Storyville — Season 2018

Endangered African species like elephants, rhinos and lions come closer to extinction each year; since 1970 the world has lost 60 per cent of all wild animals. Their devastating decline is fuelled in part by a global desire to hunt and kill these majestic animals. This film investigates the industry of big-game hunting, breeding and wildlife conservation.Through the eyes of impassioned individuals who drive this business - from a Texas trophy hunter on a mission to kill 'the big five', to the world's largest private rhino breeder in South Africa, who believes he is saving these extraordinary beasts from becoming extinct - the film grapples with the consequences of imposing economic value on animals. What are the implications of treating animals as commodities? Does breeding, farming and hunting offer the option of conserving endangered animals? Trophy raises provocative debate about the rights and wrongs of killing animals for sport and for profit, and questions the value of these pursuits in saving the planet's great species from extinction.

Bafta-nominated documentary telling the story of website Raqqa is Being Slaughtered Silently (RBSS), where a group of young men band together and risk their lives to document and release videos, photos and written testimony of Islamic State atrocities in their home city of Raqqa.From acclaimed Emmy Award-winning filmmaker Matthew Heineman, City of Ghosts follows the visceral and at times distressing journey of a network of brave young activists who band together to report the stories of atrocities inflicted on the Syrian citizens of Raqqa by ISIS, who invaded their city in 2014. The film reveals the very real dangers for this tight-knit group of citizen journalists, working undercover both inside and outside their homeland. They risk their lives daily to report stories of terror and destruction in the besieged city of Raqqa. The stories are posted on an online site -'Raqqa is Being Slaughtered Silently' - in the hope that they will reach the mainstream media and governments globally. A dramatic and heartbreaking story unfolds, as we witness the huge personal sacrifices the young journalists make to bring the plight of their people to the world.

Aisholpan is a 13-year-old girl from a remote Mongolian tribe, who dreams of becoming an eagle hunter - just like her father and her grandfather before him. The ancient tradition stretches back over 1,000 years, but Aisholpan's plans are almost dashed at the outset by the male-dominated eagle hunting community, who strongly disapprove of girls taking part, arguing they should stay at home to milk the cows and make the tea. Meanwhile, Aisholpan and her determined father - who passionately believes girls can do anything that boys can - set out to prove she can become Mongolia's first eagle huntress.Eagle Huntress premiered at Sundance Film Festival and was nominated for best documentary at the 2017 Baftas.

A Storyville documentary. A raw and unfiltered insight into the bloodiest conflict since the Second World War. Over the last two decades, the mineral-rich Democratic Republic of Congo has witnessed over five million conflict-related deaths, multiple regime changes and the impoverishment of its people.Following the lives of four diverse characters - a government whistleblower, a patriotic military commander, a mineral dealer and a displaced tailor - this programme offers a visceral, yet intimate insight into a nation caught between the foreign-backed M23 rebels and the government ruled by president Joseph Kabila, who cancels elections and refuses to relinquish power. As the conflict resonates through their lives, the film reveals the insidious legacy of colonialism, resource exploitation and the genocidal wars that has created a never-ending cycle of violence.

'You're not a human being, you're an athlete,' 20-year-old Rita is told by one of her two merciless coaches as she prepares to represent Russia in rhythmic gymnastics at the Olympics. It is the most crucial year of her career and her last chance to achieve her ultimate dream, a gold medal. However gracefully Rita catches rings or rolls a ball across her shoulders, her coaches expect more from her, time and again. Described as the 'Black Swan' of sports documentaries, Over the Limit offers unprecedented access to the hidden world of elite gymnasts and the unrelentingly brutal training demanded by the Russian system.

John Curry transformed a dated sport into an art form and made history by becoming the first openly gay Olympian in a time when homosexuality was not fully legal. Directed by James Erskine, this is a documentary about a lost cultural icon - a story of art, sport, sexuality and rebellion. Featuring unseen footage of some of his most remarkable performances and with access to Curry's letters, archive interviews, and interviews with his family, friends and collaborators, this is a portrait of the man who turned ice skating from a dated sport into an exalted art form.

As Pakistan prepare for their 2018 elections, Insha'Allah Democracy follows film-maker Mo Naqvi during the country's last election, when he was a first-time voter and wanted to back a candidate who would prevent Pakistan from becoming a terrorist state. But Mo faced a tough choice - either vote for religious hardliners or a secular liberal leader who happened to be a former military dictator.Insha'Allah Democracy chronicles one voter's journey to discover if democracy is possible in an unstable Muslim country, whilst providing a fly-on-the-wall exploration into a controversial leader, Pervez Musharraf.

Roger Ross Williams, the first black director to win an Academy Award, embarks on a deeply personal journey into the heart of the American prison system to try and understand how come so many of his childhood friends have ended up behind bars. He starts in his own hometown but soon finds himself navigating a maze of powerful institutions: police precincts, courtrooms, local jails, maximum security prisons and corporate empires. As he explores a massive and dysfunctional system, he encounters complicit politicians and prison profiteers, each with their own self-serving motivations to maintain the status quo, as well as prison administrators who recognise that most of their inmates should be free, yet are helpless to release them. His pursuit of an answer propels the film to examine the American society - from the free market ideals that America is founded upon to the savage ways in which the country has manifested those ideals.

A Woman Captured is a raw and intimate portrayal of the psychology behind enslavement. Director Bernadett Tuza-Ritter offers an evocative study of a woman so debased and disregarded that even she has lost sight of her own life.

Director Pankaj Johar sets out to understand how, in the world's largest democracy, it is possible for millions of children to be bought and sold.

A Storyville documentary following the African-American Rainey family as they navigate life in their north Philadelphia neighbourhood gripped by poverty, drugs and gun violence.

A Storyville documentary following a group of citizens in West Virginia who take on a corporation after they discover it has been dumping a toxic chemical into the water supply.

A Storyville documentary about Fakhir Berwari, a bomb disposal expert who disarmed thousands of landmines in Iraq with just a pocket knife and a pair of wire clippers.