Best Documentary

Rome is the city of 28 centuries of history. It is the cradle of Western civilization. Center of the Roman Empire, heart of the Catholic religion with the Vatican, Rome blends Roman amphitheatres, Renaissance palaces and Baroque fountains in surprising harmony. Roman buildings, Renaissance palaces and Baroque fountains in surprising harmony. surprisingly harmonious. Rome is an open-air museum with an extremely important heritage. Director: Jacques Vichet

Over 1,000 years ago, the Chinese made a discovery that changed the world. This science documentary takes us on an action-fueled rocket ride through the world of dynamite, TNT, and Semtex. From mini-blasts that protect drivers in accidents, to special effects in the cinema, to the highly complicated blasting of a high-rise building: there are many more bangs in our everyday lives than we think. Our modern life is unthinkable without explosives: Material for new roads or railways is extracted from quarries by blasting. Airbags inflate in fractions of a second and save lives – thanks to tiny detonators. There are even systems in cars to protect pedestrians in accidents, cushioning the impact on the bonnet. In the USA, researchers are using explosives to create new substances and nanoparticles that could revolutionize technology. They are extremely hard, heat-resistant, and conduct electricity excellently. With the help of these nanoparticles, more powerful electronic components can be produced and, for example, the charging times of batteries can be significantly reduced. These super materials are only created by the high pressures and temperatures during detonation. Explosives release enormous forces in millionths of a second – this film is about how many different ways you can use this unique property.

Eraclio is llamero, he leads lamas. To live, he crosses twice a year the largest desert in the world. Director: Philippe Molins

For six months, guards and inmates at the maximum security prison in Albany, New York, were monitored. The magazine team focuses on Tammy Lord, a mother of four who was convicted of theft, Michael Chmielewski, a murderer, and Mike Turner, considered a very dangerous man. Member of a gang, the latter tried on several occasions to foment mutinies against the guards. Cameras have also entered death row alongside people awaiting execution like Rodney Reed, a 48-year-old African-American. As for Anthony Graves, wrongly accused of murder, he was finally released. Director: Mathilde Gautry

Reggie spends a week in Bexar County Jail, eating, sleeping and working alongside the inmates.

While Hitler faced frustrations on all fronts, the Japanese were kept at bay by the Americans, despite heavy casualties, the Allied leaders faced a new challenge. Churchill and Roosevelt had always been comfortable working together, but Russian leader Joseph Stalin added tension. With the invasion of France imminent, plans made at the Teheran Conference were a full of diplomatic negotiations. Produced and narrated by Liam Dale

00:00 7 wonders of the modern world 00:37 Angkor Vat & Angkor Thom, Siem Rep, Cambodia 07:50 Golden Bridge, San Francisco, USA 14:10 Salvador de Bahia, Brasil 21:26 The Mont Saint Michel, France 28:48 Acropolis, Athens, Greece 36:00 Chichen Itza, Yucatan, Mexico 44:17 The Mai Valley, Seychelles Islands Director : Jacques Vichet

The Jaguar internship lasts 9 weeks. It trains non-commissioned officers and officers in planning and conducting section-level operations in the equatorial forest. The AMF (forest monitor assistant) course lasts 7 weeks. It is reserved for legionnaires only.

Reggie spends time working as a guard at Guilford County Jail in North Carolina.

In Rajasthan, often called The Land of Kings, the grandeur of the Maharajahs remains intact. Age-old customs endure, and royal heritage is held in the highest regard. Even today, ordinary citizens bow before their princes, offering small sums of money as tokens of reverence—despite the vast wealth that separates them. Dananjay Singh, the future ruler of Khimsar, is about to wed. A team of journalists has been granted access to the lavish, week-long festivities. On the final day, the young nobleman will ride an elephant to meet his bride for the first time—a match arranged by his grandmother. Meanwhile, Laksharaj Singh, draped in sunglasses and surrounded by security, oversees the luxury hotel empire built from the ten former palaces he inherited. Though known for his extravagant lifestyle, his greatest obligation remains securing an honorable marriage. Padmanabh, a 13-year-old heir to a €500 million fortune, gets a glimpse of his future on his birthday, enveloped in a whirlwind of rituals and expectations. This documentary delves into the opulence and traditions of Rajasthan’s aristocracy, contrasting their indulgent existence with the stark realities of poverty that define much of the country. Beneath the spectacle, we witness the private struggles of young royals who, despite their privileged destinies, long for a life of normalcy. Director: Stéphanie Lebrun & Mélanie Gallard

Official reports state that a worker falls victim to toxic chemical poisoning in the manufacturing process every five hours, though the actual toll is suspected to be much higher. Captured discreetly over a span of three years, 'Complicit' chronicles the journey of Yi Yeting, a former Chinese factory worker turned activist, and a group of like-minded individuals striving to enhance working conditions in these factories. Grappling with his own battle against work-induced leukemia, Yi Yeting delves into self-education on labor law to mount a legal challenge against his past employers. Subsequently, he establishes a legal cooperative to advocate for and educate other ailing workers. Beyond confronting corrupt officials, these activists covertly infiltrate factories producing goods for some of the world's leading brands to gather evidence of perilous working environments.

