VolunTears / 2022
#Donbass #Maruipol

Seven-year-old Dima lost his parents in Mariupol. They covered him with their bodies during one of the artillery strikes. He barely survived, was found by Russian soldiers and moved to a social centre in the Donetsk People’s Republic. His first words after weeks of silence were: “It is quiet here. In Mariupol, they fire really hard”.

There are 17 children in the centre. Some of them were rescued from the frontlines of the Donetsk region and Mariupol by volunteers. The new documentary follows one of those volunteer groups that deliver humanitarian aid every ten days to ‘hot areas’ and evacuates families stuck in basements during shelling. Find out what stories they are told.

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The Shegué, the Sorcerer and Ché Guevara / 2016
#Congo

According to the UN, about 30,000 underage children in DR Congo are homeless. The so-called Shegué hail from dysfunctional families. The kids are accused of being ‘sorcerers’ and get kicked out of their homes. But does it really have to do with sorcery, or is it just a convenient excuse to get rid of unwanted children?

The Head of the children’s shelter in Kinshasa, called Ché Guevara, doesn’t believe in demonic possession. Instead, he does his best to protect the children from the anarchy of the streets. He is convinced the growing number of homeless kids in the country is a ticking time bomb. How do these abandoned kids survive? This is what The Shegué, the Sorcerer and Ché Guevara is about.

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Ukraine: Heading East / 2022
#Donbass #Ukraine #notonyourtv

“You came too late. We are glad. We are exhausted.” “When were we supposed to come?”. “About 15-20 years ago.”

This is a conversation between a Russian soldier and a Donbass refugee. The Ukrainian government forces have helped their people for eight years because of differences in language, history and views. As a result, Donbass residents fled southeast Ukraine. Some of the refugees used relief corridors; others waited out for the Russian soldiers to come and help them out, and the rest chose to risk their lives and look for the exit on their own.

All of them found shelter in Russia. Russian volunteers, psychologists, and priests help the fugitives settle, out the children in school, and recover from 8 years of constant danger. Find out more about how people adjust to everyday life.

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H2Woe / 2016
#India

Water is increasingly becoming a commodity as precious as gold, especially in India. The country of 1.38 billion people - nearly a fifth of the world’s population - has only four percent of the world’s water resources. In regions like Punjab, the search for water is life and death.

People rely on water deliveries from other areas and dig ponds to collect rainwater. Others go as far as to take second wives so they can bring more water.

So what is it like to live a life dictated by a drastic water shortage?

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Volhynia. No statute of limitations / 2022
#Poland #Ukraine

‘They are not just killing; they chop heads with axes, nail people to the trees, ripping tongues, stabbing eyes, cutting babies from the womb.’ In 1943, Stanislav Srokowskiy was six. He doesnt remember much about the Volhynia massacre, but his grandparents witnessed the hostilities with their own eyes.

The Organisation of Ukrainian Nationalists and Ukrainian Insurgent Army killed over 100,000 Polish peasants during the Massacres.

In 2013, the Polish parliament classified the events as genocide. At the time, the Ukrainian Rada branded the Polish resolution as anti-Ukrainian, as the Ukrainian nationalists have openly praised Stepan Bandera, head of OUN, and massacre perpetrator Roman Shukhevich. They claim the Volhynia events were no more than territorial disputes ampng local peasants.

Is history being rewritten?

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Substitutes / 2018
#Japan

Senji Nakajima is 62, and he’s in love with a silicone doll! Saori is a life-sized doll with incredibly lifelike features. Senji treats her as a human, taking his silicone doll on dates and engaging in one-sided conversations.

Their romance isn’t unique - the demand for silicone love dolls is growing in Japan. Watch the documentary 'Substitutes' to discover the world of silicone love and companionship.

Did you know the Japanese believe dolls have souls like humans, and they can’t be just thrown out in the garbage? That’s why temples and shrines hold special funeral ceremonies for unwanted dolls.

We wonder if there’s a ritual for a former silicone doll… 🤔

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DIY Da Vincis / 2021
#Russia

DIY, or maker culture, is booming! Do-it-yourself tutorials on how to transform everyday items into solar-powered cars or how to build a wooden hut from scratch rack up millions of views. People spend many hours watching others create.

Why are we so fascinated with DIY and how makers use skill and imagination in their projects?

Check out 'DIY Da Vincis' to meet major DIY Russian bloggers and to mark Geek Pride Day!

May 25 is a worldwide celebration of geekiness and all things geeky! Are you a geek? 🤯

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Once Upon a Crime: US Police Brutality / 2016
#USA

Exactly two years ago, protests broke out across the US following the murder of George Floyd by police officers in Minneapolis. The death of a 46-year-old Black man in police custody set off a powerful movement against racism, discrimination and police brutality.

Six years before the George Floyd protests, 18-year-old Michael Brown was shot and killed by a police officer in Ferguson, Missouri. His death led to weeks of unrest and protests over police accountability.

The documentary 'Once Upon a Crime: US Police Brutality' delves deep into the reasons behind police violence and racial bias in the US legal system.

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Inferno Village / 2017
#India

Jharia in India looks a lot like a horror movie scene: it is wrapped in suffocating smoke from an underground fire burning for 100 years.

