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Investigative documentary series, geopolitical analysis, and international commentary

Politics and society

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Until very recently, Spanish performance artist Abel Azcona was wanted by the police and was living in exile in Portugal. He could only visit his homeland in secret. His crime: blasphemy. During his performances, he had openly criticised the sexual abuse of minors in the Catholic Church. A look at freedom of expression in Spain which is number one in the world for the number of artists in prison.

Until very recently, Spanish performance artist Abel Azcona was wanted by the police and was living in exile in Portugal. 

Freedom of Expression in Danger in Spain

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Our web-series explores the lives of women in Tunisia, Morocco, Egypt, Lebanon, Syria and the United Arab Emirates. We ask how the Arab Spring changed their societies and their roles.

Ten years on from the Arab Spring, Arab women reflect on how their lives have changed

Women of the Arab Spring

With 600,000 casualties and five million refugees, the war in Syria is the bloodiest conflict of the 21st century so far.

10 Years of War

Syria: The Never-Ending Conflict

Because their suffering deserves to be seen. Because their suffering deserves to be heard. Because their suffering deserves to be stopped. 

Whether in the workplace, the street, or at home, these survivors of sexual violence tell us their stories

The Pandemic of Sexual Violence

Ten years ago, the popular uprisings in the Arab world were a source of hope for freedom and change, but overall these hopes were dashed. A special collection that will help you understand the last tumultuous decade in the Arab states.

Ten years ago, the popular uprisings in the Arab world were a source of hope for freedom and change, but overall these hopes were dashed.

10 Years of the Arab Spring

Belarus has been rocked by protests since Alexander Lukashenko was re-elected president after August’s contested vote. As foreign journalists see their accreditation revoked, ARTE local correspondent Kseniya Halubovic continues to report from inside the protest movement.

Belarus has been rocked by protests since Alexander Lukashenko was re-elected president after August’s contested vote. 

Belarus: Diary of a Revolution

Chinese people make do without Google, Facebook, Youtube, Twitter. Instead, regime has built its own online offer. How is this Chinese internet structured and what does it mean for democracy and debate? 

How is this Chinese internet structured and what does it mean for democracy and debate? 

Internet Made in China

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Playlists

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Lynxes, leopards or crocodiles: Having exotic wild animals as pets is popular in Russia. For some it’s a status symbol, for others it’s a lucrative source of revenue. But this passion for big cats or bears is not without its dangers.

Lynxes, leopards or crocodiles: Having exotic wild animals as pets is popular in Russia.

Russia: Wild Animals as Pets

Children in Nigeria who are accused of being witches are cast out into the streets by their families. There, they desperately try to earn enough to live by going through rubbish dumps. They are easy targets for predators, and sexual abuse is an every day occurrence.

ARTE Reportage

Accused of being witches, these children are cast out into the streets, where they are easy targets for predators

Nigeria: The Plight of the Witch Children

Fortune-telling and astrology: more and more Europeans are resorting to the supernatural.  Should we view this return to esotericism as a spiritual quest or a loss of our collective bearings?

Vox Pop

Esotericism: On the Rise?

The Cabo Delgado region, in north-eastern Mozambique, has been struggling for the past 4 years. Al-Shabab jihadists, affiliated with the Islamic State since 2019, are wreaking havoc there. The number of violent attacks perpetrated tripled throughout 2020 compared to the previous year and many people fear for the future. 

In north-eastern Mozambique, Al-Shabab is terrorising locals

Mozambique: Escape From Al-Shabab

Chronic anxiety, depression and addiction: How can we prevent the Covid-19 pandemic from creating a mental health epidemic?

The Mental Health Pandemic

Italy has the highest rate of cosmetic surgery per capita in Europe with more and more young people going under the knife. Vox Pop investigates why this is.

Italian Youth: Addicted to Plastic Surgery

Investigation and reports

Saype is a graffiti artist with a difference. He doesn't spray his works on walls but in fields and on grass, using his own biodegradable paint. His huge works of art are best appreciated by drone, where the true scale is revealed. 

