Granny Fight Club / 2017
#Kenya

There’s a bizarre superstition popular among young men in Nairobi’s biggest slum. They believe having sex with an older woman can cure HIV and lift curses. Elderly women, known as shushus, walk in the streets in fear that they’ll fall victim to rape.

A local woman conducts training sessions that teach the grannies to hit back and say ‘NO’. These self-defence classes empower women to feel confident and stand their ground, while giving them a respite from their daily chores.

Besides sexual assaults on seniors, the neighbourhood suffers from rampant HIV and endemic poverty, with most people living on less than a dollar a day.

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Witch-hunt in Congo / 2023
#Congo

“I could not believe it was a plan to kill my mother. I thought, 'Let's run if they're planning murder'. They coordinated the murders with the commandant. He gathered a group and promised them beer. They spoke so calmly, like it was no big deal”, says Makuta Ngaundaundaunda Norper, a man from South Kivu, a Congolese province. His mother was accused of being a witch. After her husband died, his family tried to find a way to take over all the land and property. The accusation of witchcraft became a convenient excuse to get rid of an objectionable relative. To declare someone a sorcerer or a witch locals must address the Mujakazi. Who are they and why do they pretend to be prophets and messengers of God?

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Ebola: Surviving Survival / 2018
#SierraLeone

The Ebola virus is rare, but severe and deadly for humans. The first major Ebola outbreak occurred in Western Africa in 2014-2016, killing thousands of people. Ebola outbreaks still happen, with the most recent claiming lives of 55 people in Uganda.

But there’s an unexpected after effect of Ebola virus for survivors - stigmatisation. Communities often reject those who had Ebola out of fear that they still carry the infection. The outcasts lose their homes, work and families. The documentary shows this less talked-about side of the disease outbreaks.

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Water: Donetsk's Lifeline / 2023
#Donbass

‘Remember, this station is a priority target for the enemy. Hear the blasts? Ukrainians try to bomb this station to cut water for all of Donbass’, says Adrien Bocquet. Adrien is a ballistics expert, but he went to Donbass to work as an independent journalist. Adrian has already exposed the truth about Kiev’s fake news from Bucha. For that, Ukrainian nationalists attempted his murder, inflicting on him 38 knife wounds. However, it didn’t stop the journalist from returning to Donbass after recovering. Now he travels to the water reservoirs and dams to reveal that Ukrainian armed forces target infrastructure. As filtration and pumping stations across Donbass were shelled, people have been without water for almost a year and their only hope are volunteers. Tune in for the premier to see how these people supply water to the locals at their own peril.

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Brighton Beach, Back to USSR / 2020
#USA

Brighton Beach, or Little Odessa, is a microcosm of Russia in New York City. Its residents are mostly immigrants from the former Soviet Union who have preserved their culture and habits very well in Brooklyn.

If you walk into a local grocery store, you can find gingerbread from Tula, borscht, rye bread, and buckwheat. Apart from the tastes of home, Russian culture is readily apparent from the Cyrillic signs and newspapers, the goods in the markets, and even the fur coats worn by babushkas. Brighton Beach is also home to Runglish, a bizarre mixture of Russian and English.

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Back to Sleepy Hollow, Kazakhstan / 2015
#Kazakhstan

Kalachi is a small, sleepy rural village in Kazakhstan. But ’sleepy’ is much more than an idyllic denoscription, it’s literal! Dozens of villagers were affected by a mysterious illness that causes sufferers to drift off for days. Other effects are memory loss, weakness and headaches. The cause of the illness remained a mystery for months until researchers conducted medical examinations of all local residents. This video is the second part of the documentary, Sleepy Hollow, Kazakhstan.

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Fishing for Herself / 2016
#Russia

Do you ever dream of living like a hermit, far, far away? Anya, 30, lives a reclusive life on the remote Sakhalin Island at the far eastern end of Russia. Anya grew up in a children’s home and became a fisherwoman when she left. Apart from fishing, Anya is an avid hockey player and a cat enthusiast.

She stays aloof and shows resentment towards the people, especially women, who mistreated her in the past. However, her sullen shell conceals a sweet personality.

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(Atlantic) Ocean's Eighteen / 2014
#Russia

The Shtandart is a copy of the 1703 Peter the Great's frigate. Its crew is made up of people from different countries, professions and backgrounds. What they all have in common is a passion for adventure and a desire to challenge themselves. They have all decided to fulfil their dream of a maritime journey. The film features their voyage across the Atlantic Ocean.

