History

Veteran actors from the 3 Baltic countries - Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania - gather at a castle in Latvia to receive awards for their roles as Nazi villains in propagandist Soviet war films. They reminisce about the films that made them famous throughout the USSR, but also stigmatized the Baltic countries as Nazi sympathizers in the eyes of many Russians - a misconception that is nowadays exploited by the Russian media, desperate to label the Baltic countries as a fascist haven.

Set in July 1793 during the outbreak of the French Revolution and the unleashing of the Reign of Terror, a young girl from Caen named Charlotte Corday plots to assassinate Jacobin newspaper editor Jean-Paul Marat.

The thirties, the heyday of Soviet film production. The story of the famed couple's glory — a filmmaker and actress, behind the external well-being of which were hidden strange contradictory relationships and a sense of fear that they carried through their whole lives. The prologue to this story is the 85th anniversary of Lidiya Polyakova, the formerly brightest star in Soviet cinema, who played the main role in all the films of her own husband, director Konstantin Dalmatov. Now in the courtyard there are other times, Dalmatov’s movies are called ideological agitation, and the director himself and his wife are hiding from the world in the country, trying not to let anyone in.

When his family moves from their home in Berlin to a strange new house in Poland, young Bruno befriends Shmuel, a boy who lives on the other side of the fence where everyone seems to be wearing striped pajamas. Unaware of Shmuel's fate as a Jewish prisoner or the role his own Nazi father plays in his imprisonment, Bruno embarks on a dangerous journey inside the camp's walls.

Latvian artist Gustavs Klucis embraced the technological revolution of the early 20th century and applied it to his art, becoming a classic of Russian constructivism. He created photo-montage and Lenin’s public image, and became the most important Soviet artist. Killed by Stalin’s regime, his artistic career poses many unanswered questions. This documentary reveals many secrets and intimate moments of his dramatic personality – the unequal duel between the Artist and the Power.

1948 War. Lolek, a young Holocaust survivor ,arrives in Israel and thrown
 in the middle of the desert.
A stranger to the language and the new identity he is given, he is assigned in an isolated post under a brutal commander and the burning sun.
 Afflicted by homesickness and the heat, he sets out to look for some shade

Michael Wood explores village life in 14th century England, a time of plague, war and famine. Through the use of a remarkably complete set of documentary records, he explores one village - that of Codicote in Hertfordshire - looking at its boom times and its poorer times. Wood brings the period to life by focusing in on one family, that of the poor peasant Christina Cok, her father Hugh, her estranged husband William, and her children John and Alice. By looking at the poorest members of Codicote's society, Wood approaches his history from the bottom-up rather than taking the traditional historical approach of top-down, 'kings and barons' story-telling.

The complex and beautiful hieroglyphic script of the ancient Maya was until recently one of the last great undeciphered writing systems. Based on the best-selling book by Michael Coe, called by the New York Times "one of the great stories of 20th century scientific discovery", Breaking the Maya Code traces the epic quest to unlock the secrets of the script across 200 years, nine countries and three continents.

The Birth of Israel recounts the events that led up to the 1949 Israeli war of independence resulting in the creation of the Jewish state. It features interviews with those who personally experienced the war as soldiers and civilians. It explores newspaper articles and photographs that were in circulation at the time that described the violence that was taking place.

In the spring of 1945, a Japanese balloon bomb claimed the lives of the only people killed on the continental U.S. as the result of enemy action during WWII. Forty years later, the decision to fold a thousand paper cranes would unite the Japanese and American civilians who were involved in and affected by this incident. “On Paper Wings“ is the story of four Japanese women who worked on balloon bombs, the families of those killed in the U.S., and the man whose actions brought them all together forty years after WWII, and the balloon bomb project.

Film tells the story of one of the most difficult and tragic moments of the liberation war of Ukrainian people against the rule of Poland (1648 - 1657 years) - Battle of Zbarazh.

For centuries the Japanese warred among themselves and their neighbors, creating a colorful, rich and sometimes brutal legacy. Intriguing to outsiders for centuries, modern Japan is no less so In the 21st century. Focuses on Tokyo and its environs, with attention to scenery, shopping and shrines.

Young prince Aleksandr has to hold out against two enemies - the Horde in the east and the Teutonic order and Sweden in the west. He discovers that some boyars are plotting against him and are ready to betray Novgorod to the Swedes and the Germans to boost their trade. Meanwhile, his best friend falls under suspicion, as somebody tries to poison the young prince at his own wedding feast. Aleksandr has no way out - to defend his people against the invaders and to find the true poisoner.

Did Romanov Princess Anastasia survive a Bolshevik firing squad or did she and her brother Crown Prince Alexis perish with their father, Tsar Nicholas II, before another firing squad in 1918? The chance find of human remains in a Siberian forest brings forensic anthropologist Dr.Anthony Falsetti in search of the truth. Marshalling DNA, ballistics and the very latest forensic analysis, an international team works to dispel the greatest myth of the 20th century and tell a real story more remarkable than any fiction.

Ajan Faquir Saheb is an Assamese language biographical film produced by Bani Kalita and directed by Asif Iqbal Hussain. The film was released on 25 April 2008. The film is based on the life of Ajan Fakir, the Sufi saint and poet who came to Assam from Baghdad. Taken from Wikipedia.

Follow the triumphs and tragedies of America's first family, the Kennedys, beginning in Wexford, Ireland, in 1848 and culminating at the apex of American political life. Viewers meet P.J. Kennedy and John "Honey Fitz" Fitzgerald, whose prized progeny, Joe Sr. and Rose, bred four famous sons: Joe Jr., Jack, Bobby and Ted. The documentary also shines a light on the remarkable women of the family, including Eunice, Jean, Jackie and Caroline.

Cedar and Bamboo is a thought-provoking documentary about the unique relationships shared by early Chinese immigrants and Aboriginal peoples on Canada’s west coast. The documentary recounts the life experiences of four descendants of mixed heritage. Set in BC, their stories reveal the difficult circumstances of Aboriginal peoples and early Chinese immigrants.

Architectural historian Jon Cannon goes in search of the clues that shed light on how our medieval forebears were able to build the wonders of their world.