Sam Ryder: Road to Eurovision

Fancy Like Walker Hayes

November 2024 •English

The song "Fancy Like" was #1 in the US in 2021, taking off on TikTok and becoming the anthem of the year with an Applebee’s commercial. Walker and his daughter Lela (who choreographed the dance) explain how that song changed their lives. The documentary is the definitive story of Hayes' life, retracing 17 years of struggling with addiction and loss before this massive overnight success.

Sounds Like Teen Spirit

May 2009 •English

A 2008 documentary and debut feature film of Bafta-Award nominated director Jamie Jay Johnson. It follows the lives of the participants of the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2007, specifically the entrants from Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus and Georgia. The film sees them proceed from the national finals that saw them crowned the representatives of their country through to the international song festival itself held in Rotterdam, the Netherlands where they each compete against 16 other acts.

Barbara Pravi, that's who I am

May 2021 •French

An intimate portrait of Barbara Pravi. The camera slips into the background, forgotten as it accompanies the singer and actress through her everyday life to reveal her inner pathway. An opportunity to follow her through the different stages of a great adventure, the 2021 Eurovision Song Contest.

Dance Alone

May 2021 •Lithuanian

Daði og Gagnamagnið

March 2021 •Icelandic

A two-part documentary about Daði & Gagnamagnið, introducing viewers to the band’s story since first taking part in the Icelandic national competition for Eurovision in 2017.

The Apple

November 1980 •English

In a pseudo-futuristic 1994, a square couple enter the corrupt world of the music industry, and subsequently a maze of drugs, sex, and temptation.

The Punk Voyage

October 2017 •Finnish

In December 2016 a remarkable chapter in music history was closed as the Finnish punk rock band Pertti Kurikan Nimipäivät (PKN) retired. Punk Voyage is a feature length documentary film about the last years of the band, with all the ups and downs included. After becoming celebrities in Finland, this incredible quartet continued to conquer new fans around the World. In its seven years run PKN played nearly 300 gigs in 16 countries. In 2015 the band was selected to represent Finland in the Eurovision Song Contest, where they played to over 100 million television spectators. However, the busy traveling and success created a lot of pressure within the band: Kari struggled with the temptations and responsibilities brought by publicity; Sami extended his territory to politics and religion; Toni's and the band's roadie Niila's crush to the the same girl caused conflicts; and Pertti, tired of this all, decided to retire.

Wild Dances

May 2017 •English

In a small rural Australian town in 2004, two teenage outcasts come into conflict with their families on the night Ruslana wins the Eurovision Song Contest for Ukraine. 17-year-old Todd faces awkward and unsubtle probing from his family about his sexuality, specifically whether or not he will take a girl to the upcoming school dance. Across town, Lesia Lysenko, the only girl from an immigrant family at Todd's conservative, Catholic High School, clashes with her strict, Ukrainian father, who insists that Lesia take her younger brother to chaperone her to that same school dance. As Lesia experiments with a newfound sense of rebellion, Todd is asked out by a clueless, smitten girl with a pet hate of pop music. He practises the dance moves from Ruslana's song in his family's tool shed and hatches a secret plan to get the song played at the disco. The film moves towards its fabulous, genuinely heartwarming climax as Lesia and Todd learn that life begins when you dance to your own beat.

ABBA Forever: A Celebration

October 2019 •English

This definitive music documentary, featuring a greatest hits soundtrack and bounty of classic performance clips, provides an inside look into how Swedish pop group ABBA's music was made, as the former members and various colleagues tell their story from pre-ABBA days onward.

Graham Meets Olly

March 2024 •English

Olly Alexander is preparing to fulfil one of his biggest life ambitions - to represent the United Kingdom in the much-loved Eurovision Song Contest. Ahead of the grand final in May, Olly joins fellow Eurovision lover and commentator Graham Norton to talk candidly about competing in Sweden. As an extra treat for Eurovision fans, Olly reveals the first full play of the music video on TV for his Eurovision song Dizzy.

Kalush Orchestra, or How We Stopped Worrying and Won Eurovision During the War

December 2022 •Ukrainian

A documentary story about the participation and victory at the Eurovision Song Contest 2022 by the Ukrainian band Kalush Orkestra.

A Song Called Hate

June 2021 •English

The pro-Palestinian, anti-capitalist, BDSM-provocative, techno-punk performance art ensemble Hatari unsurprisingly drew attention to themselves with their performance at the Icelandic qualifiers for the Eurovision Song Contest. So much so that they won and therefore were allowed to perform at the main event in Tel Aviv. But what now? Should they boycott the event, swallow their idealism, or use their airtime to criticise the host country for their illegal occupation of Palestine? The Icelandic director Anna Hildur joins the boys in the band all the way to the fateful final.

Die Schweiz am ESC – Dramen, Siege, Emotionen

May 2020 •German

A look back at Switzerland's history in the Eurovision Song Contest highlighted by the two wins in 1956 and 1988.

Facing the Music: Eurovision in Azerbaijan

May 2012 •English

It's one of the most corrupt countries in the world and widely criticised for its human rights record but this year Azerbaijan is hosting Eurovision - one of the most glitzy TV music competitions in the world.

Herreys  - guldbröderna

May 2024 •Swedish

A nostalgia trip back to the 80s when the Herrey brothers created hysteria with their win in Eurovision 1984 with the song Diggi-Loo Diggi-Ley. It's about what it was like to deal with the fans, the press and the sudden celebrity. This year marks 40 years since their breakthrough, and it's time to make new music and get on the stage again.

ABBA: How They Won Eurovision

April 2024 •English

Celebrating 50 years since ABBA won Eurovision in 1974 with Waterloo, through the extraordinary and entertaining story of how international stardom almost didn't happen for the group.

La Grande Histoire de l'Eurovision

May 2020 •French

Liverpool. The Blue and Yellow Submarine

November 2023 •Ukrainian

A documentary project that shows viewers behind the scenes of this cultural exchange and explores the current processes of integrating Ukrainian culture into the European context. The heroes of the project are the participants and visitors of the festival, who demonstrate with their own stories the unique connection and cultural integration of Ukraine into the plane of Liverpool, one of the cultural capitals of Europe. In particular, Sarah Fisher, director of Liverpool's Open eye gallery, Yuliia Kurinna, a volunteer and displaced person from Nova Kakhovka, and actor and director Yurii Radionov will share their thoughts.

Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga

June 2020 •English

Two small-town singers chase their pop star dreams at a global music competition, where high stakes, scheming rivals and onstage mishaps test their bond.

Believing is Seeing

May 2023 •English

A mysterious outbreak of tic disorders among young people leads Dr Robert Bartholomew to question whether social media is making us sick. Doctors have recently identified a concerning trend among young people: tic disorders potentially spread via TikTok videos. For sociologist Dr Robert Bartholomew, an expert in mass psychogenic illness, the trend isn’t surprising, but the potential consequences are alarming. Could the global scope of social media mean we are on the precipice of the world’s largest outbreak of psychogenic illness?