Gymnastics

Saype, Green-Fingered Graffitti Artist

For the last 50 years, German artist Christina Kubisch has been obsessed with the sounds of everyday life.

Christina Kubisch - Sound Artist

The American director Peter Sellars was invited to the Salzburg Festival. For the 2017 edition he staged The Clemency of Titus by Mozart.

Carte Blanche to Peter Sellars

Square Artiste: Peter Sellars

Mariusz would never have become the artist he is now if Poland had not joined the European Union. He now creates striking murals in cities all over the world.

Europe of Artists

Mariusz Waras, Street Artist

French writer Emmanuel Ruben is a bicycle enthusiast. Writing about his cycle from west to east following Europe’s longest river, the Danube, Ruben reflects on Europe and migration.

Rewriting Europe Along the Danube

Europe as a source of inspiration: Meeting artists from across the continent whose works spring from Europe’s cultural diversity.

Through the eyes of artists

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Welcome to Afghanistan, the land of the magnificent mountains of the Hindu Kush and a country of great ethnic diversity. Its complex history is characterised by an almost permanent state of war.

Mapping the World

Welcome to Afghanistan, the land of the magnificent mountains of the Hindu Kush. Its complex history is characterised by an almost permanent state of war.

Afghanistan - A Troubled Country

One Country, Two Systems? No Way! say the youth of Taiwan. But China under President Xi Jinping wants more than ever to bring the island of Taiwan back into the fold, just like Hong Kong. Can the burgeoning democracy on China’s doorstep, driven by digital technology, resist the Middle Kingdom’s advances?  

One Country, Two Systems? No Way! say the youth of Taiwan. But China under President Xi Jinping wants more than ever to bring the island of Taiwan back into the fold.

Taiwan: A Digital Democracy in China's Shadow

All world powers want a piece of Antartica, the only continent that belongs to everyone and no one. This unique territory at the end of the world is currently protected by international law, with only scientific research allowed. But for how long will it remain a pristine wilderness?

All world powers want a piece of Antartica, the only continent that belongs to everyone and no one.

Antarctica: Ice and Greed

With a beautiful coastline stretching more than 2,000 kilometres along the Indian Ocean and a wealth of natural resources, Mozambique has the makings of an Eldorado. But the former Portuguese colony is facing a jihadist insurgency in the north which is jeopardising its chances of development and stability

Mozambique has the makings of an Eldorado with natural beauty and resources. But the former Portuguese colony is facing a jihadist insurgency in the north which is jeopardising its development.

Mozambique: A Cursed Eldorado

Morocco is a beacon of stability in an unstable region. However, the kingdom still faces problems of serious social inequality, a lack of democratic freedoms, and the ongoing unresolved status of Western Sahara.

What Future for the Kingdom of Morocco?

Vietnam had a bloody twentieth century as long wars with the French and subsequently the Americans cost the country dearly. Recently things have been on the up as the south-east Asian country reinvents itself as a model economy and tourist destination.

Recently things have been on the up as the south-east Asian country reinvents itself as a model economy and tourist destination.

Vietnam: The New Asian Tiger

Designer Erik Spiekermann explains how he created the map for Berlin's newly unified public transport network, just after reunification and the fall of the Berlin wall.

Designer Erik Spiekermann explains how he created the map for Berlin's newly unified public transport network

How a Map Healed Berlin

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Kids

The number of billionaires in the world has rocketed over the last forty years. Many of them engage in charity work and philanthropy. But why do the super-rich give their money away? Are rich benefactors truly altruistic? Or are they driven by a thirst for power and influence?
An unprecedented look into the world of extreme wealth following three women billionaires in China, Russia and the United States.

A Contradiction in Terms?

An unprecedented look into the world of rich benefactors following three women billionaires in China, Russia and the United States.

Billionaire Philanthropists

Darío Aguirre is from Ecuador, living in Germany with his wife. When the city of Hamburg unexpectedly invited him to become a German citizen, Darío revisits his rocky path to building a life for himself in Europe and wonders about who he has become. This film is about arriving and living abroad in a time when xenophobia is suddenly acceptable again in Germany, and society is struggling to find the right way to integrate new citizens.

