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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The Way of the Cross / 2013
#Egypt

Egypt’s Coptic Christian community, which predates Islam and accounts for 10% of the country’s 104 million people, experienced many hardships under deposed former president Hosni Mubarak. However, these were nothing compared to what followed the country’s 2011 revolution: sectarian violence which has claimed 50 lives and caused others to flee their homes. In daily life, Coptic Christians face restrictions including building their churches and interfaith marriage. Learn more about the minority religion in Egypt.

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Argentinian DNA: Immigration / 2019
#Argentina

Argentina draws European immigrants like a magnet, as many flee from conflicts, poverty or in search of a better life. Migrants that settled in their new homeland in the 20th century, blended with local society. Immigrants from Spain, Italy, and other corners of Europe brought their cuisine, dialects, music, habits, and sports with them. Explore the unique multi-ethnic identity of Argentina and hear immigrants’ stories.

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Arctic Calling / 2023
#Russia

‘When you pick through rubbish, and dig around, you’ve little control of what’s going on around you, while a polar bear has very good control over you’, says Vladimir Shatunov, chief technical officer of ‘Clean Arctic’ team. The Clean Arctic project started nearly a year ago. Eco-volunteers travel to the remote Arctic territories to remove tons of waste. However, volunteers reveal that working under low temperatures is not the biggest challenge. Watch the documentary and see how volunteers manage to clean up the Arctic while dealing with extreme weather and polar bears.

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2052 See the Future / 2023
#Russia

Did you know that artificial intelligence can guess which drink you will choose in the supermarket? It might sound a bit scary, but professors from the Higher School of Economics will convince you that modern technologies are absolutely safe, and moreover, they make our life even more exciting. They have invented devices, from eye tracking, which can follow your eye movement, to neurotechnologies to be used in medicine: they will allow patients to speak right in the middle of the operation! Tune in for our premiere to learn more about these amazing brand-new inventions!

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Come Drift with Me / 2019
#Russia

Drift car racing is an extreme motorsport where drivers slide around corners and bash each other in pursuit of style points. Born in 1970s Japan, the sport has now spread around the world, including Russia.

Fedor Vorobyov in his vintage Lada and Ilya Fedorov in an orange Nissan as well as young executive Alexandr Dmitrenko burn up the track in the Russian Drift Series. Why do racers spend fortunes on tuning their rides and keep on patching them up?

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Soft Occupation / 2017
#Germany

Jurij Kofner is an investigative journalist from Germany. As a German citizen, he wonders to which extent his country’s policy decisions are influenced by America’s agenda. He explores Germany’s post-war history to understand how relations with the US were formed. He also looks into the dynamics of the two countries’ cooperation under the umbrella of NATO.

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Heroes Among Us / 2023
#Donbass

‘When I got up, I saw there was nothing I could do. I heard Evelina’s screams and followed them. I found her, started to pull her out and saw her belly was ripped, her intestines were spilling out’, recalls Natalia, Donbass resident. She was at home with her husband and granddaughter Evelina when the Ukrainian shelling started. They had no time to go to the bomb shelter. Though the grandmother thought that was the end, Evelina survived that blast injury. Five weeks later, Yevgeniy Zhilitsyn, a surgeon at DPR Trauma Center, still teaches the girl to stand again. Every day he rescues wounded children and helps them return to normal life. Watch the Documentary to see how the surgeon copes with seeing injured kids and death every day.

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Inside TikTok House / 2021
#Russia

TikTok houses are literal houses where bloggers and aspiring influencers live together and create content for their social media. For some bloggers, it is a way to get more media attention — Timur sees the opportunity as a stepping stone in his singing career. Valentina has completely changed her life thanks to TikTok House. She abandoned her economics background and reinvented herself as a photographer. Eva dropped out of school and has garnered the attention of thousands of followers. They all had different reasons for joining TikTok House, but all of them are certain it was an invaluable experience and a chance to grow and creatively express themselves.

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Argentinian DNA: The Fracture / 2019
#Argentina

Argentinians take politics as seriously as football, and past left-right conflicts are still dividing their society. The antagonism between the left and the right often goes beyond class-consciousness. This divide, known as The Fracture (‘La Grieta’), is a legacy of the violence between Marxist guerrillas and the military dictatorship that ruled Argentina from 1976 to 1983. The documentary features victims of that period and hears from famous ‘Grandmothers of the Plaza de Mayo’.

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Black Lives: Liberty Maze / 2018
#USA

In the biggest US cities, sprawling tent cities where the homeless concentrate exist against the backdrop of shopping areas and celebrity estates. The homeless population is exploding with many people at risk of hitting rock bottom just by missing their next paycheck. More than 500,000 people are homeless in the US, according to the latest figures. The documentary explores America’s homelessness crisis and how people end up on the streets of the US wealthiest cities.

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The Ket People / 2009
#Russia

Ket are indigenous people from the Yenisei River in Central Siberia. Their settlements can only be reached by a helicopter or a boat. The Ket way of life has remained the same for hundreds of years. They go hunting and fishing. Some people call them the Siberian Indians, as they are related to some native North American groups. There’re only around 1000 Ket people left and only 200 of them speak their native language. February 21 is International Mother Language Day! Ket is one of the rare languages in Russia, its closest relative language died out in the 20th century.

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Operation Ukraine: America's Fingerprints / 2023
#Ukraine

‘From the beginning, the whole Bandera movement was founded with Western money. First Austrian money, then German money. So, the fact that those contacts continued after the war is not surprising. It’s just that the masters changed’, says historian Aleksandr Myasnikov. After the fall of Berlin in 1945, SS-backed organisations began collaborating with US intelligence. CIA directed a secret operation called ‘Prolog’ that stoked nationalist sentiment in Ukraine by smuggling anti-Soviet literature. What are the milestones and outcome of this covert action?

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Fragile People / 2013
#Russia

Osteogenesis imperfecta is a genetic bone disorder. Also known as brittle bone disease, it affects bones and causes them to break easily. Even the tiniest movement can lead to serious fractures. This documentary gives an insight into the strong community of people living with the disease, and how neither young nor old are held back by their disability.

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The Shantar Islands: Braving the Storm / 2011
#Russia

Russian explorers first spotted the Shantar Islands in the middle of the 17th century. Shantar translates as ‘island’ from the language of the indigenous Nivkh people who used to live on the archipelago in the Sea of Okhotsk. Now it’s a national park that has strict rules of visiting and is off the beaten path for most adventurers. Join six tourists on a journey as they discover the remote archipelago and its wildlife.

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