Tales of Television Centre

Various actors, presenters, directors and other staff who have worked at the iconic BBC Television Centre at Shepherd's Bush in London reminisce about their time there.

African Spirit

A celebration of the diversity of Ethiopia's culture and wildlife. It journeys from North to South - spanning mountains, rainforests and the hottest place on Earth. It documents Muslims mixing with Christians as they have for over a millennia and the 'honey people' of the forest, filmed here for the first time. Visually stunning and unsentimental, this is Ethiopia as you've never seen it before.

Tea Making Tips

Tea drinkers will benefit from 6 tips for making tea, as well as other handy hints.

The Year Earth Changed

Never-before-seen footage shows how our living in lockdown opened the door for nature to bounce back and thrive. Across the seas, skies, and lands, Earth found its rhythm when we came to a stop.

Pori

Expedition by Gontard Herbert Kluge into the heart of the former German colony of "East Africa". This land is called Pori by the locals. The film shows mainly zoological images.

Sketches

A British artist misses his parents' wedding anniversary for a last-minute sketching commission in Cornwall, but memories of them affect his work along the way.

Tea War: The Adventures of Robert Fortune

In the 19th century, China held the monopoly on tea, which was dear and fashionable in the West, and the British Empire exchanged poppies, produced in its Indian colonies and transformed into opium, for Chinese tea. Inundated by the drugs, China was forced to open up its market, and the British consolidated their commercial dominance. In 1839, the Middle Empire introduced prohibition. The Opium War was declared… Great Britain emerged as the winner, but the warning was heeded: it could no longer depend on Chinese tea. The only alternative possible was to produce its own tea. The East India Company therefore entrusted one man with finding the secrets of the precious beverage. His mission was to develop the first plantations in Britain’s Indian colonies. This latter-day James Bond was called Robert Fortune – a botanist. After overcoming innumerable ordeals in the heart of imperial China, he brought back the plants and techniques that gave rise to Darjeeling tea.

Infusion

In Acadie, the only “real” tea is King Cole, blended in New Brunswick for the past 100 years. Traditionally drunk with a spot of Carnation condensed milk, it recalls simpler days when people would take the time to stop and smell… the tea. Infusion is a playful look at this tradition, its many symbols, and the memories it stirs. Some say a cup of tea promotes frank discussion and helps clear up misunderstandings; others swear they can read the future in the leaves left at the bottom. Perhaps there really is something magical about tea…

Under the Helmet: The Legacy of Boba Fett

A special celebrating the origins and legacy of Star Wars' legendary bounty hunter, Boba Fett.

All In This Tea

During the 1990s, David Lee Hoffman searched throughout China for the finest teas. He's a California importer who, as a youth, lived in Asia for years and took tea with the Dali Lama. Hoffman's mission is to find and bring to the U.S. the best hand picked and hand processed tea. This search takes him directly to farms and engages him with Chinese scientists, business people, and government officials: Hoffman wants tea grown organically without a factory, high-yield mentality. By 2004, Hoffman has seen success: there are farmer's collectives selling tea, ways to export "boutique tea" from China, and a growing Chinese appreciation for organic farming's best friend, the earthworm.

Wild Daze

In Africa, poachers brutally maim and kill elephants for their ivory, much of which is exported to China or smuggled into the United States. The profits help fund terrorist organisations, and are used to buy guns and artillery. WILD DAZE takes an unflinching look at these problems from various perspectives, and shows how the slaughter has decimated the elephant population, left survivors traumatised, and seriously harmed the forests of Eastern and Southern Africa.

The Gordon Affair

As a small liberal arts college on the North Shore, Gordon College has not been without its issues. Budget cuts in 2019 resulted in the downsizing of several departments which impacted students' college career. In 2020 during the heat of the pandemic, racial tensions rise after hate crimes are committed on campus. This is the story of the class of 2022.

The World's Most Famous Train

During its nine-month-long season, the Venice Simplon-Orient-Express makes over 60 journeys, covering 150,000 kilometres, with the majority of trips between London and Venice. The train is comprised of 17 unique 1920s carriages that have transported a host of elite individuals across Italy, Switzerland, and Turkey for more than a century. This documentary follows the stories of the staff and passengers as the train makes its way across Europe, with some customers having paid more than £2,000 for the privilege.

Чайная церемония

Across the World with Mr. and Mrs. Johnson

As if they were showing their film to a few friends in their home, the Johnsons describe their trip across the world, which begins in the South Pacific islands of Hawaii, Samoa, Australia, the Solomons (where they seek and find cannibals), and New Hebrides. Thence on to Africa via the Indian Ocean, Suez Canal, North Africa, and the Nile River to lion country in Tanganyika. (They are briefly joined in Khartum by George Eastman and Dr. Al Kayser.) Taking a safari in the Congo, the Johnsons see animals and pygmies, and travel back to Uganda, British East Africa, and Kenya.

The Virus That Shook the World

The epic story of how people around the world lived through the first year of the coronavirus pandemic, from lockdowns to funerals to protests. Filming across the globe and using extensive personal video and local footage, FRONTLINE documented how people and countries responded to COVID-19 across cultures, races, faiths and privilege.

Gardens of the Orient

This portait of life on the tea plantations is decidedly rosy – clearly, there are no exploited workers here. However, the film provides an intriguing overview of tea production – from the planting of tea seeds to the final shipping of the precious leaves across the globe.

O Pranto do Artista

The last days of the Feitosa family circus. Iracema and her family share their life experiences in a meta-documentary that explores the making of two types of artistic production and their respective crisis: Circo Young and LabCine Collective, responsible for this movie.

Pineapple Express Ride

The subjective phases humans encounter during the consumption of standard amount of Lysergic acid Diethylamide or LSD.

Bessho Tea Factory

A documentary directed by Hori Teiichi who was a production assistant on the 1994 documentary Otentousama ga Hoshii and has worked in a wide variety of genres from pink films to ordinary theatrical releases. The lifestyle and scenery of Osawa, a village situated 740 meters up on the mountainous slopes of Hamamatsu city's northern region in Shizuoka Prefecture, are the focus of this first installment to the "Tenryu-ku" series. It straightforwardly captures the tea harvest in late May and the tea processing conducted in a factory while showcasing mist shrouded tea fields drummed by rain as well as the beauty of the glistening green of the tea leaf shoots.