British Sitcom: 60 Years of Laughing at Ourselves

Documentary celebrating the British sitcom and taking a look at the social and political context from which our favourite sitcoms grew. We enjoy a trip through the comedy archive in the company of the people who made some of the very best British sitcoms. From The Likely Lads to I'm Alan Partridge, we find out the inspiration behind some of the most-loved characters and how they reflect the times they were living in.

Our World

Various international presentions are featured through satellite uplink.

Happy Birthday Mr Bean

A celebratory documentary looking back at the 30 years since comedy legend Mr Bean landed on our screens. This documentary explores the magic behind this unlikely hero.

And the Dish Ran Away with the Spoon

A documentary about the domination of Caribbean television by programs from the North, primarily the US. Proceeding from the observation that television in the Caribbean is overwhelmed by US and French programs, this film ambitiously weaves together interviews, indigenous poetry and music with clips from imported French and US television programs to show how Caribbean viewers receive a distorted view of the world that alienates them from their own cultural heritage. Also included is a glimpse of how Cuba has tackled the problem, featuring an interview with Cuban film director Tomás Gutiérrez Alea, and the US response in the form of Radio and TV Marti. This is part of the Developing Stories Series on Environment and Development. Starweek Magazine called it "An astonishingly searing look at TV."

UFO's Are Here!

Australian-made film with Steven Spielberg, Stan Deyo, Stanton Friedman, Dr. Alan Hynek, Jacques Vallee, Ken Arnold, Betty Hill and Ray Palmer (publisher of the Shaver Mystery). This rare TV documentary gave birth to The Cosmic Conspiracy and contains clips of the first episode of Star Wars and Jaws.

The Definitive Elvis: The Television Years

"The Television Years" examines the events that took place in the years between 1956 and 1960, in which Elvis Presley excited a whole nation as the "King of Rock and Roll" in the big television shows of the time. One highlight of this time periode was Elvis' 1960 combeback hosted by Frank Sinatra, which marked his first appearance on televison after his two-year stay in the army.

The Doctors: 30 Years of Time Travel and Beyond

More than 30 years have now passed since a certain time traveling police box first materialized on our television screens, and the exploits of its various crews have enthralled audiences ever since. Here is the story of Britain's Number 1 Science Fiction programme told in order of the various actors who have played the Doctor.

Information Violence

Turtle Power: The Definitive History of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

In the spring of 1984, a strange new comic book sat beside cash registers in select shops, too big to fit in the racks, and too weird to ignore. Eastman and Laird's Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles presented a completely original breed of super hero. It was too bizarre, too crazy. It broke all the rules and should never have worked. Until it sold out. Again and again and again. For 30 years. Now, peek under the shell and see how this so-called "happy accident" defied every naysayer to become one of the most popular and beloved franchises in the world.

The Latino List

Documentary film interviews leading Latinos on race, identity, and achievement.

Control Room

A chronicle which provides a rare window into the international perception of the Iraq War, courtesy of Al Jazeera, the Arab world's most popular news outlet. Roundly criticized by Cabinet members and Pentagon officials for reporting with a pro-Iraqi bias, and strongly condemned for frequently airing civilian causalities as well as footage of American POWs, the station has revealed (and continues to show the world) everything about the Iraq War that the Bush administration did not want it to see.

Chacrinha: Eu Vim para Confundir e Não para Explicar

Chacrinha's legacy on TV and excerpts from his personal life are revealed through testimonials and archive images, which tell the story behind the cameras, the behind the scenes that consolidated a new way of communicating Brazil and the facets of a man who is one of the most interesting contemporary characters on the national cultural scene.

Montgomery Clift

A documentary incorporating footage of Montgomery Clift’s most memorable films; interviews with family and friends, and rare archival material stretching back to his childhood. What develops is the story of an intense young boy who yearned for stardom, achieved notable success in such classic films as From Here to Eternity and I Confess, only to be ruined by alcohol addiction and his inability to face his own fears and homosexual desires. Montgomery Clift, as this film portrays him, may not have been a happy man but he never compromised his acting talents for Hollywood.

Mitterrand et la télé

May 10th, 1981. François Mitterrand is elected President of the Republic. The “soviet tanks” supposedly coming upon the Champs-Élysées dressed in red, feared by some, did not march. Serge Moati takes a personal look at this episode, focusing on the relationship the president had with television, that he witnessed and played a role in.

Secrets from Another Place: Creating Twin Peaks

A select group of key creative forces involved in the making of Twin Peaks reveals their take on the fascinating creation and journey of the wildly popular show.

A Brony Tale

Vancouver-based voice artist Ashleigh Ball has been the voice of numerous characters in classic cartoons such as Care Bears, Strawberry Shortcake, Cinderella and more. When Ashleigh was hired to voice Apple Jack and Rainbow Dash for Hasbro's fourth series to use the My Little Pony name - My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic - she had no idea she would become an Internet phenomenon and major celebrity to a worldwide fan-base of grownups. Bronies are united by their belief in the show's philosophy. This documentary gives an inside view of the Pony fan-world, and an intimate look at the courage it takes to just be yourself...even when that means liking a little girls' cartoon.

The Green Girl

A feature-length documentary about Star Trek's iconic original Green Girl, Susan Oliver: Prolific actress of the '50s - '80s, original member of the American Film Institute's Directing Workshop for Women, record-setting female aviator; Tragically taken by cancer in 1990. With over 120 major acting credits in film and television, Susan Oliver was literally a household name in the 1960's. She set a number of world records as a pilot and was one of the only women directing major TV shows in the 1980's. And yet many people don't even remember her name today. It's time to remember Susan Oliver...

Distress Signals

American television programming dominates around the world at the expense of regional cultural voices.

Perfect Bid: The Contestant Who Knew Too Much

Maths teacher Ted Slauson became adept at recording and memorizing prices of products featured on the iconic game show The Price is Right, an obsession dating back to the show's inception in 1972. This passion and dedication for the show culminated in him helping a contestant place a perfect bid during a 2008 showcase, an innocent act that would create one of the biggest controversies in television industry history.

Désentubage cathodique

From falsehood to mystification to manipulation and false impartiality, the whole logic of disinformation and brutality is brought to light. When the king of the media and his politico-journalistic buffoons are sifted by a radical counter-audiovisual power, the discredit of the "elites" sanctioned by the referendum of May 29, 2005 is better understood. With this film, Zalea TV's team had decided to laugh about it and make them laugh, even if at bottom these discoveries were rather disturbing. By staging a series of very simple techniques of "self-defense", this film is an invitation to self-disengage permanently. The use of the TV-B Gone, an instrument whose sole function is to turn off the television, appears here as the ultimate resort to media criticism.