On the 19th of August 1573 Francesco de Marchi, with a small expedition, climbed the impervious and rocky peak of the Corno Grande, the highest mountain of the italian Appennin range, accomplishing an epic feat for his time: reaching a peak out of curiosity, climbing what he considered the highest mountain in Italy. He wrote his Chronicle anticipating by 213 years the ascent of Mont Blanc accomplished by Balmat and Paccard on 8 August 1786, considered the first ascent in the history of mountaineering.

450 years after the feat, the film recounts the climb, narrated by Francesco De Marchi's own words, by means of a detailed fiction, with spectacular images of the climb among the calcareous rocks of the Corno Grande. Beside the fiction there is a documentary part in which experts of the enterprise, such as the historians Stefano Ardito and Roberto Mantovani, the mountaineer Hervè Barmasse, the geologist Mario Tozzi, will talk to us , in the very places of the ascent to the summit of the Gran Sasso , about the historical figure of De Marchi and about the themes of the Chronicle: the ascent and its difficulties, the measurement of the peak and the geography of the place, the state of the Calderone Glacier (the southeast one in Europe), the trade of wool and hides between L’Aquila and Teramo, passing through Campo Imperatore. The true protagonist is the Gran Sasso d'Italia, the highest mountain massif in the Apennines.

Hélène Boucher, known as Léno, was one of the first women aviators. She made history for her speed records.  Born in Paris on May 23, 1908, she died in Guyancourt on November 30, 1934 during a training flight. What drove her to want to fly, ever further and faster?

WWII uprising in the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp, whose main protagonists were women. Through the inquisitive eyes of Anna Wajcblum (16), imprisoned Jewish girl, SABOTAGE tells the breathtaking story of the women’s underground operation, which ended tragically in the public hanging of four young women, including Anna's sister, thanks to the use of unpublished archives, interviews and animation reenactment images. A masterpiece !

At 8:15am on August 6, 1945 in Hiroshima, the first atomic bombing instantly killed 70,000+ Japanese civilians, while the rest scrambled for their lives. At 1200m Shinji and his father Fukuichi miraculously survived the initial blast, but a devastating long journey awaited. When their paths diverged, Shinji had to survive on his own as a teen. This documentary unveils the inspirational true story of Shinji’s journey of survival and forgiveness. His daughter Akiko sends his peace message to the world, so “Nobody else would suffer from nuclear wars.”

Most significant developments in art history often result from the fierce competition between genius masters. In this series, we discover the fruitful rivalries between renowned artists such as Leonardo Da Vinci versus Michelangelo, Vincent Van Gogh versus Paul Gauguin and Emil Nolde versus Max Liebermann, Caravaggio versus Giovanni Baglione and Joseph Turner versus John Constable.

Da Vinci VS Michelangelo

A whole section of the Florentine Renaissance revisited by the prism of the artistic rivalry that opposed Leonardo da Vinci to Michelangelo in the sixteenth century.

Van Gogh VS Gauguin

In 1888, Van Gogh and Gauguin are ready to create a group of artists that will form a new arts school, but the two men keep arguing and then separate.

Liebermann vs Nolde
In Berlin in 1911, Max Liebermann (1847-1935), naturalist converted to impressionism, opposes Emil Nolde, who wants to free colors and brushes.

Caravaggio vs Baglione
In Rome, in 1603, Caravaggio and Giovanni Baglione clashed in court, after having challenged themselves artistically: an episode that illustrates the quarrelsome atmosphere of the time.

Turner vs Constable
Contemporary painters William Turner and John Constable, the two greatest English landscape designers of the Romantic period, have revolutionized the look on nature.

This blue-chip documentary narrates Napoleon's 300 days of exile, on the Elba Island, after his defeat on the battle field. This chapter of his life, destined to be the last one, will turn out to be a stepping stone to the re-conquest of power, a key moment in the History of Europe, in the XIXth century. Through expert interviews, re-enactments and 3D CGI's, this film sheds a new light on one of History’s greatest figures.

After Waterloo defeat on 18 June 1815, Napoleon comes back to Paris. There are only a few days left before enemy troups arrive and incarcerate him. Adviced by his brothers, he decides to live his own American dream. This film unveils for the first time the organization of his travel. Thanks to the exceptional access to Napoleon's Malmaison, Ajaccio and Aix Island's Museums (due to the bicentenary) we follow those day by day events prior Saint Helene's exile.

This blue chip docu-drama tells the story of the battle of Waterloo. Hour by hour, even minutes by minutes, each decisive event of one of the most famous campaign in history is depicted. Historians sort out the myth from the truth, based on the most recent research findings. Beyond the historical facts, we discover how 'Waterloo' was lived by its key figures & soldiers in both camps.

Aristotle Onassis is renowned for being the richest man in the world, during the 2d half of the XXth century. Greek shipping magnate, he built an empire and became the most famous womanizer and jet-set man. This blue-chip documentary reveals new insights on this -for the FBI- “too influential” man, on his love affair with Maria Callas and his marriage with Jackie Kennedy. Its suspense is superbly sustained by interviews with celebrities, re-enactments and exclusive archives.

The relationship of contemporary artists with the arts of the communist era in Germany, Russia, Lithuania and Bulgaria (one episode per country) highlights an ambivalence towards a past which is still omnipresent but often taboo. 

Mario, Heidi, Franck, Hans and Martina have different ages and backgrounds but they share the nostalgia they feel for the GDR. 30 years after the fall of the Berlin's Wall, this feeling still affects their daily lives. How can we explain the regret of a totalitarian regime?

Two French cartoonists pay a tribute to iconic blues musician Robert Johnson (1911-1938) who inspired legendary musicians such as Bob Dylan, Jimmy Hendricks, the Rolling Stones, and others traveling to Mississippi (USA). They tell us their graphic novel, "Love in vain", a bestseller translated in ten languages (Danish, Dutch, English, Finnish, German, Japanese, Polish, Spanish, Swedish and Turkish), about the life of the artist, walking in his footsteps in the cradle of the blues, meeting real blues men.

In 1975, a French wreck-lover, Christian Duval discovered a nazi fortress in Mimoyecques, in North France. An illegal exploration was led by a group of friends to pierce its secrets. Duval's son unveils the aim of this mysterious military position namely to storage V-3 weapons to eliminate London to the picture. In 2014, this fortress was placed under the French National Conservatory's administration.

Who was the first female Minister in Europe, in which country and when? Federica Montseny was a charismatic political figure during the Second  Spanish Republic in 1936. Her relatives recall how she has risen to power, her political mandate & achievements and how she fought all her life long against conservatisms and oppressions, despite her exile.

The Third Reich produced 1,200 feature films. More than 40 remain forbidden. 70 years after the end of the Nazi regime, they are banned from public screening in Germany and in many other countries, because they are still considered as dangerous propaganda. This is their story.

While women reporting war may seem common place now, their arrival in the profession is the result of 150 years of struggle. Narrated by Emmy Award winner, Julianna Margulies (of CBS’ The Good Wife), this documentary combines rarely seen archival footages, stills & actresses reading the words of the main characters, to tell the story of how women became war reporters during WWII, such as Ruth Cowan, photographer, Dickey Chapelle & magazine writer Martha Gellhorn, Hemingway's wife.

From 1942 to 1944, 24,196 Jewish men, women and children, were deported from Belgium to Auschwitz. Only 1,206 of them returned. A handful of Nazis elaborated the persecution of Jews in Belgium with the support of Belgian authorities. How could this have happened?