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- This documentary series recounts the tumultuous history of Cuba, a nation of foreign conquest, freedom fighters and Cold War political machinations.
- The friendship between Christophe de Ponfilly and Commander Massoud, a legendary figure of the Afghan resistance against the Soviet invader, goes back to the filmmaker's first film, "A Valley Against an Empire", made in 1981. Fifteen years later, weakened, isolated, betrayed by many of his own, the "Lion of Panshir" has not surrendered to his new and implacable enemies, the Taliban. While preparing his next offensive, he evokes his commitment and his fights, and bears witness to a history in which he has been one of the main actors for twenty years. At the same time, the director questions the role and power of the media, as well as his own approach as a filmmaker. Commander Massoud was killed in an attack in September 2001.
- They are well-known all over the world. TIME Magazine has featured them on its cover. Far from the comfort of their consulting rooms, in the midst of war and natural disasters, these doctors share the lives of their patients. Committed to medicine, the Hippocratic Oath and professional secrecy between doctor and patient, this kind of care is open to all. There are two billion people in the waiting room. Our cameras follow the doctors, probe into their daily lives and their dreams. Instead of the usual pictures of emergency treatment, they will show everyday life in the field: the quiet times, the doubts, the joys, the moments of weakness. "Doctors without Frontiers" has become the first world-wide organization for non-governmental medical aid. In 2001 it celebrates its 30th anniversary. This is the opportunity to look closely at a humanitarian generation which has been deeply involved with world events: earthquake in Nicaragua, tornados in Honduras, war in Lebanon, refugees in South-East Asia, boat people, war in Afghanistan, famine in Ethiopia, civil war in Nicaragua and Kurdistan, natural disasters in Mexico, Salvador, Bangladesh and even Armenia and Iran, famine in Sudan, aid to the poor and needy. We will tell the story of their incredible adventure. This diversity of personalities and experiences is one of the main features of the film. The frontiers between medicine, humanism, politics and media seem to be non-existent. Only the dream, a kind of lyrical obsession, remains. We try to paint a portrait of this universal and impressive history in a series of personal accounts. We see how the initial "without frontiers" concept developed, the evolution of the activities, the successes and failures, the ethics and errors.
- Why does the shower curtain billow inwards instead of outwards when the hot water begins to flow? How do roller-coasters affect asthma treatment? Can swearing relieve pain? Do we swim faster in water or syrup? How can we measure the toxicity of panda droppings? Throughout the world, scientists are studying such questions, backed by generous public and private funding. Sophisticated experimental systems are developed to study why, for example, woodpeckers fail to end up with concussion despite hammering their beaks into tree trunks all day, or the statistical rules that govern the appearance of creases on sheets. Each year, an eminent committee awards "Ig Nobel" prizes to the most absurd startling, costly or amusing research projects. The satirical equivalent of the Nobel awards, these prizes are presented with great ceremony in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The Funny Side of Science sets out to meet the Ig Nobel committee members and find out how they assess scientific research nominated for the next awards. We follow their debates and dispassionate discussions as they examine research that makes us laugh and inspires curiosity. Above all, we travel with them around the world to meet these extraordinary researchers applying strange forms of science.