Greeks Under Tension (Documentary of 2012 from the series "I Love Democracy")

Turkey is stating as a model to be followed by the new Arab regimes, a model of democracy and secularism in the Muslim world. It is this Turkey, Muslim and modern that we will discover and query in this roadmap. The road movie will take us from Gaziantep, on the Syrian border, which represents the new Turkey AKP, liberal and Muslim, shown as a democratic model for the Arab world, to Diyarbakir in the center of a forgotten Kurdish region, to Ankara the capital which embodies the secular and Republican legacy of Ataturk, and Istanbul the sublime, between the East and the West, between modernity and tradition. These steps and sequences (indicative) were selected to highlight the following issues: Did the AKP, Islamist and Liberal, invented a true Muslim and secular democracy? Is this a model applicable to the Arab countries? What about freedom of expression? What about democracy when 101 journalists are in jail and 2/3 are Kurdish? (China comes in second position with 35 journalists imprisoned) Is Turkey a bridge between Europe, the Caucasus and Asia, or a

When we think of Cuba, our minds land on Havana or the country's folklore. There is, however, a deeply controversial and complex political history behind Cuba's current situation today, especially since Fidel's brother Raul took the reigns. As the country’s general elections are heating up, this film, which takes the form of a road movie, allows us to travel across the island. A journey made at a key moment, as the debate surrounding post-Castro Cuba is more prevalent than ever before; Raul Castro himself has declared, “The country must change to avoid sinking.” It has indeed been a year since Cubans started being able to work for their own bread. Another proof of the “revolution” prompted by Raul Castro, Fidel’s brother and heir to his throne, is enabling his fellow citizens to legally acquire and sell their homes or even their vehicles. What impact does that hold upon the daily lives of Cubans? From Santiago de Cuba, the nation’s second most important city and starting point to its “revolutionary pathway”, we’ll be meeting a hairdresser who has just began working

What is happening inside Iran? What became of the green movement? While reformists seem removed from the political scene, what do the Iranians want for the future of their country? What have become of the aspirations of thousands of Iranian men and women who revolted against an oppressive regime, only to be bloodily suppressed? Without necessarily questioning the notion of an Islamic republic, they just want to make their country a little more democratic. Have their hopes fizzled out? On this particular journey we have special access to insiders, allowing us to measure how things are bubbling in a country where nearly 70% of the population is under 25, where the youth and their thirst for freedom threaten to boil over. Documentary from the series "I Love Democracy" Director: Barbara Necek Length: 48' Year: 2013 Producer: Daniel Leconte

"We thought we were going to attend a U.N. meeting and we witnessed a racist hate fest instead". Anti-Semitic slogans, flyers praising Hitler to come back from the dead, fundamentalist propaganda etc. These are images that have haunted many NGOs since the 2001 Durban Conference in South Africa. It all happened a week before 9/11. As the United States waged war against terrorism and deserted UN regulations, Asian and African states took hold of the majority in the new Human Rights Council created in 2006. For the first time, a documentary explains the inner workings of Geneva’s UN premises. The documentary seeks to get to the bottom of what became of the 1948 Universal Declaration on Human Rights. What we discover there seems very far from the miraculous consensus orchestrated by Eleanor Roosevelt 60 years ago. Nowadays, the Council hosts a direct confrontation between two visions of the world. Dictatorships and authoritarian states lecturing the few democracies present in the Assembly. As Robert Badinter - the father of death penalty’s abolition in France - puts it: "the question of human

This documentary is a log-book of our crossing of the United States of America, few months before the Midterm elections of Barack Obama’s presidency. Our trip took us from the Gulf of Mexico at the worst time of the BP’s oil spill to the city of Chicago, home of President Obama. We tried to see what was left of the hope, dreams and great enthusiasm raised by his historical election. During our journey to the heart of the United States, we met with the man of the street and local personalities: fishermen affected by the oil spill, opponents to Obama’s Health Reform, fans of the president, close collaborators, disappointed supporters… Their testimonies are raw and honest, touching and profound, sometimes violent. One thing is sure: if Obama is the coolest president abroad, he remains a controversial figure in his own country. Original title: United States of Obama Director: Franck Guerin & Emmanuel Leconte Duration: 53' Year: 2010 Producer: Daniel Leconte

The successor of Mao in 1975, Deng Xiaoping is the architect of China’s economic miracle. He pursued ruthless capitalism under communist rule. Today, Deng’s version of socialism has forced the rest of the world to sit up and take note of China as a major economic power. Who was this man who preferred pragmatism versus ideology? What forged his personality while growing up? Who gave him strength to accomplish his destiny? Director : Barbara Necek Length : 50 ' Year : 2007 Producer : Daniel Leconte