From DW Documentary. Dance is part of every human culture – but why? Experiments show that dance played a role in human evolution, and that other creatures dance, too. This film is a love letter – written by science, addressed to dance. In the Camargue region of France, biologists study the courtship rituals of flamingos.…

From DW Documentary. North Korea. Geographically small, it nonetheless looms large in the geopolitical consciousness. The country is isolated, its population desperately poor. The Kim dynasty has ruled for three generations. How does this ruling family manage to make its power felt around the world? The nuclear program is central to North Korea’s strategy. For…

From DW Documentary. The Sea Punk I rescue ship is embarking on its first Mediterranean mission. The crew has only just completed its lifesaving training. It’s about to be put to the test — the task is to save refugees from drowning. Gerson Reschke registered the Sea Punks society with like-minded people in 2020. The…

From DW Documentary. The war in Ukraine is thousands of kilometers away, yet Nepalese combatants are risking their lives fighting alongside Russian troops. Recruitment agencies smuggle young Nepalese men into the Ukraine war — they are supposed to fight for Putin’s army. They are promised a good income and Russian citizenship. But reality often looks…

From DW Documentary. A new medical approach that smells bad, but is full of promise: fecal transplantation. The process involves taking stool from a healthy donor and implanting it into the gut of a sick individual. Director Saffron Cassaday films her own experience of the treatment. Cassaday has suffered from ulcerative colitis, a chronic and…

From DW Documentary. In February 2021, the robot "Perseverance" landed successfully on Mars. However, this success was never a given. The film shows the difficult work involved in developing the robot, right up to its successful landing. The new robot NASA sent to Mars is called "Perseverance". Its mission? To search for evidence of past…

From DW Documentary. On 24 February 2022, Russia invaded Ukraine. Many Russians supported the move at the time. Others silently rejected what was described as a "special operation”, which Putin claimed would "de-Nazify” a former sister nation. Years of indoctrination and propaganda, a single-party rule that muzzles the media – this film investigates how Russians…

From DW Documentary. German Jewish Margot Friedländer nee Bendheim survived the horrors of Nazi Germany. In 1946 she moved to the U.S. with her husband and lived there for many decades. She decided to return to Berlin in 2010 in order to tell her story in Germany. Margot Friedländer is a remarkable woman. The Holocaust…

From DW Documentary. Giant trees that have stood for decades or even centuries are an elixir of life on our planet. They help purify the air, preserve biodiversity and are key to slowing down climate change. But the number of these age-old giants is dwindling fast. Deforestation, drought, and pests pose a huge threat to…

From DW Documentary. Oleksandr Chebotaryóv is the only radiologist left in Kherson. All his colleagues have left the city in southern Ukraine. Kherson is heavily contested: the north is back in Ukrainian hands, but the Russian occupiers rule in the south. Chebotaryóv has to work in two clinics at the same time in order to…

From DW Documentary. Years of pain, paralysis and fear – without a diagnosis. For a long time, medicine seemed to ignore Lyme disease. The film accompanies several patients as they fight for an accurate diagnosis — and the right treatment. Many Lyme disease patients suffer for a long time before receiving a diagnosis. Their symptoms,…

From DW Documentary. More and more Brits are leaving the Brexit chaos behind — and seeking their fortunes in France. But their home nation’s exit from the European Union means they now face a plethora of bureaucratic hurdles. Nicola and Graham Parker live in southwestern France: Irritated by the economic crisis and Brexit chaos, they…

From DW Documentary. In April 1994, the parents of two-year-old Samuel Ishimwe were murdered in Rwanda. Their fate was shared by up to a million people in the genocide against the country’s Tutsi minority. Thirty years on, Samuel sets out to discover what set these terrible events in motion. He undertakes a journey from Rwanda…

From DW Documentary. Since 1949, NATO has shaped Europe‘s security policy like no other organization. Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty outlines the principle of "collective defense”. But is the world’s largest military alliance ready to defend itself? Marking the 75th anniversary of the founding of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, this documentary looks…

From DW Documentary. Putin’s re-election laid bare the systematic suppression of the opposition. How are Russians-in-exile continuing the struggle? People who oppose Putin – both in Russia and abroad – used the occasion to ramp up their volume and visibility. But what can they realistically achieve? And will Navalny’s widow Yulia Navalnaya become the new…

