Following a two-year break, Munich’s Oktoberfest is back! Dhruv Rathee and partner Juli visit the world’s largest Volksfest. The 17-day event kicks off with the traditional ‘parade of Wiesn landlords and breweries”.
Video timeline: 0:00 Intro 0:47 What is the Oktoberfest? 1:48 Parade of Wiesn landlords and breweries 2:58 A brief history of the Oktoberfest 3:39 Getting there 4:50 Dirndl and lederhosen 5:52 O’zaft is! – the opening tradition 7:10 Beer tents 8:28 Food 10:17 Rides and attractions 11:29 Tips for families
Dressed in their dirndls and lederhosen, they explore the many rides and attractions on the Wiesn – the field where it all takes place. Along with sampling some culinary delights, they of course have to drop in to one of the famous beer tents.
In the southern French city of #Nîmes, the passion for #AncientRome is more alive than ever. For the past decade, the city has been holding the Great Roman Games show every spring. Legionaries, centurions and gladiators invade the city and bring its incredible Roman monuments back to life: in particular the arena, where the Great Games are organised. Thousands of people, young and old alike, turn out to be transported back to the Rome of #JuliusCaesar.
Nîmes, a city in the Occitanie region of southern France, was an important outpost of the Roman Empire. It’s known for well-preserved Roman monuments such as the Arena of Nîmes, a double-tiered circa-70 A.D. amphitheater still in use for concerts and bullfights. Both the Pont du Gard tri-level aqueduct and the Maison Carrée white limestone Roman temple are around 2,000 years old.
Jaafar Abdul Karim travels through one of the smallest countries in Europe: Malta. The Romans, the Arabs, the British and the French have all left their mark here. A sunny country with a multicultural heritage. Jaafar Abdul Karim starts his journey in the capital, Valetta.
A UNESCO World Heritage Site, the city has been extensively restored and renovated. Architect Konrad Buhagiar played a major role in this. He shows Jaafar Valetta’s most beautiful places, where old and new architecture come together. In Siggiewi, the presenter meets Marilu Vella and the two cook a very special local dish: pastizzi. The dumplings are a favorite snack of the Maltese.
The island nation has been a member of the EU since 2008. And here – in a tax haven – people like to show off what they’ve got. But Malta also has its dark sides: At the end of 2017, a murder shook Maltese politics and plunged the country into a crisis. Journalist Daphne Galizia uncovered one of Malta’s biggest corruption scandals. Shortly after, she was the victim of a car bomb.
Deeply shaken by this story, Jaafar takes the ferry to Gozo. The second largest island in the Maltese archipelago is only 14 kilometers long, but it has two large opera houses. Jaafar Abdul Karim finds out why from the artistic director John Galea. This Mediterranean island is one of the sad hotspots in the refugee crisis.
Tens of thousands of people have drowned in recent years trying to reach Europe. Time and again, ships that have rescued survivors from the Mediterranean dock there. Jaafar Abdul Karim talks to survivors and Maltese photographer Darrin Zammit Lupi, who has captured moments of the refugee drama in pictures.
Iran’s mountainous terrain has always been an important part of people’s lives. Years ago, these mountains were populated by legendary horsemen. Today, they are the subject of scientific investigation. This film provides the viewer with stunning arial views of these mountains. It unfurls the rich tapestry of Iran’s history, from the legendary Order of the Assassins to the Mongol invasions. We also get to know Iran by meeting some of the fascinating people who live there. Take Ali, a world champion of mounted archery. Despite its waning popularity, the sport has endured in Iran due the importance of horses throughout Iranian history. We get to explore the historic Tabiz bazaar, which is still a bustling market and kaleidoscope of cultures today. There, we meet Dschebrael, a stall owner who speaks Azeri, the official language of Azerbaijan. In fact, Azeri can be heard throughout the market, which serves as a meeting place for Iran’s many ethnic groups, and thus as a microcosm of the country’s cultural diversity. The film introduces us to beekeepers and violinmakers, as well as young people living in Iran who want to travel and express themselves freely on social media — even though it is forbidden.
Reflections on the end of a royal era, and the ascent of King Charles III Regardless of whether one identifies as royalist or republican, it’s virtually impossible to dispute the global significance of Queen Elizabeth II, who died last week aged 96
For years, Democrats have worried about the prospect of a more disciplined heir to Trump. In Florida’s pugilistic governor, that candidate may have arrived.
Nathaniel Rackowe’s large-scale, futuristic works are fundamentally influenced by modern urban architecture. Spanning sculpture, installation, and public art, his practice is concerned with abstracting the metropolis into units of form. Scaffolding poles, cement blocks, corrugated sheets, Perspex, glass, and fluorescent tubing are the building blocks of his sculptural vocabulary. The British artist has created cuboids of light that seem to hover eerily in the air (“Spin” series, 2006–ongoing), upturned sheds that appear frozen in mid-explosion (“Black Shed Expanded” series, 2008–ongoing), and flanks of moving mechanical doors edged with fluorescent lights that close in claustrophobically on visitors (Sixty Eight Doors, 2005). It’s no surprise that he is an admirer of science fiction writers such as Philip K. Dick and Iain M. Banks and films like Brazil (1985) and Blade Runner (1982).
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