Easy to Learn, Hard to Master: The Fate of Atari
The turbulent story of the company that taught the world how to game
Made in Asia
Made in Asia TVPUK
Taiko Film
Taiko Film is a documentary that introduces us to the enthralling world of Japanese Taiko. We will learn about its origins, history and evolution throughout centuries, its many applications and styles, its expansion to the world and its influence in modern culture, both Eastern and Western.
Collection of Artisans #01 Textiles
Mr. Kikuo Hirano, a weaver for Nishijin tsumekaki-hon-tsuzure-ori, Mr. Hiroshi Tokunaga, a Kasuri craftsman, and Mr. Hisayuki Kawato, a weaver for Tango Chirimen Fabric are introduced. Nishijin brocade is one of the traditional crafts in Kyoto. There are 12 weaving techniques used for Nishijin-brocade. In order to weave this brocade requires special techniques. One example: The weaver files his fingernail tips into zigzag shape to pick up and cross threads to make beautiful patterns.
Collection of Artisans #02 Lacquer
Mr. Tadahiro Ooya, a lacquerware craftsman and Mr. Yutaro Shimode, a Makie craftsman are introduced in this episode. Kyo-Lacquerware is both elegant and delicate, but it is also a solidly-made craft product. There are Eight traditional techniques of Kyo-nuri, or the creation of lacquerware. Mr. Tadahiro Ooya, has been lacquering for 63 years. He’s mastered the 8 Kyo-lacquer techniques. He has even invented a new application method for the Nunozuri-nuri technique.
Collection of Artisans #03 Metal mirror and metal carvings
Mr. Fujio Yamamto, a craftsman making metal mirror and Mr. Toshio Fujibayashi, a craftsman of metal carvings are introduced in this episode. A Makyo is a mirror used for fortune-telling, which originally came from China. Today, there is only one craftsman making these Makyo mirrors: Mr. Fujio Yamamoto. He is the 4th generation owner of Yamamoto Gokin Seisakusho. His workshop is the only place these mirrors are still made by hand according to old traditions.
Collection of Artisans #04 Kyo-yuzen, Kyo-kanoko, and Kyo-nui
Mr. Motoo Kido, a Kyo-yuzen artist, Ms. Kazuyo Kawamoto, a Kyo-kanoko Shibori craftswoman, and Mr. Toshiaki Nagakusa, an embroiderer of Kyo-nui are introduced in this episode. Kyo-yuzen is a technique of painting dye onto cloth. Mr. Motoo Kido is a Kyo-yuzen artist and he is considered the foremost craftsman of this art, and it is often said, his work reflects his soul and emotion as a craftsman. Shibori is a Japanese manual resist dyeing technique, also known as tie-dye.
Searching for Umami
Dani García offers a tribute to one of his gastronomic idols, Nobu Matsuhisa, the main exponent of Japanese cuisine worldwide. An element is present in his kitchen, umami, which provokes different interpretations among chefs around the world. Taking advantage of the company of the best Spanish chefs gathered for this event, the documentary, in addition to reflecting on those days, tries to explore the opinions of each of them about Umami.
Dashi, essence of Japan
For centuries, the Japanese have learned to draw from the treasures of nature; their cuisine distills the very best from the country’s oceans, mountains and forests.
Shoyu and the secrets of Japanese cuisine
The Japanese discovered that a humble mould spore could transform soya beans into ‘Shoyu’, the soy sauce that is a pillar of Japanese cuisine. Sprinkle it on rice and the rice changes into sake... This mould is a tiny organism called ‘Aspergillus oryzae’ and mysteriously, it exists only in Japan!
The Last Nomads Himalaya
«The Last Nomads» features the greatest traditional journeys left on Earth as seen through the eyes of the people who still travel on them. From the Zagros Mountains of Iran to the frozen wastelands of northern Siberia, the Sahara to the Himalaya, these beautifully filmed documentaries give a unique insight into the very last human journeys still being travelled as they have been for thousands of years.
Overland Season 15 Episode 1 – Beijing
Overland’s journey starts from Beijing, which has now become one of the most modern cities in the world. With its peaceful daily invasion of tourists and visitors Tiananmen Square has changed radically, like it had on every previous occasion Overland passed through it: in 1985 with 3 fiat pandas in a sea of bicycles, in 1989 with the Itala shortly before the student protests, in 1999 with the orange trucks and in 2005 with the bicycles, in a square which was then full of motorised vehicles.
Overland Season 15 Episode 2 – Xi'an, where the Silk Roads start
With its splendid testimonies of grandeur, the city of Xi'an offers travellers the Terracotta Warriors and the Wild Goose Pagoda. Here Buddhism spread easily thanks to the enormous quantity of people who coexisted in a single territory, despite being of different religions. Even now Muslims organise markets full of culinary resources and trading stalls.
Overland Season 15 Episode 3 – Gansu corridor
From Lanzhou, after passing the Yellow River, we head back up the Gansu corridor, an obligatory step to head West amongst the final dunes of the Gobi desert to the North an the snow-capped mountains of Qilian Shan to the South. There will be numerous historical and artistic testimonies, which were in part described by Marco Polo who lived here for a bout a year.
