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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Pregnant Together / 2015
#Russia

Soon-to-be-dad Miguel Francis-Santiago conducts a two-week experiment. He plans to walk in his wife’s shoes in a bid to understand how pregnancy really feels. Miguel dons a heavy tummy-suit in which he’ll work, drive, do household chores and even sleep. Can a man really understand what it’s like to be pregnant?🫄

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Sudanaesthesia / 2017
#SouthSudan

South Sudan gained independence in 2011, but an intertribal conflict broke out two years later that escalated into a full-blown civil war, which has crippled the country’s economy and agriculture.

This Red Cross station in Kobok was the only place where people in South Sudan’s Upper Nile region could get medical help, make phone calls, or simply get something to eat. The Red Cross staff treated all patients equally, regardless of whether they were soldiers or civilians.

Unfortunately, the hospital was destroyed by government forces three weeks after this documentary was filmed.

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Tropic of Anti-Cancer / 2015
#Ecuador

Dr. Jaime Guevara from Ecuador believes there’s immunity to cancer and diabetes. For more than 20 years, Dr. Guevara has been studying patients with Laron syndrome, a rare form of dwarfism. He discovered that they almost never have cancer or diabetes, and are free from age-related diseases, thanks to a gene mutation. Could his findings one day lead to a cancer-free world?

February 4 is World Cancer Day, learn more about the disease, its prevention and treatment.

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Argentinian DNA. More than a game / 2019
#Argentina

When you think of Argentina, football is sure to be among the first topics that spring to mind. The Latin American nation has produced legends like Diego Maradona and Lionel Messi. The country has one of the most successful football teams in the world, having won three World Cups. Argentinians are one of the most fervent fans, for whom football is more than a game. What does football mean to Argentinians? How do they call extreme fans? We ask football fans from Argentina and visit ‘el classico’ in the city of Cordoba.

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Black Lives: Struggle / 2018
#USA

More than 50 years after Martin Luther King’s death, some American cities are still divided along racial lines. St. Louis is one of them. Its African-American population is mostly confined to neighbourhoods with high violent crime rates and low wages.

“Most of the people out here are not bad people – they are in bad situation,” say, Rev Kenneth McKoy and priest, Jay Kanzler, who hold weekly 'peace walks' to call for an end to violence in troubled neighbourhoods.

Black Lives: Struggle follows St. Louis activists who are fighting battles old and new: against inequality, poverty, bias, lack of prospects, police abuse, and extrajudicial killings.

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#Iamcartoonist / 2016
#MiddleEast

A cartoonist’s vocation is to draw attention to what’s wrong in society, at least as he sees it! But the cost of a simple satirical sketch can be life itself. Eight years ago, the Charlie Hebdo attack shook France and the whole world, sparking a debate about freedom of speech. The documentary features cartoonists from Jordan, Lebanon, Iran and Afghanistan who talk about doing their craft against a backdrop of harsh government censorship and death threats from religious fanatics.

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KKK: Can the Klan rise again and why do people still join? / 2020
#USA

‘The Birth of a Nation’ is an epic three-hour drama about the American civil war and the rise of Ku Klux Klan. It first premiered on February 8, 1915 and became the first movie to be screened at the White House. The film inspired a surge in the KKK membership, with some 4 million people joining its ranks across the US.

Nowadays the Klan remains one of the oldest and most infamous hate groups in the country. Why is the KKK still alive? Do members still wear hoods and burn crosses?

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The Zelinger family left the comfort of Germany for a life of adventure and simplicity in the Russian village of Stepnoye. Their new life includes caring for animals, harvesting honey, and learning the local language, all while embracing the traditional family values they strive for.

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Salam Alaikum Sweden / 2016
#Sweden

Sweden has long been a generous safe haven for desperate refugees from the world over, but especially Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan. The influx of newcomers at the height of the European refugee crisis in 2015 put the Swedish hospitality to the test. The country had to deal with a massive housing shortage, lengthy asylum processes and rising crime rates. Some locals wondered if Sweden changed its own character just to appease others in pursuit of multiculturalism.

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Abducted in Mexico / 2023
#Mexico

‘They cut up my son's body with a saw. They were the kidnappers. But back then, I didn’t know my son was dead. They sent me a letter with photos of him, naked and blindfolded. I was told to leave money on a bridge. So I did’, Isabel Wallace recalls. Only 6 months after she paid the ransom for her son, Isabel found out that he had been killed. The desperate woman sought help from the Mexican police, but they couldn’t find the criminals. Convinced that the police were unable or unwilling to help, Isabel started her own investigation and founded the Stop Kidnapping organisation to help hundreds of families in such a dire situation. Watch the Documentary to find out why Mexico has been the world’s number one country for kidnapping people for ransom for 15 years.

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