Where the Light Shines

Afghanistan's first ski team reach for a brighter future

It takes Sajjad and Alishah four hours to climb the Bamyan peaks behind their village carrying their skis, and just four minutes to glide to the bottom again, as their families and neighbours look on incredulously. Yet when they get a chance to compete to qualify for the Winter Olympics in South Korea, the first time Afghanistan is represented in the sport, in their wake they leave hope for a brighter future, as local children strap wood to their feet and tumble down the snowy banks in imitation. Filmed over four years, Where the Light Shines paints an uplifting and refreshing portrait of Afghanistan as you haven't seen it before, as the two sportsmen face up to the difficulties of creating opportunities in a country that for generations has only seen war.

Cooked: Survival by Zip Code

A provocative exploration of how race and class impact your chances of surviving a natural disaster.

In 1995, Chicago was hit by an extreme, record-breaking heat wave, so hot that roads melted, rail lines warped, and the lives of 739 residents were lost in a single week; mostly poor, African-American, and elderly residents. Using this tragedy as a springboard, this searing, offbeat doc connects the dots to more recent natural disasters, provocatively exploring the ways in which class, race and zip code predetermine our chances of survival during environmental crises and asking why we don't treat that as a disaster.

Hero or Villain?

The Prosecution of Julian Assange

Julian Assange is one of the most influential figures to emerge this century. The Australian born founder of WikiLeaks has harnessed the technology of the digital age to unleash an information war against governments and corporations. Now facing extradition to the US on espionage charges and with his legal fight in full swing, Assange supporters, even some of his critics, warn his prosecution marks a very dangerous chapter for freedom of speech and the public’s right to know. The ABC Four Corners team investigate the momentous events that have led to this moment and what emerges is a picture of a polarising figure lauded as a hero and dismissed as a villain.

Silent Forests

A rare glimpse inside the forest elephant poaching crisis

More than half of the Central-African forest elephant population has been decimated by poachers in the last decade. Following one of Cameroon’s first female eco-guards, a grassroots law enforcement group, a Congolese biologist, a reformed poacher and a Czech activist, this intimate, character-driven portrait gains remarkable access to an under-reported region, the Congo Basin, to understand the global poaching and ivory trade crises we face.

Hunting For Hedonia

An exploration of the human brain, science and the mysteries of our minds

What if there was a place deep in the brain that can take you from pain to pleasure? What if tiny pulsing electrodes in your head could change your mind? Hunting for Hedonia explores the effects of a revolutionary technique employed by leading neuroscientists called Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS); the implementation of a device that sends out electric impulses to manipulate parts of the brain. First explored by pioneers in the 1960s, the treatment has led to incredible progress in treating illnesses such as Parkinson’s disease, severe depression and eating disorders. But what future lies ahead for the human mind when we start tampering with our brain and emotions?

Freelancers

On the road with freelance journalists in Mexico

They are a new breed of journalist. Daring, determined and tech-savvy, freelance foreign correspondents fill the void left by mainstream media retreating from international news coverage. With passion, creativity and the latest technology, they tell the human stories and report on the critical issues that demand our attention. Independent journalist Bill Gentile introduces us to his fellow free spirits in Mexico, where the so-called War on Drugs has left at least 175,000 people dead in the last decade, and 104 journalists murdered since the year 2000.

Daddy and the Warlord

What if your dad wasn't the hero you always imagined?

Clarice Gargard grew up with an idealised image of her father, but unresolved questions about his past now haunt her. Why did he choose to work for Charles Taylor, a ruthless dictator and infamous war criminal? In post-war-torn Liberia, Clarice begins to evaluate her father’s political legacy and becomes entangled in a web where good and evil, truth and lies are desperately interwoven. This captivating and elusive quest by a daughter to understand her parentage tells the sadly common story of faded ideals in time of war.

This Little Land of Mines

Living in the most heavily bombed country in the world

During the Vietnam War, the US secretly bombed Laos more heavily than any other country on Earth. Spanning over three terms of US presidents, it was the largest covert CIA operation in US history. Today, the Laos people live among and risk their lives to clear over 80 million of these unexploded bombs from their doorsteps, one by one. With great beauty and empathy, This Little Land of Mines reveals the unbelievable stories of the men and women at the forefront of this movement, paving the way towards a brighter future.

Stroop: Journey into the Rhino Horn War

On the frontline of the war against rhino poaching

A 4 year investigation into South Africa's rhino poaching crisis involved going against some of the most nasty criminal networks. And alongside the rangers in South Africa’s rhino sanctuaries the filmmakers move directly into the firing line. Then to Asia where Stroop asks whether there's any basis to the horn's popularity as a cancer cure? This epic investigation exposes a unique panorama of the global trade in rhino horn.