Best Documentary

Jacuzzi, spa, massage, swimming pool, restaurant... there are numerous services on luxury liners to satisfy customers and employees must be perfect in logistics and management. It's a dificult challenge for them. Investigation into the two sides of a luxury cruise. Follow us on social media : Facebook : https://www.facebook.com/BestDocumentaryTV

Восени 2014 року в зоні АТО розвідгрупа на чолі з досвідченим капітаном Антоном Саєнком (позивний «Бандерас») намагається запобігти диверсії та знешкодити російського диверсанта. Директор : Заза Буадзе акторський склад: Олег Шульга, Юлія Чепурко, Сергій Лефор

The world of princes and princesses can be very complex, and was even more so in medieval times. Beneath the lust and wealth, the world of seduction is filled with subtlety, and every gesture or attitude can have a special meaning. How does this unusual environment work? Directed and narrated by Liam Dale Follow us on social media : Facebook : https://www.facebook.com/BestDocumentaryTV

Albania is a country still unknown to many people. Thanks to its beautiful beaches, parties and private clubs, tourists never get bored. But behind this dreamy facade, there are many illegal activities that harm the security of the country. Director: Esther Goldmann

She is the most radical and controversial artist of the 20th century - Leni Riefenstahl. He is the inventor of the mountain film, camera designer and film avant-gardist of the 20s - Arnold Fanck. In May 1932, both board a ship and depart on a five-month film-making voyage to Greenland. Their mission is the first ever German-American feature film production: "SOS Eisberg". It's the riskiest and most expensive film project in history. Director: Annette Baumeister Original Title: Eiskalte Leidenschaft - Leni Riefenstahl und Arnold Fanck zwischen Hitler und Hollywood

60 women are waiting for their execution on death row. Who are they? We decided to follow five of them. Dive in these women's lives full of horror, hope, death, and love, in one of the most terrible places in the USA, death row.

Accounts are spreading of the extreme abuse that goes on in Russia’s penal colonies with claims the treatment is aimed at destroying people psychologically. This exclusive documentary goes inside Russia’s prisons to reveal the horrific conditions inmates and political prisoners are subjected to. We follow the husband of jailed Pussy Rioter, Nadia Tolokonnikova, as he visits his wife in prison and see how Nadia is struggling to cope with life in a re-education camp. Sleep and food deprivation, regular beatings and rapes are all common and many prisoners never recover from their time inside. Secret footage, recorded in prison, shows inmates being beaten while interviews with guards and inmates add a new dimension. Shocking, powerful viewing. Director: Madeleine Leroyer and Elise Menand

Pull! The shooting sport that's a hit, for young and old generations! Presented, produced and directed by Liam Dale Follow us on social media : Facebook : https://www.facebook.com/BestDocumentaryTV

They want us to call them « The Soldiers of God »... These legions of holy war are currently active behind the scenes. They are claiming 3 common objectives with ISIS. First they want to set up the Islamic State (the Caliphate) from Syria to Irak, Palestine and even Lebanon. But most of all, they are dying to introduce and enforce Sharia law. To do so, they need to crush their two outspoken ennemies : the Shiites and Bachar Al Assad. For more than 10 days, our journalists team has been allowed to get exclusively immersed into different Jihadist factions. Some of them came from ISIS, other are more independent. For the very first time, a TV camera followed the everyday life of these men and even women, who claim to fight for God. Let's get immersed into one of the most bloodthirsty fighting faction of Syria. Directors: Farouk Atig, Yacine Benrabia

Tour the city of Rome. See and learn the history of Palatine Hill, the Colosseum, Capitoline Hill, Palazzo Senatorio, Palazzo Conservatori, St. Peter’s Basilica, Imperial Forum, Bernini's St. Peter's Square, Piazza Barberini, Vatican City & its museums, the Sistine Chapel (with the paintings of Michelangelo), Castel Sant Angelo, Pantheon, Sant Agnese, Trevi Fountain, Piazza di Spagna, and more. Narrated, produced and directed by Liam Dale. Follow us on social media : Facebook : https://www.facebook.com/BestDocumentaryTV

