2015-09-22
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8.0A computer screen, images from the four corners of the world. We cross borders in one-click while another trip’s story reach us in bits, through text messages, chats, phone conversations, and an immigration office’s questionnaire. It’s the journey of Shahin, a 20-year-old Iranian boy who, fleeing his country alone, lands in Greece, then winds his way to England where he claims asylum.
0.0In the 19th century, China held the monopoly on tea, which was dear and fashionable in the West, and the British Empire exchanged poppies, produced in its Indian colonies and transformed into opium, for Chinese tea. Inundated by the drugs, China was forced to open up its market, and the British consolidated their commercial dominance. In 1839, the Middle Empire introduced prohibition. The Opium War was declared… Great Britain emerged as the winner, but the warning was heeded: it could no longer depend on Chinese tea. The only alternative possible was to produce its own tea. The East India Company therefore entrusted one man with finding the secrets of the precious beverage. His mission was to develop the first plantations in Britain’s Indian colonies. This latter-day James Bond was called Robert Fortune – a botanist. After overcoming innumerable ordeals in the heart of imperial China, he brought back the plants and techniques that gave rise to Darjeeling tea.
5.7Sue Perkins immerses herself in the complex life of Kolkata and sees how it is reinventing itself as a megacity with a reputation for eccentricity, culture and tolerance.
5.5"A Postcard from Pyongyang" is a journey into a deeply enigmatic and completely isolated country that keeps the world in suspense: North Korea. Friends Gregor Möller, Philip Kist and Anne Lewald visit in 2013 and 2017 and do what is strictly forbidden and for which they might have ended up in a forced labor camp: even though accompanied by state watchers, they secretly film their travels, accompanied by state watchdogs. We get an extraordinary insight into one of the most closed societies in the world and experience the 'beautiful new world' as the state propaganda machinery displays it.
6.7Lexington, Kentucky, 2004. Four young men attempt to execute one of the most audacious art heists in the history of the United States.
0.0Stories and music of Black artists who relied on an underground travel guide to navigate the injustices of racial segregation while on the road. The Negro Travelers’ Green Book was a directory of lodgings, restaurants, and entertainment venues where African Americans were welcomed. Features performances and interviews with vocalists, musicians, activists, historians, and others.
6.1A behind-the-scenes look at the rise of the American rock band, Kings of Leon.
6.6Wild Man Blues is a 1998 documentary film directed by Barbara Kopple, about the musical avocation of actor/director/comic Woody Allen. The film takes its name from a jazz composition sometimes attributed to Jelly Roll Morton and sometimes to Louis Armstrong and recorded by both (among others). Allen's love of early 20th century New Orleans music is depicted through his 1996 tour of Europe with his New Orleans Jazz Band. Allen has played clarinet with this band for over 25 years. Although Allen's European tour is the film's primary focus, it was also notable as the first major public showcase for Allen's relationship with Soon-Yi Previn.
8.0The feature-length film by engineers J. Hanzelka and M. Zikmund captures how the two travelers prepared for their first trip around the world and in documentary footage describes their experiences from the first half of the trip through Africa. You will see for yourself what obstacles they had to overcome on the ravaged roads of Abyssinia and in what danger the fate of the expedition was during the daring passage through the Nubian desert. The film culminates with an ascent to the highest mountain in Africa, the extinct volcano Kilimanjaro, whose peak is covered in ice all year round.
0.0Cooking and dining with Anthony Bourdain! Europe - 6 episodes Arachon, France, the birthplace of Tony's father, was the first place Tony learned to love food. Tony revisits his childhood and enjoys many staples, including steak frites, gaufres (waffles), and soupe de pecheur (fisherman's soup). Other episodes include A Pleasing Palate (London) and Highland Grub (Scotland). The #1 food writer and television presenter in the world, Anthony Bourdain reinvented the food travel genre. In his groundbreaking first series, that originally aired on the Food Network, Bourdain travels around the world indulging his taste for local cuisine and eccentric characters. Join Tony as he feasts on sushi in Tokyo, enjoys authentic Mexican cuisine, and traverses the Australian Outback on a memorable food journey. You never know what he'll say, who he'll meet, or what they'll have for dinner.
1960s Egyptian documentary showing scenes of local life along the banks of the River Nile, with narration by Salah Jahin
0.0Travel film about South Tyrol, the Dolomites and Lake Garda.
10.0A two and half month journey from Buenos Aires (Argentina) to Medellin (Colombia), through some of the most amazing places in South America, immersed in the Backpacker's culture.
5.9The year was 1941, and the world was on the brink of war. In an effort to improve relations between the Americas, the Roosevelt administration called upon one of Hollywood’s most influential filmmakers to embark on a special goodwill tour. Written and directed by Theodore Thomas (“Frank and Ollie”) and produced by Kuniko Okubo, the documentary WALT & EL GRUPO chronicles the amazing ten-week trip that Walt Disney and his hand-picked group of artists and filmmaking talent (later known as “El Grupo”) took to South America at the behest of the U.S. Government as part of the Good Neighbor Policy.
0.0Rome, a palimpsest: monuments, the Catholic church, the everyday life.
0.0The Lincoln Highway was established in 1913 as America’s first coast-to-coast paved highway. It connected New York City with San Francisco and passed through towns and cities in 13 states. It was an adventure for early motorists, and drivers today still love its hidden charms and all the stuff along its several paths. A RIDE ALONG THE LINCOLN HIGHWAY considers some of the history of the road and shows some of the joys of finding and riding along the various alignments of the highway today. Along the way, we meet highway historians and enthusiasts from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to Evanston, Wyoming, and many places in between. We check out the cottages at the Lincoln Motor Court near Bedford, PA, stop for lunch in Mount Vernon, Iowa, meet some folks in Eureka, Nevada, and even walk out to the end of the Berkeley pier in California. It's a great trip.