The EU wanted to make the desert city of Agadez its security anchor in the Sahel region. But after 12 years all Western military and civilian organizations are forced to leave Niger. Three inhabitants of the historic desert town of Agadez recount how the international migration crisis and the interventions of the EU, USA and Turkey have changed their lives over a period of five years.
In spring 2021, people across Turkey were captivated by a series of YouTube videos in which former mafia boss Sedat Peker exposed links between the Erdogan government and organised crime. Can Dündar, an investigative journalist – himself an exile in Germany since 2016 – examines Peker’s allegations and explores their implications for Turkey.
The terrorist attack on Israel on 7 October 2023 has changed the world. What are Hamas’ ultimate objectives? Terrorism researchers, ethnologists and witnesses examine the evolution of the “Hamas system”, from its foundation in 1987 to the present day, shedding light on the organisation’s ideological roots and totalitarian ambitions.
Tensions in the South Pacific are bringing the Philippines back onto the big geopolitical stage. The fact that the island state is riven by major internal political tensions makes the situation even more fragile. What do China and the US hope to achieve and which of the two nations will assert itself in this geopolitical struggle?
The investigative documentary series shows how the race for raw materials creates prosperity and jobs, but simultaneously inflicts harm on people and the environment. Do countries have to abandon their principles for the sake of the energy transition and economy? How can Europe secure resources in future? The film was shot on location in Azerbaijan, China, the US, Chile and Brazil.
Europe has an ambivalent relationship with the PKK, the Kurdistan Workers’ Party – officially a banned terrorist organisation, unofficially an ally in the fight against ISIS. Opponents are wary of legitimising the organisation, echoing the concerns of European security agencies which also classify it as an extremist group. Supporters, however, advocate the abolition of the party ban. What is behind these different perspectives?
Mass graves in Mariupol, child abductions to Russia, brutal mercenary troops – journalists from the Ukrainian investigative news project “Schemes” run by Radio Free Europe have spent two years reporting on the war in their country and experiencing it firsthand every day. This series demonstrates the critical role played by their work.
Civil society and the law system in Russia are under severe pressure from the state. Human rights lawyers have become the last frontier between state violence and society. Mikhail Benyash and a network of like-minded lawyers defend those who dare to speak up. They fight for justice in an increasingly suffocating dictatorship.
Hambach Forest in Germany was supposed to be cleared to expand an open-cast lignite mine. In 2018, during a large-scale police operation to evict activists occupying the forest, film student Steffen Meyn was killed in a tragic accident. Based on his film footage, we chronicle Steffen’s journey and follow him into the activists’ world.
Anti-Semitism is on the rise worldwide, driven to new extremes by the COVID crisis. This film documents the visual roots of this new anti-Semitism, taking a historical look at the visual propaganda of the Nazis.
Cryptocurrencies have a polarising effect – they are considered either a dangerous bubble or the future of money. But what are the risks and benefits? This documentary shows the current shift that is taking place in the global financial architecture and introduces the profiteers and victims, supporters and critics of digital currencies.
Unexploded ordnance, landmines and booby traps have posed a major threat to the civilian population in many regions of Ukraine since Russia’s large-scale invasion of the country. Young women deminers clear important infrastructure points of explosives, putting their own lives at risk in the process. This film is about their everyday lives.
