Hot Spot Chad / 2015
#Chad

Refugee camp Dar Es Salaam on the shores of Lake Chad was a safe haven for thousands of Nigerians fleeing violent attacks by Boko Haram. The militant religious group had been destroying villages in Nigeria and killing indiscriminately. In Dar Es Salaam refugees have food, medical aid and roof over their heads, but there’s also fear and anxiety. The documentary features harrowing stories of Boko Haram victims.

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Fuming Felix / 2017
#Italy
Campania, known in Roman times as Campania Felix, is a scenic region with bountiful land that yields several crops a year. But for the past three decades, Campania has been polluted by toxic waste, illegally buried and burnt by mafia gangs. Contamination has caused a dramatic increase in cancer among locals and high mortality rates in children. Residents of this once pristine region have to undergo toxicology tests to establish what poisons they have in their blood.

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Seeking Recognition: Palestine / 2019
#Palestine

For more than 70 years, daily life for Palestinian Arabs has been about the struggle to take back their land, and their destiny, from Israel. Even though the 1948 United Nations plan for the partition of Palestine gave them their own state, they have never been fully independent. Israeli control dominates every aspect of daily Palestinian life.

Palestine and its population is divided into two separate areas: Gaza and the West Bank. Illegal Israeli settlements have chipped away at their territorial integrity. Many Palestinians are refugees: they live in supposedly temporary camps while awaiting the opportunity to return to the homes they fled. The episode looks at the historical events that led to the present stalemate in the region.

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True Love / 2013
#Russia

People would tell Anna her relationship with Grigory would become “a burden” or “a cross she’ll carry all her life.” She never felt this way about her boyfriend, who has spinal muscular atrophy, a rare genetic condition causing his muscles to deteriorate. The documentary follows the couple as they prepare for their wedding. They tell their love story and show why their relationship is no different from everyone else’s.

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Chechnya: Republic of Contrasts / 2013
#Russia

Russia’s Republic of Chechnya has undergone a revival after two military conflicts in its post-Soviet history. There are neither ruined houses nor the sounds of gunfire anymore. Today, the capital city Grozny hosts celebrities and fashion shows, but it keeps it all in line with Sharia law and local customs. How do the Chechen people manage to strike a balance between tradition and modernity?

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Red Alert | British Roulette / 2023
#UK

Pulitzer-winning journalist Seymour Hersh claimed that the US ordered the explosions that hit the Nord Stream pipelines in September 2022. These had been supplying Russian natural gas to Europe via the Baltic Sea. According to Hersh, the US wanted to deter Moscow from an offensive in Ukraine. However, a number of people allege that the US carried out the act with the help of the UK. The new episode of Red Alert explores the UK’s involvement in sabotage acts against Russian targets and why it’s committed to providing aid to Kiev instead of solving its own problems.

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Tourism on the Silk Road / 2017
#China

The ‘One Belt, One Road’ initiative is a plan devised by the Chinese government to revive the famous Silk Road, an ancient trade route that connected China with the Eurasian continent. Besides building new infrastructure and creating conditions enabling local businesses to expand their reach, it is also expected to lead to an influx of tourists. The episode explores the discovery of the famous terracotta army in Xi’an, visits Lanzhou for a traditional tea ceremony, and finds out what ailments are treated with acupuncture in Ürümqi.

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Hungary's Hunger / 2023
#Hungary

Hungary ignores sanctions against Russia, openly declares it willingness to pay for Russian gas in rubles and blocks arms deliveries to Ukraine through its territory. Budapest’s actions “could be described as pro-Russian. But in fact, it is a policy of common sense”, says Hungarian entrepreneur Ferenc Molnar. The new documentary explores Hungary’s bad blood with Ukraine, problems of the Hungarian diaspora in Transcarpathia and why calls for returning Greater Hungary have become louder in recent years.

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Ballet, Sweat and Tears / 2013
#Russia

Don Quixote, Carmen Suite, and Nutcracker are among the greatest ballets, popular with fans all over the world. Viewers enjoy the beauty and glory of the ballet universe, perhaps unaware that a ballerinas’ precise pirouettes and elegant steps are the result of many hours of exhaustive training and rehearsal. It takes a lifetime of hard work and dedication to prove themselves worthy of a major role. However, only very few are destined to perform solo parts, the rest will continue to dance in the corps de ballet. This documentary lifts the veil on the ballet world and meets the young girls who sacrifice the best of their lives to the art of classical dance.

