The BEST episodes of Storyville season 2008

#1 - 1968

Season 2008 - Episode 33 - Aired 9/22/2008

Documentary exploring what really happened throughout the world in the seminal year of 1968, a time of music and of revolution, asking why so many hopes were disappointed and what is the period's true legacy. Drawing on archive footage from the US, Vietnam, Britain, France, Germany, Czechoslovakia, Italy and Mexico, the film dynamically reconstructs the hopes, the fears and the ultimate sense of despair that pervaded the events of 1968.

#2 - Respect Yourself: The Stax Records Story

Season 2008 - Episode 27 - Aired 7/25/2008

Documentary telling the story of Stax, one of the most influential soul record labels ever. Founded in a black neighbourhood of Memphis by a white brother and sister in the 1960s as a studio with an open-door policy, the label went on to sign such iconic acts as Otis Redding, Isaac Hayes and their house band, Booker T and the MGs. Featuring interviews with Jesse Jackson, Elvis Costello, Chuck D, Justin Timberlake, Bono and Pete Townshend.

#3 - The Father, the Son and the Housekeeper

Season 2008 - Episode 23 - Aired 6/16/2008

Documentary about Father Michael Cleary, an unlikely superstar of the Irish Catholic Church who had his own TV chatshow and two hit albums to his credit. He was the man who could seemingly do no wrong, but a year after his death a shocking truth emerged about his private life that would rock the Church to its foundations and leave his family's life in tatters. Alison Millar, who met with Cleary as a young film student, revisits her archive to discover the truth about the 'real Father Ted'.

#4 - Operation Filmmaker

Season 2008 - Episode 38 - Aired 11/3/2008

Documentary following American actor Liev Schreiber's idealistic notion of rescuing an Iraqi film student from the rubble of his country and bringing him to work in Hollywood.

#5 - The Polish Ambulance Murders

Season 2008 - Episode 4 - Aired 2/5/2008

Documentary which tells the story of how a cabal of undertakers in the sleepy Polish city of Lodz conspired to bribe paramedics and doctors into murdering their patients, just to provide them with extra business. However, when bitter infighting and an assassination attempt divided the gang, prosecutors began to get suspicious. Featuring access to the key players and bizarre courtroom footage.

#6 - Tito's Ghosts

Season 2008 - Episode 9 - Aired 2/26/2008

Documentary revealing how the cult of Marshall Tito remains alive and well in the former Yugoslavia over 25 years after the Communist dictator's death. Every year Tito devotees celebrate his birthday as if they hadn't noticed that the country he helped found had long since vanished in bloody civil wars. The protective fog of nostalgia surrounding his legacy has started to clear, and the hidden story of his long reign is now finally being told.

#7 - Prodigal Sons

Season 2008 - Episode 39 - Aired 11/10/2008

Storyville documentary featuring film-maker Kimberly Reed , who is reunited with her brother Marc for the first time since she was transformed from a male sports jock into a woman.

#8 - I'm Not Dead Yet

Season 2008 - Episode 40 - Aired 11/17/2008

Documentary about the inheritance of a Gothic home and a family's unspoken past. 78-year-old Ruth has promised her beloved estate to one of her twin daughters, with whom she has lived for the past 35 years. As tensions mount, Ruth flees to France into the arms of her other, estranged daughter. Ruth's granddaughter Elizabeth documents the struggle, unaware of the dark secrets that lie within the house's walls, as Ruth's turbulent journey sees the unravelling of a family consumed by the legacy of silence and denial.

#9 - Blue Blood

Season 2008 - Episode 6 - Aired 2/17/2008

A disparate bunch of Oxford students learn about themselves while training for the varsity boxing bout against Cambridge

#10 - The Devil Came on Horseback

Season 2008 - Episode 3 - Aired 1/29/2008

Documentary which uses the testimony of an American military observer to examine how the Arab government in Sudan seems to be systematically trying to destroy its black African citizens. US Marine Brian Steidle had access to parts of the country which journalists did not, including Darfur, and returned with over 1,000 uncompromising photographs. Frustrated by the inaction of the international community, Steidle resigned and returned to the US to expose the images and stories of the horrors he saw.

#11 - Orthodox Stance

Season 2008 - Episode 5 - Aired 2/12/2008

Documentary about Dmitriy Salita, a Russian immigrant, a professional boxer and a religious Jew. To overcome the loss of his mother, Dmitriy dedicated himself to boxing and to battle his fear of the ring, Dmitriy turned to God. The film shows Dmitriy growing up among the seemingly incompatible communities of boxing and Orthodox Judaism, and the cultures and characters working together to support his rare and remarkable devotion to both religion and the pursuit of a professional boxing title.

#12 - Dolce Vita Africana

Season 2008 - Episode 10 - Aired 3/4/2008

Documentary about Malian photographer Malick Sidibe, whose images captured the spirit of his generation asserting their freedom after independence.

#13 - Very Russian Geniuses: My Class

Season 2008 - Episode 7 - Aired 2/19/2008

In 1982, filmmaker Ekaterina Eremenko was among 26 students accepted into Russia’s elite natural science school. A golden future lay ahead of them, but the birth of perestroika and the collapse of the old order meant that that future was no longer certain. Eremenko sets out to discover what happened to her classmates and how the seismic political changes of the 1980s affected her generation.

