It was the giant of Africa: a nation which once represented the greatest hope for peaceful coexistence between Arab and African, Muslim and Christian. That hope is all but gone. The promise of Sudan was just an illusion. It is already a fractured country and, in the longer term, this is unlikely to be an isolated matter of north and south breaking apart following the referendum on southern secession. Separatist movements in regions such as Darfur and the Nuba Mountains are watching with more than curiosity. And it is not just Sudan: in other African and Arab countries independence factions are eying developments with a view to making their move either through the ballot box or the gun.
This documentary focuses on what is probably most appealing for foreigners and unfortunately leaves out the common people in Brazilian large cities where most of the population lives, the beautiful northeastern coast and the rich European heritage of southern Brazil. Be warned that if you plan to visit Brazil anytime soon, you’ll probably be a little disappointed by not seeing most of the stuff shown here unless you really look for them.
When tourists journey to the furthermost reaches of the Sepik River in Papua New Guinea, is it the indigenous tribespeople or the white visitors who are the cultural oddity? This film explores the difference and the surprising similarities that emerge when civilized and primitive peoples meet. With humor and acute observation CANNIBAL TOURS explodes cultural assumptions as it provides a pointed look at a fabulous phenomenon.
In the caves and rock shelters of the Dordogne region of France, Alan Alda witnesses the spectacular paintings and carvings that date back some 30,000 years, artwork that archaeologists once thought to be the first record of people with minds like our own. When this art was created, Europe had already been peopled for hundreds of thousands of years and thousands of lifetimes by humans we call Neanderthals.
The global economy has created immense wealth in the West, but it has also spawned a sinister new market in slaves. Filmmakers Brian Edwards and Kate Blewett actually buy slaves in Africa and help free child slaves in India. The film exposes slavery in the rug-making sector of Northwest India, the cocoa plantations in the Ivory Coast, and even the home of a World Bank official in Washington, D.C. Small, personal stories of slavery are woven together to tell the larger story of slavery in the global economy.
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