RT Documentary

Angeles City in the Philippines is a well-known sex tourism destination. There used to be an American air base here, but now it’s popular among mainly retired men who travel in search of sex for sale. Hundreds of local young women work in the bars and night clubs offering additional services for the money they desperately need to make ends meet and feed their families. The real victims though are the sex workers’ children, conceived by foreign travellers. These children immediately stand out in the crowd, being of mixed-race here almost certainly means a child is the product of a liaison between a sex tourist and a call girl. They may stand out but they’re not unusual, within their communities there are many children of the sex trade. In most cases, the kids have never met their fathers who, after visiting for a brief holiday, either don’t know or care that their own offspring have been left behind. The burden of raising the children rests entirely on the shoulders of the already struggling mothers. An RT Doc film crew visits Angeles City to meet the children abandoned by foreign sex tourist fathers. This programme reveals their lives and dreams and some heartfelt messages for the estranged fathers.

The history of Donbass is deeply linked to World War II; the intense battles fought there and the heroism shown by the people continue to shape the region's identity and resilience to this day. The spring of 2014 in Mariupol is recognized as a pivotal moment in the ongoing conflict in Donbass. It marked the first time since 1945 that local residents heard gunfire echoing through their streets.

In 2021, Russia supplied about 40% of the EU's gas. In 2022, after European leaders imposed sanctions on Russian energy sources, it immediately led to price hikes with a knock-on effect on European standards of living. People are affected by consumer goods prices increasing more than 3 times, while being almost unable to pay their heating bills. Both citizens and authorities of different levels are looking for ways to replace Russian gas supplies by alternative energy sources. Are there any good options? European leaders hope that the Groningen gas field, which is among the largest fields in the North Sea, will allow them to substitute the energy decrease in volume. In 2022, the Netherlands’ government increased gas production in the field instead of closing it as was originally planned. Though its exploitation has resulted in more than a thousand earthquakes in the field over the past 30 years. Moreover, their magnitude and frequency increases from year to year. Locals are demanding that the government close the site and shut down the field, but so far their efforts have been unsuccessful. ‘The seismology service admits that the damage and subsidence is caused by gas extraction, but as seismic activity is too low, they won’t compensate us ,' says farmer Rixt Vellinga. Her house and outlying buildings are cracked, some blocks have separated from the side walls and cows in the farm are getting sick due to tremors. However, Rixt continues farming with the use of solar panels, wind turbines and even heat emitted during the milking process. But why for now there is no eco-friendly option to substitute Russian gas?

"We have children with some of the most severe conditions. I think there's no other institution like this in the LPR. Our priority is to... provide a better living environment, to help children learn basic skills, and to make them feel comfortable," says Yury Ryzhenkov, Head of the Krasnodon Children's Home. Despite the staff's dedicated efforts, their passion alone falls short due to a lack of essential equipment and medications. This is why doctors from the "Road of Life" foundation are lending a helping hand to those children grappling with serious illnesses as well as those who care for them. The doctors provide treatment to children in multiple homes and orphanages across the Lugansk People's Republic. Some of the children require palliative care, while others need surgeries and treatments that are only available in Moscow. Watch the documentary to meet these compassionate people and learn about the challenges they face every day.

Russia's Arctic is one of the northernmost territories on our planet. The territory stretches 24,140 kilometers and is inhabited by reindeer and polar bears. But human activities during World War II and the race to the Polar North damaged the uniqueness and raw beauty of the wild Arctic. Bombed-out warehouses, scrap metal, and fuel tanks are scattered across the paths and cause injuries to animals. To preserve the natural beauty of the North, volunteers joined the ‘Clean North, Clean Arctic’ expedition. They went to the remote Franz Josef Land to make it clean and beautiful again. For six weeks volunteers left their work, responsibilities, and their loved ones behind, but it was definitely worth it. “Given the pristine beauty we see over there, the contrast has always amazed me. It puts humanity in a very unflattering light”, says Vladimir Privalov, ‘Clean Arctic’ volunteer. Watch the documentary to see how the project changes the Arctic and what else volunteers do to help out.

"When you go to film a war, you should be ready to lose people you've become friends with. There are many heroes that I've filmed who are already dead," says documentary filmmaker Maxim Fadeev. Formerly a designer, Maxim quit his job after the coup d'état in Ukraine and became a documentary filmmaker dedicated to depicting the life of the Donbass people during wartime. Since 2014, he has risked his life multiple times under constant shelling and enemy attacks, accumulating invaluable experience in the process. To help other journalists in this challenging job, Maxim, along with other experienced war correspondents, addressed the most important questions about working on the frontline. The journalists have compiled 10 lessons on how to survive hot areas where battle rages, tips that have saved multiple lives. Watch the documentary as they recount their most dangerous experiences and share essential survival rules. However, no matter how diligently you follow the rules, working on the frontline is a tremendous risk. Tragically, one of the founders of the War Correspondents School, Russian correspondent Boris Maksudov, perished in Zaporozhye while the film was in post-production.