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Europe Undone / 2022
#Russia #Europe

‘Look at the walls upstairs. There are cracks, and the blocks are separating. They have completely separated from the side walls’, says Dutch farmer Rixt Vellinga.

Her house has over 400 cracks and the façade of the house is badly tilted. There’ve been more than 1000 earthquakes in the area from the late 1980s, according to lead analyst at national energy security fund Igor Yushkov. A growing number of larger-scale earthquakes is caused by gas extraction from the Groningen field over last 30 years. The site had to be closed in 2022 but anti-Russian sanctions and following gas shortage led the Netherlands’ government to continue production. How can Groningen’s local citizens cope with the consequences of the energy crisis?

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Farming for Likes / 2018
#Russia

Anton and Alevtina live on a farm and film their daily life for their YouTube channel. The couple shares their tips on growing vegetables, milking cows or repairing a tractor with nearly 300,000 subscribers. But keeping a video blog is quite a challenge. It means constant filming and video editing on top of their daily chores. How do they manage it?

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Battle for Africa / 2023
#Africa

‘Allegedly, due to terrorist attacks carried out in Mali, Western countries came here to fight terrorism. However, the situation was deteriorating day by day: people were being killed, villages attacked, things were worsening’, says activist for cooperation between Mali and Russia Souleymane Traore. Since 2013 the French coalition tried to fight terrorism in Mali but locals saw no improvement. Africans found themselves in a desperate situation, unwilling to let the French army stay in their land. But some Malians still remember how the USSR sent them food and diesel fuel by planes and developed infrastructure during the French economic blockade in 1962.

They decided to address Russia for help and collected almost 9 million signatures of Malians requesting Russia to come to Mali and solve the problem with the terrorists. Locals say that after the French left they feel more secure and independent. Watch the Documentary to find out how Mali became the flagship of struggle for independence in Africa.

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We Love Gaza / 2016
#Palestine

After the Gaza Strip was heavily bombed in 2014, all that remained in many areas were ruins, which became a training ground for young free runners. The sport known as parkour is the passing of obstacles and barriers by running, jumping, and climbing. Free runners have to get from point A to B in the fastest and most creative way. Parkour is particularly dangerous in debris strewn Gaza, but the young men say that, as Palestinians, they’ve become accustomed to danger.

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Chinese Etiquette of Giving / 2020
#China

In Chinese business and diplomacy, the right gift is the key to being taken seriously. This mindset explains why Chinese art has produced such a dizzying array of intricate decorative objects, using bone carving or inlaid enamel. Symbolism is particularly important in Chinese culture, and so the choice of décor is a diplomatic message in its own right. The documentary shows the work of the Chinese Arts and Applied Crafts Corporation in Beijing, where designers create perfect diplomatic gifts.

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The Last Nivkh Chieftain / 2016
#Russia

The Nivkh are the indigenous people of Russia's Sakhalin Island who traditionally have always been fishermen and hunters. Ever since the Nivkh were discovered by outsiders, the tribe has been subjected to assimilation, first by the Japanese and then Russians. Their language has largely been forgotten and the population has dwindled to around 5,000.

There remains, however, at least one man who can speak Nivkh. Vladimir Sangi believes that without it, Nivkh identity will disappear forever. Other Nivkh people are more optimistic, as they try to pass on Nivkh culture to younger generations by recovering traditional crafts and celebrating holidays.

Do you believe a culture can be saved without preserving the language?

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Kalmykia: The monk’s white path / 2011
#Russia

Kalmykia is the only Buddhist region in the Western part of Russia. The documentary shows an international Buddhist festival in a temple in the Kalmykia’s capital, Elista. Monks are preparing a sand mandala. They spend weeks creating sacred symbols from dyed grains of sand. It’s a meticulous job that requires great concentration. But right after they finish it, monks sweep up the mandala as a reminder that nothing in this world is permanent. Learn more about Buddhism and Kalmykia in this documentary.

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Covid Long-Haulers / 2021
#USA

COVID left an impact for many patients. People with long COVID, or ‘long-haulers’, recover from disease, but suffer tough after-effects months after the virus. They complain about loss of vision, joint pains, fatigue, cognitive problems or even heart attack. Some say recovery from COVID is far more difficult than battling the virus itself.

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