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Investigative documentary series, geopolitical analysis, and international commentary

Politics and society

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In Mosul, Baghdad and Basra, Iraqi youth are responding to the chaos of war and conservatism by bringing to new forms of art to the country.

ARTE Reportage

In Mosul, Baghdad and Basra, Iraqi youth are responding to the chaos of war and conservatism by bringing new forms of art to the country.

Iraq: The Power of Art

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The Brazilian president is criticised for many policies: Gun control, Amazon deforestation, policies against minorities, as well as his handling of the coronavirus pandemic. A focus on Bolsonaro’s Brazil, a divided country.

A focus on Bolsonaro’s Brazil, a divided country.

Bolsonaro's Brazil

With the withdrawal of NATO troops, the Taliban has taken back control of Afghanistan. And yet the insurgents say that they want peace.

The Taliban took advantage of the withdrawal of NATO troops to win back Afghanistan.

Afghanistan: Taliban Land

A special selection of programmes focusing on the challenge of climate change that takes stock of the state our planet is in and what we can do about it.

Climate Change: the Global Challenge

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

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Many countries in the Middle East do not allow civil marriage which means that mixed-faith couples cannot easily marry. But just 30 minutes’ flight from Lebanon and Israel lies Cyprus where foreigners can easily tie the knot.

Where mixed-faith couples from the Middle East come to tie the knot.

Cyprus: Forbidden Love Island

Viktoria and Zoltan are in love. They live in Budapest but Viktoria is moving to Berlin for a chance of a better life. Will Zoltan be able to follow her there? The Hungarian couple are one of many that have left Hungary in the last decade.

Hungarians Leaving Home

Viktoria and Zoltan are in love. They live in Budapest but Viktoria is moving to Berlin for a chance of a better life. Will Zoltan be able to follow her there?

Re: One Way Ticket to Berlin

In Armenia, the trauma of defeat continues to shake civil society. The human cost of war has been very high for this small country of 3 million inhabitants. More than 10 000 people have been injured and almost 4 000 killed with 1600 soldiers still missing.

In Armenia, the trauma of defeat continues to shake civil society. The human cost of war has been very high for this small country of 3 million inhabitants. 

Nagorno-Karabakh: A Fragile Peace

Sasha Nazar wants to save a crumbling synagogue in the Ukrainian city of Lviv, one of the last in the city. Where once a thriving Jewish community lived, now only a small community is present.

Sasha Nazar wants to save a crumbling synagogue in the Ukrainian city of Lviv, one of the last in the city.

Saving a Ukrainian Synagogue

One year on from the devastating explosion in the port of Beirut, the families of the victims are struggling to find out the truth and seek justice. The Lebanese government had promised an urgent investigation, but the official version of events satisfies no one: According to the authorities, the ammonium nitrate that caused the blast entered the port by mistake after a ship was damaged off the Lebanese coast and an accident in a warehouse caused the explosion.

One year on from the devastating explosion in the port of Beirut, the families of the victims are struggling to find out the truth and seek justice.

Lebanon: Whose Fault Was the Beirut Explosion?

The situation on the border between Poland and Belarus continues to deteriorate: in September 2021, nearly 9,000 people tried to reach the European Union illegally through Poland. That's twice as many as in August. And revealing the truth of the situation is difficult, as journalists and NGOs are forbidden from the area. ARTE reporter Ulrike Däßler and her team was detained by police in the course of making this report, for no reason other than trying to do their jobs.

The situation on the border between Poland and Belarus continues to deteriorate

Belarus to Poland: The Migrant Tragedy

284 Russian soldiers are still missing in Afghanistan from the Soviet-Afghan War, a conflict that ended in 1989. ARTE Reportage goes in search of these lost red army soldiers. 

284 Russian soldiers are still missing in Afghanistan from the Soviet-Afghan War, a conflict that ended in 1989. ARTE Reportage goes in search of these lost red army soldiers

Afghanistan: Lost Soldiers of the Red Army

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

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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How we represent our world in maps depends on our perspective. For many centuries Europeans have put their continent in the centre and on top of their maps, the Chinese likewise placed the Middle Kingdom in the centre of things. What do our maps tell us about our worldview?

What do our maps tell us about our worldview?

Cartography: How We Represent the World

Amongst the millions of species of insect on the planet, the bee plays a crucial role in human civilisation. A focus on how bees have spread around the world with globalisation and how they are now critically endangered.

Mapping the World

 A focus on how bees have spread around the world with globalisation and how they are now critically endangered.

Bees and Agriculture

It was long thought that women in Islamic State were victims, forced to obey their husbands. But this idea is simplistic. Those who agreed to speak on camera were fully integrated into the terror regime giving a shocking insight into how it worked. These women are now mostly in hiding and are trying to forget their painful and often shameful pasts.

It was long thought that women in Islamic State were victims, forced to obey their husbands. But this documentary tells a different story.

