SLICE History

As China’s economy surged in the early 21st century, its growing power began reshaping relationships across Asia. From divided Korea and rivalry with Japan to Chinese investment in Pakistan and Afghanistan, the film examines how trade, infrastructure and political influence were extending Beijing’s reach. Travelling through Xinjiang, India, Nepal, Hong Kong and Taiwan, the documentary also explores nationalism, Tibet, democratic freedoms and the tensions surrounding China’s emergence as a regional hegemon. Could economic power restore China’s historic position at the centre of Asia — and would that eventually produce a new empire? Documentary: China: The Rebirth Of An Empire Directed by: Jesse & Jeremy Veverka Production: Veverka Bros Productions (2010)

This Battlezone series looks at the Korean War from start to finish including the lead up and aftermath of the war from the US perspective. Documentary: Battlezone: The Korean War - The Big Picture Directed by: Douglas MacArthur Production: Total Content Digital

The Maya built one of history's most advanced civilizations, mastering astronomy, mathematics and monumental architecture, then vanished, taking most of their secrets with them. In the Yucatan Peninsula, three cities, Coba, Mayapan and Tulum, witnessed the final chapter of this fallen empire. Using cutting-edge 3D reconstructions and the latest archaeological research, this film uncovers what these ruins can finally tell us about how, and why, the Mayan world came to an end. Documentary: MAYAS: the secrets of the last cities Directed by: Benoît et Lucas Poisson Production: AH! production

In 1905, a young French sailor named Victor Bermon set off for the Yangtze River with a camera, and no idea he was witnessing the final years of an empire. Between his official duties and the quiet moments of daily life around him, he captured hundreds of images that no history book would ever record. Through his eyes, and his photographs, we relive imperial China not as a distant historical event, but as one man actually saw it, day by day. Documentary: Snapshot of History : Victor Bermon - An officer on the Yangtze Directed by: Jérôme Lambert & Philippe Picard Production: Bonne Compagnie, ARTE France, ECPAD

Nearly 2,000 years ago, Teotihuacan became the largest city in pre-Columbian America. Built around the Pyramids of the Sun and Moon, it attracted around 120,000 inhabitants from across Mesoamerica, including Maya and Zapotec communities. Archaeologists reveal how religion, immigration, trade and planned housing transformed Teotihuacan into the continent’s first cosmopolitan metropolis. Its foreign neighbourhoods, vast apartment compounds and thriving obsidian industry created an urban model far ahead of its time. Yet one mystery remains unresolved: who founded this immense city, and who ruled it?

In November 1945, a French officer entered the ruins of Hitler’s Chancellery and recovered documents scattered inside the underground bunker. Kept private for decades, these political and personal archives shed new light on the final days of the Third Reich. Through letters, telegrams and eyewitness accounts, the film reconstructs life inside the Führerbunker as Soviet forces closed in on Berlin. The documents reveal Eva Braun’s decision to remain with Hitler, the moment the couple resolved to die, Hermann Göring’s attempt to assume power and Hitler’s final orders before his suicide on April 30, 1945. They also expose how Stalin’s silence over the discovery of Hitler’s body helped fuel decades of escape theories. Documentary: Hitler'S Last Secrets Directed by: Emmanuel Amara Production: Adamis Production, France 5

In May 1940, Germany’s invasion of the Netherlands and Belgium drew the strongest British and French forces north. The real blow then came through the Ardennes, where German armored divisions broke through, reached the Channel coast, and trapped the Allied armies against the sea. This documentary retraces the road to Dunkirk, from the collapse of Allied strategy and the battles for Boulogne, Calais and Lille to Operation Dynamo and the arrival of the Little Ships. Under constant air attack, nearly 338,000 British, French and Belgian troops escaped, while thousands of others fought, died or were captured buying them time. Documentary: Dunkirk Directed by: Bruce Vigar Production: Leading Edge TV Production, Demand Digital Limited (2017)

In 1968, young French officer François Dullin was sent to French Polynesia to take part in one of the most secret military operations of the Cold War: France's nuclear testing campaign at Mururoa Atoll. Through his personal photographs and memories, this documentary offers a rare first-hand account of life inside the Pacific nuclear program under General de Gaulle. Between military pride, isolation, and growing questions about radiation, it reveals a complex chapter of French history that remained hidden for decades. Documentary: A Moment in History Episode 10: François Dullin, A Military Man in Mururoa Directed by: par Jean-Thomas Ceccaldi Production: Bonne Compagnie (2018)

In 1979, religion returned to the center of global politics. From the Islamic Revolution in Iran and the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan to the rise of Ronald Reagan, the election of Pope John Paul II, and the growing symbolic weight of Jerusalem, a new era began to take shape. Across East and West alike, political leaders, militants, and regimes started using faith not as private belief, but as a force of history. This documentary traces the moment when religion reentered the geopolitical battlefield and began to reshape alliances, revolutions, and wars. As old Cold War ideologies lost their monopoly, a new political language emerged, one that would transform the Middle East, unsettle the global balance of power, and leave a lasting mark on the decades that followed. Documentary: 30 Years of War in the Name of God EP:1 Directed by: Thomas Johnson Production: Bellota Films

In August 1945, Sumiteru Taniguchi was just a teenage postman in Nagasaki when the atomic bomb changed his life forever. Horribly burned and left to endure years of pain, he survived to become one of the most powerful witnesses to the human cost of nuclear war. This documentary follows his story through the work of Peter Townsend, who wrote The Postman of Nagasaki, and through Townsend’s daughter Isabelle, who returns to the city decades later to understand why her father was so deeply marked by this encounter. A moving journey through memory, testimony and the long shadow of Nagasaki. Documentary : The Postman from Nagasaki Direction : Mika Kawase, Isabelle Townsend Production : Art True Film (2025)