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.
Is this the new Cold War – fought this time with the weapons of tariffs and counter-tariffs? The US-China trade conflict is an unprecedented economic battle between two superpowers. And there is no end in sight. What are the consequences for individual industries, and what are the implications for Europe?
In the 1990s, Spanish war photographer Gervasio Sánchez documented the lives of children in besieged Sarajevo. 25 years later he returns and confronts today’s adults with images from that time. What became of them? What was it like growing up after the war? An often overwhelming encounter with the past
The Finnish design company Marimekko is famous for its original prints and colours. Maija Isola was one of Marimekko’s first designers and she spent 38 years working for the company. What is the secret behind the fabric designs that conquered first Finland and then the whole world? We tell the story of this extraordinary artist.
It is 1212: Thousands of children from Central Europe set off for Jerusalem to liberate the Holy City from the Saracens. With no equipment, weapons, provisions or money and driven only by their faith, most meet their death or are sold into slavery. What was behind this historically unprecedented crusade? What is fact, what is fiction? A search for clues.
Forests and tens of thousands of lakes – that’s Karelia, a region in north-eastern Europe. Part of it belongs to Finland, a larger part, known as the Republic of Karelia, belongs to Russia. Only seven percent of the inhabitants identify as Karelians, the majority are Russians. Many Karelians are concerned about the survival of their culture and fight to keep it alive.
Is it possible to untangle the hidden structures of the communication system of killer whales? Along the west coast of Canada an interdisciplinary, international team of researchers sets out to find answers.
Can feminism be Islamic? The role of women in Islam is a constant subject of controversy. We introduce female scholars of Islam, artists and authors who have set themselves the goal of finding their own path to emancipation.
We are immersed in elegant scenes of traditional temples to wellness. The focus is on design and architecture as well as the culture of bathhouses from various periods: the Géllert Thermal Bath in Budapest, the Sento Takara-yu in Tokyo, the Roman Baths in Bath and the Hamam Kılıç Ali Paşa in Istanbul.
Muay Thai: the martial art of the kings. In Thailand this popular national sport is still a male preserve. However, more and more young girls and women aspire to a professional career in the ring and are questioning centuries-old traditions. They call for social change, insisting that Thai boxing is a sport for everyone.
Carlotta cannot see faces, not even her own. For her, human faces are no bastion of trust, but places of fear and confusion. Filmmaker and neuroscientist Valentin Riedl travels through Carlotta’s universe, full of anthropomorphic animals, lucid dreams and bumpy false paths. Her never-ending search for answers leads her to art—and thus an avenue to her own face and back to humanity.