From DW Documentary. Copenhagen is renowned for being bike friendly and for its cutting-edge design and architecture. But the Danish capital has also become a hub of environmental protection and sustainability. Once a fishing village, today Copenhagen is a bustling metropolis where designers turn fabric remnants into hip fashion and restaurants grow lettuce in indoor…

From DW Documentary. Did Jesus, revered by Christians as the Son of God, really exist? Historians and archaeologists search for clues that might lead them to the historical figure of Jesus. Can their efforts solve a conundrum that goes back more than 2,000 years, and fascinates so many to this day? For more than two…

From DW Documentary. In 2015 Ryyan Alshebl fled Syria. Now, he’s the mayor of a German village. When he arrived in his adoptive home after a dramatic escape, he didn’t speak a word of German. How did he make this remarkable transition? Syrian national Ryyan Alshebl was elected mayor of the southern German village of…

From DW Documentary. In Cameroon, homosexuality is a criminal offense. In 2013, the journalist and gay rights activist Eric Lembembe was murdered. A Cameroonian filmmaker who knew him sets out to explore the roots of homophobia in his home nation. Eric Lembembe was tortured and murdered because he was gay. His killing was not an…

From DW Documentary. Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Poland has been massively upgrading its military. People are worried the war could spread to their country, and more and more civilians are training how to use weapons. Poland sees itself as a frontline state on NATO’s eastern flank. As such, the country aims to become one…

From DW Documentary. The Hansen twins share a dream. As boxers, they want to win gold medals at the Olympics! Assan and Ousainou’s role models are the Klitschko brothers. Born in Gambia, they lost their father at an early age and lived in abject poverty. They came to Germany at the age of nine with…

From DW Documentary. In September 1982 in Beirut, hundreds of Palestinian refugees were murdered. The massacre was carried out in an atmosphere of rising political tensions following the assassination of a Christian politician. Christian militias exacted revenge on innocent people. One of the worst atrocities of the Lebanese civil war, a massacre took place from…

From DW Documentary. The Mississippi stretches from the glacial lakes in northern Minnesota to the Gulf of Mexico. For many Americans, the mighty, almost 4,000-kilometer-long river is closely linked to the nation’s history. People have lived along these riverbanks for several thousand years. Today, the river unites many different cultures and is considered the soul…

From DW Documentary. "Tax us now!” – that’s the call from many millionaires and billionaires around the world. In open letters, they warn of the dangers posed by the growing gap between rich and poor, calling on their respective governments to tax their wealth. A wealth tax would not just be fair, they say, it…

From DW Documentary. Poland may have succeeded in voting out a right-wing populist government, but have the country’s divisions improved? From the exclusion of LGBT+ people to bans on abortion and the firing of journalists critical of the government – eight years of rule by the Law and Justice party saw Poland drifting ever further…

From DW Documentary. The flamingo habitat in the Albanian nature reserve of the Narta Lagoon is under threat. An international airport is to be built here to boost tourism. But it will come at the expense of one of Europe’s last untouched natural paradises. A large international airport is to be built in the immediate…

From DW Documentary. The race for supremacy in the age of artificial intelligence has begun. China, the USA and Europe are vying for the top spot. So are individual tech companies and start-ups. Who will determine which technologies will shape the future of humanity? The documentary follows key figures from the tech industry, science and…

From DW Documentary. Temperatures of more than 50 degrees Celsius. Normal, and sometimes fatal for construction site laborers in Qatar. It’s thought some 400 million workers around the world are suffering in the increasing heat. Climate change is exacerbating social inequality everywhere. Whether it’s construction workers in the Middle East, parcel delivery drivers in the…

From DW Documentary. Without elementary particles, there’d be no X-Ray machines, no Internet and no electricity. Because some elementary particles penetrate matter without destroying it, they’re a boon for scientific and medical applications. But have all the elementary particles been discovered? Researchers are endeavoring to answer that question. They’re decoding the protein structure of viruses…

