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The heroic tales of World War II are legendary, but Operation Crossbow is a little known story that deserves to join the hall of fame: how the Allies used 3D photos to thwart the Nazis' weapons of mass destruction before they could obliterate Britain. This film brings together the heroic Spitfire pilots who took the photographs and the brilliant minds of RAF Medmenham that made sense of the jigsaw of clues hidden in the photos. Hitler was pumping a fortune into his new-fangled V weapons in the hope they could win him the war. But Medmenham had a secret weapon of its own, a simple stereoscope which brought to life every contour of the enemy landscape in perfect 3D. The devil was truly in the detail and, together with extraordinary personal testimonies, the film uses modern computer graphics on the original wartime photographs to show just how the photo interpreters were able to uncover Hitler's nastiest secrets.

The Vicar of Bray is a satirical description of an individual fundamentally changing his principles to remain in ecclesiastical office as external requirements change around him. The religious upheavals in England from 1533 to 1559 and from 1633 to 1715 made it almost impossible for any individual to comply with the successive religious requirements of the state.

Most movie fans know that the first filmmakers liked to shoot trains entering stations. This example by Sussex film pioneer George Albert Smith illustrates why. The train's rush towards the audience brings movement and visual drama. The flurry of human activity offers plenty for the audience to engage with - who are these people and where are they going? And the time pressure exerted by the fact that the train must soon depart adds narrative tension - will everyone get on and off in time?

Documentary about Amir-Abbas Hoveyda, Iranian economist and politician who served as Prime Minister of Iran from 27 January 1965 to 7 August 1977.

In 1923, four months after the opening of the tomb of Pharaoh Tutankhamun, Lord Carnavon, who had financed the excavation, died suddenly. Other people connected with the important discovery also died mysteriously. Were they all victims of an ancient Egyptian curse?

In August 1962, director Leslie Woodhead made a two-minute film in Liverpool's Cavern Club with a raw and unrecorded group of rockers called the Beatles. He arranged their first live TV appearances on a local show in Manchester and watched as the Fab Four phenomenon swept the world. Twenty-five years later while making films in Russia, Woodhead became aware of how, even though they were never able to play in the Soviet Union, the Beatles' legend had soaked into the lives of a generation of kids. This film meets the Soviet Beatles generation and hears their stories about how the Fab Four changed their lives, including Putin's deputy premier Sergei Ivanov, who explains how the Beatles helped him learn English and showed him another life. (Storyville)

Throughout history, Pontius Pilate has been portrayed as a weak ruler-the man who allowed Jesus Christ to be crucified at the demand of the Jews. But this documentary portrays a very different Pilate, one who had his own motives for allowing Jesus' fate.

Set in 1987, Odd Girls is the story of a young separatist lesbian who finds herself in the unexpected position of caring for a gay man dying of AIDS. Debbie finds herself battling ignorance, discrimination and her own political and personal views, when faced with the impossible dilemma of being David’s last remaining ally. Inspired by countless true stories, Odd Girls is a short period drama with the aim of shedding a light on the selflessness and bravery of the real women who sacrificed and supported gay men with AIDS all over the world during the HIV crisis.

The love affair between the French Emperor Napoleon and the lady Josephine leads through Napoleon's rise to power and their eventual divorce.

This exceptional, disturbing, and thought-provoking two-part documentary compares the atrocities committed by the Nazis as revealed during the Nuremberg trials to those committed by the French in Algeria and those done by the Americans in Vietnam. The four-hour epic questions the right of any country to pass self-righteous moral judgements upon the actions of another country.

Actor Warwick Davis presents the story of the Owicz family and their ordeal during WWII. From a successful musical act to being tortuously experimented on by Josef Mengele in a concentration camp, this story might have been lost to history if it weren't for the family's diminutive size, which made them both a novelty as well as an inspiration.

The life and loves of Jane Shore, mistress to Edward IV. An early British epic.

The premiere of The Dark Knight Rises was the big event in Aurora, Colorado. So popular with young cinema-goers, the city's theatre complex put on an extra showing. But minutes into the film, lone gunman James Holmes, dressed as the Joker, entered the room and started firing indiscriminately. Twelve people died, many more were injured. This documentary tells the life story of Holmes, of his victims and speaks to survivors.

The opening ceremony for the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games, held at the Alexander Stadium in Perry Barr.

