Keyword Activism

Twenty-year-old Elya is a student and a future ecologist. One day, Matvey, the head of a construction company, comes to her university to talk about a development plan on the site of an old forest park. Elya does not hesitate to smash his project to smithereens. Matvey is intrigued by the girl's self-confidence and uses his usual methods of influence - he simply tries to "buy" her. But Elya doesn't need a sponsor. Then Matvey, surprised by her impregnability, offers Elya a bet: seven romantic days according to his rules. If after that the girl still decides to leave, he will refuse to build a skyscraper in the forest park. She agrees when Matvey really suspends the design work. Elya sees herself as something like the heroine of the film Pretty Woman, but Matvey turns out to be not at all the person she imagined.

A woman married to a former politician during the 1971 military dictatorship in Brazil is forced to reinvent herself and chart a new course for her family after a violent and arbitrary act.

In 1984, a group of LGBT activists decide to raise money to support the National Union of Mineworkers during their lengthy strike. There is only one problem: the Union seems embarrassed to receive their support.

A chronicle of legendary Native American poet/activist John Trudell's travels, spoken word performances, and politics.

Living in an ancient redwood tree for more than two years to prevent the tree from being clear-cut, Julia Butterfly Hill captured our hearts and minds by showing us that one person can make a difference. Through interviews with Hill, filmmaker Doug Wolens paints a portrait of an intensely spiritual and articulate woman who encountered both beauty and horror (she was assaulted by lumber company helicopters at one point) during her time above ground.

A group of anarchists use their public-access TV show to satirize the government until a right-wing preacher attempts to shut them down.

Indigenous chief Juma Xipaia fights to protect tribal lands despite assassination attempts. Her struggle intensifies after learning she's pregnant, while her husband, Special Forces ranger Hugo Loss, stands by her side.

In the winter of 2011, after a controversial election, Vladimir Putin was reinstalled as president of Russia. In response, hundreds of thousands of citizens rose up all over the country to challenge the legitimacy of Putin’s rule. Among them were a group of young, radical-feminist punk rockers, better known as Pussy Riot. Wearing colored balaclavas, tights, and summer dresses, they entered Moscow’s most venerated cathedral and dared to sing “Mother Mary, Banish Putin!” Now they have become victims of a “show” trial.

In a near-future Japanese city bracing for a devastating earthquake, a group of teenage friends navigate personal struggles and fractured bonds amid rising tension.

Coming from a country like India that is still in denial, where being HIV+ is still a curse, '68 Pages' rips open the underbelly of its society to reveal how it stigmatizes and shuns those who are HIV+ or even those who just want to be what they are. Through 68 Pages of a counselors diary, we see the stories of Paayal, a sex worker; Nishit, an ID user; Kiran, a gay man and Umrao, a transsexual bar dancer - their stories of pain and fear, humiliation and rejection - not only by the society, but even by their loved ones.

Co-founder of Greenpeace and founder of Sea Shepherd, Captain Watson is part pirate, part philosopher in this provocative documentary about a man who will stop at nothing to protect what lies beneath.

A dinner party with a group of diverse childhood friends turns into a moment for all attendees to look at their own histories, and determine whether the friendship that binds them can withstand their differences.

Fashion revolutionary Bethann Hardison looks back on her journey as a pioneering Black model, modeling agent, and activist, shining a light on an untold chapter in the fight for racial diversity.

At 6am on May 21, 2008, armed police burst into the apartment of Austrian dog trainer and animal-rights activist Sabine Koch, arresting her. After three months in custody, Koch, together with 12 other animal-rights activists, went on trial. They were charged with being members of a criminal organisation and therefore breaching article 273a of the Austrian Penal Code, introduced in the wake of 9/11. The article’s intention is to allow the state to stifle terrorist activity. Years of observation, house searches, and undercover agents – the police left no stone unturned in its bid to prove the animal-rights activists’ guilt. The sobering result: five million Euros worth of investigation, no proof and a great deal of scepticism towards the Austrian justice system – and democracy itself.

Christopher Reeve portrayed the Man of Steel in four Superman films and played dozens of other roles that displayed his talent and range as an actor, before being injured in a near-fatal horse-riding accident in 1995 that left him paralyzed from the neck down. After becoming a quadriplegic, he became a charismatic leader and activist in the quest to find a cure for spinal cord injuries, as well as a passionate advocate for disability rights and care.

Two activists and lovers meet a thrillseeking anarchist who wants to help them in their missions to improve the world. Unsure about the what and how, they start to doubt whether they can even make a difference at all - until their new friend proposes a radical plan. A short film about climate change and our inability to do 'the right thing' for the world at all times.

The many lives of Henry Azadehdel, aka Armen Victorian, aka Henry X, as told by the peace activists, UFO researchers, botanists and everyday people who encountered him - whoever he was.

While caring for her brother along with her audacious mother, a teenager strikes up an unlikely friendship with an eccentric activist who is protesting one of the most landmark medical cases of all time.

An inspiring story of healing and transcendence through the power of music. When five female residents from the Topeka Correctional Facility, a women's prison in Kansas, write letters to Etheridge, she then uses as inspiration to create and perform an original song for them. Having recently lost her son to opioids, Etheridge works to understand and interrupt the cycle of addiction while connecting with these women who, so often, are forgotten by society.

An inside look at the changing role of athletes in our fraught cultural and political environment, through the lens of the NBA.

Winningest NBA champion and civil rights icon Bill Russell builds a larger-than-life legacy on and off the court in this biographical documentary.

Three friends leading a nonprofit organisation investigate environmental crimes in the Amazon involving a major mining company.

Rose McGowan, artist and activist, documents the work being done to spread her message of “bravery, art, joy and survival.”

Broken Bread showcases inspiring people who are making a difference in their communities through food. Restaurant entrepreneur, social activist and acclaimed chef Roy Choi takes viewers on a journey through his hometown, the city of Los Angeles, exploring complex social justice issues while meeting inspiring individuals and organizations who use food as a platform for activism as well as a catalyst for change.

Climate change is real. It’s happening now. Big policy, implemented properly and urgently, is needed to change our world … but some people are quietly doing amazing things to make our island a better place. Heated tells their stories. Heated is a new 6-part series on RTÉ One and RTÉ Player dealing with climate change.

We travel to Indigenous communities across the Americas to meet people protecting their homelands and rising up against colonization.

The 12-episode documentary follows the grassroots work of multicultural/intersectional organizations fighting the Los Angeles county's $3.5 billion jail expansion plan in 2018 and examines the issues of cash bail, unlawful arrest, over-policing of Black and brown neighborhoods, and mass incarceration.