From DW Documentary. A new supercomputer is slated to make it possible to reduce animal experiments and perhaps to cure cancer. The hype surrounding quantum computing is inspiring numerous industries, raising claims that it could help solve the problem of storing renewable energy, or that it could help revolutionize the logistics sector. A Swiss start-up…

From DW Documentary. Evangelical churches are growing fast in Brazil, often filling a void left by the Catholic church and the state. In Brazil the evangelicals are known for looking after poor and marginalized communities. But even in the wealthier districts of the megacity Rio de Janeiro the Bible-thumping Pentecostals are on the march, gaining…

From DW Documentary. Maasai women Leah and Purity are rangers in the Kenyan bushveld. Every day, they travel around Amboseli National Park. They never know which animal they will come across next: It could be a buffalo attacking them or a herd of elephants approaching dangerously close to the villages. The two young rangers work…

From DW Documentary. Millions of women are victims of fake sexual content on the internet, created with AI. Deepfakes can look deceptively real, but the images, audio, or video recordings are manipulated. When Kate Isaacs clicks on the video, she is thoroughly confused: She and a stranger are having sex. Her first thoughts are: "Who’s…

From DW Documentary. Turkey was hit by a major earthquake a year ago, hundreds of thousands were made homeless. The reconstruction process is sluggish. Ruined cities – and disappointed hopes. A year after devastating earthquakes in southeastern Turkey, hundreds of thousands of people in the region are still holding out in temporary shelters. President Erdoğan…

From DW Documentary. Patagonia’s icefields are very difficult to access. As a result, they remain largely unexplored by climate researchers. Now, a scientist and two extreme mountaineers are venturing into this hard-to-reach area, in search of new data for climate research. Even after 15 years of research in Chile, scientist Tobias Sauter says that for…

From DW Documentary. Ecuador is a country with pristine nature, lots of natural resources – and a corrupt government. The film follows Paúl Jarrín and his resistance group, who are fighting against the exploitation of his homeland, accompanied by the journalist Fernando Villavicencio. During the tenure of President Rafael Correa, Ecuador became massively indebted to…

From DW Documentary. She’s available in all skin colors, she’s diverse and inclusive. Created by businesswoman Ruth Handler, unveiled in New York in 1959, Barbie’s long been a money-maker. With millions of followers on Instagram, she’s now an influencer, too. The documentary dives into the world of Barbie content creators, meets the most famous collector…

From DW Documentary. Saúl Luciano Lliuya, a farmer from Peru, is suing German energy giant RWE. He says the company’s greenhouse gas emissions are endangering his home. It’s a David and Goliath battle that could set a precedent in holding major polluters accountable. When Saúl Luciano Lliuya learned that RWE’s coal mining operations had apparently…

From DW Documentary. The US presidential election will take place this November and Trump is polling well. What’s his appeal? Why does he remain so popular with voters? Jasmyn Jordan is a young, black student of political science and international relations at the University of Iowa. In the 1970s, Jack Gilchrist served in the US…

From DW Documentary. The psychoactive substance ayahuasca is common in Brazil. For generations, indigenous people have incorporated it into their rituals. Researchers say it can serve as an alternative to anti-depressants – and as a way to treat drug addiction. Ayahuasca translates as "spirits of the woody vine.” In Brazil, consuming it as part of…

From DW Documentary. Getting rich by betting on a future catastrophe? Thanks to something known as "catastrophe bonds” or "cat bonds” for short, this is now possible. A financial tool that trades on suffering and misery. In the world of big financial investments, there’s a market for pretty much anything. Including for future catastrophes, caused…

From DW Documentary. More than a quarter of the population of Germany has a migrant background. Many report that they have received substandard care from doctors and hospitals. Is the healthcare system afflicted by racism? This documentary hears from people who’ve been turned away or received inadequate care in a medical emergency; from midwives who…

From DW Documentary. Since the start of the war, Russia has abducted many thousands of Ukrainian children. Some were told they were being sent on vacation, only to end up in Russia. Many of the children have yet to return. The scale of abductions only became clear when the Ukrainian army began liberating Russian-occupied areas.…

