Wide Angle (2002) | Couchpile

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Wide Angle (2002) | Couchpile

Season 4

9 Episodes

2005

E01

White Smoke

4/26/2005

This episode of WIDE ANGLE chronicles the life of the Vatican in the days between the announcement of Pope John Paul II's death and the election of the new pope by a conclave, the group of more than 100 cardinals who gather in Rome's Sistine Chapel for this historic vote.

E02

Future for Lebanon

7/19/2005

Some call it "Russia's 9-11." The siege of School No. 1 in the Russian town of Beslan on September 1, 2004 was the bloodiest act of terrorism in Russia since Chechnya declared independence in 1991. As the trial of the only terrorist who survived the siege begins, this wrenching film examines the three-day ordeal that saw Chechen gunmen hold more than 1,000 hostages, most of them children.

E03

Border Jumpers

7/26/2005

"Future for Lebanon" takes viewers to the oldest democracy in the Middle East as voters go to the polls in a new era. From the beaches of Beirut to the radical rallies of Hezbollah, WIDE ANGLE explores political change in one of the pivotal nations of the Arab region -- change from within, not imposed from the outside.

E04

Red Lines and Deadlines (Update)

8/2/2005

"Border Jumpers" takes us inside the human drama at the Botswana-Zimbabwe border, profiling illegal immigrants threatened with arrest and deportation, and a journalist who reports on growing fears among Botswana's citizens that their 1.7 million people could be overrun by Zimbabwe's troubled 12 million.

E05

Gutted

8/23/2005

“Gutted” charts the final voyages of a family-owned Scottish fishing boat that has been decommissioned to accommodate European Union cod quotas, despite being only seven years old. Fishermen and their supporters, who call themselves the “Cod Crusaders,” accuse British politicians of turning their backs on them. “We're being sacrificed on the altar of Euro Union,” says one fisherman. “We could be the first island in the history of the world that doesn't have a fishing industry,” says another.

E06

Pickles, Inc.

8/30/2005

In February 2003, eight widows of Tamra decided to challenge convention by starting up a business venture -- the Azka Pickle Cooperative -- seeking financial independence for themselves and their children. WIDE ANGLE follows these women as they establish a tiny factory for pickling vegetables and develop a market for their product in local stores.

E07

Unfinished Country

9/6/2005

Through unfettered access to political strongmen, gangsters turned presidential hopefuls, and ordinary Haitian citizens, WIDE ANGLE reveals Haiti's struggle to fashion a true representative government out of a volatile failed state.

E08

1-800-INDIA

9/13/2005

In India, outsourcing has sparked an economic boom, and those working in the industry are making new lives that balance traditional Indian family values with Western-style social and economic mores. But in India, as in the United States, the long-term impact of outsourcing is still unclear.

E09

H5N1---Killer Flu

9/20/2005

WIDE ANGLE travels to Vietnam to investigate the threat of a global pandemic, portraying Vietnam's response to outbreaks in its cities, provinces and villages, where doctors, epidemiologists and veterinarians are battling the virus.

Season 1

10 Episodes

2002

E01

Saddam's Ultimate Solution

7/11/2002

One of the world's least-known societies, Iraqi Kurdistan, is under ongoing genocidal attack by Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein. British filmmaker Gwynne Roberts shot inside Iraqi Kurdistan for five years to prepare this unique report on a group who may play a crucial role, equivalent to that of Afghanistan's Northern Alliance, in any military attempt to overthrow Saddam's bloody regime.

E02

To Have and Have Not

7/18/2002

Once the home of the "iron ricebowl" and social equality for all, today China has joined the ranks of the World Trade Organization. This extraordinarily candid film introduces viewers to the unemployed, the working poor and the nouveaux riches alike.

E03

Greetings from Grozny

7/25/2002

The ruined cityscape of Grozny, Chechnya and the scarred roads and fields of the countryside bear witness to a conflict that has been marked both by brutal occupation and terrorist resistance. This film is a journey that leads the viewer behind the lines on both sides, and into the hearts of civilians and soldiers alike.

E04

Land of the Wandering Souls

8/1/2002

"Land of Wandering Souls" follows a group of workers who are laying a high-tech fiber optic cable that will link Cambodia to the rest of Asia and Europe. This film provides a haunting glimpse into the lives of these indigent workers as they encounter the painful remnants of the past and labor to bring Cambodia into the modern age.

E05

The Empty ATM

8/8/2002

In December 2001, the Argentinian government defaulted on $155 billion in public debt. Since then, this once-wealthy country has gone through five presidents and watched its currency fall by more than 70 percent. How do people survive in a broken economy?

E06

Bitter Harvest

8/22/2002

With the departure of the Taliban, the current opium crop in Afghanistan is among the largest ever. How will the world's drug control authorities deal with this fact of Central Asian life? And how will the United States resolve a dilemma that pits the war on terror against the war on drugs?

