Jail Babies / 2013
#Russia

These babies aren't criminals, but they still live behind bars. Their mothers have been convicted of fraud, drug offences or theft and gave birth in prison. Mothers are only able to spend the first three years with their children. After that, the toddlers and mothers are separated.

While Russia's penal system allows mothers to be in special cells with their children all the time, not everyone wants the opportunity. A mother who is taking care of her child is not allowed to smoke. Some mothers choose a cigarette over being with their baby all the time.

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Fisher of Men / 2019
#Tunisia

Hundreds of migrants had gone missing at sea in 2021. Every year, migrants risk their lives crossing the Mediterranean Sea to Europe on flimsy boats. Tunisian fishermen have got used to spotting dead bodies. One former fisherman, Chamseddine Marzoug, has decided to give drowned migrants a decent burial in his makeshift ‘cemetery of the unknown’. The documentary tells the story of Chamseddine, migrants attempting the dangerous voyage and young Tunisians getting ready for it.

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Winter in Yakutia, Russia’s coldest region / 2022
#Russia

Journalist Erick Zarate explores Yakutia, Russia’s coldest region, where temperatures often hit -70C. Officially called the Republic of Sakha, it’s the largest Russian region. It lies off the beaten path and can be slightly intimidating for tourists. However, Yakutia is a hub of the Russian North’s ancient traditions, beliefs and crafts, as it is home to several indigenous peoples - Yukaghirs, Evenks, Dolgans, Chukchi and Sakha. Erick enjoys a warm welcome, tries on traditional deerskin boots, receives a shaman’s blessing and hits the road. Check out his incredible journey across Yakutia.

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Art at the Stake / 2018
#Afghanistan

During the Taliban's reign in the late 1990s, fashion, music, and cinema were banned. After the Islamists were ousted by a US invasion in 2001, it took years for the Afghan art scene to revive. A group of Afghan designers and models was brave enough to shoot in the streets, displaying traditional garments and talking about their mission.

When they were being filmed for the Art at the Stake documentary in 2018, the artists received threats and insults from people who considered their work ‘un-Islamic’. With the Taliban silencing cultural expression once again, will the country’s artistic scene survive?

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War Correspondents / 2022
#Donbass

“Every time you pack up before a trip, you think… 'Maybe this will be the last time? How many times can I get lucky?’ How many times do you get to slip by, just a minute or 30 seconds before it happens?” says Murad Gazdiev, a war correspondent, famous for his reports from the most dangerous hot zones in Syria and Donbass. Filming under fire offers no second chances to remake footage, this is why only the most experienced journalists become war correspondents. The documentary captures their everyday life in Donbass. What makes the reporters stay and keep working despite the suffering and danger they have to face every day?

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My Homeless Christmas / 2016
#UK

Some 227,000 people in the UK are homeless. Many of them sleep rough. Journalist James Brown conducts an experiment to discover what it’s like to be homeless, especially during holidays. Christmas is about home, family and warmth, but the festive time is just another reminder of loneliness for thousands of Britons stuck in the streets. Brown spends a day as a homeless person in London, one of the world’s wealthiest cities. He attempts panhandling and sleeps on cardboard. He also meets homeless Londoners and those who managed to get off the streets. Check out the video for more about the physical and mental consequences of homelessness, as well as ways to help the homeless this Christmas.

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EVALI: Vapes of Death / 2021
#USA

Can vaping kill you? In 2020, 68 people died from a vaping-related lung disease called EVALI in the US alone. Nearly 3,000 cases have been reported since 2019. Alex from Provo, Utah, was lucky not to die. He spent three terrifying weeks on life support. His lungs failed after he tried a new vape juice. Alex’s parents thought he was on his deathbed.

Now Alex and his family want his case to become a cautionary tale, as 1 in 5 Americans ages 18 to 29 use vape products. While health experts are trying to determine what exactly causes the illness, vape proponents still claim it’s less harmful than smoking tobacco and helps smokers quit.

What’s true and what’s myth about vaping? Alex, health officials and vape proponents share their views in this documentary.

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Cleaning the Arctic / 2022
#Russia

'This place has magnetic attraction. Many people who’ve been here return again and again. It may look devastated, a sad sight, but there’s something special about it', says Mikhail Makarov, Head of Murmansk Marine Biological Institute. Right after graduation he went to Dalnie Zelentsy, a rural locality in Russia's Arctic. For almost 40 years Mikhail and his colleagues research how plastic breaks down into trace elements and how fragile Arctic nature can be protected from microplastics spreading further into the sea, contaminating natural resources. Scientists try to find bacteria that can eat plastic. What have they come up with so far?