What it's like to live in Germany as a foreigner when xenophobia is suddenly socially acceptable again

How I Became German

During Ramadan, Jasmine and her husband Said would always spend the evening breaking fast with their friends, family or wider community. But for the second year running, this most important period in the Muslim calendar is a subdued affair. In Turkey, imam Osman Gökrem continues to help the homeless despite the pandemic, and in Paris, student Yasmine sets up a pop-up store selling sweets. 

For the second year running, Ramadan - the most important period in the Muslim calendar - is a subdued affair

Ramadan in Europe

The pandemic has stopped some people from attending the funerals of their loved ones, or forced them into low key, socially distanced affairs. Raphaël Enthoven explores the psychological impact on missing out on those grief rituals. But if they don't help lessen the pain, what is the point of them? Grief therapist Sophie Poupard-Bonnet and philosopher Vincent Delecroix explore what it means to grieve in a time of coronavirus.

Philosophy

Raphaël Enthoven explores the psychological impact of socially distanced funerals on grief

Does Consoling the Bereaved Even Work?

Suffering from hepatitis C, Tania refused treatment and ‘fled’ France for Guatemala where she felt at home. She adopted local lifestyle and customs and writes songs about the people that are important to her. A documentary by Valérie Jouve about a woman who resists norms and lives life her own way.

Tania ‘fled’ France for Guatemala where she felt at home. She adopted local lifestyle and customs and now writes songs about the people that are important to her. 

Guatemala Blues

The mask is both a symbol of altruism and civicism, and of personal liberty curtailed. Raphaël Enthoven explores its many paradoxes with the philosophy researcher Elsa Novelli and the Secretary of State Sophie Cluzel in charge of People with Disabilities.

The mask is both a symbol of altruism and civicism, but also of personal liberty curtailed

Behind the Mask

Raphaël Enthoven explores the notion of black identity with Tania de Montaigne, author of "Assignation - Black people do not exist", and Lilian Thuram, former footballer and author of "White Thought".

Raphaël Enthoven explores the notion of black identity

Offended Identities?

Switching viewpoints

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This documentary, co-written with the chairman of the parliamentary commission of inquiry, Georges Fenech, looks back on how lives could have been saved if decisions made at the head of French police and the government had been different.

On the horrific night of 13th November 2015, French bureaucracy contributed to the terrible death toll

Bataclan: The Paris Attacks

August 15 2021: The Taliban take Kabul. As the international coalition leaves after 20 years of intervention, there is chaos at the airport with Afghans trying desperately to get out. ARTE follows four Afghan civilians in the last few days before the fall of Kabul as their worst nightmares become reality.

Afghan Civilians in Danger

ARTE follows four Afghan civilians in the last few days before the fall of Kabul as their worst nightmares become reality.

Re: The Taliban in Kabul

Since 1989, the Visa Festival has been an unmissable event for photoreporters around the world. It's a chance to visit exhibitions, discover new projects, and meet with the photographers themselves. They tell of their work, what drives them, and their sometimes traumatic experiences in the field.

War photographers explain what drives them, and their sometimes traumatic experiences in the field

France: War Photographers at the Visa Festival

Twenty years after the fall of the Taliban regime, the last foreign troops are leaving Afghanistan. But without them, Afghan security forces fear they'll struggle to contain the advance of the insurgents. Terror attacks are on the rise, and the group is said to already control nearly half the country. The return to power of the fundamentalists seems inevitable.

The last foreign troops are leaving Afghanistan, leading to fears of a Taliban resurgence

Afghanistan: The Land of the Taliban

In Greece, the coastguard has taken to pushing back potential asylum seekers towards Turkish waters. That's despite the fact that once in Europe, these people have a right to apply for asylum and to have that application processed. But while this tactic is against EU human rights law, the Greek government have a promise to keep to its electorate: reducing the flow of migrants.

