This documentary series takes an in-depth look at the Second World War through the eyes of those who lived through it: the soldiers, the victims, and the political and military leaders. Using archival footage, most of it previously unseen and now colorized, this series provides an intimate and breath-taking examination of history's most devastating war.
The Arctic is under siege as never before. The Russians send submarines deep below the North Pole. The Americans dispatch surveillance planes to monitor new threats in the north. And Canada is now forced to scramble to defend territories it has ignored for too long. Global warming is turning the Far North into a resource hotspot. The fabled Northwest Passage could become a new super highway for cargo and cruise ships. And beneath the rapidly melting ice lies much of the world's undiscovered oil and gas reserves. Canadian scientists are now joining the soldiers on the front lines of this new frontier, as they race to chart Canada's Arctic claims under the looming deadline of an international treaty. The Battle for the Arctic takes us from the far reaches of the North Pole to the waters of Alaska for a look into a struggle for sovereignty that could change the very face of Canada.
"What is democracy? Freedom, equality, participation? Everyone has his or her own definition. Across the world, 120 countries now have at least the minimum trappings of democracy---the freedom to vote for all citizens. But for many, this is just the beginning not the end. Following decades of US-backed dictatorships, civil wars and devastating structural adjustment policies in the South, and corporate control, electoral corruption, and fraud in the North, representative politics in the Americas is in crisis. Citizens are now choosing to redefine democracy under their own terms: local, direct, and participatory. Beyond Elections is a journey that takes us across the Americas to attempt to answer one of the most important questions of our time: What is Democracy?"
While glossy multinational coffee companies dominate our shopping malls and supermarkets, coffee farmers on the other side of the world are being paid so little that many have been forced to abandon their farms. In an attempt to save 75,000 struggling coffee farmers from bankruptcy, Tadesse Meskela searches for buyers willing to pay a fair price--and inadvertently begins to unravel a tangled web of greed and double-dealing that infiltrates the international trading system at every level, right on through to the World Trade Organisation.
The film unearths declassified documents and highlights forgotten passages in prominent presidential doctrines to show how concerns about oil have been at the core of American foreign policy for more than 60 years -- rendering our contemporary energy and military policies virtually indistinguishable.
The story of the 200-year struggle to unlock the secrets of the Mayan hieroglyphs. This amazing detective story is filled with false leads, rivalries and colliding personalities.
Michael Moore explores the root causes of the global economic meltdown and takes a comical look at corporate and political shenanigans. Along the way he tries to answer the question: What is the price that America pays for its love of capitalism?
Explains how the world, for much of the twentieth century, first moved toward more governmental control of markets, and then began to move away. Focuses on the struggle between two economic thinkers, John Maynard Keynes and Freidrich Von Hayek. In the 1980s, the simultaneous emergence of the governments of Margaret Thatcher and Ronald Reagan set the stage for a worldwide capitalist revolution.
Examines the brutal treatment by ISIS of women belonging to the Islamic minority of group known as Yazidis, as it imposes what it claims is a purer interpretation of Islam. Presents the accounts of women who have escaped the capture and enslavement by the terrorist organization.
Through actual footage, interviews, and declassified documents, Michael Moore illustrates the connections President Bush has to the royal house of Saud of Saudia Arabia and the bin Laden's, how the president got elected on fraudulent circumstances and then proceeded to blunder through his duties while ignoring warnings of the looming betrayal by his foreign partners. When the treachery hits with the 9/11 attacks, Moore explains how Bush failed to take immediate action to defend the nation.
In Uganda, more than 30,000 children have been abducted by rebel troops over the past 20 years and forced into armed conflict. Many of these child soldiers are girls. When they return from captivity, the girls struggle to be accepted in their communities and make their voices heard.
W5 follows Tammy Wynne's fight to reverse her murder conviction in the death of her son, after it was found crucial testimony against her was provided by Ontario's notorious Dr. Charles Smith.
An epic detective story that offers a gripping expose on why the world is so unequal. Professor Jared Diamond traveled the globe for over 30 years trying to answer this question. Based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning book. Why did Eurasians conquer, displace, or decimate Native Americans, Australians, and Africans, instead of the reverse? Diamond dismantles racially based theories of human history by revealing the environmental factors actually responsible for history's broadest patterns.
This documentary exposes gaping holes in the security of America's electronic voting system. Takes a nonpartism, clear-eyed look at the secrecy, cronyism, and incompetence of elections in present-day America as it capures a citizen's movement intent on taking back elections and democracy itself.
In Independent media in a time of war, journalist and host of Democracy now!, Amy Goodman, criticizes the pro-military bias of the mainstream news media, whose reportage of the U.S. invasion of Iraq downplays or ignores the impact on civilians while overstating the success of U.S. military operations. The speech was recorded at Christ Church, Troy, New York on Apr. 21, 2003. Footage of the speech is interwoven with footage of news reports and graphic scenes from the war.
