Wed, Apr 3, 2019
Exploring the societal and political changes that shaped modern Turkey through Istanbul's diverse music and culture. "Music is an unrestricted culture. There's no difference between Greek, Rum or Istanbul music. They've all blended," says Ivi Dermanci. Dermanci is referring to Rebetiko, a musical style created by ethnic Greeks in the last years of the Ottoman Empire. When Istanbul was at the heart of the Ottoman Empire, it was one of the most ethnically diverse cities in history; Rebetiko was one of many cultural and musical variations.
Wed, Apr 24, 2019
A parking attendant and former champion runs a boxing school for youngsters dreaming of being the next Rocky. In Casablanca Fight Club, the regional qualifying stage of the Moroccan amateur boxing championships is just weeks away and the young boxers at the Bateha club are training for the biggest fights of their lives. It's here that a 75-year-old parking attendant and former Moroccan featherweight champion, Saleh Rouman, mentors fresh young boxing talent.
Wed, Nov 6, 2019
The inspiring story of five women striving to make a difference in Gaza under siege. Gaza is home to more than 1.5 million Palestinians, half of them under the age of 15. Unemployment stands at 52 percent, according to the World Bank. Gazans face poor water and sanitation conditions and overstretched hospitals, among other adversities, according to the Palestinian Center for Human Rights. The film follows five strong-willed women who are doing their utmost to make a difference in Gaza in different walks of life - medicine, social work, photojournalism, music and local government. Despite the socio-economic conditions in Gaza, the five of them work to make life better for their families and communities.
Thu, Aug 27, 2020
The life and death of Israeli spy Eli Cohen, who operated undercover in Syria in 1960s before his identity was revealed. In one of the most audacious individual espionage operations ever, Eli Cohen, an Egyptian-born Jewish accounting clerk, was recruited by Israeli intelligence agency Mossad, trained intensively as a field agent for six months and given a new identity as an Arab businessman in South America.
Fri, Sep 25, 2020
An Algerian actor, a Honduran journalist, a Liberian writer, a Cameroonian performer: four remarkable journeys to Spain. No two journeys of migration are the same. In this film, we follow four people who left their native countries, each for different reasons, to build new lives in Spain. Mae Azango is a journalist who fled Liberia in 2006 but eventually returned home six years later. A teenager in the Liberian Civil War of the 1990s, she was eight months pregnant when her father was beaten to death. In 2016, journalist Milthon Robles fled his native Honduras where dozens of reporters have been killed covering the widespread gang violence. "They kidnapped me and tried to kill me several times," he says, "specifically for my work as an investigative journalist."
Wed, Jan 6, 2021
About how Israeli-made spyware Pegasus works, the hacking of journalists' phones and its ominous consequences. In mid-2020, a mobile phone belonging to an Al Jazeera Arabic investigative team was hacked. Over the next few months, reporter Tamer Almisshal and the Canadian research group Citizen Lab investigated Pegasus, the sophisticated spyware used. Pegasus is manufactured by an Israeli technology company called the NSO Group and is among the most advanced spyware in the world. It can access and infiltrate a smartphone without the owner clicking a link, opening an email or even answering their phone - meaning it can go undetected.
Wed, Jul 14, 2021
A prisoner exchange involving five years of negotiations through intermediaries on behalf of Hamas and Israel. Between 2006 and 2011, a high-stakes negotiated prisoner exchange took place between Israel and Hamas, the group that governs the Gaza Strip. During that time, the two sides did not have any direct contact, so mediators from Egypt, Germany and Ireland were involved. At stake were the terms of exchange between one captured Israeli soldier, Gilad Shalit, and a large number of Palestinian prisoners.
Wed, Sep 22, 2021
Creative connections between writers of North Africa - Jean Genet and Mohamed Choukri plus Albert Camus and Kateb Yacine. While writing is normally a solitary profession, occasionally literary connections between great authors spark fiery, creative tension and sometimes storytelling brilliance.