Cruises are enjoying huge popularity once again. More ocean-liners are docked in European ports than before the pandemic. But insiders warn of pollution and lesser-known safety risks on board the ships. Can the cruise industry satisfy continued demand but also protect the environment and guarantee passenger safety?
Through the stories of three prominent Ukrainian politicians, from 2013 to the present, we witness the country’s struggle for democracy, self-determination and geopolitical stability. We follow our protagonists as they evolve from activists to politicians in a fragile democratic system, to defenders of their country against the invasion of Russia.
March 2022. Russia is waging war on Ukraine. Inside Russia, strategic nuclear weapons are being relocated. President Putin has openly threatened to use nuclear weapons if the West provided Ukraine with military support. The return to nuclear weapons is an issue we discussed with many international experts back in 2018. We now got in touch once again with many of the people we spoke to, back then.
In 2020, hundreds of thousands of people in Belarus protested against the rigged elections. State authorities reacted with brutal violence and many protesters, including leading opposition figures, were forced to flee. We meet them in exile, where they relentlessly fight for the ones they have left behind and for a better future for their country.
Water as a resource is become ever scarcer. We show how people are battling with dry conditions and drought, for example in the US, Afghanistan, India or Germany. You can see the effect water scarcity has on plants and animals and how conflicts over water are escalating.
Lured by promises of a better life, children and young adults are smuggled out of Vietnam into Europe, where they are exploited, and some even disappear. The film follows the trail of the Vietnamese mafia across several European countries to Great Britain. High-ranking investigators, witnesses, victims and perpetrators tell their tale.
New York saw more cases of Covid-19 than any other city. The virus brought fundamental and drastic changes. In unique images, this film looks back at the first year of the pandemic in New York, exposing the soul of this mythical, complex and beautiful city in one of its most challenging periods.
Since the pandemic brought international tourism to a standstill, one thing is for sure: too much travel is bad for the environment. Our desire to travel remains unbroken. But do travellers have to decide between the extremes: the appeal of the exotic and holidays at home? How do tourism-plagued cities envisage their future? And what are the alternatives – will we only be able to travel virtually?
In 2021, the online encyclopaedia Wikipedia celebrates its 20th anniversary. We take a look at the structure of this virtual giant. Who are its creators, who are the authors who write up to 12,000 articles every day? Are they representative of the knowledge of this world and will they soon be superseded by artificial intelligence?
A fact-finding film about investigators, victims and members of the Nigerian mafia. Thanks to exclusive access to wire-tapped conversations and witness statements, the film exposes the structure of this dangerous network which is spreading further across Europe. We accompany a public prosecutor, policeman, survivor and social worker in their campaign against organised crime.
In 2004, European citizen Khaled El Masri was illegally abducted by the CIA and taken to a secret prison near Kabul. His case brought the CIA’s worldwide so called “rendition program”, whose agents were forcibly taking suspected terrorists to secret locations and torturing them, to light. In this political thriller we tell his story for the first time.
In the last four years, large parts of Europe have experienced a drought that has had drastic consequences for forests and agriculture. Which measures could counteract drought? The film introduces scientific, agricultural and forestry projects in Germany, France, Spain and Romania that aim to combat the problem.
