Pussy, Pleasure, Power !

Pussy, Pleasure, Power!

They are reclaiming their bodies and freely expressing their sexuality: Women musicians such as Rihanna, Cardi B, Liza Moet and Megan Thee Stallion are pushing the boundaries of female desire in pop culture just as Jane Birkin, Madonna and Donna Summer did in previous decades. A focus on sex positive popstars in contemporary culture.

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<p>They are reclaiming their bodies and freely expressing their sexuality: Women musicians such as Rihanna, Cardi B, Liza Moet and Megan Thee Stallion are pushing the boundaries of female desire in pop culture just as Jane Birkin, Madonna and Donna Summer did in previous decades. A focus on sex positive popstars in contemporary culture.</p>

Female Desire and Pop Culture

They are reclaiming their bodies and freely expressing their sexuality: A focus on sex positive popstars in contemporary culture.

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How can you misplace 80km2 of territory? In Mexico, the island of Bermeja had been on maps for generations. But when it came to actually finding the island... it seemed as if it had disappeared into thin air. And with the loss of Bermeja, Mexico lost a huge windfall of oil revenue in the Gulf of Mexico. This is a case for Crazy Borders. 

The Lost Island of Bermeja

Crazy Borders

In the early 1990 Pamela Anderson was probably the most famous woman in the world and a potent sex symbol due to her seductive appearance in the popular television series Baywatch. Her relationship with bad-boy musician Tommy Lee fascinated the celebrity press.  As their love life played out in public in the pre-internet age, everything changed when a sextape emerged.

Love, Sex and Videotape

Baywatch’s Pamela Andersen and musician Tommy Lee’s relationsip fascinated the public in the mid-1990s.

Pamela Anderson & Tommy Lee

Over the centuries this famous island, floating between sea and sky, has been a sanctuary, an abbey, a fortress and a prison. But how did this architectural wonder come to be built?

The Enigmatic Labyrinth

Over the centuries this famous island has been a sanctuary, an abbey, a fortress and a prison.

Mont Saint Michel

A train trip through Portugal’s southernmost and sunniest region, the Algarve, on an old diesel locomotive taking in the attractions of this charming holiday region.

Portugal: Through the Algarve by Train

Live fast, love hard, die young. Jimi Hendrix, perhaps the most talented and influential guitarist of the twentieth century, famously died at the age of just 27 in 1970. This documentary tells his life story from humbles beginnings in Seattle to his time gigging in Greenwich Village in New York to his ultimate rise to fame in swinging London of the 1960s.

Jimi Hendrix, "Hear My Train a Comin'"

Kitschy trash or misunderstood genius? Italo disco was the euro sound of the 1980s that many loved and many hated. This documentary looks at how big names of the genre like Sabrina Salerno and duo Righeira conquered the charts.

The Sparkling Sound of the 1980s

Kitschy trash or misunderstood genius? Italo disco was the euro sound of the 1980s that many loved and many hated

Italo Disco

With franchises like Mad Max and Lethal Weapon, Mel Gibson was one of the most successful Hollywood stars of the 1980s and 1990s before being dropped by Hollywood following numerous scandals. Who is this man with a tortured personality, who went from Oscar-winning hero to pariah?

A Tormented Soul

With franchises like Mad Max and Lethal Weapon, Mel Gibson was one of the most successful Hollywood stars of the 1980s and 1990s before being dropped by Hollywood following numerous scandals.

Mel Gibson

In his small apartment in Masuria, Juliusz, 91, dreams of summer. All he wants is to escape to his cabin in the Carpathians, on the shores of Lake Solina, where he lives a simple, rustic life. Krzysztof, at 77, is a youngster by comparison. He came to the forest in 1981 to escape political repression and never left. He believes his life in the countryside is the key to happiness.

Meet the aging hippies who embrace a simple life in the Carpathians, on the shores of Lake Solina

The Vagabonds of the Carpathians

In the buzzing city of Tokyo; works of art aren't just in museums or zen gardens... there's also the hidden masterpieces that don't get displayed. The traditional tattoo, called irezumi, is thousands of years old and carries with it the weight of a long and rich tradition. But modern mainstream Japan has little time for this forgotten slice of history. From the 13th century onwards, tattoos became a marker of social deviance and criminality. In modern Japan, it marked out the members of the brutal Yakuza. But now, it's having a renaissance among Japanese youth.

Japan's Tattoo Taboo

Head to Tokyo for a traditional tattoo session

City Country Culture

Discover contemporary cycling culture in three European cities: Berlin, the unofficial capital of vintage racing bikes. London, where cycle-cafés also hold speed dating evenings and Amsterdam where cyclists stand out from the crowd with style.

Cycling as Lifestyle

Discover contemporary cycling culture in three European cities: Berlin, London and Amsterdam.

Biking Boom

The bicycle is a masterpiece: its poetic shape, mechanics and human like gestures have inspired artists worldwide for over a century. A look at the bike in art and popular culture.