Aleksandr D’Jamoos-Shulchev, Ivan Gorbatenko and Aleksandr Pokhilko are determined to conquer Kilimanjaro and prove to themselves and the whole world that nowhere is off limits to them. Together with their team of hikers, they set out on this exhausting five-day journey to raise funds to treat children with physical disabilities in Russia. They also hope that their example will inspire disabled children to follow their dreams and to always believe in themselves.

There is a street in the Indian city of Muzaffarpur, where men come to watch girls sing and dance… but not only. Beyond the front rooms of its establishments, much darker business is conducted, including prostitution and people trafficking. Today’s ‘dancers’ are the legacy of bygone days, when Hindu priests invited young girls to a big dance and then chose the best to become servants to the gods. These girls were called ‘devadasi’. They would sing and dance as part of temple worship for the rest of their lives. In reality, they were often sexually exploited by the priests and fell into prostitution. When the British abolished this religious institution, the former ‘devadasi’ moved from the temples to the streets. Muzaffarpur’s red light district is home to more than 2,500 sex workers. The young women that ‘sing and dance’ have ended up here for different reasons. Some have severe family problems, some have been sold, beaten, and coerced, and some are even following in their mothers’ footsteps. All share one thing in common: they are trapped in a horrific life they despise. No one here openly calls herself a prostitute. Most of the young women are mothers as a result of plying their trade. Poverty and stained reputations present nearly insurmountable barriers to escape. Most have given up on themselves, but still have hope for their children. A special school has been set up to take care of the sons and daughters of mothers who work at night. One prostitute named Nadzhma hopes that with a proper education her children will rise from the surroundings they were born into and, perhaps, pull her out as well.

It was under Vladimir Zelensky that active attacks and seizures of churches began in Ukraine. "Ukraine's Patriarchal Church is branded an enemy. It was a serious, long-term plan. The plan was to unite Ukrainian Orthodoxy with Uniatism and to create a united Greek Catholic Church, which would become a branch of the Catholic Church," says Vladimir Vasilik, Protodeacon and History PhD. He recalls how Catholic priests rallied on Maidan, calling for confrontation with the authorities. In the documentary investigation, Anna Chapman probed for answers about what the Vatican stands to gain in Ukraine amid these events. Alongside historians and investigators, she reveals uncomfortable truths about Vatican authorities as well as their objectives.

During the Vietnam War, the U.S Air Force used a defoliant known as “Agent Orange” to destroy forests where Vietcong guerrilla fighters were taking cover. Use of this toxic chemical not only severely harmed the health of those immediately exposed to it, but also led to birth defects in subsequent generations. Its impact is still being felt in Vietnam, where it is estimated that around 5 million people are suffering from its damaging effects. They call it their “orange pain”. The RTD team interviews local people who are still living with the consequences of the Vietnam War long after it ended, and an American veteran who has dedicated his life to clearing the country of mines and shells.

In 1991, Yugoslavia disintegrated in a brutal civil war, eventually hijacked by Islamists seeking to expand Muslim territory from Sarajevo to Iran. Ninko Durić, a journalist and former Mujahideen prisoner, remembers that the divide along ethnic lines was unforeseen, because Serbs and Bosnian Muslims had always lived peacefully together as neighbours. The Serbs had paid no attention to a growing jihadist influence over the Muslims. “I think many Bosnians, two years before the war started, had no idea what jihad was. It was depicted on the black flag of the Mujahideen detachment, which would later become an al-Qaida unit. The slogan, 'Jihad is our way' was written on the wall by the road, two years before the war,” says Ninko. What did Serbs face during this war?

