Documentary
Simon Schama explores the story of the Jewish experience from ancient times to the present day.


Simon Schama begins his exploration of the Jewish story at the start, 3,000 years ago.

Simon takes a look at the story of the medieval Jews difficulties to preserve their identity and their lives living under the rule of Christianity and Islam.

Simon takes a look at a moment bright with hope after Enlightenment thinkers and Revolutionary armies brought walls crashing down allowing Jews to weave their wisdom into life of modern Europe.

Simon takes a look at the lost world of the shtetl, the Jewish towns and villages dotted across the hinterlands of Eastern Europe, which became a unique Jewish culture.

Simon Schama takes a look at how the Holocaust and the creation of Israel have changed what it means to be Jewish in modern times.

Self - Presenter

A 3-chapter documentary about the stories we tell ourselves around creativity. Using a plethora of studies from anthropology, psychology and neuroscience, the film tries to demystify the way we use our brains to create, to make art and science. The products of our minds are extraordinary, but the process in which they are brought about are in fact, quite ordinary. Shakespeare copied. Mozart copied. Picasso copied too. But we're still obsessed with originality. We're living in the most creative time in humanity's existence, so maybe it's time to rethink our preconceptions about creativity.

In this four-part BBC documentary, former Monty Python funnyman and renowned globe-trotter Michael Palin sets off from Gibraltar to travel across the Sahara, his witty humor downplaying the hardships he faces along the arduous journey. He travels to Morocco, Mauritania, Mali and beyond, across some of the harshest terrain on the planet.

Glittering facades, vibrant life, and people facing the daily struggle for survival. ZDF correspondents each profile a megacity within their reporting area. How do people celebrate, laugh, and love in such a city? How are problems like housing shortages, food supply, transportation, and climate change solved – in metropolises with over ten million inhabitants?

Actor/adventurer Jack Maxwell learned a lot working in South Boston bars, and one lesson stood out: Enjoy a couple of drinks with a stranger, and the whole world opens up. Those experiences inspired "Booze Traveler," which follows Maxwell to various countries to quench his curiosity about what people drink, why, and the tales it prompts. In Armenia, Belize, Lithuania, Mongolia, Nepal and elsewhere, Maxwell learns its intoxicating traditions, meets with locals, joins in activities, and even helps with the alcohol-making process. He finds a unique drink, makes friends and shares stories in each spot.

A spectacular journey which uncovers how the Viking era has left its imprint on the way of life and landscape of Norway, and the parallels observed in Lorraine’s home nation of Scotland to this day when it was once sieged under Norse rule. Lorraine will meet people along her travels that are keeping the rich history of Norway alive through folk traditions and Nordic tales, and immerse herself in the crafts and culinary delicacies of the region. The TV icon will sail north along the coast to see what natural beauty it offers, spotting whales and eagles, in hopes to end her journey with a Northern Lights (aurora borealis) spectacle.