The Bicycle in Art and Pop Culture

The bicycle is a masterpiece: its poetic shape and mechanics have inspired artists for generations.

Biking Boom (2/3)

From California to Iran, from London to Berlin, the bicycle is a symbol of freedom. No other mode of transport has succeeded in liberating so many people.

Protest Culture on Two Wheels

From California to Iran, from London to Berlin, the bicycle is a symbol of freedom for diverse groups.

Biking Boom (3/3)

Never before in Western history have our sex lives been so free. And yet one taboo remains: Abstinence, individuals who have no sex at all. Seven men and women talk about why they have no sexual relationships in frank and emotional accounts of their existence and deepest desires.

Never before in Western history have our sex lives been so free. And yet one taboo remains: Abstinence, individuals who have no sex at all.

No Sex

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Can identities be forced, discarded, changed or revived? In the USSR, national identities were a political instrument. Millions of people were resettled, deported, and Russified. Today, the multi-ethnic social fabric of post-soviet nations harbours explosive tensions and the Ukraine war is opening up old wounds. What does identity mean for the next generation?

Identity

The multi-ethnic social fabric of post-soviet nations harbours explosive tensions and the Ukraine war is opening up old wounds. What does identity mean for the next generation?

Tracks East

More than 10 million people in the world are behind bars with half of the world's prison population in Russian, Chinese or American jails. In the United States, where the prison population has risen sharply in recent decades. Artists are sounding the alarm: Jay Z, Denzel Curry and Meek Mill are calling for judicial reform.

More than 10 million people in the world are behind bars with half of the world's prison population in Russian, Chinese or American jails. 

Tracks: Planet Prison

Tracks East highlights the multiplicity of creative and surprising expressions of solidarity with Ukraine by artists in Ukraine and elsewhere.

Solidarity

At the cusp of adulthood, an entire generation is now facing an unprecedented crisis. Between escape and resistance, Gen East shares its vision of tomorrow with us.

New Generation

Between escape and resistance, Gen East shares its vision of tomorrow with us.

Yetundey is originally from Leipzig and mixes styles and influences. Layla Boe wants to make the German language smoother in her music.

Germany

Girlhood - Women in Rap (1/4)

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Israeli choreographers Sharon Eyal and Gai Behar present their show Chapter 3: The Brutal Journey of the Heart at Nuits de Fourvière.

Nuits de Fourvière

The Brutal Journey of the Heart by Sharon Eyal & Gai Behar

Young Korean musicians have been taking the world of classical music by storm. A new generation are winning the big prizes and pursuing successful careers in Europe and around the world. What makes these Korean classical artists so good? A documentary following the rising stars of K-Classic

The Korean Musical Mystery

Generation K-Classics

Kowloon Walled City in Hong Kong was the most densely populated area on Earth. 33,000 people settled on 2.5 hectares of land that was disputed between Chinese and British - meaning neither country asserted its authority there. This vertical slum was a hotbed of crime, but also full of factories, cheap shops and a strong community. This is a case for Crazy Borders. 

Kowloon: The Lawless Super City

This vertical slum was a hotbed of crime, but also full of factories, cheap shops and a strong community.

Paradise islands synonymous with hell? Welcome to the Spratlys archipelago, at the heart of a regional power struggle with global implications. China, Taiwan, the Philippines, Vietnam and Brunei all lay claim to these islands... but the question is far from settled. If major conflict does break out, this is where it could start. A clear case of Crazy Borders! 

The Spratly Islands: Flashpoint for WWIII?

Paradise islands synonymous with hell? Welcome to the Spratlys archipelago, at the heart of a regional power struggle

If a woman gave birth at the top of Mont Blanc, what nationality would the child be? For France, of course, the baby would be French. But not for Italy! The quarrel has been going on since 1860, when the divison of territory at the top of the mountain was unclearly defined... leaving each country to interpret the boundary more or less as they saw fit. This really is a case for Crazy Borders!

Mont Blanc: A High Altitude Dispute

If a woman gave birth at the top of Mont Blanc, what nationality would the child be?

According to the latest calculations by the OECD, South Korean women could live to be over 92 years old on average in 2070, and men over 89. That would be a world record. What's the secret?

South Korea: An Obsession With Health

South Koreans are on track to be the longest-lived people in the world

ARTE Reportage

The prisoner of a promise made to Neptune, King Idomeneus is faced with a cruel dilemma... From the Théâtre de l’Archevêché, the most romantic of Mozart’s operas, directed by Satoshi Miyagi and conducted by Raphaël Pichon, with soprano Sabine Devieilhe, promises to be the operatic event of the 2022 Aix festival season.

Aix-en-Provence Festival 2022

The most romantic of Mozart’s operas, conducted by Raphaël Pichon, with soprano Sabine Devieilhe.

Mozart: Idomeneus, King of Crete

Planting trees against climate change: Ireland is reforesting its territory by growing spruces. But it's not just about being green, it's about profit. Wood is a big business... much to the displeasure of local environmental activists who want Ireland's forestry policy changed. 

