ARTE Distribution

A unique international investigation into how the system set up by the oligarchs and closely tied to the control of Russian oil and gas, corrupted global finance on Vladimir Putin's orders to serve his revenge against the West. Discover four decades of Russian economic and financial history, through the rise and fall of the oligarchs.

Featuring testimonies and archives, the series shows how a handful of men took control of the Russian economy and established themselves as partners of the major Western powers, not only for their own benefit, but also to serve Vladimir Putin's ambitions.

By focusing on their backgrounds, their motivations, methods and ambitions, the series exposes this mafia-like economic system, which reproduces itself like a sprawling octopus and adapts to geopolitical upheavals. This international investigation analyzes four decades of Russian economic and financial history, through the birth and rise of the oligarchs.

Like a film noir, this series presents a bitter Russian novel, depicting the homeland of the Tsars and Lenin as a mafia-like petro-monarchy, where cynicism, violence, greed, and the thirst for power appear to have no limit.

Host of the 2022 next football World Cup, Qatar is as tiny as it is immensely rich. Torn between Western modernism and Bedouin conservatism, ruled by the iron fist of a royal family, it sits on the planet gas field and is a major geopolitical Middle East player.
 

This World Cup will be a symbol of the success of the “Qatar start-up” created by the House of Thani, a family saga with an almost romantic dimension. With its billions spent on everything, its princes and princesses with glamorous photos worthy of Vanity Fair covers and its palace revolutions, the Al Thani dynasty – which could be described as the “Kennedys of the Middle East” – will have succeeded in three generations in transforming a corner of inhospitable desert into a global capital. This unauthorised portrait of the rulers at the head of the richest country per capita on the planet will contrast the nation’s extremely rapid success story with its darker side: a diplomacy of corruption, worrying investments across the planet, the exploitation of quasi-slaves from Asia; but above all, the financing of the Muslim Brotherhood and multiple armed Islamist groups, some of which are terrorist, throughout the Arab Spring.

Algorithms and data are the new weapons in the war being waged between the major world powers. This film reveals what lies behind the lightning rise of Tik Tok.

For several months, investigations by journalists and information gathered by various intelligence services have shown that TIK TOK allows the Chinese state to access the hundreds of millions of data from American and European users. This data is fundamental to conduct influence or cognitive wars and can be a real weapon in the event of an armed conflict. A war of narratives is thus being waged: banning TIK TOK means preserving the liberal order embodied by the United States in the face of the Chinese Communist Party, which would use artificial intelligence to undermine democracies. This emerging doctrine within public opinion, crystallizing around TIK TOK, is only the tip of the iceberg. Algorithms and data have become strategic assets for states. Their control is essential in an increasingly polarized world.

At a time when Lebanon is going through one of its most acute existential crises, we look back on the history of Hezbollah, a controversial party supported by Iran. An inside account that includes unpublished testimonies of the Shiite fighters themselves.

Forty years ago, in June 1982, Israel invaded southern Lebanon, dubbed Operation Peace for Galilee by the Israelis. A small guerrilla group came together in secret to resist this offensive. Formed and supported by the Islamic Republic of Iran, it officially declared itself in 1985 as Hezbollah: The Party of God. Four decades later, this small group has grown to become one of the most important military and political forces in the Middle East. A party of resistance for some, a terrorist group for others, Hezbollah is admired as much as it is feared. But the organization, practically a state within a state, is going through turbulent times as Lebanon is experiencing a major political and economic crisis.

At the very heart of the uprising in Iran, this investigation follows the current events closely and go over the multiple stages of this political revolution, by giving voice to actors of the movement and opponents in exile. The outcome is unknown, but people are fighting for a peaceful democracy and the end of the theocratic regime.

The current uprising in Iran has all the makings of a nascent revolution. After Mahsa Amini's arrest by the morality police and her death on September 16, 2022, the Iranian population spontaneously gathered in the streets to demonstrate their opposition to the Mullah regime. In public, women removed their veils, a symbol of oppression. In doing so, they called for civil disobedience. They triggered a movement followed by young women. And they have men’s support. These women are fighting back, despite the repression. They use social media to ensure their opposition to the regime is heard. Generation Z is educated, open to the world, and has gone through a demographic transition. It is the driving force behind an unprecedented national uprising. Young people are joined by their parents and grandparents. They are revolting against the oppression that has stifled the people for decades, and the economic crisis that is crushing them. Their struggle converges with the historical struggles of the Kurdish and Baluchi minorities. The revolt spreads throughout the country: demonstrations, strikes, barricades... On the other side, fierce repression intensifies. The demonstrators want an end to the theocratic regime. They hope for a peaceful democracy that would break the regional power games.

The Baltic Sea became a major geopolitical hotspot. Natural border between 8 countries of the EU and Russia, it crystallised many strategic issues: gas pipelines, territories and foreign political influences...

It is now clear that the time when Europeans could consider the Baltic as "their" lake is over: Russia intends to reclaim its shores lost with the end of the USSR and is confronting Brussels with an unprecedented challenge. The stakes are indeed high and are not limited to a dispute over sovereignty between rival powers. For Europe, the Baltic Sea is a strategic hydrocarbon supply corridor, and the heated debates over the construction of the NordStream gas pipelines are causing deep discord within the EU member states.  

The Eastern Mediterranean has become an area of strategic, military, and geopolitical tensions. An investigation that deciphers this historical turning point regarding the balance of power in this part of the world.
 

Given the importance and complexity of the issues at stake in the Estern Mediterranean, it seems necessary to provide keys to comprehension to a public constantly solicited by an influx of direct information. The director knows this territory extremely well and has privileged access. 

Opportunistic and unscrupulous, Vladimir Putin's foreign policy has put Russia back at the center of global geostrategic issues. With many experts, the documentary questions the deep motivations of this new cold war.

The Russian military intervention in Syria in 2015 caught everyone off guard, allowing the Kremlin to once again become a major player in the Middle East.

Boris Johnson, the UK Brexit leader, left an indelible mark on his country – for better or for worse. While the UK is facing its first pandemic crisis on its own, what future is there for Europe and the country?

With the COVID-19 pandemic, the United Kingdom is facing a major crisis on its own, without the European Union’s help, for the first time.
Behind his veil of buffoonery, will Boris Johnson embrace the stature that befits a statesman or lead his country to disaster? At heart, is he the United Kingdom's gravedigger? Or is he a restorer of British greatness?

Young filmmaker and activist Joseph Paris came across the revolt of the Ukrainian feminist movement Femen in spring 2012, and followed them for one year.

Inspired by their actions, and supportive of their cause, Joseph Paris seeks to distinguish what it is their revolt and these events recount, by adding to the documentary the voices of French writer and poet Annie Le Brun and philosopher, who provide their perspective on this “radical pop feminism”, thereby extending the filmmaker’s own reflections.

In light of current events in Russia, ARTE Distribution proposes a selection of in-depth documentaries to understand geopolitical stakes. Our films take a closer look on Russia's geopolitics, Poutine’s strategy, territory disputes and everyday citizen life.
 
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