The exiled Myanmar artist pleading for the world’s attention

An artist flees Myanmar following the 2021 coup and uses art to keep the world engaged in the plight of his nation.

When Myanmar’s fledgling democracy was destroyed, Sai’s life was turned upside down and his father was imprisoned. Sai and his wife K went into hiding. As Myanmar faded from international headlines, they knew they had to take action, and created a series of unique artworks.

Armed with this work, they flee to Europe, on a mission to use it as a form of activism. They are haunted by the abuses in Myanmar, visa issues and the ever-present risk to those back home. Sai becomes increasingly fraught, questioning his mission and whether he can bring about meaningful change.

Escaping War: Family life inside a Ukrainian bomb shelter | Witness Docu...

In war-torn Ukraine, a family weighs the dangers of leaving their makeshift bunker for the promise of freedom outside. 

In the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, a young family endures life in Mykolaiv’s subterranean haven, “The Garages”.

As the front line shifts, volunteer soldier Yuri is determined to keep his family safe underground even when their neighbours return to life outside. But his wife, Svetlana, is craving a normal home, and their teenage daughters are growing restless in isolation.

Taliban Palace: The second year of Taliban rule in Afghanistan

 

Rare behind-the-scenes access to the Taliban spokesman who is confronted about the failing economy and broken promises.

With unprecedented access from Kandahar to Kabul, the Taliban’s main spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid opens the doors to the presidential palace. He takes us to the centre of the Taliban’s transition from rebel fighters to the nation’s leaders.

Madame White Snake: An opera troupe fights eviction in Shanghai

An opera singer fights to keep her community together when her theatre in Shanghai is slated for demolition.

Zhou Guixiang is the leader of a dilapidated opera theatre in one of Shanghai’s last remaining informal housing settlements. Having endured dwindling audiences and soaring rent for decades, Zhou and her troupe have refused to follow the fate of similar cultural spaces in the city.

But when authorities order the theatre demolished to make way for redevelopment, Zhou and her troupe are given one month to leave the premises.

 

Breaking the Circle: What is it like to grow up in India today?

 

A British-Assamese filmmaker explores what it’s like to grow up in India after the Citizenship Amendment Act was passed.

India has one of the world’s youngest populations, and it’s these young people who will live with the consequences of the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), which was passed in 2019.

British-Assamese filmmaker Leona Chaliha travels back to northeast India to explore the question of what it’s like to grow up in India after the passing of the Act.

War Bound: Onboard Ukraine’s Evacuation Train

 

As Ukraine’s railways come under attack by Russian bombs, Ira leads her crew on a rescue mission to the front line.

“I am risking my life, but I hope I will return home,” says Ira, a head train steward in the Ukrainian city of Lviv.

Ukraine’s railway system has become a lifeline for more than six million refugees fleeing Russian attacks since the war began on February 24 this year.

The Deminer: Kurdish Iraq’s legendary bomb disposal expert

 

Fakhir Berwari was a bomb disposal expert who disarmed thousands of landmines across Iraq.

A father of eight and a Kurdish officer who served in Iraq’s armed forces is on a mission to disarm thousands of mines with just a pocket knife and a pair of wire clippers.

Between the fall of Saddam Hussein in 2003 and the chaos and destruction wreaked by ISIL more than a decade later, Fakhir Berwari’s unwavering bravery saved thousands of lives in Iraq.

The Deminer tells Fakhir’s story through raw and visceral amateur footage captured on a camcorder by his soldiers.

Diaby: The Away Game

 

A talented young Malian footballer’s dream comes true when he joins a professional European football club.

Abdoulaye Diaby, the rising star of Malian football, realises his dream to play in Europe.

At 18 years old, he left Bamako, his friends, his family, and his girlfriend, when recruited by the Royal Antwerp F C, the oldest club in the Belgian Pro League.

The film tells the story of his first season in Europe.

Afghanistan’s Own Battle: On the front line

 

We followed Afghan National Army soldiers during their first year fighting the Taliban in Helmand without NATO support.

When NATO forces first started withdrawing from Afghanistan in 2014, the Afghan National Army were left to defend the extremely dangerous Helmand province from increasingly bold Taliban offensives.

Wuhan’s Hidden Trauma: After the COVID lockdown

A Chinese filmmaker ventures into Wuhan and discovers unseen psychological trauma in the aftermath of the city’s lockdown.

Wuhan was the first city in the world to emerge from a total COVID lockdown.

Chinese filmmaker Vincent Du drives into Wuhan one day after restrictions are lifted and befriends a journalist who is trying to get back to Beijing.

But Vincent turns the camera on himself as he discovers the city’s residents battling with collective signs of severe depression and trauma in the immediate aftermath. 

Shelter: Iran’s race to build a life-saving COVID ward

 As one of Tehran’s oldest hospitals reaches capacity during the pandemic, the urgent construction of a new ward begins.

Javad is a civil engineer in charge of a large construction project – to build an extension to an old hospital in one of Tehran’s most impoverished areas.