Growing trees to be harvested for wood is big business - but what are the environmental ramifications? 

Re: Money Grows on Trees

The Russian enclave of Kaliningrad sits between Lithuania and Poland. Once German East Prussia, it is now home to 1 million Russian citizens. What is life like in this small territory now practically cut off from its EU neighbours since the war in Ukraine began?

Kaliningrad: Putin's Enclave

The Russian enclave of Kaliningrad sits between Lithuania and Poland and is now practically cut off from its EU neighbours since the war in Ukraine began.

Did you know that the Middle Ages is only a few kilometers off the French coast? A lord and his vassals live peacefully on the island of Sark where cars are not allowed. This is a case for Crazy Borders! 

Sark: A Modern Day Feudal Island

A lord and his vassals live peacefully on the island of Sark where cars are not allowed.

After fifteen years with the White Stripes and The Raconteurs, Jack White started his solo career in 2012. 2022 marks a milestone for the Detroit-born artist with the release of two new albums: Fear of Dawn and Entering Heaven Alive. White is live in Paris at the legendary venue, the Olympia.

The White Stripes star is live in Paris to perform Fear of Dawn and Entering Heaven Alive.

Jack White at the Paris Olympia

In Europe, the last primary forests are found almost exclusively in the mountains in the east or south-east of the continent. These virgin forests have never been exploited or cut down, and have remained as they have always been. Few studies have been done on this forests, which are presumably havens of biodiversity. We go on a research trip to the Dinaric Alps in Albania.

The Green Lungs of Europe

We go on a research trip to the Dinaric Alps in Albania

Geo Reportage

Did you know that the last war between France and Spain took place in the 1970s? It was the war of the stop signs in Llívia, a Spanish town - but in France, in the Pyrenees. This bizarre quirk is due to a treaty signed centuries ago. This really is a case for Crazy Borders! 

Llivia, Between France and Spain

Did you know that the last war between France and Spain took place in the 1970s?

Can a state in the EU prohibit women from accessing its territory? In the Monastic Republic of Mount Athos women are not allowed in - even tourists - and any woman who enters could be arrested by police. It's a peninsula from another, bygone world and yet benefits from taxpayer funding (including female taxpayers, presumably...).

Mount Athos: Off Limits for Women

Can a state in the EU prohibit women from accessing its territory?

The most popular of Gustav Mahler's symphonies, conducted by Esa-Pekka Salonen and staged by Romeo Castellucci. A very special production, which promises to stir up the audience at the Aix-en-Provence Festival.

A message from director Romeo Castellucci:
The action you are about to witness has the particular misfortune of containing images that, charged with violence, seem to be the cruel likeness of our near reality.
I imagined this work over a year ago.
No one could have foreseen this painful overlapping of art and reality, which today seems like an atrocious prophecy.
How to support today the unconscious exactness of these images on the stage?
But what to do in the face of the irretrievable that theatre represents?
It is essential to accept the pain produced by this concordance, in the light that Gustav Mahler’s Resurrection can represent.
Romeo Castellucci
July 2022
Recorded 13 July in Aix-en-Provence with the Orchestre de Paris and the Choir of the Orchestre de Paris.

The most popular of Gustav Mahler's symphonies, conducted by Esa-Pekka Salonen and staged by Romeo Castellucci. A very special production, which promises to stir up the audience at the Aix-en-Provence Festival.

Resurrection - Gustav Mahler

In the town of Baarle, a body of a woman was discovered in a house... but before police could intervene, first authorities had to call a surveyor. Baarle is crisscrossed over with a winding frontier between the Netherlands and Belgium, and police needed to know which country was responsible for investigating the killing. One half of the house was Dutch, the other half was Belgian. This is a case for Crazy Borders! 

Baarle, a Town of Two Nations

A city divided between Belgium and the Netherlands, and scene of a murder? Welcome to Baarle.

The former military base Camp Zeist in the Netherlands was once lent to Scotland. It was where the two men accused of orchestrating the Lockerbie bombings were put on trial. Libyans saw them as unfair victims. Meanwhile bereaved families demanded justice.

A Scottish Court in the Netherlands

The former military base Camp Zeist in the Netherlands was once lent to Scotland for the Lockerbie bombing trial

The Staatsoper Hamburg’s new production of Gaetano Donizetti’s opera buffa "Don Pasquale" is directed by David Bösch.The plot of this turbulent comedy turns on the title character and his nemesis sung by Italian baritone Ambrogio Maestri and Australian soprano Danielle de Niese respectively.The Philharmonische Staatsorchester Hamburg will be conducted by Matteo Beltrami.

Female Desire and Pop Culture

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Crazy Borders

Crazy Borders

The Lost Island of Bermeja

Pamela Anderson & Tommy Lee

Love, Sex and Videotape

Mont Saint Michel

The Enigmatic Labyrinth

Portugal: Through the Algarve by Train

Jimi Hendrix, "Hear My Train a Comin'"