Crime & Military
Military superstructures
Vauban is probably the best military architect and engineer in History.
Endlessly copied around the world, his unique system of fortifications protected France from invasions, making Louis XIV the most powerful monarch of his time.
The Vauban system consisted of an iron belt of 180 fortresses scattered around the country, each of them rivaling in technical ingenuity.
20,000 LEAGUES UNDER THE SEA 52’
On board a nuclear-powered submarine
On board the Vigilant, one of France's 4 nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarines, men and women are working in the greatest secrecy.
This ultra-sophisticated vessel is capable of diving to a depth of 400 meters and staying undetected for several months.
Its highly qualified and trained crew regularly embarks on missions in real conditions.
A MURDERER AT THE WEDDING 100’
A French serial killer
In the Alps, 28 people mysteriously disappeared between 2007 and 2017. A sad unexplained record for the region. This is the story of one of the greatest failures of the French judicial system.
Maëlys, 8, disappears during a wedding. Her remains are found six months later. Nordahl Lelandais, one of the guests at the party, faced with overwhelming evidence, confesses to the crime. From that moment on, the police officers wonder whether the suspect may be involved in other misdeeds in the area. Their intuition will prove correct when they discover that, a few months before Maëlys' disappearance, a young 24-year-old Army corporal also fell prey to this man, without arousing the slightest suspicion.
In France, serial killers are considered a fantasy, a legend straight out of an American movie. This may explain why justice has not sought links between these different cases.
AL QAEDA: WORLD TERRORISM 52’
The birth of the jihadist movement
The years from 2001 to 2011 have been plagued by Al-Qaeda and Osama bin Laden. But to understand how this former business student from a wealthy Saudi family became the leader of the international jihadist movement, we must go back in time and dive into the various episodes of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.
After the September 11 attacks on the World Trade Center and 9 years of relentless hunting, Osama bin Laden was killed by US commandos in May 2011. Although his death didn’t mean the end of Al-Qaeda it did speed up the decline of an organization challenged by the emergence of ISIS.
ARMY, THE SCHOOL OF COMMITMENT [6x52’]
Intense training
In order to adapt to modern forms of combat specific training centers for enlisted soldiers have been set up.
To prepare these soldiers for the most difficult terrains, the army now trains in different parts of the world.
AVIATOR [2x52’]
Masters of the sky
From inside the cockpit, a flight is no longer exactly the same.
This series focuses not only on pilots but also on the mythical planes that have graced our skies.
During a flight aboard one of these extraordinary aircraft, we discover the reality, the complexity, and the ingenuity of the machines and the men who work in this world driven by passion.
BLACK NIGHT IN PARIS 52’ or 90’
An indelible trauma
Police officers, first-aid workers, and victims tell us about the course of events that occurred on the fatal evening of November 13, 2015.
We follow each stage of this murderous night, from the attacks at the Stade de France, the shootings at the terraces of bars and restaurants in the 11th district, to the bloodbath at the Bataclan. 3D images help understand the events and their preparation.
The film also looks at Salah Abdeslam's arrest in Molenbeek, Belgium, and the attack on Brussels airport, which shed new light on the terrorist networks operating between France and Belgium.
Also available as a 90'
BLOODSHED ON THE RIVIERA, THE TERROR ATTACK IN NICE 54’
86 dead and 458 wounded
On July 14, 2016, at 10 pm, fireworks illuminate the city of Nice. Tens of thousands of onlookers came to watch the festivities on the Promenade des Anglais. The show is breathtaking, and the atmosphere is friendly. But it will not last.
A truck rams through the crowd, spreading terror and chaos. The attack leaves 86 dead and 458 wounded.
Four years later, through the accounts of direct witnesses and families of victims and thanks to a thorough investigation, this film looks back at the circumstances of the tragedy.
CRIME SCENE SOLVERS [60x52’]
A macabre jigsaw puzzle
When tackling a crime, an investigator’s only solution is to make the clues talk. There is no such thing as a perfect crime since the culprit always leaves traces behind him.
This series twist is to lay out all the evidence involved in the story in a CSI forensics lab, staged very esthetically.
In each episode, clues are presented like scattered pieces of a macabre jigsaw puzzle. Gradually, the viewer comes to understand the part played by each in the investigation, until finally the truth is revealed.
DEADLY SOULS [6x52’]
Deciphering serial killers
Serial killers strike without mercy or remorse. What makes them tick? What drives them to kill?
A no-nonsense former US Police captain alongside a renowned British forensic psychologist re-examine the case files to some of the world’s most infamous serial killers. Our psychologist analyses their twisted minds, while our tough-as-nails cop offers insight into the men and women who hunt them down.
Together, they give us a new understanding of what causes certain dark souls to kill in the cruelest ways.
DEATH AND THE SOLDIER 52’
The ultimate sacrifice
What is death to a soldier? Why is he willing to sacrifice his life? How can one prepare to die or to kill? How do newly enlisted men experience their first battles?
This film is not about the merits of that profession or a military or anti-militarist manifesto. It’s an attempt to penetrate the psyche of soldiers confronted with the idea of death. Their own, that of their comrades as well as their foes.