It is based on concert pianist James Rhodes' memoir, which explores the legacy of the sexual abuse he suffered as a child, including a litany of mental health issues, and how music proved his salvation.

The exquisite Rosslyn Chapel is a masterpiece in stone. It used to be one of Scotland's best-kept secrets, but it became world-famous when it was featured in Dan Brown's the Da Vinci Code.

Helen Castor presents an in depth and insightful series covering England's early Queens, from the High Middle Ages with Eleanor and get daughter-in-law Eleanor of Aquitane, through the Late Middle Ages with Isabella of France and Margaret of Anjou and finishing with Lady Jane Grey, Mary I and Elizabeth I.

Young Richard of Gloucester uses the chaos of the Wars of the Roses to begin his unscrupulous climb to power in this classic Shakespearean history of a king in the throes of jealousy and murder. Despite being manifestly unfit to govern, he overcomes each obstacle in his way to seize the crown, as King Richard III. But as those around him turn against him, and as his plans begin to unravel, where else can he turn as the Lancastrian opposition returns to drag the country into battle once more and put an end to Richard’s tyrannical rule. Richard III is a savagely comic analysis of the exercise of power, reminding us of the dangers of tyranny and our duty not to let it go unchecked.

D'Artagnan and his musketeer comrades must thwart the plans of Cardinal Richelieu to usurp King Louis XIII's power.

The dramatic story of the 1991/92 Football League Division One season - the final campaign before the Premier League began. Leeds United overcame fierce rivals Manchester United to emerge as champions, thanks to a certain Frenchman named Eric Cantona, but behind the scenes, the makeup of English League football was to change forever.

Dramatised account of the achievements of Glasgow's William Thomson, Lord Kelvin.

Surpassed only by the Bible and Shakespeare, Agatha Christie is the most successful writer of all time. We all know her characters and incredible plot twists, but what do we know about Agatha herself? Combining rare access to Agatha's family, her personal archive and speaking to those who know her work best, discover what made the world's most successful crime writer tick.

The first American documentary about Traditional (Non-Racist) Skinheads. Focuses on the 'cross of cultures' that came together to form the Skinhead identity: The origins of the Skinhead scene in England, its roots in Jamaican Reggae and Ska (mid-'60s) to its revival and global impact with 2 Tone, Punk, Oi, and Hardcore (late '70s to present day). Features interviews and live concert footage by current bands across these various musical genres in the United States, England and Germany; discussing their viewpoints on Skinhead, its Working Class values, and its continuing relevance around the world.

Two intrepid Nairobi women decide to transform what used to be a whites-only library until 1958 into a vibrant cultural hub. Along the way, they must navigate local politics, raise millions for the rebuild, and confront the lingering ghosts of Kenya’s colonial past.

Four rebellious teenagers in 1st century Roman-occupied Wales must flee their village and live in the wild after they accidentally kill a Roman soldier and cause an uprising. They must learn to live together or risk facing the wrath of Rome.

The true story of King George VI's struggle to overcome his stammer, and the parts played in his battle with his disability by his speech therapist, brother, father and wife.

A Dutch soldier experiences the first days of World War II on the Zeeland Flanders coast. Helpless in face of the looming German invasion, his faith in God will be put to a test.

The story of the Great War told from a unique new aerial perspective. Featuring two remarkable historical finds, including a piece of archive footage filmed from an airship in summer 1919, capturing the trenches and battlefields in a way that has rarely been seen before. It also features aerial photographs taken by First World War pilots - developed for the first time in over ninety years - that show not only the devastation inflicted during the fighting, but also quirks and human stories visible only from above.

Hidden in the heart of Russia, there is a Soviet-era city where thousands of people live and work behind barbed-wire fences monitored by armed guards. It is Ozyorsk (Ozersk), located in the Chelyabinsk Oblast, one of the most polluted places on the planet and home to the largest stockpiles of nuclear material. Its code name: City 40.

A short documentary exploring the UK’s 1970s approach to urban renewal through General Improvement Areas. Mixing location footage from Blackburn, Norwich, and Oxford with unexpectedly quirky presentation, the film contrasts small-scale housing improvements with the sweeping redevelopment schemes of the post-war era. Produced as a government public information film and shown at meetings between planners, architects, and residents, it stands as a modest, humane entry in Britain’s civic-minded documentary tradition.