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Seeking Recognition: Abkhazia / 2019
#Abkhazia

Once a Soviet republic and then an autonomous province within Soviet Georgia, Abkhazia has always aspired to independence. It declared independence in 1999 and only gained recognition from Moscow in 2008 following a brief war between Georgia and another former Soviet territory, South Ossetia. Few countries have since followed Russia’s lead and recognised the tiny republic on the Black Sea shore. However, locals say getting back on their feet is now more important than international recognition. For now, Abkhazia’s survival depends on fruit exports and streams of Russian tourists.

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Swiss entrepreneur starts up beekeeping business in Russia | No Limits (E1) / 2023
#Russia

‘Well, there’s just a lot I don’t like about what’s happening in Switzerland. I haven’t ever thought about moving back to Switzerland’, says Benjamin Forster who moved to Russia from Switzerland in 2010. Since then he's been dispeling myths about the country and exploring its local culture. Benjamin lives with his family in Pereslavl and is involved in honey production business. He also made some friends in a Cossack community. They taught him their indigenous traditions and Benjamin has won several sword-dancing and sword-cutting championships. Why did he come to Russia and what made him want to stay forever?

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Italian scholar moves to Moscow to study World War II | No Limits (E2) / 2023
#Russia

Massimo Eccli, an Italian, came to Moscow in 1989 when Russia was still a part of the Soviet Union. His goal was to study Marina Tsvetaeva's poetry. Back then, a trip to the USSR was an extraordinary experience. ‘My mother used to say that, when I was in Russia, it felt to her like I was dead! Because you couldn’t make a phone call here’, Eccli recalls. However, Massimo liked his trip a lot and met some people who he still keeps in touch with. Finally, he decided to get married and stay in Moscow permanently. He has been living in Russia for more than 30 years now. After all these years, what has he been doing lately? What is he doing now?

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Blind Devotion / 2023
#Donbass

Nikolay Tarasenko has been building an Orthodox Church on a mountain in his hometown of Kamenka in the Lugansk People’s Republic since the 1990s. When the war broke out in the Donbass in 2014, the project continued regardless. The church’s domes were built under constant shelling. “Then they started to bomb the church and dropped 70 guided aerial bombs on it. The heaviest weighed in at about 250 kilogram,” Nikolay recalls. Fields around the church were scorched, houses were destroyed but “not a single fragment reached the church. Not a single one.” The documentary tells Nikolay’s story and why he decided to finish building his church against all odds.

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Drift It Like Putin’s Driver / 2019
#Russia

Buckle up for an intense driving challenge and adventure. In this documentary, you'll participate in various driving courses at the Federal Guard Service of the Russian Federation. Drivers are trained on regular cars as well as the presidential limousine. You will learn about special details of the president's drivers’ preparation and visit a unique track that provides the most dangerous and daring driving conditions. Learn to drift and control your car on slippery roads, and even perform astonishing tricks. Let’s take a ride! Are you up for the challenge?

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Heroes of Donbass. Battalion Commander / 2023
#Donbass

‘It's different here, plain and simple. Move the wrong way, you get killed, one wrong step, you get blown up. Use the toilet at the wrong time, killed! Bad foxhole, killed!’ recalls Alexander, or codename ‘Wingman’. In May 2022, Alexander gave up his flourishing business and joined the special operation as a regular soldier to fight the Ukrainian nationalists. In just a short period of time he became a Battalion Commander of Lugansk People’s Militia taking charge of 400 people. His battalion soldiers say that “Wingman” has earned their respect from day one. There aren't many commanders like him who would patrol the woods with their men and address each soldiers’ every need. The documentary tells about why Alexander made such a decision and what his everyday routine looks like.

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St. Basil’s: an Icon of Russia
#Russia

Take a fascinating walk inside one of Russia’s oldest and most famous churches. What are its legendary stories? The Cathedral was built in the 16th century, and many period of its existence are shrouded in mystery. St. Basil’s Cathedral was built on the orders of Ivan the Terrible, to mark the collapse of the Kazan Khanate — a victory equal to that of WWII in the 20th century. Some people say that because the cathedral was so beautiful, Tsar Ivan didn’t want a copy of it constructed anywhere else and poked out the architects’ eyes. What other legends does the walls of St Basil’s conceal?

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Love you to Death / 2020
#World

Have you ever wondered about what goes on behind closed doors in seemingly "perfect" families? In this gripping film, survivors of domestic violence courageously share their harrowing experiences. Heroes of the documentary dive into the heart of their pain and reveal the shocking reality of living with abusers. Irina Larionova, Tatiana Borkina and Anna Breslavtseva faced tremendous pressure. Some of them were even forced to kill their husbands to protect their own lives and the lives of their children. These powerful stories sheds a light on modern Russian family struggle regarding the issue of domestic violence. The film is an honest portrayal of the shortcomings and obstacles in addressing this dire issue.

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