The World Health Organisation puts the number of deaths from climate change at 250,000 by 2050. We travel the world to see how the devastation wrought by droughts, wildfires, floods and catastrophic rains – all the direct results of climate change – are a political problem, and require political solutions. From the outback of Australia, to the Pakistani Himalayas and Brazilian Amazon, this series takes us to the front line of the approaching disaster. Along the way, we meet people and activists trying to find ways to tackle the biggest issue of the 21st century. A combination of bad policies and political apathy is speeding up climate change. Have we reached the tipping point? Can it be reversed? 00:00 Australia's Coal Conundrum Against the backdrop of dwindling water resources, ravaging bushfires and high unemployment, a controversial new mine set to be built in Central Queensland is being met with controversy and passionate resistance. Further mining activities promise to exacerbate the region’s already dwindling water resources while raising Australia’s contribution to global greenhouse gas emissions. The perceived silver lining in the building of the controversial Carmichael Mine is the promise of job creation. But, at what cost? 50:41 Brazil's Amazonian Battle Deforestation in Brazil’s Amazon increased 30% since Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro came to power. More than 120,000 square kilometers of the Amazon forest have been destroyed: an area a fifth the size of Wales in the last 10 years. It’s displaced around 400 indigenous groups but has also decimated a vast store of carbon that is vital for tackling climate change. The jungles produce 20% of the world’s oxygen. We go on an investigative journey to reveal the gold rush pushing communities over the edge. Along the way, we meet the Mundurukku aboriginal tribes and activists fighting to stop the destruction of Amazon jungles. We also meet activists seeking solutions for a sustainable lifestyle. 01:37:16 Pakistan's Himalayan Meltdown The word Himalaya means House of Snow, and is the second-largest icecap outside the polar regions. But it is melting at the fastest rate in human history. One-third of the Himalayan glaciers are projected to disappear by the end of this century due to climate change, threatening the supply of water to nearly 2 billion people across South Asia. We discover how water became a major flash point between arch-rivals India and Pakistan, due to the Siachen glacier conflict, and go undercover to observe the proliferation of water thieves in Karachi. We also examine the impact of Prime Minister Imran Khan’s billion tree tsunami, Pakistan’s bold bid to mitigate worsening climate change.

We are setting off to discover the Sultanate of Oman, in the Persian Gulf, the orient of the thousand and one nights. It is also the land of the Bedouins. Director: Maud de Bohan Original Title: Somewhere on Earth: Oman

How a game of cricket in Kabul lead one man on an extraordinary journey from London to China. Jon Beardmore, 38 and frustrated with his 9-5 career, makes a decision that will change his life forever. He is inspired by Peter Hopkirks classic book The Great Game, on Secret Service in High Asia, and armed with a burning desire to return to Afghanistan to play a game of cricket. Director: Jon Beardmore Original Title: The Great Game

As a small westernized country tacked onto the geopolitical map of the Near East, Israel has always had to fight. For its existence, first of all, then for its defence and its development. The region’s history is steeped in incredible wealth, having been a crossroads for major civilizations, leading religions and major commercial and cultural currents that have nurtured the European, Arabic and Asian worlds. Pierre Brouwers has scoured a land made rich by intensive immigration and a land of amazing vitality. He shows us a country that grants extreme importance to the past and is ever keen to shape its future. Tel Aviv . Jaffa . Herzliya . Rehevot and the Weizmann Institute . Caesarea . Haifa . Saint-John of Acre (Akko) . Lake of Tiberiade . Golan wine . Nazareth . Bet She'an . The Dead Sea . The Kibbutz and the natural reserve of Ein Gedi . Massada . Neguev . Biblical animals . Eilat . Aerial views . Approach to Jerusalem. Director: Pierre Brouwers Follow us on social media : Facebook : https://www.facebook.com/BestDocumentaryTV

Alaska, "the continent" in the Inuit language: the land of grizzly bears, where we meet travelers, inhabitants and an airplane pilot who help us discover its surprising landscapes, between forests, fjords and volcanoes. Director: Laurent Cadoret Original Title: Somewhere on Earth: Alaska

00:00 From Venice to Eastern Turkey 51:26 Through Iran 01:41:40 From Afghanistan to China 02:31:57 Through China Marco Polo Reloaded re-travels the Silk Road on the tracks of its most well-known voyager: the mediaeval traveler and writer Marco Polo. Four road movie style-documentaries imagine the past and show today's reality, in countries like Turkey, Israel, Syria, Iran, Afghanistan, the Central Asian Republics and China. The films show what is happening if one re-travels Marco Polo's journey again, 700 years after him, his book in mind ("reloaded"), overland, by means of local transport, covering the ancient trade-route on its entire length from Venice to Beijing. We accompany a travel writer on a mission: Bradley Mayhew, 40, born in England, living in the US, is a senior writer for Lonely Planet Publications. He is researching a book on the Silk Road and its legendary voyager. Marco Polo Reloaded shows Bradley at work. He researches, takes notes and pictures, he collects content and experiences. "Curiosity and discovery" is his attitude. He travels by bus, truck or train through oriental cities, inhospitable mountains and forbidding deserts. We wander bazaars and hop dirty bars, we marvel at palaces and wait with him at dusty train stations. We meet people on the road and share their stories. Some cities, Marco Polo passed through 700 years ago, do no longer exist, others have been ultimately altered by modernity, again others still breathe the Orient. Today as in Marco Polo's times some areas are off-limits, dangerous, ridden by crisis or war and the traveler is forced detours. Travelling the Silk Road today is as exciting and adventurous as it was in Marco Polo's time. It is undoubted that Marco Polo travelled East. But did he really reach China? Was he really close to Kublai Khan, as his book suggests? Some historians are doubtful. The films will moderately address these questions, without giving a final answer, of course. Director : Rolf Lambert, Bernd Girrbach Cast : Bradley Mayhew

It's a multi-million dollar industry, hiding suffering. From Paris Fashion Week to backroom boutiques, we investigate the hidden side of luxury. Director: Zoe de Bussierre

