Open Secrets

This provocative documentary uncovers a lost chapter in Canadian military history: how the Armed Forces dealt with homosexual behaviour among soldiers, during and after World War II. More than 60 years later, a group of five veterans, barely adults when they enlisted, break the silence to talk about how homosexual behaviour "was even more unmentionable than cancer." Yet amidst the brutality of war, instances of sexual awakening among soldiers and officers were occuring. Initially, the Army overlooked it, but as the war advanced, they began to crack down: military tribunals, threats of imprisonment, discharge and public exposure. After the war, officers accused of homosexuality were discharged. Back home in Canada, reputations and careers were ruined. For the young men who had served their country with valour, this final chapter was often too much to bear. Based on the book Courting Homosexuals in the Military by Paul Jackson.

TGV, la réussite française

Chinese Chariots Revealed

For over 1,000 years, chariots were indispensable weapons in ancient China. The art of chariot driving and special warfare were used there for longer than anywhere else. Their contribution to the unification of the Chinese empire is undisputed. New archaeological discoveries reveal how the Chinese developed and perfected this sophisticated weapon. In the Bronze Age, over 3,000 years ago, chariots and other war equipment arrived in China from Central Asia via the Hexi Corridor. In addition to trade and new alliances, their spread was mainly due to the Zhou dynasty's incessant military campaigns against rebellious vassal states and the constant attacks by the mobile cavalries of its northern neighbors. Manned with spearmen or archers, the chariots were a decisive weapon in battle.

Concorde, le rêve supersonique

Thundering across the sky on elegant white wings, the Concorde was an instant legend. But behind the glamour of jet setting at Mach 2 were stunning scientific innovations and political intrigue. Fifteen years after Concorde's final flight, this documentary takes you inside the historic international race to develop the first supersonic airliner. Hear stories from those inside the choreographed effort to design and build Concorde in two countries at once - and the crew members who flew her.

Государственные похороны

The enigma of the personality cult is revealed in the grand spectacle of Stalin’s funeral. The film is based on unique archive footage, shot in the USSR on March 5 - 9, 1953, when the country mourned and buried Joseph Stalin.

Manuale di Storie dei Cinema

Handbook of Movie Theaters’ History is a documentary about the history, the development in the present days and the future of movie theaters in the city of Turin, Italy. It mixes the documentary language with comedy and fiction, and is enriched by interviews to some of the most important voices of Turin cinematography. The film follows the evolution of movie theaters by enlightening its main milestones: the pre-cinema experiences in the late 19th Century, the colossals and the movie cathedrals of the silent era, the arthouse theaters, the National Museum of Cinema, the Torino Film Festival, the movie theaters system today and the main hypothesis about its future.

Friedrich Engels - Der Unterschätzte

Friedrich Engels and Karl Marx formed one of the most famous duos in world history. In contrast to Marx, however, Engels seems to have fallen into oblivion today. Unjustly so. Moving archive images, documentary footage and graphic novels lead us back to the time of Friedrich Engels, who shaped the Communist movement like no other.

Antarctica: A Frozen History

Antarctica: A Frozen History takes a look at the history and stories of the human explorations in the Antarctic. Although quite slow paced and relatively old, the documentary film successfully incorporates reconstructed film material and original Antarctic expedition footage to fully illustrate the hardships of the heroic and extreme arctic explorations. Human endurance is tested to the maximum, as the documentary takes a look back at those who have tried, failed and conquered this most unforgiving landscape. Some of these stories entail Robert Falcon Scott, a Royal Navy officer and explorer who led two expeditions to the Antarctic regions: the Discovery expedition of 1901–1904 and the ill-fated Terra Nova expedition of 1910–1913. Scott reached the South Pole in January 1912 only to find he had been beaten to the spot by 33 days. His entire party died on the return journey; eight months later, a search party discovered some of their bodies, diaries and photographs.

Husí kůže – Zimomriavky

Judi Dench: My Passion for Trees

A fungi expert also shows Judi the incredible action going on beneath her feet, revealing an astonishing underground fungal network that looks up to the tips of tree roots, connecting many trees in a forest together. It's an incredible system known as the 'wood wide web'. It is confirmation for Judi that trees aren't just trees, they are a real community that help each other, humans and the planet.

Leonora Carrington: The Lost Surrealist

British surrealist Leonora Carrington was a key part of the surrealist movement during its heyday in Paris and yet, until recently, remained a virtual unknown in the country of her birth. This film explores her dramatic evolution from British debutante to artist in exile, living out her days in Mexico City, and takes us on a journey into her darkly strange and cinematic world.

The NHL: 100 Years

A documentary chronicling the highs and lows of the first century of the National Hockey League, featuring interviews with noteworthy players, coaches and experts.

Who Were the Ones?

This short film was created by a group of Indigenous filmmakers at the NFB in 1972 and is essentially a song by Willie Dunn sung by Bob Charlie and illustrated by John Fadden: "Who were the ones who bid you welcome and took you by the hand, inviting you here by our campfires, as brothers we might stand?" The song expresses bitter memories of the past, of trust repaid by treachery, and of friendship debased by exploitation upon the arrival of European colonists.

Building the Channel Tunnel

The Channel Tunnel linking Britain with France is one of the seven wonders of the modern world but what did it take to build the longest undersea tunnel ever constructed? We hear from the men and women, who built this engineering marvel. Massive tunnel boring machines gnawed their way through rock and chalk, digging not one tunnel but three; two rail tunnels and a service tunnel. This was a project that would be privately financed; not a penny of public money would be spent on the tunnel. Business would have to put up all the money and take all the risks. This was also a project that was blighted by flood, fire, tragic loss of life and financial bust ups. Today, it stands as an engineering triumph and a testament to what can be achieved when two nations, Britain and France put aside their historic differences and work together.

O Corpo de Afonso

How would it look like, the body of Dom Afonso Henriques, first king of Portugal, tutelary figure, subject to successive mythifications throughout Portuguese history?

Trojan Horse: The New Evidence

For centuries Troy was believed to be a mythical city. Now, a leading team of American archaeologists have discovered an ancient thriving city, and evidence of a real Trojan War.

Sperduti nel buio

Documentary about the lost 1914 film "Sperduti nel buio". Film historian Denis Lotto journeys across Europe following the trail of the lost movie.

La face cachée du pétrole

From Rockefeller's first oil wells in 1860 to the recent war in Iraq, oil has been the driving force behind the tragic history of the 20th century. As a vital and strategic raw material, it has been at the heart of all political calculations. So much so that the world of oil has always been dominated by opacity and misinformation. The film lifts the veil on carefully guarded secrets and provides keys to understanding the issues surrounding oil, at a time when a veritable war over resources is underway.

Underground Railroad: The William Still Story

William Still was one of the most important, yet largely unheralded heroes of the Underground Railroad. Still was determined to get as many runaways as he could to "Freedom's Land," smuggling them across the US border to Canada. Bounty hunters could legally abduct former slaves living in the so-called free northern states, but under the protection of the British, Canada provided sanctuary for fugitive slaves.

Caligula: 1400 Days of Terror

This two-hour History Channel special examines controversial new theories about the man who ruled the world's mightiest Empire with sadistic brutality. His reign of terror lasted just 1,400 days. Yet even today everyone knows his name. Most have said he was crazy. But was he? This is the story few know behind one of the most infamous figures of the Ancient World--Caligula.