History's Mysteries (10 x 50 min)
From the maker of "Many Voices, One World": In coproduction with TLC/Discovery Channel, WDR/ARD (Germany), Dutch and Belgian TV: An exciting new series of documentaries featuring history's great mysteries..
Strange sects, astronomical precision beyond present-day comprehension. What really happened to the Holy Grail? Noah's Ark? What are the latest findings concerning Pyramids and Sphinx or the Nazca lines of Peru? Best-selling authors and investigators of world renown unravel the realities which lie behind the legends. The mystery is the core, their obsession is the story.. "History's Mysteries" is an exciting new journalistic look at age-old myths and mysteries which spark the imagination today as never before.
Producer/Director Roel Oostra
»The Mystery of the Lamb of God
CRIME on the high SEAS (2 x 52 min)
Eighty percent of the world’s surface is covered by oceans. Eighty percent of the world is virtually out of bounds of law.. Where a plane hijack triggers swift international action, the disappearance of a ship goes virtually unnoticed..
At the beginning of the new millennium, pirates cast a shadow of fear and misery over today’s seafarers.. With a staggering increase of 30% over the previous year, piracy is now worse than ever before.. Every year 30 billion dollars and numerous lives are lost in maritime fraud and crimes on the high seas.. But hardly anyone notices. And no one is doing anything about it.
On eighty percent of the world’s surface there is no law enforcement. Anyone who sails the high seas is unprotected.. This series presents the dark side of the seas..
Eric Ellen - once chief constable of the Port of London, then “super sleuth” for the International Chamber of Commerce and Lloyds insurers - has dedicated his life to the protection of the unprotectable. From their London office, Ellen and his successors, led by Indian captain Mukundan now operate the International Maritime Bureau, the only organisation in the world to systematically fight crime on the high seas.
Virtually unknown to the public at large, crime rages in the lawless expanse of the world’s oceans: Pirates steal and kill, “respectable citizens” play fraudulent games with ship’s papers. Freighters become phantom ships, changing identity and stealing cargoes, or are scuttled to claim massive insurance sums. National and international authorities are unable, or - all too often - unwilling to take action..
“Crime on the High Seas” is two fast paced, exiting hours of television, featuring the work of Eric Ellen and the International Maritime Bureau. In every episode different aspects of maritime crime are analysed in spectacular case studies that are logically interwoven. By following the actions of the IMB and recreating some of the most prolific cases in the history of modern maritime crime, the fascinating story will be told of Crime on the High Seas, and the sinister side of life at sea...
Producer/Director Roel Oostra
Many Voices, One World (200 x 5/7 min)
200 short stories (5 – 7 min.) by master storytellers from around the world with an introduction program (27 min.) hosted by Peter Ustinov.
Though nearly extinct in many cultures, storytelling is the oldest art of mankind.. Nothing is comparable to the spellbinding contact which the masters of this ancient oral tradition could make with their audience.
Many Voices, One World is a wonderful panoramic journey through the world of storytelling. In each of the short programs, a story is told to a small group of people. The settings – a living room, a market square or pub – lend an everyday intimacy to the proceedings. Consequently, the viewer inevitably falls under the spell of the storyteller.
Storytelling knows no boundaries and Many Voices, One World features stories from around the world. We’re treated to the legends, parables, epics, and burlesques of master storytellers from across the five continents. Peter Ustinov welcomes us to the world of storytelling in a 30’ introductory program.
Producer/Director Roel Oostra
