blind eye to Kiev’s war crimes.

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Children of the Schism / 2012
#Russia

For Russian Old Believers, resisting civilization’s impact has been the way of life for centuries. Since their ancestors strongly rejected Orthodox reform introduced in the 17th century they have dedicated themselves to protecting their traditions. They had to flee to the most secluded retreats. Their last haven was in Latin America, but they have returned to start anew in Russia’s Far East. Are they thriving in their newfound motherland?

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Fine Art of Reconciliation / 2016
#Colombia

The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC had been fighting the government since 1964. Around 40% of 20,000 FARC guerrillas were women, many of them were recruited as teenagers from rural areas. Women in the FARC gave up their families and children to continue their revolutionary struggle. In 2016, rebels signed a historic peace pact with the government. The documentary examines the life of female rebels in their jungle hideouts, as they share personal stories of why they took up arms and what they expect from peace.

Check out their stories on International Day of Peace. While there’s still a long road to peace in Colombia, the peace agreement represented a step towards ending a decades-long conflict.

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The Seal Empire under Threat / 2022
#Russia

The Steller sea lion is a mighty and ferocious creature, which can easily kill a human. Yet, humans are the reason this animal is on the brink of extinction. Plastic garbage near the ocean's coastline kills hundreds of lions, as they get tangled in ropes and fishing nets, eventually strangling themselves in a year or two.

Local Sakhalin ecology activists try to save the sea lions, but they face different obstacles and dangers on the way. Not only do they put their lives at risk interacting with these powerful creatures, they also have to power through bureaucratic roadblocks with a lack of funds. Yet, they don’t give up. Watch our new film to get the big picture of the problem.

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Stolen Brides, Stolen Lives / 2021
#Kyrgyzstan

In Kyrgyzstan, women are sometimes kidnapped by their future husbands. Some would say it's romantic, but it's anything but romantic for most victims of these forced marriages. A total stranger or a stalker may kidnap a woman - who previously tried to avoid this person - and take her into his family's home.

The practice is called 'ala-kachu', which translates 'take and run'. It's illegal and punishable by up to 10 years in prison and a fine. However, traditions persist, and cases go unreported. The documentary is a follow-up to the film, Brides by Force.

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Going with the Floe / 2019
#Arctic

On the 80th parallel north, there’s not much life. It’s a vast icy desert with the occasional polar bear in the distance. Nevertheless, Russian researchers have been travelling nearly to the top of the world since 1937 to collect data from the Arctic region.

They used to land on an old thick ice floe to live and work on it for almost a year. Then, they slowly drifted across the Arctic ocean. But warmer temperatures mean the ice cover is melting rapidly. So expeditions had to be evacuated after the ice gave way under their drifting stations.

They’ve come up with the ‘ship and ice’ polar station when researchers work on the ice but can retreat to the safety of a vessel. Join an expedition aboard the Akademik Tryoshnikov in the documentary.

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