Wednesday, April 30, 2014
* Bronson (2008)
A young man who was sentenced to 7 years in prison for robbing a post office ends up spending 30 years in solitary confinement. During this time, his own personality is supplanted by his alter ego, Charles Bronson.
* Britain's Stone Age Tsunami (2013)
Tony Robinson reveals new evidence that shows how a huge tsunami swamped the east coast of Britain 8,000 years ago, and explores the lives of those it affected. For years, these Mesolithic communities were thought to be primitive hunter-gatherers, but through archaeological excavation, Tony discovers they were living comfortable existences in their own houses, with varied diets and sophisticated skills. Scientists take him on a virtual journey through the rich landscape of Doggerland - the area of dry land that connected Britain to Europe - which was destroyed by the wave and persistent flooding.
New research is revealing just how much devastation it brought to the land and its people.
New research is revealing just how much devastation it brought to the land and its people.
* Bringing Up Baby (2009)
Natural World investigates the vital bond between animal mothers and their babies. The more we study animals, the more we realise just how emotional they are; all mothers are faced with tough choices as they struggle to bring up babies in a difficult and dangerous world, constantly balancing their own needs with those of their infants. Yet there are many ways to raise your brood, from the fish who looks after her young in her mouth to the extended childhoods of gorillas or orangutans.
* Brazil with Michael Palin (2012)
Brazil in the 21st century has become a global player. With a booming economy and massive social changes, there is a swagger to this once-sleeping giant, but what do we know of it apart from football and carnival? Michael Palin has travelled across most of the globe over the years, but never to Brazil. In this four-part series he crosses the country as big as a continent to find out what makes it tick.
Part 1: Out of Africa
The seasoned traveller explores the South American country, beginning in the north-east - where Europeans first landed and grew rich on the profits from sugar and tobacco plantations run with slave labour. In Sao Luis, Michael finds out about a ceremony based on a 200-year-old tale before heading to the coastal lagoons of the Lencois Maranhenses National Park. Journeying inland, he gets a glimpse of the fast-disappearing world of old-style cowboys known as vaqueiros, has his fortune read by a Candomble priest and learns to drum with the Olodum cultural collective.
Part 2: Into Amazonia
The Python star continues his first visit to Brazil by travelling by river from the northern border with Venezuela to the capital of Brasilia. Along the way he visits indigenous tribe the Yanomami, learning about the threat to their hunter-gatherer way of life, before watching a rehearsal by the Amazon Philharmonic Orchestra and searching for the remains of Henry Ford's unsuccessful attempt to build a vast rubber plantation in the middle of the rainforest. In Belem, music producer Priscilla explains why Amazonian women are such powerful forces, then he moves southwards, meeting rock star and political activist Dinho Ouro Preto, who believes that despite its social and environmental problems, the country is on the brink of becoming a superpower.
Part 3: The Road to Rio
Michael begins the third leg of his journey in the mineral-rich state of Minas Gerais, where he learns about the Brazilian mining industry and meets some of the people dedicated to overturning the environmental damage it causes. He then heads to Rio de Janeiro, focus of the next World Cup and Olympics, where the authorities are ridding the streets of violent drug gangs that have controlled the city's shanty towns. On a lighter note, the globe-trotting broadcaster also learns to celebrate a goal like a well-known radio commentator and visits a "love hotel".
Part 4: The Deep South
On the last leg of his journey across the South American country, Michael explores the Brazilian south, where he is surprised by the rich diversity of European and Asian influences. Along the way he meets Dom Joao de Orleans e Braganca, second in line of succession to Brazil's defunct throne, goes flying with a man who has made a fortune out of rubbish and meets rap star Criolo, who believes social equality is a distant dream for most of his countrymen. Travelling farther south to Blumenau, the former Python's views on what makes a typical Brazilian are challenged when he finds German speakers and Bavarian dancers, before he catches piranha for sushi and helps cowboys treat a calf attacked by a jaguar.