#14 - The Biggest Chinese Restaurant in the World: Compilation

Season 2008 - Episode 25 - Aired 7/7/2008

Documentary which looks at what it takes to run a successful restaurant business in China. Owner Qin Linzi and her staff keep everything running smoothly, while the chefs' skills are put to the test in a competition. The restaurant prepares for a 70th birthday banquet. Qin Linzi discusses her difficult childhood and introduces her daughter, who has led a more privileged life. There's a banquet for a newborn baby and an anniversary show organised by the restaurant to celebrate its third year.

#15 - The Chuck Show

Season 2008 - Episode 26 - Aired 7/23/2008

Documentary exploring the contradictions and passions of painter Chuck Connelly. Riding the same 1980s wave as Julian Schnabel and Jean-Michel Basquiat, Connelly seemed destined for art-world stardom. But unable to straightjacket his strong opinions and unorthodox behaviour, Connelly sabotaged his career and squandered his talent. Through interviews, intimate family videos and lively representations of Connelly's work, director Jeff Stimmel vividly captures the paradox of Connelly's repellent yet compelling personality.

#16 - The Burning Season

Season 2008 - Episode 29 - Aired 8/6/2008

#17 - Flying: Confessions of a Free Woman, Part 1

Season 2008 - Episode 30 - Aired 8/13/2008

In 2002, Jennifer was 42-years-old, living the life she thought she had always wanted: based in New York, working as a filmmaker, surrounded by friends, with a married South African lover and a Swiss cinematographer boyfriend. But when her best friend was diagnosed with a brain tumour, she was forced to reassess her decision to stay single, shunning marriage, commitment and children. She decides to take her confusion and her camera out on the road to talk to women about their lives.

#18 - Flying: Confessions of a Free Woman, Part 2

Season 2008 - Episode 31 - Aired 8/20/2008

In 2002, Jennifer was 42, living the life she thought she had always wanted: based in New York, working as a filmmaker, surrounded by friends, with a married South African lover and a Swiss cinematographer boyfriend. But when her best friend was diagnosed with a brain tumour, she was forced to reassess her decision to stay single, shunning marriage, commitment and children. She decides to take her confusion and her camera out on the road to talk to women about their lives.

#19 - The Day after Peace

Season 2008 - Episode 32 - Aired 9/20/2008

Documentary which charts the remarkable 10-year worldwide journey taken by filmmaker Jeremy Gilley to establish a Day of Peace on September 21st. During the course of his mission the camera follows Gilley as he galvanizes the countries of the world to recognise this as an official day of ceasefire and non-violence.

#20 - Dirty Tricks: The Man Who Got the Bushes Elected

Season 2008 - Episode 34 - Aired 10/6/2008

Documentary telling the story of Lee Atwater, the blues-playing rogue whose rambunctious rise to become chairman of the GOP positioned him as kingmaker and political rock star.

#21 - Shot in Bombay

Season 2008 - Episode 36 - Aired 10/20/2008

Documentary exposing the dark underbelly of Bollywood. It follows superstar Sanjay Dutt as he completes his final film before being sentenced for firearms offences.

#22 - The Battle for Jerusalem

Season 2008 - Episode 15 - Aired 5/14/2008

As part of a season marking the 60th anniversary of the founding of Israel, Liran Atzmor's film documents a battle that took place in the Old City of Jerusalem in 1948 from three points of view - photojournalist John Philips, whose pictures for Life magazine depicted the Jews being evacuated from the Old City; Jack Padwa, the producer of a feature film which tells the story from a Jewish British perspective; and photographer Ali Zaarour, who tells the story from the Palestinian viewpoint.

#23 - Bob Dylan's Indian Birthday

Season 2008 - Episode 18 - Aired 5/21/2008

Documentary focusing on Shillong, North India, where each year the village comes together to celebrate the birthday of their musical hero - Bob Dylan. At the heart of the celebrations is Lou Majaw, a local celebrity who tours India performing Dylan's songs to rapturous crowds. This film takes a behind-the-scenes look at Majaw's life, seeing how the rock and roll lifestyle seems to be tearing him apart.

#24 - Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired

Season 2008 - Episode 35 - Aired 10/13/2008

In September 2009, Roman Polanski was arrested in Switzerland on a 30-year-old warrant. In 1978, the filmmaker skipped bail and escaped to France. For decades, no-one truly understood why. This documentary that reveals the truth about the bungled legal proceedings which brought about his escape. In her riveting reopening of this controversial and, as it turns out, very complex case, filmmaker Marina Zenovich fashions a perceptive and intelligent exploration of what really happened and casts a very different light on Polanski's decision, as well as the workings of the American legal system. Revisiting all of the key players, including the lawyers, the victim and the media, the film looks at the conduct of the judge whose handling of the case was unusual. In addition, it incorporates insightful interviews from the present, bringing new comprehension and clarity to events long clouded by myths and presumptions.

#25 - When Borat Came to Town

Season 2008 - Episode 37 - Aired 10/27/2008

When the villagers of a small Gypsy town welcomed the cast and crew of the film Borat, they thought only good things would come of their exposure to the glitz and glamour of the movie world. Little did they know they would become laughing stocks. To deal with their sense of having been exploited, the villagers are encouraged by lawyers to launch a lawsuit against the makers of Borat only to find theyve been had once again. Running parallel to this story are the dreams and aspirations of 17-year-old Carmen, who grapples with allegiance to family and tradition versus her own dreams and aspirations.