DOLORES [4x52’]
The becoming of a murderer
Jean Rambla was six years old when his sister was abducted in front of him before she was killed.
Since then, he has been haunted by this dramatic event, leading him to become, later in life, a women killer himself.
This four-part mini-series tells the chilling story of a man whose anger transformed him into a time bomb that no one has foreseen.
FIFTEEN YEARS OF TERROR [2x52’]
Terrorism recent history
In 15 years, from the 9/11 attacks against the World Trade Center to those in Paris in November 2015, dramatic and deadly strikes have been targeting Western countries like never before and have changed the face of the world. In between these two major events, the aggressions and victims kept piling up.
How and why did we go from a terrorist group like Al Qaeda to an even crazier and bloodthirsty one like ISIS? Who are these terrorists? What is radical Islam? Why do they target our democracies?
From Afghanistan to Western societies, through Syria and Iraq, this film investigates the recent history of terrorism.
GAIALAND [4x52’]
Another world is possible
In the 80's, a group of young idealists, sensing an ecological catastrophe to come, wanted to show that another world was possible.
Guided by a mysterious Amerindian shaman, they lived in teepees in the middle of buildings. Suspected by their families and the press of being manipulated, they started a long ecological march through Europe, which ended in Finland after 10 years of wandering.
ISIS: TERRORISM 2.0 52’
How did the World let it emerge?
On November 13, 2015, a new terrorist organization strikes at the heart of a major Western capital: Paris. The toll is terrible giving ISIS an overnight and sinister fame.
What is this terrorist group? Who are its men? Why going after France and the West? How did we let such a monster corner a huge swath of land and thus gain unmatched power? Why is it attracting so many youngsters around the world?
This exceptional film sheds light on the emergence and expansion of a new and disturbing phenomenon: 2.0 terrorism.
KRESTY 90’
One of the oldest and largest prisons in Russia
Kresty is one of the oldest and largest prisons in Russia. Located in the center of Saint Petersburg, its history reflects the history of the country.
Throughout its 130-year, thousands of people have passed through these walls: revolutionaries, engineers, generals, writers, poets, scientists, thieves, serial killers.
The Kresty prison is society in a nutshell, where human vices as well as fortitude, freedom and dignity reveal themselves to the fullest.
LIFE ABOARD AN AIRCRAFT CARRIER 56’
The largest ship in the French Navy
The aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle is the largest ship in the French Navy.
Longer than 2 football fields, as high as a 20 floors building, it is a floating city with 2,000 inhabitants. It includes a hospital, a post office, and a self-service where 4,000 meals are served each day.
We share the out-of-the-ordinary daily life aboard this ship like no others.
LIVING WITH PTSD 52’
An invisible disease
Post-traumatic stress disorder, or war sickness, is now recognized as an injury in its own right, even if it remains an abstract and invisible disease.
Through the testimonies of the wounded and their families, this film retraces soldiers' inner struggles upon their return from war zones.
With the help of an army program, they try to overcome their difficulties to restart a family and civilian life and build the possibility of a peaceful future.
MAFIA AND ITALY, A BLOODY PACT 55’
Dangerous liaisons
In 1992, the anti-mafia magistrates Falcone and Borsellino were murdered in Palermo, the capital of Sicily. For a long time public opinion believed in a story of revenge; that of Toto Riina who was head of Cosa Nostra, the fearsome Sicilian mafia.
Today, a lawsuit is challenging this hypothesis. Within the Italian state, someone is said to have guided the murders.
With exclusive testimonies from judges, politicians and witnesses under protection, this film reveals several decades of incestuous links between the State and the mafia.
MISSING, THE STORY OF ELOI ROLLAND [6x26’]
The tragic fate of a young expatriate
Eloi Rolland, 18, arrives in New Zealand to learn English and live new experiences away from his parents.
On the evening of March 6, 2020, he leaves his host family, but no one knows where he’s spent the night. The next day, he is spotted at the Britomart station to catch the train to Swanson. He gets off in New Lynn and heads for the intersection of Scenic Drive and Piha Road, his last known location.
At this point, his phone stops ringing for good.
NAZIS/RESISTANCE: THE UNDERGROUND WAR 52’
The secret places of German occupation in Paris
Paris, June 1940. The heavy boots of the Wehrmacht soldiers hammer the cobblestones of the Champs-Elysées. Declared open city and emptied of 2/3 of its population, the French capital has just been abandoned to Germany without a fight. The Nazis could not have dreamed of better trophies than the Arc de Triomphe, Hôtel des Invalides, Eiffel Tower and Place de la Concorde.
Yet, behind the glowing images of German propaganda, the fight is far from over.
This film tells the underground war of occupied Paris. The incredible capture of the Senate and its bunker by the Germans, the atrocities committed by the Gestapo in the rue des Saussaies, the escape tunnel of Drancy and the liberation of Paris from the underground.
ROME, AN ARMY OF BUILDERS 52’
The many skills of the legionnaires
All throughout the Gallic Wars, Caesar’s army drew on the power of its military genius to defeat the Gauls.
