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Secrets of the Forbidden City

   2021    Art
The architectural design of Beijing's ancient complex of palaces and temples enabled it to survive centuries of earthquakes. The Forbidden City is the world’s biggest and most extravagant palace complex ever built. For five centuries, it was the power center of imperial China and survived wars, revolution, fires, and earthquakes. How did the Ming Emperor’s workforce construct its sprawling array of nearly 1,000 buildings and dozens of temples in a little over a decade?

Racing Extinction

   2015    Nature
A team of artists and activists exposes the hidden world of extinction with never-before-seen images that will change the way we see the planet. Two worlds drive extinction across the globe, potentially resulting in the loss of half of all species. The international wildlife black market at the expense of creatures that have survived on this planet for millions of years. And the other surrounds us, hiding in plain sight — a world that the oil and gas companies don’t want the rest of us to see. Using covert tactics and state-of-the-art technology, the Racing Extinction team exposes these two worlds in an inspiring affirmation to preserve life as we know it.

The Machine That Feels

   2021    Technology
The film explores how artificial intelligence (AI) is catching up to us in ways once thought to be uniquely human: empathy, emotional intelligence and creativity. AI has the potential to reshape every aspect of our world – but most of us are unaware of what looms on the horizon. This documentary shows viewers what they need to know about a field that is advancing at a dizzying pace, often away from the public eye. Have AI the power to disconnect us from fellow humans? What does it mean when AI makes art? Can really AI interpret and understand human emotions? How is it possible that AI creates sophisticated neural networks that mimic the human brain?
The documentary includes interviews with global leaders, commentators and innovators from the AI field, including Geoff Hinton, Yoshua Bengio, Ray Kurzweil and Douglas Coupland, who highlight some of the innovative and cutting-edge AI technologies that are changing our world.

Magellan Crossing

   2021    History
Ferdinand Magellan and Juan Sebastian Elcano set sail to gain control of the global spice trade, but end up becoming the first expedition to circumnavigate the earth. The yearslong voyage—along with the suffering, the violence and the loss of life and property—were all in pursuit of a shorter route to the so-called Spice Islands (now the Maluku Islands) and their much-coveted aromatics.
The film puts in perspective the 16th century—the Age of Exploration, the Age of Discovery and the Age, problematically, of Colonialism. It also was an age of heroes. As the documentary insists, the journeys undertaken by the men whose names we learned in grade school and whose exploits straddled the 1400s and 1500s—including Ponce de Leon, Vasco da Gama, Lope de Aguirre and even Columbus—were about money, sometimes trade, sometimes plunder. But just as advances in medicine have often been propelled by war, knowledge about the world has been a byproduct of profit-seeking. Likewise, heroism.

Big Cats

   2021    Nature
This immersive series follows the world's most magnificent creatures, capturing never before seen moments from the heartwarming to the outrageous.
In the first episode, majestic, powerful and deadly, big cats were once thought to be solitary creatures. But we're now realizing just how collaborative they can be.
Series: Animal

Edible Insects

   2021    Culture
From crunchy crickets to nutty fly grubs, the film takes a tasty look at insect foods and how they could benefit our health and our warming planet. From Thailand to Texas, insect farmers are showing how the tiny critters stack up as an environmentally friendly alternative to beef protein and can, pound for pound, deliver better nutritional value than the finest steak. But will western people overcome the 'ick' factor and share the appetite of many cultures around the world for insect feasts?