The Price of Aid

Access to the Danger Zone

June 2012 •English

Directed by Peter Casaer and narrated by Daniel Day-Lewis, this documentary provides a harrowing look at the challenges of delivering humanitarian aid in armed conflicts. “Access to the Danger Zone” explores the strategies that Doctors Without Borders has employed to save lives in the world’s worst war zones, including Afghanistan, Somalia, and eastern Democratic Republic of Congo—strategies that are tested each and every day. Interviews with key experts from Doctors Without Borders, the International Committee of the Red Cross, and the United Nations are accompanied by dramatic footage shot in these countries in 2011 and 2012.

Five Days on Lesvos

September 2016 •English

As politicians debate and argue, the men, women and children at the heart of the European immigration wave have found themselves caught in the midst of a humanitarian crisis. On the frontline is the Greek island of Lesvos – the first point of entry into Europe for over half of the refugees. One week at the end of August 2015 marked a tipping point in the crisis. More refugees arrived than ever before, volunteers were inundated and local infrastructure just couldn’t cope; trains were overflowing, refugees were dying in the back of lorries and on beaches, and politicians responded by closing borders and arguing about how to stem the tide of people. Filmed over just five days, this first-hand account of that dramatic week on Lesvos is seen through the eyes of the refugees and volunteers caught in the crisis.

The Living

January 2009 •Ukrainian

Tells the story of the tragic events in Ukraine in 1932-33, the genocidal Great Famine or the Holodomor, and one Welshman's attempts to tell the world what was happening.

Eighteam

October 2014 •English

The resurrection of Zambia's national football team after losing 18 players in a plane crash in Gabon in 1993. A 18-year road of reconstruction until destiny makes its move: in Gabon, Zambia becomes African Champion after a long 18 penalty-shoot-out.

Leningrad Symphony

November 2017 •German

August 1942: Amidst the unimaginable suffering inflicted during the blockade of Leningrad by the German Wehrmacht, an orchestra director was given an almost impossible task: to stage the premiere of Dimitri Shostakovitch's "Leningrad Symphony". The performance became a symbol of the brief triumph of culture over the barbarism of war.

Beatrice Phiri

January 2016 •English

Beatrice is an 18-year-old young reporter with the Children’s Radio Foundation (CRF) in Lusaka, Zambia. She is part of the Unite4Climate Radio Initiative, a project which uses the power of radio to challenge mindsets and shift behaviours around environmental protection.

The Leopard Legacy

December 2020 •German

Follow the story of a leopard mother as she raises her cubs near the Luangwa River, facing a constant battle to hunt successfully, defend her territory and protect her cubs against enemies.

Afrique-France : le divorce ?

June 2025 •French

The Friendship Train

January 1948 •English

This short film details the history of the 'Friendship Train', created, following the end of World War II, to travel across the United States to collect food for war ravaged countries in Europe.

Ett Satans År

October 1978 •Swedish

Swedish documentary from 1977. The film is about the last starvation year in Sweden, the emergency year 1867 in Ångermanland. It is a story about people who are hurting, but also about efforts from the outside world to help the developing country Sweden out of the crisis. SVT's documentary filmmaker Olle Häger passed away in November 2014. We remember him by showing some of his appreciated films during the summer.

Stealing Africa

November 2012 •English

Zambia's copper resources have not made the country rich. Virtually all Zambia's copper mines are owned by corporations. In the last ten years, they've extracted copper worth $29 billion but Zambia is still ranked one of the twenty poorest countries in the world. So why hasn't copper wealth reduced poverty in Zambia? Once again it comes down to the issue of tax, or in Zambia's case, tax avoidance and the use of tax havens. Tax avoidance by corporations costs poor countries and estimated $160 billion a year, almost double what they receive in international aid. That's enough to save the lives of 350,000 children aged five or under every year. For every $1 given in aid to a poor country, $10 drains out. Vital money that could help a poor country pay for healthcare, schools, pensions and infrastructure. Money that would make them less reliant on aid.

Cold Case Hammarskjöld

February 2019 •English

Ndola, Northern Rhodesia (currently Zambia), September 18, 1961. Swedish economist and diplomat Dag Hammarskjöld, Secretary General of the UN, dies mysteriously in a plane crash. Decades later, Danish journalist and filmmaker Mads Brügger and Swedish researcher Göran Björkdahl investigate the case in search of definitive closure.

A Little Fish in Deep Water

April 1996 •English

Lake Tanganyika is an 'Ocean' in Africa. Millions of years ago it was colonized by a little fish called 'Cichlid'. Otters, crocodiles, cobras and cormorants all hunt the fish in clear water. How the Cichlid survived and evolved is an incredible story for, millions of years later, there are over 200 new species - all found only in Lake Tanganyika. Incredibly, they have evolved to look like coral reef fish. There are cichlid equivalents of tuna, snapper, gobies and goatfish. They have evolved bizarre methods of breeding with mouth-incubation, lekking and, unique amongst fish, there is even a cuckoo. Despite all their specialization over millions of years, if an opportunity presents itself, the little fish can behave like their unspecialized ancestor. In the climax of the film, they bang together to feast on a hatch of sardine fry. This is the story of how one little fish has conquered a lake.

The Unknown Famine

October 1973 •English

Jonathan Dimbleby’s landmark 1973 documentary “The Unknown Famine” stands as a pivotal moment in Ethiopian history—a journalistic endeavour that not only exposed a humanitarian crisis but inadvertently helped precipitate the end of Africa’s oldest monarchy. The footage was broadcast by ITV for its flagship affairs series named "This Week".

Audrey

November 2020 •English

An unprecedented and intimate look at the life, work and enduring legacy of British actress Audrey Hepburn (1929-1993).

The Great Famine

April 2011 •English

When a devastating famine descended on Soviet Russia in 1921, it was the worst natural disaster in Europe since the Black Plague in the Middle Ages. Examine Herbert Hoover’s American Relief Administration—an operation hailed for its efficiency, grit and generosity. By the summer of 1922, American kitchens were feeding nearly 11 million Soviet citizens a day.

Luangwa's Baboon Kingdom

April 2023 •English

A look at the baboon kingdom of Luangwa.

Bengal Shadows

June 2018 •English

Documentary about Winston Churchill and the Bengal famine of 1943.

The Remandee

August 2020 •Danish

William has been remanded for 2 years in Lusaka Central Prison, awaiting conviction in a case in which he is charged with car theft and murder. After losing touch with his wife and daughter six months ago, he is now deeply concerned about his daughter's safety. Prison counselor Hastings arranges a meeting between William and his wife Mutinta. She has secretly remarried, but William is convinced that true love never fades away and tries to win her back. Given his undecided fate in prison and the uncertainty of his future William is eventually forced to make a tough decision: choosing between a tempting secret affair with his ex-wife that sets her new marriage and the daughter's well-being at risk or the safety of their child.

Doin' My Drugs

December 2020 •English

The story of musician Thomas Muchimba Buttenschøn - born HIV+ in 1985 - and his crusade to use his music to wipe out AIDS in his native Zambia and beyond.