• The French Revolution (2020) - Documentary

    History Documentary hosted by Geoffrey Bateman, published by Nilaya in 2020 - English narration

    In this Documentary Drama Witness the French Revolution as never before — the fall of the world’s most powerful monarchy and the revolt that tore apart a nation.

    Part 1 - 00:00
    This is the "embedded" French Revolution that we want to share: an exceptional, immersive experience seen through cameras that dive into the heart of history, following its every jolt. It's the story of the fall of the world's most glorious, most powerful ad most ancient monarchy.

    Part 2 - 52:32
    The French Revolution, a historical thriller that explores the fabric of democracy, the drive for equality, and the impossible quest for freedom.

    Learn English from history!

  • How Afghanistan defeated the Soviet Union | DW Documentary

    The Soviet deployment in Afghanistan triggered a 10-year conflict that changed the world. This film unveils the full story of this war, which marked the beginning of the fall of the USSR.

    In April 1978, Afghanistan’s President Mohammed Daoud Khan was overthrown and murdered in a coup d’état led by communist rebels. But not everyone in the conservative country welcomed the communist reforms, and a number of insurgencies arose against the new government. In an attempt to prop up the regime, Leonid Brezhnev sent Soviet troops to Kabul. It was supposed to be a short deployment. But the conflict with the anti-communist Muslim guerrillas, the mujahideen, intensified, and the Red Army ended up remaining in Afghanistan for almost ten years.

    This was a time when America had an interest in weakening the Soviet Union’s economy and military. After Ronald Reagan was elected president in 1981, the United States increased its military aid to the mujahideen, using Pakistan and its intelligence service as a go-between. Thus, Soviet troops were not only fighting the mujahideen. Afghanistan became a proxy battleground for the Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union.

    By the late 1980s, the Soviet Union was disintegrating. Their army had taken heavy causalities in Afghanistan, and the Soviet population were openly rejecting the war. Mikhail Gorbachev withdrew from the war, but the tide could no longer be turned. A few months after the withdrawal of the last Soviet troops from Afghanistan, the Berlin Wall fell in 1989. Two and a half years later, the Soviet Union ceased to exist.

    Through exclusive archive material, this documentary unveils the full story of the war that spelt the beginning of the end for the USSR.

    Learn English from history!

  • Coronavirus complications | DW Documentary

    A growing number of people who recover from COVID-19 are experiencing long-term health problems. This includes younger patients without pre-existing conditions who had only mild symptoms with the virus. How are doctors and patients responding?

    The COVID-19 disease is triggered by the SARS-CoV-2 virus, and can affect multiple organs. The symptoms of the initial illness are now well known. But what about the long-term effects of coronavirus? Not everyone who gets COVID-19 makes a full recovery afterwards. A growing number of people are experiencing reduced physical and abilities and cognitive symptoms. One such patient is 31-year old junior doctor Maria. Five months after falling sick, she is still unable to work normally.

    In October, Germany’s University Medical Center Schleswig-Holstein launched the largest study to date on the long-term effects of coronavirus. Teams of doctors specialized in various fields of medicine are planning to examine several thousand former COVID-19 patients who have officially "recovered" from the virus. They’re looking in particular at the lungs, heart, kidneys and liver, as well as the nervous system and metabolism. Christopher Bley from Berlin would welcome the opportunity to be included in a study like that. The 35-year-old feels he isn’t getting the support he needs from doctors. Ever since the father of two contracted the virus, he has been battling shortness of breath. For a long time, he hoped he would heal naturally, but the problem persists.
    Writer Nina Marewski from Frankfurt feels similarly let down by doctors. She says they either ignore her or don’t take her seriously. She has been writing about her experience with coronavirus online, and is giving a voice to other post-COVID "long haulers". This documentary accompanies three people who are struggling with the aftereffects of the virus. What do the health problems mean for them and how do they deal with the uncertainty about whether they will ever make a full recovery?

  • Taipei Golden Horse best documentary award goes to ...

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bT6pWkT6nC8&feature=youtu.be

    Highly recommend. Lost Course is a promising documentary on the crisis of Wukan, a rural fishing village of China whose villagers protested massively against the central govt.

    The only film that records a chronicle about mainland China in Taiwan, something gets more and more rare to see in nowadays.

    Some background info here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wukan