The Women of Daesh

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

Insights

Kids

Switching viewpoints

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A new substance is taking Europe by storm: cannabidiol (or CBD) from the hemp plant. Available as an oil, herbal tea, spray or cream, it is said to have soothing properties and can relieve chronic stress, without making the user high. But what are the real powers of this molecule?

A new substance is taking Europe by storm: cannabidiol (or CBD) from the hemp plant. Available as an oil, herbal tea, spray or cream, it is said to have soothing properties and can relieve stress.

Re: The CBD Revolution

Many countries in the Middle East do not allow civil marriage which means that mixed-faith couples cannot easily marry. Nearby Cyprus has become a centre for foreigners wanting to tie the knot.

For centuries Europeans have put their continent in the centre of their maps, the Chinese likewise placed the Middle Kingdom in the centre of things. What do our maps tell us about our worldview?

Second or third children born illegally during China’s One Child Policy are banned from marrying, having children or simply boarding a train. Condemned to a non-life, these ghost children do not officially exist according to the Chinese state. ARTE Reportage goes in search of these ‘Haihaizi’,  those children who should not have been born.

Arte Reportage

Second or third children born illegally during China’s One Child Policy are banned from marrying, having children or simply boarding a train. 

China's Ghost Children

In August 2020 1,500 individuals attempted to cross the straits of Dover, all looking to start a new life in Britain. Paying extortionate prices to people traffickers or going it alone in tiny dinghies, it’s a dangerous game to cross the cold waters of the world’s busiest shipping lane.

In August 2020 1,500 individuals attempted to cross the straits of Dover all looking to start a new life in Britain. Paying extortionate prices to people traffickers or going it alone in tiny dinghies, it’s a dangerous game to cross the cold waters of the world’s busiest shipping lane.

Calais: Migrants Crossing the Channel

A focus on the world’s largest country by landmass. Russia is a major world power that excels in certain spheres but glaring inequality, major structural problems and Western sanctions mean it may struggle to keep up with other world powers.

Russia: Land of Contrasts

A look at German Jewish people who have settled in the occupied West Bank. In international law these Israeli settlements are illegal and yet the settlers feel they have a right to the land. What attracted these Europeans here? And how do they see life living amongst Palestinians?

German Jewish Settlers in the West Bank

A look at German Jewish people who have settled in the occupied West Bank.

Re: Who Does the Holy Land Belong To?

Re: Saving a Ukrainian Synagogue

Abdul fled Afghanistan six years ago and found asylum in France. In the course of his journey during which he crossed twelve countries over two years, he developed a passion for photography. In Calais he is documenting the desperate lives of people trying to cross the English Channel to Britain, in the hope of a better life.

In Calais Abdul documents the desperate lives of people trying to cross the English Channel in hope of a better life.

An Afghan Refugee in Calais

The Ambulance Wish Foundation, based in Rotterdam, fulfils last wishes of terminally ill patients. 270 medically trained volunteers take patients by ambulance to the zoo, on boat cruises and to important family occasions.

Medically trained volunteers take patients by ambulance to the zoo, on boat cruises and to important family occasions to fulfill their last wishes.

Re: The Dutch Ambulance Wish Foundation

The world's tech giants - the likes of Facebook, Apple or Google - now have a political role to play. They can curb misinformation or spread it, along with all of the massive social issues that entails. An in-depth analysis of social media uses and regulations in China, the United States, and Europe.

An in-depth analysis of social media uses and regulations in China, the United States, Europe and Russia.

The Geopolitics of Social Media

In the state of Michoacan, in central-western Mexico, one of the regions hardest hit by violence linked to drug trafficking, Patricia, Teresa and Indalecio, are on a heartbroken search for their loved ones.

Patricia, Teresa, and Indalecio are on a heartbroken search for their loved ones

Mexico: The Lost Children

Warfare has evolved with the professionalisation of armies, the refusal of public opinion to see their soldiers sacrifice their lives in distant lands, and the emergence of new technologies such as artificial intelligence, robots and other drones.

Warfare has evolved into high tech drone strikes and robo-armies, and it's a gamechanger for global geopolitics

21st Century Warfare

The fall of the USSR destabalised the Caucasus, which is being eyed up by three autocratic regimes: Russia, Turkey, and Iran. Each country jealously guards its interests in this oil and gas-rich region. 

The fall of the USSR destabalised the Caucasus, which is being eyed up by three autocratic regimes: Russia, Turkey, and Iran

The Caucasus: At the Crossroads of Europe and Asia

Germany in the 21st century is unthinkable without Angela Merkel, leading the country for the last 16 years. Ms Merkel grew up in the GDR before beginning her political career in the united Germany. A look at the Germany she leads as she approaches the end of her political career.

A look at the Germany of Angela Merket as she approaches the end of her political career after 16 years as chancellor.

Germany: Angela Merkeland?

Textiles have been central to trade and industry since time immemorial, notably with the famous Silk road trading route from China to Europe. In our current era of globalisation textiles continue to be big business but this success comes at a social and environmental cost.

Textiles: A Global Industry

In Northern Ireland alcohol consumption is particularly widespread among pregnant women - with devastating consequences for the children. A lack of education and support for affected families has inspired one mother to campaign for change.

Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder

In Northern Ireland alcohol consumption is particularly widespread among pregnant women - with devastating consequences for the children. 

Re: Drunk in the Womb

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

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A desert is growing in the southwest Romanian region of Oltenia. Extreme heat and drought are making it bigger every year with sandstorms reaching Bucharest. But a group of ecologists are trying to keep it at bay by replanting trees in the region.

Climate Change in Romania

Re: Desert on the Danube?

In the United States it is becoming increasingly common for defendants to spend large sums of money for ‘sentencing videos’. These short films, produced professionally, present the accused in the best possible light in an attempt to persuade judges to offer reduced sentences. A report on a controversial practice that divides opinion.

In the United States some defendants spend large sums of money on ‘sentencing videos’ attempting to sway judges.

USA: Justice, Lies and Videotape

In a Syria ravaged by more than a decade of war, the oil sector has been hard hit. With many large refineries destroyed, supply is met by small makeshift refineries which employ refugee children in terrible conditions and also pollute the environment.

In a Syria ravaged by more than a decade of war, small makeshift refineries employ refugee children in terrible conditions.

Syria: Child Workers in the Oil Industry

300,000 bicycles distributed in four years across six countries: World Bicycle Relief has launched a unique humanitarian project.

How much of an impact can bikes have on rural life in Zambia? More than you'd think...

Zambia: The Bike Success Story

Since 2009, five trains of the RZD - the Russian railway - travel through Siberia and the Russian Far East to provide medical care in isolated villages. For these remote regions, striken by the rural exodus, the railway is the only link with the rest of the world. In this depopulated countryside, only the elderly are left.

Since 2009, five trains of the RZD - the Russian railway - travel through Siberia and the Russian Far East to provide medical care in isolated villages

Siberia: Healthcare on the Rails

When people depend on natural resources to survive, it's difficult for them to also respect the needs of other species that share that ecosystem. So the administrators of the Virunga National Park in the DRC have launched a project to show locals how they can live peacefully and prosperously alongside the native gorillas. Everybody wins.

Administrators of the Virunga National Park have launched a project to show locals how they can live peacefully alongside gorillas

Congo: Gorillas in Danger

Passionate about astrophysics, Suleiman Baraka educates young Gazans to the mysteries of the Milky Way.

Gaza: The Great Escape

The world economy covets Greenland’s rich deposits of raw materials, until now unexploited. Uranium mining could provide much needed employment for indigenous peoples as well as tax revenue. But the environmental cost could be heavy.

A Solution for the Future?

Re: Mining in Greenland

Idlib is already weakened by a decade of war, but now its residents must also face the devastation of the coronavirus. In this overcrowded enclave, social distancing is impossible. One in two people here live in camps, and humanitarian aid is trickling across the border. The hospitals have no beds, and are turning people away.

The hospitals have no beds, and are turning people away

Syria: Idlib Battered by the Delta Variant

Every year Israel builds more and more road infrastructure in the occupied West Bank, encouraging new settlements to house the overspill from the crowded urban centres of Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. But where is the space for a Palestinian state?

Every year Israel builds more and more road infrastructure in the occupied West Bank, encouraging new settlements to house the overspill from the crowded urban centres of Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. 

Israel: Making (In)Roads into the West Bank

In Bangladesh Islamist vigilantes are targeting civil society with the charge of blasphemy with punishment meted out brutally. A series of machete attacks in broad daylight on public figures have stunned the country and questioned the secular nature of Bangladeshi society.

In Bangladesh Islamist vigilantes are targeting civil society with the charge of blasphemy with punishment meted out brutally.

Bangladesh: Vigilantes of the Prophet

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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

Argentina's 2001 bankruptcy is still fresh in the minds of its citizens. And many are still living with the consequences. Inflation that could reach up to 48% this year in Argentina. Its currency has lost 50% of its value, and has a loan to the tune of 57 billion dollars from the IMF. 

Argentina's 2001 bankruptcy is still fresh in the minds of its citizens. And many are still living with the consequences

Argentina: The New Crisis

In Sudan, scarred by civil war and corruption, starting a business is difficult: 60% of Sudanese are under 30 years old and many do not have stable work. They have no choice but to survive by doing odd jobs. A reality show is trying to change things by highlighting the best of Sudanese talent thinking up African solutions for African problems. 

A reality show is trying to change things in Sudan by celebrating African solutions for African problems

Sudan: Open for Business

In January 2018 Italian photographer Stefano De Luigi went out to sea with the migrant rescue ship Aquarius. This film records his experiences on board.

Aboard the Aquarius

Mare Amarum

Report from a dogs’ home that specialises in unmanageable and dangerous hounds. Dog trainer Vanessa Bokr knows better than most how aggressive some breeds of dog can be. She works tirelessly to retrain unwanted dangerous dogs in the hope that they can find new homes rather than be put down.

Abused Dogs Learn to Love

Report from a dogs’ home that specialises in unmanageable and dangerous hounds.