US Prison for Afghanistan is a new film by RT Documentary which tells the story of Haji Ghalib, an Afghan ex-chief of police, who spent 5 years in American prisons under false terrorism allegations, underwent humiliation and torture, lost most of his family, but never gave up the fight for his country’s future. Haji Ghalib’s life has been a fight for the past forty years: he fought the Soviets, the Taliban, the ISIL. When the US declared the war on terror in 2001, Haji Ghalib was serving as a chief of police. In 2003, the US military arrested him right at his workplace and charged him with ties with Al-Qaeda and Taliban. Before taking the detainee to Bagram prison, the Americans tortured him by tying him to a bed so his head would hang over a bucket of water, and then submerging his head for 15-20 minutes. Sometime later, Haji Ghalib was sent from Bagram to Guantánamo. He spent four years imprisoned there. “When they were bringing food, there was a red line. They gave us food like this, on their extended arms. If you stepped on the red line, or worse, if you stepped beyond it, they came into your cell and beat you half to death”, recalls Haji Ghalib. “They didn’t let us sleep. It’s a torture, as well, when they humiliate you, strip you naked, and you stand before other people with your clothes off. What could be worse than that?” After being acquitted, Haji Ghalib returned to Afghanistan and rose to arms against the Taliban and ISIL again. He is now targeted by the Taliban, who have already killed all the female members of his family. Yet Haji Ghalib is not planning to give up his fight. What other hardships will he go through?

The history of Donbass is deeply linked to World War II; the intense battles fought there and the heroism shown by the people continue to shape the region's identity and resilience to this day. The spring of 2014 in Mariupol is recognized as a pivotal moment in the ongoing conflict in Donbass. It marked the first time since 1945 that local residents heard gunfire echoing through their streets.

"Those who cry when they're in pain and talk about it, react to it…They liberate themselves from it, albeit little by little. They vent all their pain. If they don't do it, it destroys them, regardless of temperament. It affects the internal organs, and all body systems." This is how Inna Silenok, Head of Crisis Counselors' Group, describes PTSD. Together with a team of psychologists from the People's Front, Inna helps Donbass residents in overcoming trauma and mitigating the negative impact of emotions on their life and health. Despite these efforts, some of those who survived shelling while hiding in basements and lost loved ones are hesitant to seek help. Explore the documentary to witness the challenging process of treating psychological traumas and discover what, beyond psychology, brings joy and hope to the strong-willed people of Donbass

In the challenging terrain around the Dnieper River, 126th Guards Coastal Defence Brigade faces constant threat from enemy’s drones and mortar attacks. Their primary mission is to patrol the river and thwart potential enemy attacks, as well as securing and maintaining control of the left bank. Every step from shore to boat could be their last. In this dangerous environment, experienced veterans and young fighters, including artillerymen, scouts, snipers, and sappers, unite with a common goal of attaining victory. Their round-the-clock aerial reconnaissance showcases the strength, focus and determination required for these perilous tasks. Despite the terrifying challenges, these brave soldiers strive to secure victory and protect their land.

Nollywood – Nigeria’s version of Hollywood - began its rapid rise in the 90s. Nowadays, it ranks second in the world in number of films produced annually. Does it owe its success to its ambitious directors who aim to shoot several films a month each, or to the simple yet poignant stories in its movies that explore issues close to the hearts of Nigerian people?

At the peak of the migrant crisis in Europe, Bosnia was largely spared streams of migrants fleeing their troubled homelands but after the more popular migration routes through the Balkans were shut down, the flow of refugees seemed to stop, Bosnia emerged as a new waypoint for people still trying to get to the European Union. The migrant trail now runs through the small town of Bihac right on the EU’s doorstep. Hundreds of them stay in Bira, a disused refrigerator factory in Bihac now converted into a refugee camp. It’s fully packed with foreigners from all over the Middle East: Iranians, Pakistanis, Afghans, Syrians; all determined to reach Croatia before heading further into the bloc. It's a quest they call, ‘the game.’ ‘The game’ is a dangerous trek through forests and mountains that takes a few days. Like any game, it has rules: never reveal your trafficker’s name if you get caught and don’t be afraid. The ‘game’ also involves risk: freezing temperatures in winter, land mines left over from the Balkan wars, and the alleged violence and brutality resorted to by the Croatian police. Even so, migrants are willing to keep ‘playing’ until they win. Some have tried to cross more than a dozen times. Meanwhile, Bihac residents, most of whom are Muslim and former war refugees themselves, have become wary of the strangers occupying their town. More than 23,000 refugees, mostly single men, arrived in Bosnia in 2018 alone, compared to fewer than 1,000 the year before. Many locals have joined rallies demanding that the authorities take decisive steps to resolve the crisis. An RTD crew travels to Bihac to hear from both migrants in Bira camp and local residents. The former speak about ‘the game’ and why they keep trying after several fruitless attempts. While the latter, including Bihac mayor, Suhret Fazlic, and protest leader, Sej Ramic, open up about their fears and resentment over the sudden surge of migration.