Jharia’s coalfields are just as rich in reserves as they are deadly. Even living here is risky: the ever-spreading pit of fire frequently consumes whole houses and blasting regularly shakes the entire village, damaging buildings and throwing plumes of coal dust into the air. High levels of carbon monoxide cause severe respiratory complaints among residents.

Despite the danger, most families daren’t relocate because extracting coal is their only source of income. Even little children work here.

What’s life like in hell? Watch 'Inferno Village'👆

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It’s a Pandaful Life! / 2017
#China

China is the only country where pandas still live in the wild. So no wonder the Giant Panda is a source of pride in China and a symbol of conservation and wildlife protection (remember the WWF logo?)

Chengdu’s Giant Panda Breeding Research Base is where scientists and caretakers work to ensure that the pandas successfully breed. They tend to the pandas’ every need, providing food, medicine, clean enclosures, and play. The caretakers even give these love-shy animals Sex Ed classes!

The Chengdu Centre has been so successful that pandas were taken off the endangered species list in 2016. There are some 600 pandas currently living in captivity and nearly 2,000 roaming the wild. But the viability of the black-and-white bears in the wild is still threatened by factors like loss of natural habitat.

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Tundra Wonder Mums / 2021
#Russia

A chum is a mobile home made from reindeer hides that is used by the indigenous people of Russia’s Far North. It has a simple design, tested by generations. The tent-like structure has to be easy to set up and move because this nomadic people has to change camps once every three to four weeks.

A chum takes about an hour to assemble. The task used to fall exclusively on the shoulders of women, though this custom isn’t often observed nowadays. But it’s still women who work to make their families feel comfortable and warm in these extreme conditions.

Since 2018, ‘chum-worker’ has been recognised as an official job noscript in Russia. Chum-workers are even paid a modest salary.

What does it take to keep the family hearth in the middle of the frozen tundra? Check out this beautiful documentary.

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Iceline. Lifeline // 2022
#Russia #Arctic

‘Once, the navigation started very early, and several ships got ice-locked. Back then I was working on the ‘Captain Dranitsyn’ and the old ‘Arctic’ icebreaker saved 5 or 6 ships. One was simply squashed’, recalls boatswain of new icebreaker ‘Arctic’. Back in the day the Northern sea route was dangerous even for icebreakers. For decades, only the Western part was used, but with new icebreakers of Project 2220 it can be finally open the whole year.

Nuclear-powered icebreakers travel through 118 inches thick ice for 8 700 miles from Northern Europe to asian coast of the Pacific Ocean. Jump on board to see how it is done from the inside!

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‘The Azov Regiment forced people out of their flats into the basement, and tanks started firing.’ Residents of Mariupol tell how they survived.

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Armageddon Ready / 2019
#USA

Roberta Griffin is ready for the end of the world. Her bunker in the backyard has a place to sleep, shower and stocks of canned fruit that should last for 20 years.

Roberta is one of America’s doomsday preppers, or survivalists, who plan for the worst-case scenario, from a zombie apocalypse to a civil war. Preppers are usually seen as crazy people, but when you visit some modern bunkers, you kind of wish you had one!

Numerous businesses cater to the needs of survivalists, offering modest and high-end options. There are underground escapes with swimming pools and movie theatres.

Meet the doomsday preppers and bunker sellers in Armageddon Ready and hear why they believe an apocalypse is inevitable.

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Dance, Sex, Dance / 2017
#India

There’s a red-light district in the Indian city of Muzaffarpur that some say has existed since the early 16th century. Men come here to watch women dance and sing, but it’s only a cover for prostitution. Nearly 2,500 sex workers live here. Some were sold or forced to sell their bodies, others had nowhere else to go, and some even followed in their mothers’ and grandmothers’ footsteps.

In a long-awaited ruling, India’s Supreme Court has recognised sex work as a profession and ordered police to treat sex workers ‘with dignity and equal protection under the law’. Sex work has been legal in India for more than 30 years, but prostitutes face violence and exploitation.

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Qatar 2022: Football Fever / 2021
#Qatar

The 2022 FIFA World Cup is around the corner, and it looks like the tournament will surprise you. When Qatar was chosen as the World Cup host, it raised concerns. The country is too small, too hot, and alcohol is prohibited.

The first country in the Middle East to welcome the major football event spent billions on infrastructure like a portable stadium and a driverless metro. The tournament was moved to late autumn to avoid scorching temperatures. And fans will have a chance to toast their teams’ victories in special recreation areas.

Learn more about Qatar’s preparation for the FIFA World Cup in the documentary.

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I am John Kopiski, a Russian farmer / 2020
#Russia

British trader John Kopiski came to Russia in the 1990s on a business trip that changed his life. ‘After Perestroika, everybody was so hospitable. It was a new life.’ John decided to move to Russia at 42 because he felt at home.

He met a Russian woman, converted to Orthodoxy and fathered five children. Together they run a massive farm with more than 4,000 cows in the Vladimir region. They produce 50 tonnes of milk every day, and John has taken up cheese production following EU sanctions against Russia.

John takes pride in his newfound motherland and says his relatives in the UK don’t get his love for Russia.

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