Voices against war chronicles the experiences of people on the streets of Manhattan who participate in a Feb. 2003 protest against the war in Iraq.
Womens' fast for peace examines the case of 125 women in upstate New York who, on the eve of the Iraq War, fasted to create a culture of peace rather than of war.
Frontline continues its investigation of nuclear safety with an unprecedented account of the crisis inside the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear complex after a devastating earthquake and tsunami struck Japan on March 11, 2011. The story is told with exclusive eye-witness testimony from key figures in the drama.
Pt. I : "Covering the years from the end of the French Revolution to the zenith of Napoleonic power in 1806, this program opens windows of insight into life under Napoleon through the stories of a merchant apprentice, a young nobleman, a beer brewer, a draft dodger, and a war widow. They tell of industrialization, municipal improvements, the standardization of measurements, the new power of mayors to conduct marriages and authorize divorces, and the body of laws known as the Napoleonic Code--as well as of crippling taxation, compulsory military service, strict censorship of newpapers, and the pitiless auctioning of monasteries--as the self-proclaimed emperor traveled from victory to victory."--Container.
Pt. II : "The years of Napoleon's reign between 1806 and 1815 were characterized by unremitting war--against his neighbors through force of arms on the battlefields of Europe and against impregnable Britain through an embargo on commercial transactions known as the Continental System. In this program, the stories of a high-ranking nobleman under sentence of death, war profiteers, smugglers, and anti-French rebels illustrate the abuses of the Frencn army committed in Napoleon's name against people living in the subjugated territories--and the spreading unrest that ultimately led to outright rebellion and the fall of a ruler who achieved immortal fame and yet died in utter obcurity."
A look at the loyalists of Northern Ireland who are Protestant, monarchist and against unification with the Republic of Ireland. They feel abandoned by the rest of the United Kingdom who do not share their "traditional values."
Indian elders [Aboriginal, Native peoples, First Nations] Roy Thomas, Garnet Agneconeb, Ralph Johnson, Alice Littledeer, Eulalia Michano and Delaney Sharpe recount their experiences in residential schools.
Dramatic, exposé documentary which explores Canada's role in industries of war and peace. Through diverse interviews and case studies this documentary unveils the specific interests and profits that are made by certain corporation, individuals and agencies within Canada. The Canadian government and the military would like us to believe that we are altruistic peacekeepers helping people around the world. But is this accurate? "Myths for profit" examines these stories and the motivations behind them. The documentary investigates how these misconceptions are maintained and who stands to gain. By understanding the systems of power in Canada we can move forward in challenging how they operate and collectively create change.
Presents a documentary on the life of an Eskimo family pitting their strength against a vast and inhospitable Arctic. Juxtaposes their struggle for survival against the elements with the warmth of the little family as they go about their daily affairs.
This is the inside story of the bitter clash between President Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu. Amid violence in the Middle East, the film traces Netanyahu's rise to power and his high-stakes fight with the president over Iran's nuclear program.
An insider's look at the decisions that led to the 2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq and the handling of the occupation. Based on over 200 hours of footage, the film provides a candid retelling of the events following the fall of Baghdad in 2003 by high ranking officials, as well as Iraqi civilians, American soldiers and prominent analysts. Examines the manner in which the principal errors of U.S. policy - the use of insufficient troop levels, allowing the looting of Baghdad, the purging of professionals from the Iraqi government and the disbanding of the Iraqi military - largely created the insurgency and chaos that engulf Iraq today.
Historic lecture given by Noam Chomsky on June 12, 2009 at the Riverside Churce in New York in which he offers a powerful analysis of the current economic crisis.
We've been told again and again that sports and politics don't mix. In this documentary, Dave Zirin, sports editor of The Nation magazine, takes viewers on a tour of the good, the bad, and the ugly of American sports culture -- showing how sports have helped both to stabilize and to disrupt the political status quo throughout history. Explores how American sports, at their worst, have reinforced repressive political ideas and institutions by glamorizing things like militarism, racism, sexism, and homophobia, as well as looking at a history of rebel athletes who dared to fight for social justice beyond the field of play.
The "unblinking behind-the-scenes story of the fashion-obsessed New Yorkers who created 'voguing' and drag balls, and turned these raucous celebrations into a powerful expression of fierce personal pride".
Using archival photographs, film footage and interviews with eyewitnesses and historians, in part 1 (30 min.) describes the social and and political conditions of the time, labour conditions and unrest, labour leaders and bosses; in part 2 (42 min.) relates the conditions during the 6 week strike, growing polarization of opinion and purpose and the events of Bloody Saturday, June 21, 1919.