From DW Documentary. Animosity, attacks, antisemitism in the open: Jewish people in Germany are dealing with increasing levels of hate. Ever since the terrorist attacks by Hamas on Israel on October 7th, 2023, Jews in Germany are increasingly threatened on social media and their homes defaced with racist slogans. Many Jewish people no longer feel…

From DW Documentary. On 24 February 2022, Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered an all-out attack on Ukraine. This was a drastic escalation of a conflict that had been simmering for decades. Was war the inevitable result of Kyiv’s 2013 Maidan protests? The documentary looks at how this war came about and why it was not…

From DW Documentary. At the end of life, many people end up in a hospital. Whether or not they would prefer to die at home, more than half of the people in Germany die in intensive care units. Some die in nursing homes and a few die in hospices. Why is that? Most people want…

From DW Documentary. In summer, the nomadic children in northern Kyrgyzstan move to high pastures with their families. For the last several years, there has finally been a place there where they can learn and socialize with other boys and girls: the yurt school. Every day, Jenya Scharscheva, the head of the village kindergarten, comes…

From DW Documentary. Delivery service in the world’s smallest high mountain range is still done the traditional way. In the Alps and other European mountains, porters have long been replaced by helicopters and cable cars. But not in the High Tatras of Slovakia. When loaded, the wooden carrying frames used by the so-called ‘Tatra Sherpas’…

From DW Documentary. A journey into a forgotten conflict. Ten million people have been displaced by the civil war in Sudan, more than in any other crisis worldwide. Of Sudan’s internally displaced persons, a quarter of a million have found refuge in the Nuba Mountains, in the South of the country. The area is difficult…

From DW Documentary. For decades, European countries have been dependent on Russian gas imports. And they did it to themselves. The biggest culprit? Germany. Only after Russia declared war on Ukraine did the German government realize that Russia has been using gas as a weapon for a long time. How did this come about? What…

From DW Documentary. China has headed the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) since 2019. During this time, the country has restructured the organization’s personnel. Critics complain that China is advancing its own interests, using the UN’s largest specialized agency. The FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization), headquartered in Rome, is responsible for food and agriculture…

From DW Documentary. Mass tourism in South Tyrol is endangering the unique beauty of the Dolomites, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The region has just 530,000 inhabitants, while as many as 33 million overnight stays are recorded every year. Too many, according to locals. Tourism in South Tyrol is getting out of hand. In the…

From DW Documentary. For some, cryptocurrencies are a dangerous bubble. For others, they represent the future of money. But what are the actual uses – and risks — of cryptocurrencies? This documentary explores how crypto is altering global financial architecture. Since its inception, Bitcoin has evolved into a digital global currency that is challenging the…

From DW Documentary. Champagne: a symbol of glamor and celebration. Tens of thousands of migrant workers head to France every year to harvest grapes in the Champagne region. But some pay a high price to bring this luxury product to market. While the big champagne brands enjoy record sales, a number of seasonal workers toil…

From DW Documentary. An ecological disaster: The ship graveyard of Chittagong in Bangladesh harms both people and the environment. After reaching the end of their service lives, most large ships from around the world are broken up along the coasts of South Asia. Chittagong in Bangladesh is home to the world’s second-largest ship breaking yard.…

From DW Documentary. For decades, European countries have been dependent on Russian gas imports. And they did it to themselves. The biggest culprit? Germany. Only after Russia declared war on Ukraine did the German government realize that Russia has been using gas as a weapon for a long time. How did this come about? What…

From DW Documentary. European conquistadors once came to Latin America to rob the indigenous population of its gold. Today, people from the global North are coming again. This time, they claim to be bringing gold with them. Digital gold, that is. Namely, Bitcoin. While here in Europe, cryptocurrency is perceived by many as a speculative…

From DW Documentary. The extraction of gas and oil poses a greater threat than previously thought. Leaks at disused drilling sites can trigger an environmental disaster at any time. If toxic substances escape, human lives are at risk. Oil companies invest little in securing the former boreholes. Environmental activists are among the few on the…

From DW Documentary. They scam unsuspecting victims all across the world — but they are victims themselves. Thousands of people are trafficked worldwide into Myanmar’s war-torn east, where they are forced to trick people in Europe, the US, and China into scam schemes. At KK Park, one of the most notorious facilities, those who refuse…