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As 2025 marks the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II, have a look at our specially curated collection of powerful documentaries. These films provide a profound look at the events, stories, and untold experiences that shaped the course of the 20th century. This milestone invites remembrance, learning, and reflection on the enduring impact of the most destructive and devastating war in history.
 
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What is the price of sugar, this delicious poison? WIth sequences set in the present day, this historical investigation reveals a global system still fueled by the exploitation of land and people that is rooted in its original sin: slavery.

What is the price of sugar? How much does the fleeting pleasure of this delicious but useless poison really cost? It's a global addiction that has been fueled by the exploitation of land and people for over five centuries. Sugar was the basis of a civilization which, from the transatlantic slave trade to modern forms of exploitation, has never ceased to brutalize labor in all its forms, and to perpetuate immense lies in order to guarantee the prosperity of its industry. The whole world has been shaped by sugar. From Brazil to Réunion, from Europe to South Africa and from India to the Dominican Republic, its production has laid the foundations for the modern capitalist system, devastated the environment, and led to massive population movements. As the curse of sugar continues to haunt certain parts of the world, we set off to these exploited lands to discover a history of which we are all heirs.

What is the price of our addiction to sugar? For five centuries, it has been a driving force in our history. The pleasure of its sweetness and the profits from its trade have justified the worst: conquest, colonization, slavery, and forced labor. Across Europe, the Caribbean, the Americas, and the Indian Ocean, in search of the sources of our addiction, the first episode of this historical investigation reveals the dark side of “white gold,” from Christopher Columbus to the dawn of the 20th century.

The history of the conquest of the Americas cannot be told without mentioning sugar, and the history of sugar cannot be told without mentioning the triangular trade and colonization. A luxury product that became a staple of the European diet, sugar is a globalized and destructive success story. From the beginning of colonization in the 15th century to the Industrial Revolution in the 19th century,
it contributed to Europe's prosperity at the cost of enslaving the indigenous peoples of the Americas, then, on a massive scale,
men and women from Africa. The successive abolitions of slavery in the 19th century weakened this highly profitable sugar economy. But it held on, and even invented new models of servitude. Since its origins, the sugar economy has constantly reinvented itself. At the end of the 19th century, it was booming and about to reach its peak. Its fate was now linked to that of the new power, the United States.

How did a failed coup d’état carried out by a handful of generals in July 1936 turn into one of the most brutal civil wars in history? Largely because of General Franco’s rallying who joined the insurgents with Hitler’s support.
For its part, the Republic realized that it was being abandoned by the Western democracies and could only count on the International Brigades - and on the limited, yet very interventionist, support of the USSR. 

Brazil, 1964. With support from the United States government, the first military dictatorship, also referred to as the Fifth Brazilian Republic, was established. Many opponents of the regime fled to Chile. But in 1973, with the support of President Nixon, General Pinochet overthrew Salvador Allende. Right-wing dictatorships across South America launched Operation Condor to coordinate their repression. Carter’s rise to power brought hope: he returned control of the Panama Canal to Panama and allowed the Sandinistas to take power in Nicaragua. But Reagan being elected in 1980, marked the beginning of a new era.

In over a hundred countries worldwide, especially in Europe, but not exclusively, May 1st commemorates the struggles of the labor movement with union marches and celebrations. It is a day of protest that has gradually turned into a public holiday, one of the few in the calendar not rooted in a religious tradition. Yet this date weaves together several (hi)stories at once…

Spring 1939. After 1,000 days of fighting, 400 000 deaths, the guns finally fell silent. But that didn’t mean peace was back in the country. Franco continued his crusade against the Republicans who had dared to oppose his coup. By 1940, over 240 000 prisoners were crammed in concentration camps and between 150 000 and 200 000 people were missing. From then on, state Catholicism governed every aspect of Spanish life. Women were reduced to the roles of wives and mothers, and the babies of Republican women were taken from them. The resistance fighters who had continued the armed struggle against Franco never managed to overthrow him. Franco outlived his allies, Hitler and Mussolini.

Nicaragua then went through a bloody civil war where the Sandinistas and the “Contras”, who were backed by the United States, were opposed. In Panama, Manuel Noriega, a longtime ally of the CIA, turned his country into a drug hub before being overthrown during a US invasion. In Chile, the United States eventually turned its back on General Pinochet. While democracy was gaining ground across the continent, Venezuela was hit by a crisis. In 1992, Hugo Chávez attempted to carry out a coup d’état. Although he failed, he became a popular hero.

The creature of Frankenstein, born from Mary Shelley’s imagination during the summer of 1816 on the shores of Lake Geneva, embodies our deep-seated fear of unchecked scientific progress leading to the dehumanization of the world and of life itself. Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus — a monster novel about self-creation — must not only be read in the shadow of the French Revolution but also through the lens of the Enlightenment’s ideal of political emancipation through knowledge: though "born of darkness," it is equally a child of the Enlightenment. How can a foundational myth of modernity mark a turning point in history?

By condemning Italy’s invasion of his country before the League of Nations on June 30, 1936, the Emperor of Ethiopia (ruler of the world’s oldest sacred monarchy) called upon nations to uphold their commitments and duties under international law. Yet the cynicism of the great powers turned the Ethiopian crisis into a testing ground for political surrender, paving the way for even greater horrors. How can one put a stop to what seems to be the inevitable machinery of war?

The collapse of John Law designed by the Scottish financier to erase France’s massive debt from Louis XIV’s reign - marked Europe’s first major financial crash. But was it the bank’s failure that made history, or rather what it revealed about the inner workings of the French monarchy during the Regency?