In Greece, the coastguard has taken to pushing back asylum seekers into Turkish waters, in violation of EU law

Greece: Illegal Pushbacks of Asylum Seekers

Since the summer of 2020 a battle has raged between the European Union and Viktor Orbán’s Hungary. As Orbán’s authoritarian Fidesz party hollows out Hungarian democracy and restrains opposition at home, the EU attempts to link the pandemic recovery package to a rule of law mechanism, effectively cutting funds to governments backsliding on democracy. Hungary and Poland are strongly opposed.

Victor Orbán Versus Europe

The crisis pitting conservative Hungarian prime-minister Viktor Orbán against the European Union concerning the rule of law.

Hello Dictator

In Kabul, Masomah Alizada was part of the women's cycling team. Threatened by the Taliban, her family had to leave Afghanistan and have been living as refugees in France for four years. But her cycling dreams aren't over.

Masomah Alizada had to flee Afghanistan after she was threatened by the Taliban for being part of a women's cycling team

Afghanistan: The Olympic Dream

Climate change is often viewed as a far-off phenomenon but the effects are already being felt around the world by millions of people. A global overview of the regions on the frontline of the climate catastrophe.

 A global overview of the regions on the frontline of the climate catastrophe.

Climate Change Is Happening Now

Matthew had a burnout years ago and fled to Portugal to set up his paradise quinta in Portugal. But that sanctuary is now under threat: permission has been granted for an avocado plantation to be built next door. But avocados use up huge amounts of water, and the stream that the quinta depends on as a primary water source is in danger of running dry.

Matthew set up his quinta after a burnout. But that sanctuary is now under threat, due to an avocado farm nearby

Re: Should We Give Up Avocados?

On 4 January 2021, a London court denied the extradition of Wikileaks founder Julian Assange to the United States - where he faces up to 175 years in prison, accused of publishing hundreds of thousands of confidential documents. But the judicial battle continues: the US government has appealed, while Assange remains in Belmarsh maximum security prison.
Continuing from ARTE’s five-year investigation into the Assange affair, this report delves once again into the complicated case.

Continuing from ARTE’s five-year investigation into the Assange affair, this report delves once again into the complicated case.

The Extradition of Julian Assange

Sonja Vujanovic, 97, was the first Serbian woman member of the Partisans, the Yugoslav armed communist movement led by Tito, which fought against the Nazis and Italian fascists. Captured in 1942 and deported, she became one of the leaders of the resistance movement in the Auschwitz-Birkenau camp.

Sonja Vujanovic, 97, speaks in a soft voice of the most terrible events of the 20th century

Landscapes of Resistance

A documentary on twins born prematurely and the emotional journey of their mother.

A documentary on twins born prematurely and the emotional journey of their mother

Life to Come

Focus on the second largest country in the world. Canada can appear so similar and yet so different politically and cultural from its southern neighbour, the USA.

Canada: The Other America?

 A look at freedom of expression in Spain which is number one in the world for the number of artists in prison.

Re: Artists in Prison

Women are twenty-seven times more likely than men to be harassed on social media. This shocking finding, published by the European Women's Lobby in 2017, suggests that cyber-violence against women is not a series of isolated acts, but a systemic scourge. Sociological studies have shown that it is mostly committed by men who, contrary to popular belief, belong to more privileged socio-economic groups. Feeling protected by the virtual nature of their actions, the perpetrators are organised and sometimes carry out "digital raids", or harassment in packs, with terrible consequences, both personal and professional, for their victims.
 
This documentary focuses on women’s testimony from all walks of life who have been victim of online abuse and examines the harm this phenomenon does to them and to democratic debate.

Online Abuse Against Women

This documentary focuses on women’s testimony from all walks of life who have been victim of online abuse and examines the harm this phenomenon does to them and to democratic debate.

#FatUglySlut

An unprecedented look into the world of extreme wealth following three women billionaires in China, Russia and the United States.

An overview of the history of Portugal. Great trading nation and colonial power of yore, Portugal became one of the West’s poorest nations in the 20th century before undergoing a renaissance in recent years.

