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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Kidney Valley / 2016
#Nepal

There’s a place in Nepal known as the ‘kidney valley.’ That’s because almost every household has a family member who’s sold a kidney. Organ smugglers come to poor Nepalese villagers, convincing them to sell their organs.

Many are told their kidney will grow back like fruit after surgery or that sacrificing one won’t affect them. Up to 10,000 kidneys are sold on the black market every year.

Naive locals are promised up to $6,000 for a kidney but are paid much less. Deceived victims of organ smugglers suffer significant health issues for the rest of their lives.

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Killing Russian Culture / 2022
#Europe #Russia #notonyourtv

Don't come to Kiev, we will kill you;” “Close your office immediately. Our group is determined to protect Italians from the danger that Russians pose.” These are threats to Russian athletes and artists abroad. These people have become targets of “cancel culture” trend. Or cancel Russian culture, to be exact.

Since the beginning of the special operation in Ukraine, Russian people in the West have been up against the strongest wave of Russophobia, which also engulfed Russian art, and sport, Munich Philharmonic Orchestra cut all ties with Maestro Valery Gergiev. Sergey Karyakin, Russian chess grandmaster was disqualified by FADE for his political views. Even the deceased masters are being cancelled: Tolstoy, Dostoevsky and Chekhov are no longer welcome in the West.

How does Russian culture withstand this wave of aggression? Killing Russian Culture is about just that.

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WiFi Refugees / 2017
#USA

Mobile phones, WiFi routers, radio, TVs, and other devices are silent killers for some people. They live with electromagnetic hypersensitivity, a mystery illness linked to technology. Symptoms include headaches, nausea, a burning sensation on the skin and a metallic taste in the mouth. Unfortunately, there’s no cure, and only distancing yourself from electronic devices can alleviate the pain.

Have you ever heard of the hypersensitivity to electromagnetic fields?

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Death Factories / 2020
#Japan

At least 3,000 people were used as guinea pigs by Japan’s secret Unit 731 before and during World War II. The unit conducted gruesome experiments on humans in occupied China, infecting test subjects with diseases like plague and cholera. They were later vivisected without anaesthesia to see what the disease does.

Unit 731 was one of Japan’s biggest wartime atrocities and secrets. The Japanese government denied the unit’s existence until the late 1980s, while the unit’s ideologist, Shiro Ishii, was never punished.

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Cyberscammers / 2022
#India

Have you ever had a phone scam call? One where a guy claims to be from your bank? They feed you a bunch of technical mumbo-jumbo, warning all of your money would be lost unless you immediately give up your credit card details.

Entire buildings in Kolkata, India, are occupied by call centres full of scammers. They work from the comfort of their office while their prey lives in another country, so the crime is hard to trace. In 2021, the damage inflicted by phone fraud in the United States was estimated at almost $30 bln. People may receive a voice message or an e-mail saying, “Someone is buying stuff using your Amazon account.” Sometimes scammers go as far as introducing themselves as officials of the Ministry of Internal Affairs or the Prosecutor’s Office, asking for help in solving a case by making a transfer to a third party’s account.

To learn how to protect yourself from a phone and cyber fraud, watch «Cyberscammers»

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Sanctions: Opportunity in Disguise / 2022
#Russia #notonyourtv

Russia's special military operation in Ukraine has triggered a wave of anti-Russian sanctions from the West, and they keep coming. People and businesses try to adjust their operations to the new reality. Some try to experiment with their product range, and others look for alternative suppliers, the rest partner with local businesses. How are these new adjustment plans working?

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Battle of the Keys / 2015
#Russia

To classical musicians, the International Tchaikovsky Competition is the equivalent of the Olympic Games. The event, which is held every four years, has gruelling qualifying stages with extremely strong competition. The prestigious contest can make or break a musician’s career. So if a pianist is chosen to compete, they can’t let their chance slip by. To celebrate the 182nd anniversary of the birth of the great Russian composer Pyotr Tchaikovsky, watch Battle of the Keys.

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Cry of a River / 2017
#India

The River Ganges has enormous religious significance to Hindus. They believe it’s goddess Ganga brought to Earth by Lord Shiva. People come to ritually bathe in the Ganges waters as it’s supposed to cure illnesses. Ashes of the cremated are also dispersed across its waters.

Some half a billion people rely on the ‘mother river’. However, the same people who revere the river throw garbage, sewage and industrial waste into the Ganges. Watch the full documentary, Cry of a River, to get the complete picture of the water crisis in India.

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