Capitalism has been the engine of unprecedented economic growth and social transformation. With the fall of the communist states and the triumph of "neo-liberalism", capitalism is by far the world's dominant ideology. But how much do we understand about how it originated, and what makes it work?
Adam Vollmann is 40 years old; he is a journalist for the web editorial staff of a major national daily newspaper. One morning, the portrait of Axel Challe, designated as the main suspect in the murder of a young girl, in Guerches-sur-Isoire, appears on the television screen in front of him. When he insisted to his editor-in-chief to go straight away to report there, he explained to him that he was from there, that he grew up there. What he doesn't say is that he knows Axel Challe well: he was his friend. Even more, Axel Challe was the demigod of his childhood.
What musical genre can claim to have gone, in the space of fifty years, from a hidden cabaret in Oran to Super Bowl halftime? Born in Algeria at the end of the Second World War, the raï wave spread from the cabarets of western Algeria to the cassette shops of Barbès in Paris, before sweeping the world at the end of the 1980s. its hybridization, the intoxicating music traveled from Algerian and French weddings to the biggest international stages, before suddenly disappearing from the radar at the dawn of the new millennium. Icons that have disappeared, including Cheikha Remitti and Prince Hasni, to young heirs, passing by the star Khaled, the collector Hadj Sameer trace the tumultuous course of this musical genre, between clandestinity, planetary glory and resistance.
1837, South Africa: A small community of French-born Huguenots is drawn to the hinterland. Catherine and her children Marthe and Joseph are also part of Pastor Malan's devout community. After months of traveling, they discover that their new surroundings are not uninhabited and that the indigenous Zulu people are prepared to defend their land.
The history of four generations of a family in Alsace between 1870 and 1953. Over this time, the family and the villagers live through three wars between France and Germany and their province changes its affiliation between these countries four times. The governors from both sides do not always respect the culture and the feelings of Alsatians.
As he approaches sixty, the time has come for Pierre Leprieur to take stock of his life. What did he accomplish and what did he mess up during his life? He was formerly an influential trade unionist on the docks at Le Havre. The passing years saw his relationship with his wife and his now-adult children subside. One evening, with his whole family gathered together to celebrate his birthday, the party is ruined. His sons, Jean and Simon, find themselves accused of mass drug trafficking. Whilst their sister, Emma, a criminal lawyer, tries to get them out of this difficult situation, Pierre, who si convinced that he is being targeted, does his utmost to help them. Yet he knows that if he roots around too much, he could end up unearthing truths best left untold.
Tehran, today. Shadi is 17 years old. In life, Shadi loves listening to music at the bottom of the blocks with her best friend Ferial. But soon, she has to move to France, far from everything she has always known. Shadi starts to ask herself questions: is immigration really what she wants? To find out, she will embark on a journey to discover Iran.
The family Valadine has produced porno movies since years. But the golden age of the erotic film is over. The market, the business and the movies are getting harder. Nevertheless Alex Valadine refuses to go with the latest trends and gets in conflict with his sons, the next generation of porno maker. The family empire bursts under the consequences of intrigues and corruption. In this world of love and hate, sex and violence the family is facing a big challenge.
From the Gilded Age to the present day, the history of modern United States of America has been one of wealth and power concentrated into the hands of a few families with enormous fortunes.
À la recherche du Hobbit (French for Looking for the Hobbit) is an exploratory documentary series directed by Olivier Simonnet in 2014, in which illustrator John Howe, story-teller Nicolas Mezzalira, and Professor Leo Carruthers of the University of Paris-Sorbonne explore real-world settings and famous myths that inspired J.R.R. Tolkien's mythology. The documentary explores many locations of Medieval significance.