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.

Follow: t.me/documentaryplanet

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?

Follow: t.me/documentaryplanet

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. 😢

Follow: t.me/documentaryplanet

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.

Follow: t.me/documentaryplanet

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.

Follow: t.me/documentaryplanet

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?

Follow: t.me/documentaryplanet

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.

Follow: t.me/documentaryplanet

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»

Follow: t.me/documentaryplanet

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?

Follow: t.me/documentaryplanet

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.

Follow: t.me/documentaryplanet

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.

Follow: t.me/documentaryplanet

Fascism: A History / 2021
#Europe #USSR #notonyourtv

On September 19, 2019, the European Parliament declared it was the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany who paved the way for WWII. However, the secret files revealed both of the USSR’s allies had signed several pacts with Hitler, while the US also lent Wehrmacht economic support. The UK and the US tried to enter into a separate peace agreement with Germany and hang the Soviet Union out to dry. Their further plans went even further and could’ve had disastrous consequences.
What was going on in the allies camp?

Follow: t.me/documentaryplanet

Immortal Letters / 2017
#Russia

May 9th is the anniversary of the great victory over Nazi Germany in World War II. The Great Patriotic War, as it’s called in Russia, claimed 26.6 million people. They died in battle, during shelling, due to famine and in camps. But their legacy lives on in letters from the front, kept by relatives and historians.

These personal accounts reveal the horror of battle, surviving besieged cities and the notorious evil of concentration camps.

Follow: t.me/documentaryplanet

Finding the Fallen / 2020
#Russia

There are a few families in the former Soviet Union that haven’t been affected by WWII. Millions of soldiers died, hundreds of thousands were missing in action. Decades later, their bodies are recovered from battlefields, woods and swamps all over Europe.

Groups of history enthusiasts look for the soldiers’ remains and try to identify them. For them, the war isn’t over until all of the dead are given a proper burial. The grandchildren of former enemies are now united by the same mission, working together to prevent history from repeating itself.

Follow: t.me/documentaryplanet

Deadliest Roads - Pakistan- In the Valley of the Immortals - Free Documentary

Leningrad Siege Reflections / 2013
#Russia

For 872 days, Leningrad was cut off from the outside world. Nazi forces encircled the city, launching the deadliest and longest blockade in history. Within the first few weeks, food supplies were depleted, leading to extreme famine. Glue, cellulose, shoe soles - anything consumable was used as food. About 1.1 million people died during the siege, most of them starved to death.

Lidia Sudina and Dmitry Buchkin witnessed air raids, bombardment, and starvation as children. Hear their recollection of the ordeal in our documentary, Leningrad Siege Reflections.

Follow: t.me/documentaryplanet

Portaitissa of Donetsk / 2022
#Donbass #Ukraine #notonyourtv

“This is the Northern Gates of Donetsk. Portaitissa! The front line begins just behind the runway. Perhaps that’s why most devastation meant for the city was taken by the convent.”

The Convent of the Iveron Icon of the Mother of God in Donetsk was hit during the battle for Donetsk airport. Hegumene of the Convent and her aide found themselves caught up in the hostilities. As the convent was practically on the front line, the women became eyewitnesses to the attack on Donetsk airport. They endured firing and shelling, yet they say it was the best time for them. Why?

Watch the film Portaitissa of Donetsk to find the answers.

Follow: t.me/documentaryplanet

More than a third of all Tanzanian women are married before the age of 18. Many of them are forced into wedlock as young as 11 with much older men. In exchange, the family of the bride receives cows which are valued more than daughters. The country’s court imposed strict penalties on underage weddings. Local authorities and activists often break up weddings to prevent child marriages. Nevertheless, many parents continue to follow the ancient tradition. Will anything stop them?

Bride Trade / 2017
#Tanzania

🌍 Join Documentary Planet for more!

Sterilised / 2017
#Peru

Some 270,000 Peruvian women were sterilised against their will between 1996 and 2000 as part of President Alberto Fujimori’s birth control programme. The initiative was meant to reduce poverty and cut birth rates among the poor. While it was supposed to be consensual, women involved in the programme say otherwise. Most victims were poor, rural, and indigenous. Many suffered complications, and some died.

Decades later, victims seek justice through a class action suit against the former president. Fujimori, 83, is currently serving a 25-year sentence for crimes against humanity during his presidency.

Follow: t.me/documentaryplanet

Square Metre of Hell / 2020
#HongKong

Hong Kong is famous for its dense skyline dominated by luxurious skyscrapers. And it’s not just the city’s high rises that soar above the clouds - rents are exorbitant. So much so that the poorest residents have no choice other than squeezing into tiny apartments known as cage houses.

They are cages - sleeping compartments in a shared room separated from neighbours by wire mesh. Cage homes cost around $300 per month - still beyond the means of many low-income Hongkongers. Watch Square Metre of Hell for more about the housing crisis in Hong Kong.

Follow: t.me/documentaryplanet