E07

Growing Up Global

8/29/2002

Ten years ago, filmmaker Bruno Sorrentino began recording the lives of eight newborn babies from around the world. In 1992, world leaders met in Brazil for the Earth Summit on sustainable development. There they made plans and promises to conquer the global problems of overpopulation, over-consumption and poverty. In the ten years since, Sorrentino has revisited the children repeatedly and recorded how their lives have been affected by the issues discussed at Rio.

E08

Cause for Murder

9/5/2002

The election of President Vicente Fox in 2000 ended more than 70 years of single-party rule. This film examines the hopes that a new dawn has come in Mexico's history, and the fear that graft and corruption are immovable.

E09

Media by Milosevic

9/12/2002

This investigative report will take the viewer inside the realm, and inside the mind, of one of the most effective and brutal tyrants of the past 50 years.

E10

Soul of India

9/19/2002

The bloody conflict between Hindus and Muslims in northwestern India is at the forefront of a struggle for India's identity. The film focuses in part on the efforts of India's supercop, K.P.S. Gill, a Sikh, sent by the federal government to quell the violence in Gujarat and on Harish Bhatt, a leader of the Bajrang Dal or Monkey Brigade, India's largest Hindu youth movement.

Season 2

11 Episodes

2003

E01

Exclusive to al-Jazeera

7/10/2003

WIDE ANGLE goes behind the scenes of Al-Jazeera's broadcast headquarters in the Arabian Gulf state of Qatar during its nonstop coverage of the war in Iraq. Watched by millions of people in the Arab world, the first Arabic all-news network had continuous access to events in Iraq.

E02

Junoon: The Rock Star and the Mullahs

7/17/2003

WIDE ANGLE follows Salman Ahmed as he journeys to the tolerant, ancient city of Lahore and the fundamentalist stronghold of Peshawar to reveal the internal religious and political conflicts of nuclear-armed Pakistan.

E03

AIDS Warriors

7/24/2003

WIDE ANGLE explores the role of the Angolan military, the only functioning arm of the state, in its bold attempt to combat the AIDS pandemic. The challenges it faces offer an arresting portrait of a nation at a crucial moment in history.

E04

To Have and Have Not (Update)

7/31/2003

WIDE ANGLE travels with Evo Morales to the stunning highlands of Bolivia as he fights to expand the amount of coca that can be legally grown by farmers. The pitfalls of a drug-based economy -- and the difficulty of finding suitable replacement crops to support peasant families -- are all part of the story.

E05

Coca and the Congressman

8/7/2003

The Prime Minister and the Press examines Silvio Berlusconi's rise to prominence, and explores what happens to public debate when extreme wealth and political power converge with media dominance.

E06

The Prime Minister and the Press

8/21/2003

The film reveals the stark contrasts among the lives of South Africans almost ten years after the demise of apartheid. The clock is still clearly ticking to do even more to improve life for the black majority -- or face the consequences.

E07

Road to Riches

8/28/2003

“Time for School” follows first graders in places around the world where free and compulsary education is not available to all children. Countries visited include Kenya, Benin, Brazil, Romania and India.

E08

Time for School

9/4/2003

This documentary tells the story of two teenage girls and their families as the girls prepare to participate in North Korea's Mass Games, an intricately choreographed display celebrating North Korea's statehood and revolutionary zeal in one of the last surviving Communist showcase pageants.

E09

A State of Mind

9/11/2003

"The Dammed" raises important questions about the costs and consequences of modernization and development, as the global community re-evaluates the social and environmental impacts of large dam projects.

E10

The Dammed

9/18/2003

This two-hour WIDE ANGLE special explores the current worldwide boom in illicit migration. Focusing on five major stories whose journeys traverse 16 countries, this documentary will look into the circumstances that drove these migrants from their homes, describe the difficulties involved in their epic journeys and reveal what awaits them in their new world.

E11

Dying to Leave

9/25/2003

Season 6

9 Episodes

2007

E01

The People’s Court

7/3/2007

"The People's Court" takes viewers inside the courtrooms and law schools of China to provide an unprecedented and unexpected portrait of its rapidly growing legal system. The documentary follows itinerant judges, law students, a human rights lawyer, and ordinary Chinese citizens seeking justice as the country tackles the massive task of establishing a legal framework for its new market economy. Poised to surpass the United States as the largest economy in the world, China faces mounting domestic and international pressure for a fair and transparent framework of laws. This experiment to introduce justice and the "rule of law" to a nation still firmly controlled by the Communist Party has global implications.

E02

Victory Is Your Duty

7/10/2007

A report on boxing in Cuba, including a visit to the Havana Boxing Academy to observe fighters as they work out and train for future fights.

E03

The Sand Castle

7/24/2007

WIDE ANGLE travels to the royal headquarters of the United Arab Emirate of Ras al-Khaimah as HH Sheikh Saud solicits top European architects to carry out his grandiose dream of a new capital city in the middle of his desert kingdom.