Once the territories were conquered, the technical skill of the Roman legionnaires was used to build monumental infrastructures like the impressive stone forts that served to protect the borders of the empire.
As an instrument of land conquest and territorial planning, the legion was Rome’s most precious asset.
SPECIAL OPS [6x52’]
In the heart of combat
This series takes us inside armed combat through different missions of the French Special Forces, thanks to CGI and archives of the US Army.
War has never felt so real.
Also available as 6x70'
THE BATTLE OF THE SOMME 52’
A tragic attack
July 1, 1916, 7:30am. In the Somme, 500,000 French and British soldiers, on a front stretching 40 km, launch the most senseless attack of an absurd war. Carrying 35 kg on their backs and with orders not to run or drop on the ground, they walk towards death as if on a parade. That morning, 60,000 men fall.
This absurd obstinate pursuit of an error would last 5 months.
With more than a million casualties on both sides, the Battle of the Somme would cost more lives than Verdun in twice as less time. For negligible results.
THE COLOR OF JUSTICE 52’ or 70’
A deadly choke hold
In July 2014, Eric Garner, a black American, died in the street after being violently arrested by an NYC Police officer who is seen pulling him to the ground and choke holding him. His death was recorded in an amateur video that shows him telling repeatedly “I can’t breathe”.
Five months later, a grand jury declined to indict the policeman because of insufficient proof and the case was dismissed.
A few years later, a legal team conducted a mock trial to rectify this denial of justice.
Also available as a 70'
THE INSIDER [12x52’]
Embedded into elite units
The 13th RDP of the French Special Forces. The SWAT from Miami. The Star & Rescue from Singapore. Each of these structures has its own training and intervention techniques.
In this series, a martial arts expert and renowned stuntman infiltrates these prestigious elite units to offer a unique perspective on the world's best and most secret special forces.
THE MARIE BESNARD CASE 52’
A truth still shrouded in mystery
Marie Besnard, a young woman born at the end of the 19th century, was suspected of being a serial killer, using poison to dispose of her victims. After 3 trials spread over more than 10 years, she was finally released in 1954 and acquitted.
Even today, the Marie Besnard’s case is still shrouded in mystery and has been the subject of books, TV shows and movies.
This documentary seeks out the witnesses who are still alive (investigators, police officers, lawyers, residents, etc...) at the very site where the case took place to help decipher the complex personality of the accused.
THE SCHOOL OF THE GREEN BERETS 93’
The ruthless selection of marine commandos
Each year, nine-week training sessions are organized to test candidates, aged 20 to 30, who want to join the 2,500 men composing the French army marine seals and special forces. The program includes: aptitude tests, diving, shooting, strategy, survival and nights with no more than 3 hours of sleep.
The recruits of this elite corps will be responsible for carrying out secret missions in hostile terrain and must be able to face any kind of extreme situations.
THE TOMB OF THE USSR 52’
A war that changed the face of the World
Forty years ago, the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan triggered 10 years of a dirty conflict that changed the face of the world.
Through exclusive archives of the Afghan guerilla and the testimony of the local Soviet former commander in chief, this film unveils the full story of a war that marked the beginning of the fall of the USSR.
THE TRUE STORY OF THE GREAT ESCAPE 52’
More dramatic than Hollywood
Winter 1944. In Nazi Germany, 76 pilots - British, Canadians, Norwegians and French – who were held in a Luftwaffe prison camp, escaped. The tunnel used for their flight was built in the greatest secrecy, right under the nose of their German guards.
This historical saga, immortalized in 1963 by John Sturges in his movie "The Great Escape" with Steve McQueen, went around the world. But the real story of these men overtakes by far the fiction imagined by Hollywood.
Among the witnesses in this film is Jack Lyon, one of the last survivors of this incredible adventure.
UNEARTHED: ANCIENT MURDER MYSTERIES [6x52’]
History's cold cases
This series brings together the world of forensic anthropology, true crime, and history, enabling us to travel back in time to iconic epochs and re-tell infamous stories through a fresh lens.
Revisiting murder cases from ancient times through to the early 20th century allows us to take a deep dive into history through some of its best-known unsolved crimes.
WARRIOR'S WAY [6x52’]
From birth to the last battle
The warriors are the darkest and most heroic part of many ancient civilizations.
Each episode reveals their ethos, beliefs, values, and religion.
Their training and obedience to their masters are what define these warriors from birth till their last battle.
XDDL, THE FATHER IS THE KILLER 84’
A family murdered
In April 2011, in France, the bodies of a woman, her four children, and two dogs were found buried under the terrace of their house. Only the body of the father, Xavier Dupont de Ligonnès, a.k.a. XDDL, is missing.
Everything points to him being the executioner of the carefully planned and executed murder of his whole family. But how did this apparently harmless conservative catholic come up with this devil enterprise?
Mixing re-enactments and testimonies, this riveting docudrama revives a criminal affair from the standpoint of the presumed murderer. To this day, XDDL’s whereabouts remain unknown, making this case a real mystery.