Part 1: Out of Africa
The seasoned traveller explores the South American country, beginning in the north-east - where Europeans first landed and grew rich on the profits from sugar and tobacco plantations run with slave labour. In Sao Luis, Michael finds out about a ceremony based on a 200-year-old tale before heading to the coastal lagoons of the Lencois Maranhenses National Park. Journeying inland, he gets a glimpse of the fast-disappearing world of old-style cowboys known as vaqueiros, has his fortune read by a Candomble priest and learns to drum with the Olodum cultural collective.
Part 2: Into Amazonia
The Python star continues his first visit to Brazil by travelling by river from the northern border with Venezuela to the capital of Brasilia. Along the way he visits indigenous tribe the Yanomami, learning about the threat to their hunter-gatherer way of life, before watching a rehearsal by the Amazon Philharmonic Orchestra and searching for the remains of Henry Ford's unsuccessful attempt to build a vast rubber plantation in the middle of the rainforest. In Belem, music producer Priscilla explains why Amazonian women are such powerful forces, then he moves southwards, meeting rock star and political activist Dinho Ouro Preto, who believes that despite its social and environmental problems, the country is on the brink of becoming a superpower.
Part 3: The Road to Rio
Michael begins the third leg of his journey in the mineral-rich state of Minas Gerais, where he learns about the Brazilian mining industry and meets some of the people dedicated to overturning the environmental damage it causes. He then heads to Rio de Janeiro, focus of the next World Cup and Olympics, where the authorities are ridding the streets of violent drug gangs that have controlled the city's shanty towns. On a lighter note, the globe-trotting broadcaster also learns to celebrate a goal like a well-known radio commentator and visits a "love hotel".
Part 4: The Deep South
On the last leg of his journey across the South American country, Michael explores the Brazilian south, where he is surprised by the rich diversity of European and Asian influences. Along the way he meets Dom Joao de Orleans e Braganca, second in line of succession to Brazil's defunct throne, goes flying with a man who has made a fortune out of rubbish and meets rap star Criolo, who believes social equality is a distant dream for most of his countrymen. Travelling farther south to Blumenau, the former Python's views on what makes a typical Brazilian are challenged when he finds German speakers and Bavarian dancers, before he catches piranha for sushi and helps cowboys treat a calf attacked by a jaguar.
* Brady and Hindley: Possession (2013)
Documentary about the Moors Murders, including Myra Hindley's version of events, recorded from a prison cell, and the photographs that Ian Brady used to mark the killings.
* Black France (2013)
Black France looks at the history of France's black community and their long struggle for recognition. In May 2013, France's National Assembly successfully voted on a bill to remove the words 'race' and 'racial' from the country's penal code.French President Francois Hollande ran on a platform promising to eliminate the word 'race' from France's constitution. But critics were quick to point out the disparity between constitutional reform and actual practice. Between one and five million French citizens claim African or Caribbean heritage. These numbers are, however, estimates, as population censuses do not recognise race. For over a century, black immigrants, though never officially identified as different, were treated as 'others'. Even today, of France's 577 members of parliament, only five are black. This three-part series tells the story of blacks in France - a long history of segregation, racism, protest, violence, culture and community building - from the turn of the 20th century until the present day.
Episode 1
Conflicting Identities Looks back on what it meant to be both black and French in the decades before France's African colonies achieved independence.
Episode 2
The Battle for Social Justice Reveals the ongoing struggles of immigrants from Africa and the Caribbean to achieve rights, form communities and have their contributions to French society recognised.
Episode 3
The Immigration Problem Focuses on the extreme racism and discrimination black immigrants faced during times of economic hardship and through political shifts in post-World War II France. Produced by Phares and Balises for Al Jazeera.
Episode 1
Conflicting Identities Looks back on what it meant to be both black and French in the decades before France's African colonies achieved independence.
Episode 2
The Battle for Social Justice Reveals the ongoing struggles of immigrants from Africa and the Caribbean to achieve rights, form communities and have their contributions to French society recognised.
Episode 3
The Immigration Problem Focuses on the extreme racism and discrimination black immigrants faced during times of economic hardship and through political shifts in post-World War II France. Produced by Phares and Balises for Al Jazeera.
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