Reggie heads to Ghana to live on one of the largest e-waste dumps in the world – Accra’s notorious Agbogbloshie. Working with a group of “burner boys”, grafting at the bottom of the ladder, Reggie discovers first-hand what life is like for the people who eek out a living on the site. Dumping e-waste is illegal and the chemicals in the soil in Agbogbloshie mean it has been described as “the most toxic place on earth”. But can we really be complicit in creating it? (Subtitles available on this video)

A staggering ten tons of plastic is churned out each second, with 10% of this ending up in our oceans. Dire predictions warn that by 2050, the seas will harbor more plastic than fish. Confronted by this global crisis, numerous businesses, including the Coca-Cola Company, pledge to embrace recycling, despite selling a whopping 4000 plastic bottles every second worldwide. Can we trust these multinational commitments, and is recycling truly the panacea? Our investigation into these corporate assurances reveals that their promises are as saccharine-laden as their products

With an estimated 180 million singletons in China and people traditionally marrying early, the race to find a soulmate before surpassing the sell by date is frantic. Singles fairs, where CVs are passed around, speed-dating and lessons in the art of seduction are all examples of a booming westernised market. But there is a massive imbalance in the sexes due to the penchant for male offspring since the single-child policy was introduced in 1980. Future brides are in short supply and the men most likely to find a wife are those in a strong financial position. With the economic liberalization of China and the rise of the wealthy businessman, an ancient tradition has resurged: the concubine. Young women, often students from poorer families, seek positions as mistresses at the beckoning call of wealthy men. Hidden away in lavish apartments and given large sums of pocket money, they enjoy a life of ease and luxury. The wives of these men have gone to drastic measures to unveil their fickle husbands’ crimes. We take a ride with private detectives and meet the one dubbed, ’The Concubine Killer’. Director: Anne Loussouarn

After so many years of German supremacy, as 1942 drew to a close, the Allies were really beginning to make headway. The British made a crucial breakthrough in North Africa, and the Americans pushed the Japanese out of Burma and New Guinea, while in Russia the Germans found themselves surrounded, as the winter snow set in over Stalingrad.

Reggie Yates goes inside a refugee camp in Iraq, where he is touched to be invited to a wedding.

As the demand for precious metals surges and terrestrial sources dwindle, the world turns its gaze to the vast oceans. Thousands of shipwrecks, holding cargoes of 'precious metals,' litter the seabed, now within technological reach. Underwater archaeology has exposed a staggering 3 million sunken vessels, 3,500 of them carrying treasures such as gold, silver, and porcelain. Billions of dollars worth of this submerged wealth lies untouched at the ocean floor, waiting to be reclaimed with today's technology. Yet, the quest to recover this sunken treasure raises critical questions. Who holds the right to salvage? Is it the nation hosting the wreck in its territorial waters, the country exploited for its resources in the past, or is it a global effort, as championed by UNESCO? Amid diplomatic struggles and modern-day buccaneers, this international investigation delves into the dynamics of a new era gold rush beneath the waves.

It only took one man to terrify the entire London district of Whitechapel in 1888. The perplexed police, the newspapers hungry for information, the case of Jack the Ripper is still talked about today. But who was he really ? Was there a man behind the monster ? Investigation into the most famous killer in our history. Produced and narrated by Liam Dale Follow us on social media : Facebook : https://www.facebook.com/BestDocumentaryTV

As Haiti’s president, Jovenel Moïse, is killed in an attack on his private residence, we bring you this exclusive investigation into gangs in Haiti. Filmed in May 2021, we meet the most notorious gang leader Jimmy “Barbecue” Cherizier in a country entirely ruled by gangs. Director: Charles Comiti, Cyril Thomas, Daniel Grandclément & Stéphane Haumant

As winter gave way to spring the world watched and waited as the Allied forces prepared for Operation Overlord. Brave and daring, risking all, U.S. General Dwight D. Eisenhower took charge of the campaign to deliver the fight for freedom directly to Adolf Hitler. Produced and narrated by Liam Dale

From the first images, the director immerses us in hell. Downpours, crossroads and flooded villages, population drowned in torrential rain, overflowing sewers. We're in Liberia. Here each summer the rainy season is one of the strongest in the world. In a few days, a fatal rain worsened the difficulties of this country ruined by a devastating civil war. An avalanche of water ravages all the dirt roads. The villages are cut off from the world. Despite the condition of the roads, FOFANA, a money-obsessed Pick-up driver decides to take penniless passengers across the country through the jungle. This trip against the natural elements quickly becomes a nightmare and reveals the terrible living conditions of Liberians. With prodigious ingenuity, each tries as best he can to get out of it. The misfortune of the floods brings happiness to those who help the victims in exchange for a few cents. The pastors of a Baptist church turn Mass into a lucrative raffle ... Soon the director reveals in this incredible film the dramatic reality of a bloodless country. Thousands of children break stones from the age of 5 to "rebuild the country". At the risk of their lives, employees of a multinational palm oil company are transported to the plantation in overloaded cattle dumpsters. For a pittance, crushed by the sun that has finally returned, they plant thousands of palm trees on their confiscated and devastated land ... Director: Philippe Lafaix

Ernesto Guevara, better known as "Che Guevara", marked world history as the greatest known revolutionary. Thanks to numerous testimonies and unpublished archive images, we were able to answer the big question concerning this Cuban legend : who really was Che Guevara ? Follow us on social media : Facebook : https://www.facebook.com/BestDocumentaryTV

With Britain no longer facing Hitler alone, the first G.l.s arrived in the UK, while the Japanese took the advantage afforded them by their surprise attack on Pearl Harbor. As Singapore fell, the Allies looked on in horror as Japan also had control of Java, Burma and New Guinea, as they edged ever closer towards Australia. Produced and narrated by Liam Dale

Russian President Vladimir Putin is laying claim to 1.2 million square kilometers in the Arctic. His main objectives appear to be the colonization of the Arctic and of the North Pole. It's a project more than 20 years in the making.