Venus: Death of a Planet

Billions of years ago, Venus may have harbored life-giving habitats similar to those on the early Earth. Today, Earth's twin is a planet knocked upside down and turned inside out. Its burned-out surface is a global fossil of volcanic destruction, shrouded in a dense, toxic atmosphere. Scientists are now unveiling daring new strategies to search for clues from a time when the planet was alive.

10 Things You Need to Know About Sleep

Documentary revealing the science behind why so many people find it difficult to nod off, and offering practical tips on the best ways to get a good night's sleep.

Angkor et Les Mystères de L'Empire Khmer

The Brain

THE BRAIN is an astonishing voyage of discovery into our last biological frontier. Although today s computers can make calculations in one-100th of a second and technology can transport us outside the bonds of Earth, only now are we beginning to understand the most complex machine in the universe. Using simple analogies, real-life case studies, and state-of-the-art CGI, this special shows how the brain works, explains the frequent battle between instinct and reason, and unravels the mysteries of memory and decision-making. It takes us inside the mind of a soldier under fire to see how decisions are made in extreme situations, examines how an autistic person like Rain Man develops remarkable skills, and takes on the age-old question of what makes one person good and another evil. Research is rushing forward. We’ve learned more about the workings of the brain in the last five years than in the previous one hundred.

Principles of Curiosity

Principles of Curiosity presents a general introduction to the foundations of scientific skepticism and critical thinking, focusing on a simple process we call the three Cs.

The Creeping Garden

An award-winning feature-length creative documentary exploring the extraordinary world of the plasmodial slime mould through the eyes of the fringe scientists, mycologists and artists. In recent years this curious organism has become the focus of much research in such areas as biological-inspired design, emergence theory, unconventional computing and robot engineering.

The Dream Is Alive

The Dream Is Alive takes you into space alongside the astronauts on the space shuttle. Share with them the delights of zero gravity while working, eating and sleeping in orbit around the Earth. Float as never before over the towering Andes, the boot of Italy, Egypt and the Nile. Witness firsthand a tension-filled satellite capture and repair and the historic first spacewalk by an American woman.

Take the World From Another Point of View

In 1973 Yorkshire public television made a short film of the Nobel laureate while he was there. The resulting film, Take the World from Another Point of View, was broadcast in America as part of the PBS Nova series. The documentary features a fascinating interview, but what sets it apart from other films on Feynman is the inclusion of a lively conversation he had with the eminent British astrophysicist Fred Hoyle.

Le Mystère des rivières volantes d'Amazonie

Discovered about twenty years ago, the immense masses of water vapor that fly over the Amazon, called "flying rivers", fascinate researchers. Their future could be intimately linked to climate change.

Darwin's Darkest Hour

In 1858 Charles Darwin struggles to publish one of the most controversial scientific theories ever conceived, while he and his wife Emma confront family tragedy.

Being...Neil Armstrong

It has been said that 10,000 years from now only one name will still be remembered, that of Neil Armstrong. But in the four decades since he first set foot on the moon, Armstrong has become increasingly reclusive. Andrew Smith, author of the best-selling book Moondust, journeys across America to try and discover the real Neil Armstrong. He tracks down the people who knew Armstrong, from his closest childhood friend to fellow astronauts and Houston technicians, and even the barber who sold his hair, in a wry and sideways look at the reluctant hero of the greatest event of the 20th century.

Dames et Princes de la Préhistoire

In 1872, in the cave of Cavillon in Monaco, archaeologist Émile Rivière (1835-1922) unearthed an apparently very old human skeleton, at least 24,000 years old, a discovery that changed the modern image of prehistoric men and women.

Exomars: The Hunt for Life

Did Mars ever have life on it? To answer this question, Europe and Russia have launched a unique and ambitious 2-stage project: ExoMars 2016-2018. This documentary is a thrilling look behind the scenes of a magnificent human and scientific adventure. We will uncover the most fascinating aspects of this mission and the search for signs of life on Mars.

Fais le mort !

If there is one person Matthew Lancit can’t get out of his mind, it is his uncle Harvey. Dark rings around his eyes, pale, blind, his legs amputated. Like Harvey, the filmmaker also suffers from diabetes. He has the disease under control, but one question is always nagging at him: How much longer? His long-term (self-)observation reliably revolves around fears of infirmity and mutilation. He translates the feared body horror into film, stages himself as a zombie, vampire, a desolate figure. Lancit playfully anticipates his potential decline, serving up a whole arsenal of effects which – as video recordings prove – go back to his youth. It is not for nothing that the “dead” in the title is also reminiscent of “dad.” Because “Play Dead!” also negotiates his own role as a father.

Makayla's Voice: A Letter to the World

A teen with autism unlocks a joyous world of self-expression as she shares her voice for the first time using a letter board.

Heal

A documentary film that takes us on a scientific and spiritual journey where we discover that by changing one's perceptions, the human body can heal itself from any disease.

Shark Beach with Chris Hemsworth

Chris Hemsworth has a real passion for sharks. The Hollywood star talks to experts to find out more about the apex predators of the oceans.

Prognosis: Notes on Living

When filmmaker Debra Chasnoff faces stage-4 cancer, she turns her lens on herself and the disease. What emerges is a portrait of her extended LGBTQ family —a story about hanging on while letting go.

La memoria infinita

Augusto and Paulina have been together for 25 years. Eight years ago, he was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease. Both fear the day he no longer recognizes her.

Sanatorium Hill

From 1910-1972, Arkansas State law mandated that all victims of Tuberculosis (TB) be isolated in the State Sanatorium in Booneville, Arkansas. Some of them returned home free of their symptoms from Sanatorium Hill. Others died there, either of the disease or of the gruesome operations prescribed by the doctors. This documentary tells the story of patients who survived these morbid treatments, recovered from the disease of TB but unable to forget the pain, suffering and despair.