Never before have we watched as much porn as today yet the traditional porn industry is dying. The arrival of web sites showing amateur clips has transformed the way porn is made and consumed. Behind this transformation lies one opaque multinational.
It’s the last dictatorship of Europe, caught in a Soviet time-warp, where the secret police is still called the KGB and the president rules by fear. Disappearances, political assassinations, waves of repression and mass arrests are all regular occurances. But while half of Belarus moves closer to Russia, the other half is trying to resist…
They call it ’blue gold.’ Around the world, demand for water is exploding. By 2050, at least one in four will live in a country suffering from water shortages - creating ideal conditions for a new market. Goldman Sachs, HSBC, UBS, Allianz, Deutsche Bank, BNP. Banks, investment funds and hedge funds are all rushing to invest billions of euros in anything related to water. A real monopoly of water has begun. From California to Australia, from New York to London via Marseille, we investigate the financialization of water. New power relations are being established and access to water is being threatened. It’s a battle taking place on many fronts: ideological, political, environmental, and of course, economic. The fate of nearly 10 billion inhabitants around the world depends on its outcome.
Like the Amish, the ultra-conservative Christian community of the Mennonites reject modern society and live a life frozen in the 19th century. Nearly all Mennonites live in self-sufficient colonies, embracing isolation, which helps protect them from the temptations of the modern world. Now, for the first time, one of these communities has agreed to open their doors to our cameras.
Gold, the enduring safe investment and symbol of wealth, comes at a high price. Mined in slave-like conditions, it has been linked to everything from funding civil wars in Africa to causing environmental disasters in Latin America. The market for gold is enormous with 70% of global production handled by just one country: Switzerland. The industry has been protected by the Swiss state for more than a century, and turning a blind eye here is standard practice. Despite attempts at reforms, a lack of transparency still remains. We travel to Peru, Congo, Dubai and Switzerland to investigate.
The French researcher Bertrand Monnet visits pirates in Nigeria and Somalia to learn how they make money from oil theft and kidnapping.
As the forces of ISIS and Assad tear through villages and society in Syria and Northern Iraq, a group of brave and idealistic women are taking up arms against them—and winning inspiring victories. Members of “The Free Women’s Party” come from Paris, Turkish Kurdistan, and other parts of the world. Their dream: To create a Democratic Syria, and a society based on gender equality. Guns in hand, these women are carrying on a movement with roots that run 40 years deep in the Kurdish Workers’ Party (PKK) in Turkey. GIRL’S WAR honors the legacy of Sakine Cansiz, co-founder of the PKK who was assassinated in Paris in 2013, and reflects on the sacrifices made by all of the women in the movement, who have endured jail, rape, war, and persecution in their quest to liberate their lives and sisters from male dominance. With scenes of solidarity, strength, and love amongst these brave women soldiers, GIRL'S WAR is a surprising story of Middle Eastern feminism on the front lines.