Overland Season 15 Episode 4 – In the middle of Oasis and sandstorms
At the legendary Jade Gate, we leave behind us Han China and enter the land of the Uyghur, the Muslim population that inhabits the North West of China. The most adventurous part of the journey awaits us: the exploration of the Taklamakan Desert with the tallest dunes in the world and the powerful sandstorms caused by the torrid Karaburan wind. The southern track of the Silk Road features a series of important Oasis-Cities that are irrigated by the water coming from the glaciers of the Kunlun.
Overland Season 15 Episode 5 – On the Northern Silk Road
The journey on the Southern Silk Road continues from Hotan and ends in Kashgar, which in ancient times was considered the city with the largest open-ait market in the known world. Today the extraordinary bazar is relegated to a covered pavilion surrounded by huge buildings. Kashgar is the starting point for the Northern branch of the Silk Road that will lead us to Turpan over a series of new roads, modern cities and stretches of the ancient track with ruins of the abandoned ancient dwellings.
Overland Season 15 Episode 6 – On the border of four States
Once we reach Urumqi, the capital of the Autonomous Region of Xinjiang, our attention will be focused on the population that lives in this area of China, which is mainly Muslim in cultural and religious terms. Although the Han represent the majority, the Uyghurs insist on having their own state. The journey continues in the territory to the North of Urumqi and our encounter with thousand of oil wells shows the great race for the exploitation of the territory.
Overland Season 15 Episode 7 – From the Altai to the Gansu
The Altai Mountains offers us forests, Kazakh tents, grazing animals, Siberian and Mongolian ethnic minorities. The Uyghurs, the ancient inhabitants of the territory, are mainly concentrated in the large cities and dedicate themselves mainly to trade and their families. The Kanas Natural Reserve, with its marvellous eponymous lake, has been transformed into a story of Chinese Switzerland, given the incredible similarity of the buildings in the vast pine forests.
Overland Season 15 Episode 8 – Genghis Khan and Inner Mongolia
We continue along a route amongst the sand dunes of the Badain Jaran desert. Mongolia presents its most well known but most shocking side: in a single valley we counted 49 coal- fired power stations. The Genghis Khan Mausoleum tells the story of this great historic character, who played a huge role in China’s, while the Taoist monastery Wudang reveals the Buddhist religion of the population.
Wayfarer | Episode 5 | Singapore
Inside one of the world’s most famous hotels - Raffles and its massive new make over. Luxury in a villa suite with private pool at Sofitel Sentosa. Check out Singapore’s top restaurants Burnt Ends, Bincho and Cheek by Jowl plus the coolest bars now open. The incredible Marina Bay Sands and Gardens by the Bay. The Art Deco restaurant with a multi million dollar gin bar. Why Changi Airport is the world’s best, counting a butterfly zoo amongst its many attractions.
China on China: Everything has a Price Tag
Economic reforms have led to a divided China, which threatens not only individual survival, but even economic growth and the entire Chinese society. In this episode, we hear stories and interviews about the middle class, about poverty in rural areas and about the precarious existence of hundreds of millions of migrant workers on the fringes of the cities.
China on China: The Power and the People
How is China run, and how do the people get their say? Stories and interviews about China's ruling Communist Party, about being a representative of the people, about the potential political power of blogs, and about grassroots protests and mass incidents, which are only increasing in number.
China on China: Culture for Billions
In this episode, we look at literature and film in the cultural nation of China. Stories and interviews with authors who struggle with censorship and self-censorship, and about the thriving film industry, which seeks to top Hollywood.
China on China: More than Half the Sky
After the Revolution in 1949, legislation regarding equality was passed, a huge step forward for China at the time. The economic reforms of recent decades have also improved women's lives. Yet China is still the only country in the world where more women than men commit suicide (WHO).
China on China: Sun and Wind but no Water
In this episode, we examine China's tough environmental problems and the efforts being made to solve them. Stories and interviews about air pollution and increasing water shortages, about people fighting to improve the environment, and about the world's investments in solar energy.
China on China: The New Generation
In this episode, we look at the generational shift occurring in China. Older generations in today's China have grown up during the fastest economic boom in history. How will it be for their children?
Bastion of the Giants
«Bastion of the Giants» takes the world into an engrossing journey of the lives of Asian Elephants, and the stunning bio-diverse North Eastern jungles of India around the river Brahmaputra. The challenges of the survival of the Asian Elephant and other endangered species including Bengal Tigers, Indian Rhinos and more, with intense human animal conflicts as human populations explode around these ecological hotspots and ancient elephant lands.
Cat Heaven Island
On a far-away, rural island in Japan, hundreds of cats freely roam a secluded fishing village
China's Hidden Monkeys
In Shangri-La, the remote mountains of southwest China, live one of the most remarkable, elusive and endangered primates in the world. CHINA'S HIDDEN MONKEYS will give viewers their first look at the living link between monkeys and apes.
The Egret
Every year from late March to early April, large migrating flocks of egrets and herons arrive from Japan and settle in North East China to nest, mate and rear their young.
Chinese Merganser
A survivor from the third Ice Age some 10 million years ago, the Chinese merganser is the world's oldest species of wild duck. Despite having survived when many other species did not, the merganser is now facing the threats of global warming and human encroachment.
