Russians Cancelled / 2022
#Russia #notonyourtv

“Why don’t you drop dead, damn Muscovites?!” This is the new reality Russian people are getting used to in Europe. The aggression is so intense Russians can be verbally abused or even physically assaulted for speaking Russian.

This massive wave of russophobia is what Russians in the West have dealt with for the past two months. And it has no exceptions: everyone, from an elementary school kid to an embassy worker, can become a target. As a result, Russian truckers have their tires slashed, Russian students notice their grades dropping for no reason, and people lose their jobs. What the new reality for Russians abroad looks like — watch our premiere of Russians Cancelled.

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Voodoo Brides / 2022
#Benin

Voodoo is shrouded in mystery; its secrets are carefully kept behind the walls of traditional voodoo monasteries. In Benin, children are sent to these convents to learn voodoo traditions and language. But staying in a monastery can last months and years before parents can pay for a special release ceremony. As a result, children miss out on school and often live under appalling conditions. While some are trying to change the custom of sending children to voodoo monasteries, others claim tradition must be preserved.

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Hikikomori Loveless / 2018
#Japan

Ito is a hikikomori. He voluntarily confined himself to his bedroom and has no intention — or energy — of leaving it for days on end. Instead, he spends time listening to music, playing video games and surfing the internet. According to a 2019 survey, there was nearly a million hikikomori in Japan. Clinicians in Japan classify this as a psychological disorder. So what drives them to become modern era hermits? Do they come back to the world? Is this phenomenon only relative to Japan?

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Julian Assange / 2020
#US

Julian Assange is one step closer to being extradited to the US. A seven-minute hearing at Westminster Magistrates’ Court ended in issuing an extradition order. The WikiLeaks founder is facing espionage charges. He has a right to appeal, but the British Home Secretary will finally decide in May.

Some see Julian Assange as a free press champion, and others consider him a dangerous maverick. The WikiLeaks founder has been in the spotlight for a decade, most of it holed up inside Ecuador’s Embassy in London. Assange is currently in a London prison and intends to seek the cancellation of extradition. US authorities want Assange for allegedly spying and conspiring to hack government computers. If convicted, he could face 175 years behind bars.

This film is about Assange’s personality through the prism of his father, friends, lawyer and those who worked with him. People who know him help give a valuable insight into his activities.

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Me and My Lions / 2021
#SouthAfrica

Everyone has a hobby, and Aleksey likes hanging out with lions. So much so that this Russian biologist sold his Moscow apartment to buy eight lions. They were about to be put down or become victims of canned hunting — a popular pastime in South Africa. So he moved to South Africa to be close to his pets. He feeds them and works two jobs to rent out a home for them. A new threat loomed when life seemed to get back on track: the South African government decided to put down all captive-bred lions. Aleksey and other enthusiasts are trying to find ways to rescue them.

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How the Criminal World of Sextortion Works - The Dark Web

Beauty and the Bleach / 2018
#Senegal

According to the WHO, 27% of Senegalese women use skin lightening products which can potentially kill them. Lighter skin means a happier life and a good marriage for these women. At least, that’s what beautiful light-skinned models from the billboards are telling them. Pharmacies are eager to come to girls’ “rescue”. They offer pills and skin-lightening creams but rarely warn their buyers of the dangerous side effects. As a result, they get a severe skin infection, often leading to septicaemia and eventual death. These products have long been banned worldwide, but the desire to show off a little lighter skin overpowers common sense.

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Brick Slaves / 2021
#Bangladesh

In Bangladesh, millions of men, women, and children work in brick factories. They make bricks by hand, risking their health — exposure to harmful red dust causes bronchitis and other lung diseases, and corporal punishment — any complaints are answered with a beating. Workers toil through the dry season before the rains kick in. Brick production also inflicts severe damage to the environment. Factories generate millions of tons of greenhouse gases. Yet, as the county is urbanising, the demand for bricks is still high, and the chances of solving the problem are slim.

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Deadly Waters / 2019
#Indonesia

The Citarum River in Indonesia is known as the world’s dirtiest river. It’s the main waterway for 20 million people living along its banks. Toxic wastewater from hundreds of factories, household trash and sewage, have turned the river into a giant septic tank.