E04

Dishing Democracy

7/31/2007

WIDE ANGLE goes behind the scenes at Arab television channel MBC in Cairo for an inside look at the hit all-female talk show, KALAM NAWAEM. The film provides a nuanced portrait of four Arab women harnessing the power of transnational satellite TV to boldly and effectively push social reform.

E05

Gaza E.R.

8/14/2007

In the summer of 2006, as internal battles fracture the Palestinian Territories, WIDE ANGLE provides a glimpse inside the conflict as it spirals out of control. Gaza E.R. follows doctors, nurses, and staff at Shifa Hospital, the largest in the Gaza Strip, as they struggle in the face of turf wars between Hamas, rival faction Fatah, and powerful families with competing agendas.

E06

Gold Futures

8/21/2007

Gold Futures is a David-and-Goliath story set in a scenic Romanian village in the heart of Transylvania. At stake: a massive deposit of gold ore - and a 2000-year-old village community that has existed since the ancient Romans founded a mining town on the edge of their empire.

E07

The Dying Fields

8/28/2007

At a moment when India is enjoying record economic growth, THE DYING FIELDS turns to Vidarbha's four million cotton farmers who have been left behind, struggling to survive on less than two dollars a day.

E08

Brazil in Black and White

9/4/2007

BRAZIL IN BLACK AND WHITE follows the lives of five young college hopefuls from diverse backgrounds as they compete to win a coveted spot at the elite University of Brasilia, where 20 percent of the incoming freshmen must qualify as Afro-Brazilian.

E09

A Woman Among Warlords

9/11/2007

Since Afghanistan emerged from under Taliban rule in late 2001, women's rights have made great strides on paper. But the reality on the ground is a mixed picture.

Season 3

10 Episodes

2004

E01

Suicide Bombers

7/1/2004

In a series of unique, powerful, and revealing interviews from inside Israeli prisons, this film examines the minds of Palestinian suicide bombers. Three failed suicide bombers, one recruiter, and one bomb builder captured by Israeli security forces speak openly of their training, motivation, operational methodology, and profound belief in the idea of entering paradise by becoming a martyr killed in the cause of Islam.

E02

The Russian Newspaper Murders

7/8/2004

“The Russian Newspaper Murders” explores the tenuous state of freedom of speech in Russia as it investigates the murders of two editors of the same newspaper in 18 months in 2002 and '03. The paper, the Togliatti Observer, was known for investigating links between organized crime and public officials. “We have to balance on the edge all the time,” says deputy editor Rimma Mikharova, “otherwise we might not be around to write the next article.” In Moscow, the pressures facing the fiercely indpendent Novaya Gazeta (whose editor, Dimitri Muratov, is seen interviewing Mikhail Gorbachev) are more subtle---but not much. Here, a Gazeta reporter must investigate the beating of one of his colleagues. Following the film: an interview with Ann Cooper, executive director of the Committee to Protect Journalists.

E03

Ladies First

7/22/2004

“Ladies First” explores the role of Rwandan women in building bridges between Hutus and Tutsis 10 years after the genocide that killed 800,000 people in 100 days. Director Gini Reticker and producer Deborah Shaffer were co-producers of the Oscar-nominated 2003 documentary “Asylum,” about a woman who flees Ghana to avoid genital mutilation and runs into trouble with U.S. immigration.

E04

Sahara Marathon

8/19/2004

WIDE ANGLE presents the story of a unique marathon that is staged annually in the hope of drawing attention to the plight of the Sahrawi people.

E05

Young, Muslim and French

8/26/2004

WIDE ANGLE explores the ban on Muslim headscarves in French schools in the town of Dammarie-les-Lys, a racially diverse, working-class community on the outskirts of Paris, where young Muslim women face a choice to obey the ban - or flout it.

E06

Time for School (Update)

9/2/2004

As Afghanistan struggled to adopt a new constitution, WIDE ANGLE filmed behind the scenes at the December 2003 loya jirga. The documentary profiles two aspiring Afghan delegates who face political opposition and physical intimidation as they literally risk their lives to participate in the future of their country.

E07

Hell of a Nation

9/9/2004

What could be more dangerous than trying to bring law and order to Colombia? "An Honest Citizen" follows Maria Cristina Chirolla, head of the attorney general's anti-money laundering office, as she struggles to fight the extraordinary reach of drug money in Colombia.

E08

An Honest Citizen

9/16/2004

Twenty-five years after the Islamic Revolution in Iran, the struggle for political reform is the big story. With rare access, WIDE ANGLE films behind the scenes with the young reporters of one of Iran's leading reformist newspapers.

E09

Red Lines and Deadlines

9/23/2004

Will the kingdom will find a path to democratic reform or succumb to a rising tide of Islamic extremism.

E10

The Saudi Question

10/7/2004