As the coronavirus pandemic surges through Iran, death tolls soar and hospitals start to run out of capacity. To accommodate the growing number of COVID-19 patients, Javad is given the almost impossible task of preparing two floors of an unfinished building in just 20 days – work that would require three months under normal circumstances.

Catching the rain in India: Dead Lakes Alive

 In a race against India’s looming water shortage, Anand Malligavad takes on his city’s water woes one lake at a time.

In “India’s Silicon Valley”, the taps are running dry. Bangalore’s once-famous city lakes have become a dumping ground for toxic waste and clean drinking water is growing scarce for many of the city’s 12 million residents.

Italy’s COVID Hotline: Inside a pandemic call centre

An Italian Carabinieri volunteer fields desperate phone calls during the first wave of the coronavirus pandemic.

Max is a film producer in Milan, Italy. At the end of February 2020, his life takes an unexpected turn when Italy becomes the epicentre of the first wave of the novel coronavirus in Europe.

When the Italian film industry is forced to close, Max is compelled to resume his voluntary service with the Carabinieri, Italy’s widely respected military-run police force.

 

Dead Woman's Pass: A Ni Una Menos Story on the Inca Trail

An Indigenous woman embarks on a journey to Machu Picchu that will force her to confront horrors from her past.

An Indigenous woman embarks on a journey to Machu Picchu that will force her to confront horrors from her past.  

Maxi Manuttupa is a single mother in Cusco, Peru. Haunted by past traumas, she is anxious to find a safer home for her daughter. She decides to earn more money by becoming a porter.

India: Elephants in My Backyard

As human-animal conflict escalates in India, a conservationist is determined to prove people and elephants can co-exist.

Elephant habitats across India are shrinking at an alarming rate, leading to conflict with local residents.

In the southern region of Hassan, the conflict has been particularly intense. But accountant-turned-conservationist Vinod Krishnan is part of a team, led by Dr Anand Kumar, that is pioneering a radically new approach to deal with the conflict based on strategies of co-existence.

War, Lies and Hashtags: Pakistan's Twitter Battles

Pakistan's most notorious digital commander leads his cyber-army to the front line of a propaganda war.

Farhan Virk is a household name in Pakistan's Twittersphere.

He is one of the country's most controversial political influencers and claims he can make any hashtag trend nationally.

A hyper-nationalist believed by many to be a state-sponsored troll, Virk commands Team Imran Khan, a Twitter army of more than 1,000 volunteers.

When India-Pakistan tensions flare, Virk mounts an online attack.

Riders Of Destiny: Risking Life as a Child Jockey in Indonesia

Seven-year-old Sila risks life and limb as a child jockey to provide for his family on the island of Sumbawa, Indonesia.

Seven-year-old Sila is a child jockey supporting his family financially on the remote island of Sumbawa, Indonesia.

With the high unemployment rate on Sumbawa, Sila's parents no longer work because the money their young son earns takes care of the whole family.

Each race poses an enormous risk to Sila and the other young jockeys who spend up to 10 days competing in several traditional horse racing tournaments each year. Injuries are common, deaths occur, and Sila is one of the most in-demand jockeys of all the young riders.

Vikings vs Neo-Nazis: Battling the Far Right in Sweden

A Viking enthusiast confronts a neo-Nazi leader for misappropriating Viking symbols for white supremacist propaganda.

Across Sweden, young Viking enthusiasts have been angered by the actions of some far-right organisations who have adopted Viking iconography to represent white supremacist propaganda. One, in particular, is the Nordic Resistance Movement, known as the NRM.

Viking enthusiast Robin Lundin is the co-founder of an association called Vikingar Mot Rasism (Vikings Against Racism, or VAR). The group was formed on Facebook to combat the conflation of Viking enthusiasm with neo-nazism, and it has more than 1,500 members.

Meet the Syrians: The Story of a Refugee Family in the US

We follow one of the last Syrian refugee families to be granted a US visa before Trump's travel ban began in 2017.

It is 2017. The Kalaji family - originally from the besieged Syrian city of Aleppo - seek a new life in the United States with dreams of owning a house and car.

They leave their temporary home in Jordan, saying goodbye to beloved family, and move to Philadelphia, where they must adjust to life in a new land.

Upon their arrival, the Kalajis seem lucky: They are among the last refugees to make it into the US before Donald Trump's travel ban is implemented.

Zahida: On the Road with Pakistan's First Female Taxi Driver

"It wouldn't work if I left the house thinking that I'm a woman. To compete with men, I had to be like a man."  - Zahida, Pakistan's first female taxi driver

In 1992, Zahida became Pakistan's first female taxi driver and a local legend.

Twice widowed, she is independent, feisty and street-wise, with a reputation for being a master hustler.

But now, aged 56 and with a seven-year-old daughter to raise, she is still fighting to make a living on the dusty roads of Rawalpindi.

"My life is one big struggle," she reflects.