Locals have to rely on the Citarum for drinking water, fish, and rice field irrigation despite health hazards.

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Donbass: I'm Alive / 2022
#Ukraine #Donbass #notonyourtv

“What are they doing? Making a human shield! They hid behind old men! Idiots! Damned Ukraine! It makes me so angry!” Mariupol residents who had to hide in the cellar during Ukrainian shelling share their stories. Over 400,000 people in Mariupol had to go underground because they weren’t allowed outside the city by the Ukrainian units.

The film features stories of courage and perseverance people displayed in crisis. For example, a Russian soldier drives under gunfire to distribute humanitarian aid; a volunteer from Texas helps reunite families separated during the evacuation. A courageous OB-GYN helps 25 women give birth during the bombing.

Where did they find the courage, and what awaits them? Find the answers in 'Donbass: I’m Alive' documentary.

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The Good, the Bad and the Loco / 2017
#Bolivia

Bright skirts, braided hair and bowler hats are a typical outfit of a Bolivian Cholita fighter. Although cute and small, they pack a hefty punch. Bolivia’s indigenous women have taken Mexican-style Lucha libre and turned it into their thing.

Cholitas hurl each other over their shoulders and bounce around the ring in their traditional dresses. It’s spectacular entertainment that draws crowds of locals and tourists. But there is more to the spectacle - staged fights are a living for many and social empowerment of indigenous women.

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Love Commandos / 2017
#India

Much like Romeo and Juliet, Indian couples who have married against their parent’s wishes often face violence or death. In some places in India, it still matters what caste you belong to. So much so - marrying outside your caste is considered a blow to your family’s reputation.

Star-crossed lovers dare to marry, and if they face revenge from angry relatives, volunteers from Love Commandos step in.

So who are these protectors of lovebirds?

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The Virgins / 2016
#Albania

There is a medieval Albanian tradition that allows women to live as men. If there were no more male heirs in a family, women could take on the role of patriarch. They are called burrneshas, or sworn virgins. A burrnesha gains men’s rights, rejects femininity, and takes an oath of celibacy.

The custom is rare these days, with women enjoying more freedom. Only a few dozen burrneshas remain in the remote highlands of Albania, and it’s a real challenge to find them.

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Fast Forward to Fascism / 2022
#Ukraine #Donbass #notonyourtv

“For eight years, they’ve been on this path to dehumanise Russians and sever all ties,” says journalist Iskander Khisamov. There is a misconception that neo-Nazi ideology has emerged in Ukraine suddenly, by accident, but it’s not true. It’s been growing for years, nurtured by western curators and supported by western funds.

By the beginning of the Maidan, an entire network of neo-nazi units was already up and running in Ukraine. Still, they weren’t prosecuted by the Ukrainian government. Military and ‘terrorist’ units dispersed and showed up at anti-Maidan meetings in Ukrainian cities and threatened the Russian-speaking population. Nationalists have been taught how to lead a campaign on social media, launching a guided communication battle against the Russian people.

Watch our Fast Forward to Fascism documentary to look into the origins of neo-Nazism in Ukraine.

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Undermined / 2018
#Bolivia

Nearly a million Bolivian children work. Child labour is seen as a tradition and was legalised in 2014. The legal working age is 10. Child workers can even sign a contract when they turn 12.

Child vendors and child cleaners are common. They’d love to study more to pursue their dream careers in medicine, academia or finance, but they must support their families. Breadwinners or exploited kids?

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I married a hologram / 2021
#Japan

Akihiko Kondo and Hatsune Miku are a happily married couple like many others…except Miku is a hologram, and Akihiko is a living-breathing human being. Akihiko is fictosexual, meaning he’s attracted to fictional characters.

Miku is a popular virtual pop singer and idol in Japan. Her husband owns all forms of his beloved Miku: a $2,700 hologram box, stuffed toys and life-size dolls. Akihiko is aware that his union may seem strange to the majority, but fictional love is becoming more accepted.

But their marriage hit a roadblock, as a software company that supported Miku's hologram recently discontinued its service. 😢

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