During the Nazi invasion of Greece, a female resistance fighter embarks on a revenge operation to assassinate her own mother, in the name of God. Inspired by Euripides’s Electra.

On December 4, 1872, the unmanned Mary Celeste was found adrift in the Atlantic with its cargo fully intact. The mystery of this "ghost ship" remained unanswered for over 135 years. What happened to the Mary Celeste is widely regarded as the most famous mystery of the sea. Watch it unfold to its stunning conclusion, at last.

The extraordinary story of the most disturbing witch trial in British history and the key role played in it by one nine-year-old girl. Jennet Device, a beggar-girl from Pendle in Lancashire, was the star witness in the trial in 1612 of her own mother, her brother, her sister and many of her neighbours and, thanks to her chilling testimony, they were all hanged.

The 1960s was an extraordinary time for the United States. Unburdened by post-war reparations, Americans were preoccupied with other developments like NASA, the game-changing space programme that put Neil Armstrong on the moon. Yet it was astronauts like Eugene Cernan who paved the uneven, perilous path to lunar exploration. A test pilot who lived to court danger, he was recruited along with 14 other men in a secretive process that saw them become the closest of friends and adversaries. In this intensely competitive environment, Cernan was one of only three men who was sent twice to the moon, with his second trip also being NASA’s final lunar mission. As he looks back at what he loved and lost during the eight years in Houston, an incomparably eventful life emerges into view. Director Mark Craig crafts a quietly epic biography that combines the rare insight of the surviving former astronauts with archival footage and otherworldly moonscapes.

Ella Fitzgerald was a 15-year-old street kid when she won a talent contest in 1934 at the Apollo Theatre in Harlem. Within months she was a star. Over the next six decades, her sublime voice would transform the tragedies of her own life and the troubles of her times into joy. JUST ONE OF THOSE THINGS retraces this extraordinary journey.

Caledonia (now Scotland), 137 A.D. While guiding his Roman master through the forest in panicked retreat from "barbarian territory", an indigenous Pictish slave receives signs from a pagan spirit that lead him to question his loyalties.

History is Marching is a feature length documentary analysing the rise in tensions between major powers across the globe over the course of 2018. The film follows western history from 1945 to the present day, before looking at how capitalist society is today breaking down into the largest crisis in its history. Socialism or extinction?

Through exploring the body as a landscape, 'The Copper Kings' plays with visual metaphors that connect the patriarchal philosophy and process of extraction to the dissection of our own bodies.

Dr. Zhivago is one of the best-known love stories of the 20th century, but the setting of the book also made it famous. It is a tale of passion and fear, set against a backdrop of revolution and violence. The film is what most people remember, but the story of the writing of the book has more twists, intrigue and bravery than many a Hollywood blockbuster. In this documentary, Stephen Smith traces the revolutionary beginnings of this bestseller, to it becoming a pawn of the CIA at the height of the Cold War.

Rare archive footage reveals what Singapore was like dating back to 1900, showing coolies sharing lunch, rickshaw pullers, a grand Peranakan funeral, and more.

With access to recently-opened court files, Julie Etchingham reveals some of the Stasi's UK operations and asks why its other secrets are yet to be revealed.

The story of GDR, an enthusiastic solidarity movement for the Black U.S. civil rights activist Angela Davis that emerged in East Germany in the early 1970s.

The story of America's rise to power starting with 1959, using archival footage and US pop music to highlight the consequences to the rest of the world and in the peoples' minds.

Displaced by the Second World War, a troop of Polish soldiers form an inseparable bond through an orphaned bear they name Wojtek.

In this short film directed in the style of Andrei Tarkovsky, eternity and the downfall of the Soviet empire are explored in a deeply symbolic and poetic way. The film follows a protagonist as they traverse a desolate landscape, reflecting on the transient nature of life and the inevitability of death. Through a series of dreamlike sequences, the audience is presented with a powerful meditation on the idea of eternity, and how it can be seen in the rise and fall of empires. The film culminates in a powerful scene of the protagonist standing atop a hill, looking out at the ruins of the Soviet empire, and contemplating the eternal cycle of life and death.

After the Germans flooded large parts of The Netherlands towards the end of WWII, the Brouwer family find themselves trapped in their attic surrounded by water. With their rations dwindling, tensions arise within the household.