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Women throughout the western world continue to dabble with new diets to lose weight, in Mauritania though parents force-feed their daughters to make them bigger. A female figure with fuller curves is seen as a sign of health and elegance. Putting on weight is a sure way for young girls to find good husbands and succeed in life. RTD travels to Mauritania to explore the tradition of Leblouh – force-feeding little girls to help them achieve the local standard of beauty. Mauritania is a country in the north-west of Africa. Though about twice the size of France, it’s population is less than 3 million people, and the UN considers it one of the least-developed countries in the world. A mostly Muslim country, the capital city of Chinguetta is revered by its citizens as a sacred place. As ancient traditions are fiercely held onto here, it’s not so surprising that one in particular remains to this day: “leblouh”. Leblouh is the practice of force-feeding girls, from newborns to adults, in the hopes that they will gain a lot of weight. The standards of beauty in Mauritania differ from that of most of the modern world. While typically, thin and sporty women are sought after, here in Mauritania, the bigger the better. Mauritania force-feeding means that babies are forced to eat from morning to evening, non-stop and without break. They’re usually fed milk or milk products and couscous. There are even special devices such as toe clamps which cause pain to the child if they refuse to eat. In the past, some girls were even fed a poisonous plant extract, “aish”. While they could rapidly gain weight using this, it also resulted in several deaths. We meet two fashion shop owners who are travelling the country in search of new styles. We also meet a family who is currently engaged in leblouh with their young child. In addition, we meet so-called “leblouh specialists”, who take in female babies, children, and even adults who are preparing for marriage, in order to fatten them up. Traditional opinion is that big women are healthier, and will get married at a younger age. Even despite the outside influences, brought by the internet, that gradually change local standards of beauty, and health concerns that often emerge as larger women get older, there are still many people, especially in the rural areas, who prefer their traditions, and as such, Mauritania force-feeding continues. As they say, “a bigger woman takes up a bigger place in a man’s heart”.

Italian activist Marinella Correggia campaigns passionately against NATO, blaming the alliance for political and economic instability in countries where it has intervened. She believes that pre-emptive strikes against terrorists and bringing democracy to the people are no more than flimsy pretexts for a very different agenda. She is convinced that the current refugee crisis is a direct consequence of needless NATO intervention. Marinella is ashamed of her own country and chooses to stand with those on the receiving end of the bombs. She has been to Iraq, Afghanistan and Libya when NATO conducted military operations there. She has talked to families affected by NATO action and now, she wants the alliance held to account. For that, she’s building a case and looking for people willing to sue the massive war machine. She collects testimony and evidence and tries to convince victims to speak out in hopes that legal process will bring an end to NATO’s abuse of power. She insists that NATO has committed criminal acts and must answer for them in a court of law. Marinella hopes to obtain compensation for NATO’s victims and to achieve legal condemnation of its actions. Marinella compares herself to a little donkey challenging a tyrannosaurus: one woman taking on an international military machine might seem a losing battle from the start. Nevertheless, Marinella is driven to continue her activism, drawing attention to NATO’s abuse of power, asking awkward questions and trying to take the alliance to court. She invites others to join her cause and when enough have, a multitude of tenacious donkeys might just be able to defeat a dinosaur. RT Doc follows Marinella Correggia from Italy to North Africa on her quest for justice.

Buryat people in the Siberian Republic of Buryatia believe that spirits permeate our world. The invisible entities play an important role in local life. They can protect, ward off troubles, cure disease and advise; all through human intermediaries, better known as shamans. These mediators between us and an 'other world are a combination of priest and healer. They are now in high demand as Shamanic tradition is experiencing a boom across the region. Every Buryat family is said to have a shaman. They don’t choose to become shamans, though; it’s an ancestral calling passed down from generation to generation. While shamanic rituals and tools vary, what all shamans have in common is a trance-like state, they enter whenever they communicate with the spiritual world. Wearing traditional Buryat robes and headdress adorned with horns and colourful cloth strips, a shaman chants prayers, sways from side to side and rhythmically pounds an animal-skin drum. The beat gradually gets faster and louder until he reaches a percussive climax, the moment a spirit enters the shaman’s body. It may be their grandmother, distant ancestor, or local master spirit they make offerings to the spirit, ask questions and receive blessings. RTD’s Natalya Kadyrova visits a Buryat village to witness a three-day rite of passage for would-be shaman, Zandan. He is reluctant, as the shamanic gift brings great responsibility and exerts a psychological toll. Zandan cannot decline for fear of bringing bad luck on his children. As the sacred ritual proceeds, Valentina Kharitonova, an anthropologist from the Russian Academy of Sciences, explains the science behind a shamanic trance. Finally, we travel to Olkhon Island on Lake Baikal for a massive blessing ceremony called tailagan. Dozens of shamans enter a trance and summon the spirits of the sacred place, chanting and beating drums in a spectacular and colourful ceremony.