Portugal: Small Country, Big History

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In 2016, Colombia the country signed a historic peace treaty with the FARC rebels. This was intended to mend the deep rift in Colombian society, which has long been divided into two extreme camps: on the one hand the Marxist revolutionary guerrilla, on the other the ultra-conservative right and paramilitary militias. But the violence that has shaped the recent history of the country is far from over.

Colombia is still struggling to control violence from extreme groups and drug cartels

Colombia: A Nation in Revolt

The historian Herodotus in the fifth century BC said that Egypt was "a gift from the Nile", and from the pharaohs to Nasser, the Nile has played a vital role in Egypt's fortunes. But Ethiopia now intends to remind leaders in Cairo that the Nile is not just an Egyptian river.

Ethiopia wants to remind Egypt that the Nile is not just Egyptian

Geopolitics of the Nile

20 years ago, on September 11, 2001, 3,000 people died when al-Qaeda terrorists hijacked four planes. Mapping the World looks back on the 20-year struggle against Islamic terrorism, from Osama bin Laden's Al-Qaeda to the so-called Islamic State, Boko Haram, and other jihadist organisations.

Mapping the World looks back on the 20-year struggle against Islamic terrorism

20 Years of War against Terrorism

There are an estimated 1,500 active volcanoes on Earth and in the 20th century, 437 of them erupted in places like the United States, Russia, Indonesia and Japan. Both a blessing and a curse, they have shaped our world on land and at the sea.

A World of Volcanoes

A look back at 2020, the year of global lockdown: What was this shared solitude like for people across the world? How did people adapt as personal freedoms were curtailed and busy metropolises were turned into ghost towns?

2020: A Very Particular Year

Europe’s largest lagoon, the Mar Menor in Southern Spain, is becoming increasingly polluted from intensive agriculture which is destroying the marine ecosystem. Now local people are protesting against the powerful regional agricultural lobby in an attempt to save the lagoon.

Europe’s largest lagoon, the Mar Menor is becoming increasingly polluted from intensive agriculture.

Re: Spanish Coast Under Threat

Social acceptance becomes especially important during adolescence, as teenagers ask themselves am I attractive? Should I lose weight? However, with social media influencers setting the standards, many develop eating disorders in the quest for the perfect body.

With Instagram influencers setting the standards, many young women develop eating disorders in the quest for the perfect body.

Re: Eating Disorders and Social Media

For years in Germany, charities collected unsold food to give to the poor. But their supply of cheap, easy-to-find food may be about to dry up as companies have started selling food waste to eco-conscious customers for profit.

For years in Germany, charities collected unsold food to give to the poor. But now for-profit companies are taking over

Re: Cutting Down Food Waste

In France 173 people were killed by abusive partners in 2019.  84% of these victims were women. In the press and on social media the list of femicides grows longer every week and yet we know little about these women who have become statistics. This documentary focuses on domestic violence and femicide, a crisis going on behind closed doors.

This documentary focuses on domestic violence and femicide, a crisis going on behind closed doors.

To the Bitter End

Jean-Paul, a GP in the Paris suburbs, is preparing to retire. His young successor, Thomas, is taking on patients that Jean-Paul had been caring for for many years. In France, shortages of GPs have resulted in medical deserts, and because of this, Jean-Paul has to see up to forty patients a day. Many of his patients fear his departure, feeling that they won't be able to find another doctor who cares as much he does. 

A few months before retirement, a GP is preparing to leave his patients to his young successor

The Diary of a GP

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A year after graduating from high school, Elsa, 21, still doesn't know what to do with her life. She goes to live abroad with her boyfriend, and her parents hope she'll go back to school. Elsa feels overwhelmed by all the possibilities open to her. This programme by German channel ZDF is part of the European Collection, a joint initiative of European public media (ARD, ARTE, France Télévisions, SSR SRG and ZDF), coordinated by ARTE

A year after graduating from high school, Elsa, 21, still doesn't know what to do with her life