The story of the relationship between writer, literary critic and publisher T. S. Eliot (1888-1965) and his second wife Esmé Valerie Fletcher (1926-2012).

In 1553, England’s first Queen, Mary I, takes the throne. The country is on the brink of chaos, and ambitious Cardinal Pole plots to secure control. He has overlooked, however, a humble court jester, Jane Foole. The pious, and apparently humorless, Queen Mary finds relief in Foole's brilliant slapstick routines and the two women strike up an unlikely friendship.

Documentary following six trans men and women in Scotland as they struggle to find love and maintain existing relationships.

15-year-old Davie Balfour is poised to receive a vast inheritance when he's lured onto a cargo ship, knocked unconscious, and kidnapped by his malevolent uncle Ebenezer, who devises a scheme to sell him into slavery. But Davie's unforeseen rescue at the hands of a Scottish rogue, Alan Breck, leaves them racing across the Scottish moors, with English bounty hunters in hot pursuit.

A group of historians and archaeologists prepare a Tudor feast as it would have been over 400 years ago, including the use of period clothes, recipes from the era, food sourced from the land and the absence of modern conveniences.

A lusty Gypsy gold digger marries a Regency aristocrat, then learns he has no money.

This insightful documentary feature from PJ Letofsky serves as a profile of iconic Austrian-American Architect Richard Neutra, whose work and legacy have helped shape the modern understanding of design, architecture and the interconnected fabric of nature. Today, Richard's legacy lives on through his son, Dion, who has taken up his father's mantle after nearly three-decades under his mentorship.

Christine, grieving for her fiancé who was shot down by the German Luftwaffe during the war, is persuaded by her cousin to meet a German prisoner-of-war—a Luftwaffe pilot.

The truth about the million British horses that served in World War I is even more epic than Steven Spielberg’s War Horse feature film. This documentary tells their extraordinary, moving story, begining with the mass call-up of horses from every farm and country estate in the land. Racing commentator Brough Scott tells the tale of his aristocratic grandfather General Jack Seely and his beloved horse Warrior, who would become the most famous horse of the war. The British Army hoped its illustrious cavalry regiments would win a swift victory, but it would be years before they enjoyed their moment of glory. Instead, in a new era of mechanised trench warfare, the heavy horses transporting guns, ammunition and food to the front-line troops were most important. A quarter of a million of these horses died from shrapnel wounds and disease. But the deep bond that developed between man and horse helped both survive the hell of the Somme and Passchendaele.

Flake & Flames is a feature length documentary film about the astonishing Kustom Kulture movement around the globe. Spending a year traveling U.S. and Europe in search of the coolest Kustom Kulture people and events on the planet. Picking the brains of living legends, up and coming artists and builders within the culture. Seeking out some of the hottest Kustom Kulture spots and get some of the worlds best car and motorcycle builders, tattoo artists, pinstripers, custom painters and pin-up models to share their tricks and experience.

Historian Dr Janina Ramirez unlocks the secrets of a centuries-old masterpiece in glass. At 78 feet in height, the famous East Window at York Minster is the largest medieval stained-glass window in the country and it was the creative vision of a single artist - a mysterious master craftsman called John Thornton, one of the earliest named English artists. The East Window of York Minster is far more than a work of artistic genius, it is a window onto the medieval world and the medieval mind - telling us who were once were and who we still are, all preserved in the most fragile medium of all.

This documentary recounts the transfer of the body of Reza Shah Pahlavi, the founder of modern Iran, from his place of exile to his return to the homeland.

Gibraltar has been at the centre of a fiercely-contested diplomatic dispute that has stretched over the centuries. In the summer of 2010, director Ana Garcia returned home to Gibraltar to get married. Coming back to this most unique of British territories, she found herself compelled to find out more about the history of her family and her birthplace. As she prepares for her wedding, we are taken on a very personal journey that uncovers the inspiring story of how a small community has fought for its home and identity.

A compelling and detailed documentary exploring the extraordinary and turbulent events of 1936 for the British monarchy-a pivotal year that saw three different kings sit on the throne in quick succession: the aging King George V, the controversial and short-lived Edward VIII, and the duty-bound George VI. Through painstakingly restored archival imagery and expert analysis, the film brings to life the constitutional crisis and personal dramas that reshaped the House of Windsor and the future of the United Kingdom forever.