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Escaping ISIS

   2015    Culture
In August 2014, ISIS militants raided a Yazidi village in Syria, kidnapping thousands of men, women and children. Hundreds of the kidnapped men were killed or forced to convert to Islam; the women and children were sold as sex slaves or to marry ISIS fighters. Many were raped or became victims of other forms of sexual violence. Escaping ISIS depicts 34 of those captured by militants last year — mostly women and young children — reuniting with their families as they escape to freedom". Some victims were brought to freedom through underground networks, guides inside ISIS and resistance fighters. Women contacted the resistance fighters, begging for rescue; some said the alternative is committing suicide. Many escapees walk for several days with little food and water, often barefoot, risking getting recaptured and killed. One resistance fighter was shot in the back of the head in ISIS territory after they found out that he was working against them. The documentary shows parts of this treacherous journey to freedom.

Red Army

   2015    Culture
A feature documentary about the Soviet Union and the most successful dynasty in sports history: the Red Army hockey team. Told from the perspective of its captain Slava Fetisov, the story portrays his transformation from national hero to political enemy. From the USSR to Russia, the film examines how sport mirrors social and cultural movements and parallels the rise and fall of the Red Army team with the Soviet Union. RED ARMY is an inspiring story about the Cold War played out on the ice rink, and a man who stood up to a powerful system and paved the way for change for generations of Russians. From Oscar nominated and Emmy award-winning filmmaker Gabe Polsky.

Bitter Lake

   2015    Culture
And epic film by Adam Curtis that explains why the big stories that politicians tell us have become so simplified that we can’t really see the world any longer. The narrative goes all over the world, America, Britain, Russia and Saudi Arabia, but the country at the heart of it is Afghanistan. Because Afghanistan is the place that has confronted our politicians with the terrible truth, that they cannot understand what is going on any longer". The coumentary reveals the forces that over the past thirty years rose up and undermined the confidence of politics to understand the world. And it shows the strange, dark role that Saudi Arabia has played in this. But Bitter Lake is also experimental. Curtis has taken the unedited rushes of everything that the BBC has ever shot in Afghanistan - and used them in new and radical ways. He has tried to build a different and more emotional way of depicting what really happened in Afghanistan. A counterpoint to the thin, narrow and increasingly destructive stories told by those in power today.

Dawg Fight

   2015    Culture
West Perrine, Florida is a suburban ghetto in Southwest Miami. Over 63% of its residents are African-American and the unemployment rate is three times higher than the national rate. Violent crimes occur on a daily basis in this neighborhood of less than two square miles, where much of its adult male population winds up dead or in prison before their 30th birthday. But there is hope in the hood... Dhafir 'Dada 5000' Harris has built a ring in his momma's backyard and transforms himself into the Don King of illegal backyard fights in Perrine". Dada 5000 (6'3", 270lbs., bench presses 670lbs) grew up blocks away from Perrine's MMA sensation, Kimbo Slice, and spent a year traveling the world as Kimbo's bodyguard. When Kimbo's manager buried video of Dada's spectacular backyard fight debut, for fear of Dada overshadowing his rising superstar, Dada leaves Kimbo's crew and makes a life-changing decisión. In his ring there is no doctors, no ambulance. Just two men in a 12'x12' ring battling in a savage bare-knuckle fight to the finish. Dada's gladiators give everything in the the backyard to feed their families and to try to fight their way out of hood. Meanwhile Dada returns to the ring, is discovered by professional scouts and gets his shot at turning pro in the octagon at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino.

First Celts

   2015    History
The Celts - one of the world's most mysterious ancient people. In Britain and Ireland, we are never far from our Celtic past but in this series Prof. Alice Roberts and archaeologist Neil Oliver travel much further afield, discovering the origins and beliefs of these Iron Age people in artefacts and human remains right across Europe, from Turkey to Portugal. What emerges is not a wild people on the western fringes of Europe, but a highly sophisticated tribal culture that influenced vast areas of the ancient world - and even Rome". Rich with vivid drama reconstruction, we recreate this pivotal time and meet some of our most famous ancient leaders - from Queen Boudicca to Julius Caesar - and relive the battles they fought for the heart and soul of Europe. Alice and Neil discover that these key battles between the Celts and the Romans over the best part of 500 years constituted a fight for two very different forms of civilisation - a fight that came to define the world we live in today. In the first episode, we see the origins of the Celts in the Alps of central Europe and relive the moment of first contact with the Romans in a pitched battle just north of Rome - a battle that the Celts won and that left the imperial city devastated.
Series: The Celts: Blood, Iron, and Sacrifice

The Search for Freedom

   2015    Culture
The Search for Freedom is the story of a cultural revolution fueled by the human desire to live in the moment and do what makes you feel the most alive. DIrector Jon Long presents this visceral look at the pioneers of extreme sports, including skateboarder Danny Way and motobiker Robbie Madison, and the human stories behind their search for thrills.