Namibia has the third highest levels of income inequality in the world. 6% of the population own 70% of the land and here, the wounds of German Colonisation run deep. Between 1904 -1908, the Germans established concentration camps where the indigenous Herero and Nama people were interned. Up to 80% of them died in what Germany later recognised as the first genocide of the 20th Century. While the descendants of these victims, like Karvita, live on illegal settlements in constant fear of eviction, the descendants of these colonists continue to own most of the land and have no problem justifying their inheritance. Most of Namibia’s vast natural resources are owned or controlled by foreigners. The diamond industry is dominated by DeBeers and the ruling Swapo party, widely seen as corrupt, is propped up by its historic ally: China. The construction and uranium industries are controlled by the Chinese and documents leaked in 2021 revealed that North Korea was illegally subcontracted to build the country’s State House. Most of the country is sparsely populated, enabling nature to flourish. It’s home to one to one of the greatest wildlife populations in the world, including the only free roaming black rhinos. But these animals are constantly threatened by Chinese mafia while global warming is increasing desertification, threatening indigenous communities. Director: Esther Goldmann

Taiwan is one of the most advanced democracies in the world. It’s also one of the most threatened. Despite being one of the world’s leading economies, having its own president, government, flag and anthem, no country recognises it. The problem is that China has always considered Taiwan to be one of its own provinces. Even today, President Xi Jinping does not rule out using force to claim it back. But what’s different now is that both sides seem to be becoming more militant… For decades, the majority of people in Taiwan wanted nothing to change. They were careful to avoid offending China while enjoying the freedoms and lifestyle of not living under a dictatorship. Wayne is one of those Taiwanese people who wants this status quo to continue. His business depends on China but he doesn’t want reunification. “Everyone knows it, Taiwan is an independent country… but you don’t have to shout it from the rooftops, that’s all…”. But since the 2014 Sunflower movement, a majority of young people are increasingly demonstrating for independence, even if it means China cracking down. Having seen what happened in Hong Kong, they believe they need to be more proactive. “We are a democratic and free country. Whereas they are an authoritarian country … we must oppose China and become independent.” explains Roy. On the other side CUPP, an extremist pro-Chinese party, is actively pushing for reunification. Founded by a mafia gang leader, members have been convicted for attacking and harassing independence supporters. Today the Taiwanese are at a turning point in their history. Will the de facto independence of their country become official? Or will Beijing do everything in their power to annex the small island? Director: Bruno Gex

It was the highest building constructed during the Middle Ages and is an architectural masterpiece. Built over hundreds of years, between 1176 – 1439, Strasbourg Cathedral is radically different from any other Cathedral. It built using new technologies and according to principles never tested before. For the first time, the researchers were able to trace in 3D the incredible history of this project. They reveal how the builders were able to defy the laws of physics to build higher and higher and explain the importance of iron in this stone cathedral. Director: Lionel Langdale Original Title: Extreme Constructions: The Secrets of Strasbourg Cathedral

This land rich in history embodies all the magic of India. Located in the North of India, it is the ancestral land of the maharajas. We go to meet inhabitants and travelers of this isolated state between plains and mountains. Director: Laurent Cadoret Original Title: Somewhere on Earth: Rajasthan

Una giornata nella vita di Giovanni Granati, un falconiere italiano e addestratore di animali selvatici che vive nella campagna incontaminata dell'Abruzzo, insieme ai suoi falchi, aquile, lupi e altre incredibili creature. Regista: Lara Celenza

In the far west of the Sahara lies Mauritania. Ten years ago, this country was a busy crossing for migrants from West Africa to the Canary Islands, but since the Spanish coast guard have taken up patrols, no one has gotten through. Mauritania is one of those countries that has managed to escape the attention of the world press. A country of sand where the first cities were not built until the 1960s, but urbanisation has brought many desert customs to the city. Notorious is the habit of force-feeding young girls with camel milk and breadcrumbs dipped in olive oil, a banned custom intended to make them more attractive on the marriage market. It turns out that there is much more happening in Mauritania that they would rather hide. Directors: David Kleijwegt & Erik van Empel

Sixty years of producing standardized fruit and vegetables and creating industrial hybrids have had a dramatic impact on their nutritional content. In the past 50 years, vegetables have lost 27% of their vitamin C and nearly half of their iron. Take the tomato. Through multiple hybridizations, scientists are constantly producing redder, smoother, firmer fruit. But in the process, it has lost a quarter of its calcium and more than half of its vitamins. The seeds that produce the fruits and vegetables we consume are now the property of a handful of multinationals, like Bayer, and Dow-Dupont, who own them. These multinationals have their seeds produced predominantly in India, where workers are paid just a handful of rupees while the company has a turnover of more than 2 billion euros. A globalized business where the seed sells for more than gold. According to FAO, worldwide, 75% of the cultivated varieties have disappeared in the past 100 years. Loss of nutrients, privatization of life, We reveal the industrialists’ great monopoly over our fruit and veg. Director: Linda Bendali