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The Other Korea / 2019
#NorthKorea

A foreign journalist arrives in the world’s most secretive country for its 70th anniversary celebrations. She tries to get a sneak peek at ordinary life in North Korea, filming what she can. How much do North Koreans earn? What’s the internet like in such an isolated country? What can they buy in supermarkets? This video has the answers!

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Bosnia: Victims of Jihad / 2022
#Yugoslavia #Serbia #Bosnia

'Most died on their own doorsteps, blindly believing in a brotherhood that was all but gone by then, that their neighbours would not callously attack and kill them,' says Vladan Radić, secretary of the Bratunac veterans organisation, speaking about Serbs who were taken by surprise and attacked by Bosnian Muslims in 1992. Almost three decades after the war, the jihadists responsible for the atrocities are walking free, while the Serbs are blamed for the tragedy. How could this happen, and what is the full story of the Bosnian War?

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I am a Female Bodyguard / 2021
#Russia

Women can work as bodyguards too! They’re as trained and agile as male bodyguards, and more and more clients are hiring women for personal protection. Female bodyguards aren’t conspicuous and don’t draw attention. The documentary takes a look at why some women choose this non-traditional career path and hears from male skeptics who believe women aren’t fit for this profession.

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He Traded a Paperclip for a House / 2021
#Russia

Ruslan, a blogger from a small Siberian town, sets out on a quest of trading a paperclip for a house! Inspired by Canadian Kyle McDonald, Ruslan has to be creative. Starting with a red paperclip, he made some lucky exchanges, each one getting him a step closer to his dream. Follow his journey as he quits his job, moves to a bigger city, gets a job offer and welcomes his baby daughter into the world. Will he be able to trade a paperclip for a house?

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Bolshoi: Pas de Brazil / 2019
#Brazil

Ballet training is prestigious and expensive, but the refined art can be accessible even for those who grew up in slums, like Rio’s Complexo de Alemao. In Brazil, the iconic Bolshoi Theatre, the world’s greatest ballet company, runs the only ballet school outside Russia. Talented children from all over Brazil can go through a rigorous eight-year program to become world class ballet dancers. This documentary shows some of the students and their daily routine at the ballet school and graduates already performing with the world’s best companies.

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Babel Village / 2016
#Russia

Nikola-Lenivets is the biggest art park in Europe. It was built around a tiny village in the Kaluga region with the help of renowned artists and local residents. Art objects, peculiar wooden sculptures, and idyllic green fields are absolutely worth the 200-km trip from Moscow.

Mastermind Nikolay Polissky decided to stop painting oil landscapes and turn those very landscapes into pieces of art. He asked village residents to help him build 200 snowmen. Then he convinced them to build a gigantic Tower of Babel made of hay. Next came a wicker tower adorned with zucchinis. For the past 20 years, Nikolay and local craftsmen have been experimenting with art forms as part of the landscape. And everyone seems to love it.

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Ivan and the Wolf / 2019
#Russia

When Ivan from Russia was offered a wolf cub to adopt, he agreed without giving it a second thought. Otherwise, the tiny animal would’ve been killed. Ivan brought the wolf to live with him in a one-room flat he shared with his daughter and their two dogs.

So Ivan started a blog to raise some money for the expensive meat his wolf is partial to devouring in large quantities. The blog was apparently so successful that it allowed Ivan and his pack to move to a country house, where the wolf will be able to roam in a spacious enclosure.

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K-Pop: Under the Knife / 2020
#SouthKorea

One in four South Korean girls aged 19-29 have had plastic surgery. Double eyelids, bigger lips, a nicer chin, a thinner nose, a more defined jawline, higher cheek bones – South Korean plastic surgeons can perform any cosmetic operation.

Beauty and success in life are married in South Korean society to such an extent that parents will give their kids plastic surgery as a gift. No wonder cosmetic procedures go hand in hand with the K-pop industry and its own aesthetic.

While not everyone openly admits to having surgery, the SixBomb K-pop band has turned it into their thing. Members of the girl band went under the knife as part of an advertising campaign for their group and a surgical clinic. The girls never tried to hide this and openly told us what they didn’t like about their appearances.

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