Discusses a prison simulation experiment conducted in 1971 with students at Stanford University and considers the causes and effects that make prisons such an emotional issue. Documentary includes new film, flashback editing, and follow-ups, revealing the chronology of the transition of good into evil, of normal into the abnormal.
French-speaking Canadians battle for a unilingual French-speaking Quebec. At the same time, the Cree people battle the Quebec government over territory in the north. Can a single federal state survive if it contains a couple of nations and two major language groups?
This program focuses the spotlight on a region that crackles with both aboriginal and linguistic nationalism. The politics of language is at the heart of the battle for unilingual French-speaking society; at the same time, a different yet similar battle is going on in the icy north, where the Cree people are fighting the Quebec government over territory the Cree claim- an example of an aboriginal group using the language of European nationalism to advance its claims. Quebec raises the question of whether a single federal state can survive if it contains a couple of nations and two major language groups.
In this alternately enraging and heartbreaking documentary filmmakers travel to Darfur to try to make sense of reports of genocide in the region. Making their way clandestinely with a group of rebels into the heart of the Sudanese war zone, they chronicle stories of unfathomable human despair and courage: NGOs struggling to get food to the starving, refugees fighting for water, waves of people battered by civil war and incomprehensible violence stumbling into camps on the edge of survival.
Comedian and TV host Bill Maher takes a pilgrimage across the globe on a mind-opening journey into the ultimate taboo: questioning religion. Meeting the high and low from different religions, Maher asks questions, like 'Why is faith good?' and more.
The story of award-winning and internationally-renowned photographer, Murray Fredericks, on his annual solo pilgrimage to the heart of Lake Eyre in the remote north corner of South Australia. Alone on the most featureless landscape on earth, SALT interweaves Murray's sublime pictures, with innovative time-lapse sequences, and illuminating and exposing video diary excerpts. Fredericks looks into the abyss and finds that, in the midst of nothingness, there is everything.
Something ventured tells the story of the creation of an industry that went on to become the greatest engine of innovation and economic growth in the 20th century. It is told by the visionary risk-takers who dared to make it happen: Tom Perkins, Don Valentine, Arthur Rock, Dick Kramlich and others. The film also includes some of our finest entrepreneurs sharing how they worked with these venture capitalists to grow world-class companies like Intel, Cisco, Atari, Genentech, Tandem and others
June 2010 marked the first national hearing of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, aimed at addressing the painful legacy of residential schools in Canada. First Nations, Métis and Inuit survivors began putting their stories on the official record, as the Commission commenced its complex work. This volume of six documentaries from The National profiles Justice Murray Sinclair, Manitoba $1 (Bs first Aboriginal judge and the head of the Commission; uncovers the personal stories of survivors both on the ground in Winnipeg and across Canada; and gets up-close with 11-year-old Wanekia Morning Star Cooke to hear the younger generation $1 (Bs take on the residential school experience.
Experience the first two years of a child's life just as they do. This groundbreaking program reveals what only the little ones know. What is their most profound need? How do they really see their parents? What does it feel like to struggle to walk or learn to speak?
Imagine being thrust into a world where you cannot speak, movements are limited and in order to survive you must unravel the meaning behind a maze of sights and sounds. This is the world of a baby. Takes a look inside the mind of a baby, revealing how they think, communicate and observe. It's an incredible journey that each of us has taken, but which none of us remembers. Get a carpet-and-crib-eye view of what it means to be a baby.
Originally shown at the 1939 World's Fair, this classic show comments on four types of cities: New England town, the unplanned industrial community, a crowded metropolis and the decentralized community.
Colombia is the trade union murder capital of the world. Since 2002, more than 470 workers' leaders have been brutally killed, usually by paramilitaries hired by private companies intent on crushing the unions. Among these unscrupulous corporate brands is the poster boy for American business: Coca-Cola. These unpunished crimes spur U.S. activists David [i.e. Dan] Kovalik, Terry Collingsworth and Ray Rogers into an ambitious crusade against the soft drink giant. A searing indictment of a major corporate brand, The Coca-Cola Case takes us on a riveting legal game of cat and mouse via the U.S. federal court and the Stop Killer Coke! campaign.
Explains how global poverty began with military conquest, slavery, and colonization that resulted in the seizure of land, minerals, and forced labor. Today's financial crisis is a direct consequence of these unchallenged policies that have lasted centuries. Features expert insights from Nobel Prize winners, acclaimed authors, university professors, government ministers, and the leaders of social movements. Narrated by Martin Sheen. Includes interviews, photo galleries, and more.
Through interviews with scientists and policy makers this documentary explores the premise that American suburbs, built on the easy availability of fossil fuels, may become untenable.
The story of American politics and military policies as seen through the eyes of the former Secretary of Defense, under President Kennedy and President Johnson, Robert S. McNamara. McNamara is a controversial and influential political figure. He offers a candid journey through some of the most seminal events in contemporary American history. He offers insights into the 1945 fire bombing of Tokyo, the Cuban Missile Crisis, and the effects of the Vietnam War.
