Documentary

Friday 8 August 2008

Part of Channel 4's Generation Next season, documentary strand First Cut continues with Sally Hewitt's directorial debut film Time Warp Wives . Meet four women who are desperate to be old-fashioned housewives. Joanne, Debbie, Diane and Sammi all hanker after life in a different era. And it's not just about vintage clothes and vintage d?cor: they have vintage values to match.

Sunday 3 August 2008

The G-Spot , a new, female-led documentary strand, opens with A WI Lady's Guide to Brothels . Middle England met the sex trade head-on when the Hampshire WI emerged as an unlikely champion of the reform of prostitution laws. Investigative journalist Nicky Taylor joins forces with the ladies of the Hampshire WI on a journey to find out what makes a best-practice brothel, and how the laws need to change to create it. WI members Jean and Shirley embark on a global mission, travelling to the US, New Zealand and Holland to investigate the effects that the laws there have on prostitution.

Saturday 2 August 2008

Part of Generation Next, and described by Bono as "an incredible piece of work", We Are Together is a multi-award-winning documentary film made by two first-time filmmakers via the Channel 4 British Documentary Film Foundation. The film tells the remarkable and moving story of a group of children who use music to overcome hardship and loss. It is the story of a unique orphanage, where most of the children have lost their parents to AIDS, and of the drive of remarkable young singers and their teachers to make it to London for a series of concerts.

Saturday 2 August 2008

A young mother with no money and options running low decides to start a porn website starring herself. She finances the project by working as an escort for the rich and famous. The film follows Tatum Reed, aka Popwhore on a 12-month journey with her family pursuing the American Dream.

Tuesday 29 July 2008

40-year-old father of four Kenneth Brumley weighed 73 stone when he was cut free from his house in Houston, USA. Half Ton Dad tells the story of a father, his family and a nation with 15 million morbidly obese people fighting for life.

Monday 28 July 2008

The Victorian Sex Explorer follows actor Rupert Everett as he takes a revealing and witty journey retracing the steps of one of his great heroes: the infamous Victorian explorer and sexual adventurer Sir Richard Burton.

Monday 28 July 2008

This docu-drama examines Queen Victoria's relationships with five men who played a major role in her life: Prince Albert, two Prime Ministers and two servants. These potentially scandalous relationships set her on a collision course with her Royal court, family and public and at times plunged her monarchy into crisis.

Friday 1 August 2008

Throughout August Channel 4 will support and encourage a raft of new creative talent via Generation Next - a month of programmes celebrating the work of ambitious and gifted TV newcomers. Over four weeks, Channel 4 will showcase the best new writers, directors and onscreen talent across comedy, drama, documentaries and news. Kicking off Generation Next , First Cut , the bold documentary strand which gives up and coming directors the chance to make their breakthrough film, returns to prime time. In the first programme director Bruce Fletcher takes a road trip across America in search of those who've made Britney's breakdown their business.

Sunday 20 July 2008

Building on the themes introduced in the series of short films shown on C4 over the last six nights, this 90-minute documentary has unprecedented access to Mecca, the city that welcomes close to a quarter of a million pilgrims every fortnight, and the birthplace of Islam's founder. The Seven Wonders of the Muslim World meets the man who massages the weary feet of the faithful, the muezzin who makes the call to prayer and the head of the religious police. The programme also talks to the pilgrims as they arrive in Mecca, to help understand the thinking of modern Muslims and their deep connections with this holiest of Muslim shrines.

Monday 14 July 2008

A ground-breaking, feature-length documentary by award-winning filmmaker Antony Thomas, The Qur'an asks what Islam's holiest book actually says about issues such as equality, punishment, peace, other faiths and suicide bombing. The film is a powerful and often beautiful journey through the Muslim world to discover how a text that inspires peace and tolerance in the vast majority can also allow a minority to find justification for violent conflict and terrorism.

Sunday 13 July 2008

The Angels of Edgware Road is the second of two documentary films commemorating the third anniversary of the 7/7 London bombings. It tells the heroic and uplifting stories of the passengers and passers-by who stayed behind risking injury and death trying to save the lives of complete strangers. Six people were killed in the bombing at Edgware Road and 163 others were injured. Had it not been for the prompt actions of the 'Angels of Edgware Road' more of those injured would have lost their lives

This special one-off documentary gives viewers a dramatic behind-the-scenes look at organ transplantation in the United Kingdom. This remarkable work is carried out by a team of medical experts from the NHS who travel the country to retrieve donated organs and deliver them to where they are most needed. This must occur within a matter of hours in order to achieve the best results in surgery. The film reveals how one young lad’s generosity helped save several lives, and also follows the journey of a 59-year-old heart transplant patient.

Monday 7 July 2008

The Miracle of Carriage 346 is the first of two documentary films commemorating the third anniversary of the 7/7 London bombings. Both films tell incredible, inspiring stories of survival and rescue: stories of people who emerged alive against all the odds, and those that risked their lives to save strangers. The Miracle of Carriage 346 tells the story of the passengers who cheated death, turning the tragedy of 7/7 into a story of hope and survival.

Saturday 5 July 2008

The extraordinary and compelling story of the world's first suicide bombers. Original US archive colour film shows the deadly dives made by the pilots into Allied vessels and the horrific aftermath of the attacks on the ship and crew. Japanese footage and drama sequences also reveal how the pilots trained for their final mission and prepared for death.

The historical documentary strand continues with exclusive access to an investigation into one of the 20th century’s most enduring mysteries. In 1918, Nicholas II of Russia and his family were executed by the Bolsheviks. Rumours that some of his children may have survived the massacre gained ground when investigators discovered that two bodies were missing from the family’s grave. This film follows scientific efforts to identify new remains which may answer the riddle of the Romanovs once and for all.