Durge Kami from Nepal is a 69-year-old widowed father of 7. He has worked hard all his life to raise a big family. Now that his adult children have fled the nest, he decided, at long last, to realise his lifelong dream of a school education. He has always had hunger for knowledge, but Durge Kami’s parents couldn’t afford to send him to school. Yet he never gave up on the hope that one day, he would get a proper education. Now, because there is no adult learning centre in his area, he joins a class full of school kids and is learning to read and write, speak English and use a computer. It was a bold move that made him the subject of ridicule in his community. Many of his fellow caste members could see no reason for any kind of education, let alone at his age but, undeterred by the mockery; Durge Kami doggedly kept on doing what he loved. Before long, his story appeared in the media and Durge’s fame spread, not just nationwide, but worldwide too. Now his teachers hope that his example will inspire children to do well in school and help change attitudes to adult education, which will improve Nepal’s education system.

For the Nenets indigenous people, life revolves around reindeer herding, providing nomads with food, shelter, and transportation. Following the deer, they often migrate while living in a self-made chum, a tipi-like house made of fur, along the way. Sometimes, the herders have to disassemble the chum and put it back together the very next day to migrate again. If they don’t do this, the large herd will eventually destroy the soil of the grazing area with their hooves, preventing lichen growth the following year and potentially exposing the entire reindeer population and herders' families to the risk of starvation. Accustomed to harsh living conditions, Nenets children help their parents care for the herds, build traditional sledges, and enjoy the typical Nenets diet of reindeer meat, fish, and berries. When it's time for them to go to school, some parents worry that their children will choose the comforts of the city life over their traditional nomadic ways of living; while others believe that living in a city offers a better future for their kids.

Sanctions against Russian energy sources resulted in a tremendous price hike. People in Europe cannot afford to heat their homes as the bills have more than tripled. Some have even left the cities and moved to country houses where they can use firewood for heating. The upcoming winter cold isn’t the only challenge. “Gas sanctions are destroying the economies of Germany, Austria, and many other countries. There’s mass unemployment and impending famine, because Russian gas is linked to artificial fertiliser supplies,” says protest organiser from Austria, Martin Rutter, believes sanctions to be beneficial only for companies selling more expensive energy resources to Europeans. He worries that many entrepreneurs are operating at a loss and the situation will not change unless the government lifts damaging sanctions. Can alternative sources of energy facilitate the crises?

In recent years, Tunisian fishermen have got used to spotting dead bodies in the Mediterranean. They belong to migrants who were sailing for Europe via neighbouring Libya. Piled up by people smugglers into unseaworthy vessels, they often drown at the start of the dangerous voyage. According to the UNHCR, 325,000 migrants have arrived in Europe since 2016 after taking the Central Mediterranean sea route that links the Libyan and Tunisian coasts with Italy. Tragically, 9,044 are thought to be missing or dead. One former fisherman has decided to give their remains a decent burial. Chamseddine Marzoug tends a makeshift “cemetery of the unknown” in the southeastern coastal town of Zarzis or Jarjis, opposite Libya. On a visit to the graveyard, the fisherman shares what inspires him to act as next-of-kin for these anonymous victims of the Mediterranean migrant crisis. Only one has her name on her headstone: Rose-Marie, a young woman from Nigeria. Her boyfriend tells the harrowing story of their experiences at the hands of people traffickers, the sea voyage that killed her, and the limbo in which he now finds himself as an asylum seeker in Tunisia. A Red Crescent representative talks about the NGO’s attempts to help disorientated foreign migrants stranded in Tunisia. Desperation also hits closer to home. Many young Tunisians attempt the deadly crossing themselves. Al Fijani, a national kickboxing champion, has already tried four times. He tells the chilling tale of capsizing but is nevertheless determined to try again. Others weren’t so lucky. Parents share their mixed feelings about their children’s attempts to migrate. Young and old lament the lack of opportunities that drives Tunisians to such desperate measures, nine years after the revolution that was supposed to give the country a fresh start. Chamseddine Marsoug’s graveyard is almost full. EU countries are now blocking rescue missions in the Mediterranean. In the absence of solutions to the migrant crisis, those caught up in it are pinning their hopes on divine intervention.