In retrospect, it is difficult to imagine how a political party as fundamentaly evil as the Nazis ever came to power. This six-part documentary explores the rise and fall of the Nazi regime, and uncovers the truth behind the atrocities.
In a lecture and an interview, Naomi Klein discusses the principles and practice of unrestrained free enterprise, its effects on the world's populations, and what people can do to countervail it.
In The Rise of ISIS, Martin Smith (Gangs of Iraq; Beyond Baghdad) draws on in-depth interviews with Iraqi politicians, and American policymakers and military leaders to explore and explain how the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) became a major force so quickly. What does it mean for the U.S. to be back in Iraq, fighting a new war on terror, less than three years after American troops pulled out of the country? Smith delivers a revelatory look at how ISIS grew out of the disaffection of Iraqi Sunnis who were sidelined and targeted by Shia Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki after the American withdrawal. The film traces how they gained strength in Syria, how they're funded, how they operate, and how, city by city, from Ramadi to Fallujah to Mosul, ISIS swept across Iraq--seizing territory, recording and broadcasting mass executions, and drawing recruits from an estimated 80 countries. With ISIS continuing to take and hold territory in Iraq and Syria despite U.S. and coalition airstrikes, and President Obama's foreign policy legacy hanging in the balance, The Rise of ISIS is the definitive account of how the U.S. has reached this point.
Explores how Argentina's 2001 economic collapse, where a prosperous middle-class economy was destroyed during 10 years of IMF policies, impacted the lives of ordinary workers. Follows 30 unemployed auto-parts workers, who stage a protest against their bosses and economic globalization by occupying their closed factory and refusing to leave.
"The Walk-A-Mile Film Project, which premiered on February 6 in Thunder Bay, is a collaboration of the City of Thunder Bay’s Aboriginal Liaison Unit with Thunderstone Pictures, and is a series of 5 short documentary films that are designed to educate and encourage frank conversations in our community about the reality of the life and history of Aboriginal peoples both here and across Canada. The films, which are the creation of award winning film maker Michelle Derosier, are each 10-15 minutes long and address subjects such as treaties, racism, violence against women, and the way forward. This special project builds on the City of Thunder Bay’s declared commitment to strengthening relationships between the City of Thunder Bay and urban Aboriginal Peoples.
Producer/Director, Michelle Derosier, approached about 40 individuals from the city of Thunder Bay and Fort William First Nation of various ages and backgrounds (indigenous and non-indigenous) to listen to their thoughts, concerns, and stories. Michelle wanted to discuss future hopes and aspirations for the community as well as examine the current challenges. She met with various youth, women, business owners, scholars, grassroots activists, researchers, leaders and community helpers. She connected with them through the use of social media and word of mouth, or what she likes to call, the moccasin telegraph. From the beginning, Michelle felt it was extremely important to reach a broad, diverse cross-section of the community and Fort William First Nation to gain honest, well-rounded perspectives on the issues facing both communities and the country as a whole.
Interviews with Leni Riefenstahl, now in her nineties, flash-backs and modern film sequences tell the story of the most famous woman film director of all time. Known for her films made during the Third Reich, Riefenstahl's story is a controversial one. Best known for her "Triumph of the Will," the film made of the 1934 Nazi Party Congress, it proved to be her undoing.
For more than three decades, transnational corporations have been busy buying up what used to be known as the commons -- everything from our forests and our oceans to our broadcast airwaves and our most important intellectual and cultural works. ... [David] Bollier shows how a bold new international movement steeped in democratic principles is trying to reclaim our common wealth by modeling practical alternatives to the restrictive monopoly powers of corporate elites.
Life surrounding the Yangtze is changing due to the Three Gorges Dam. Filmmaker Yung Chang goes on a farewell cruise that traverses the gargantuan waterway.
A two-hour documentary looking at this important historic event from several perspectives, the American, Canadian, British and Native American. The program will have some limited but very well done reenactments and major historians, authors, and experts.
Michael Moore visits a host of nations to learn how the U.S. could improve its prospects. Could the solutions to America's most problems already exist in the world, just waiting to be co-opted?
Explores a half-century of U.S. foreign policy from World War II to the Iraq War, revealing how, as Dwight Eisenhower had warned in his 1961 Farewell Address, political and corporate interests have become alarmingly entangled in the business of war. On a deeper level, what emerges is a portrait of a nation in transition--drifting dangerously far from her founding principles toward a more imperial and uncertain future.
In Japan, Europe and Russia, birth rates are shrinking and the population is aging. In parts of India and Africa, more than half of the still growing population is under 25. The world population is now careening in two dramatically different directions. China revs up examines China's booming economy and the impact its having on the environment.