Aftermath of a Crisis

Shortly after the start of the financial crisis of 2008, sociologist Manuel Castells surrounded himself with a small group of top international intellectuals to discuss the crisis in depth. Castells christened his group "The Aftermath Network". From the start the members of the Aftermath network agreed that this crisis was not purely financial and economic in nature, but was also a social and cultural crisis that would fundamentally change the European and US societies.

For three summers in a row the Aftermath thinkers gathered to analyse the crisis in all its manifestations, offering new and surprising perspectives.Under the venue and patronage of Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, Lisbon-Portugal, Castell's multidisciplinary research group meet every year with the aim of discussing in real time and from different angles the societal and cultural consequences of the worldwide economic collapse. Now, thanks to the Dutch VPRO Backlight, a new documentary has been produced. 'Aftermath of a Crisis' is a 48 minute documentary reporting the world incertitude, facing a global fallacy, as well as the emergence of new social movements and protests in Spain, Greece, Portugal and London.

China Rises: Getting Rich

It is one of the most extraordinary transformations of our time - China. A country long in the grip of communism is now devoted to private enterprise. That is what they had to do for the ordinary people of China to become richer. This new economic superpower is taking on the West. But China's surging economy has a dark side. Can China keep moving forward or will the forces of change tear it apart?

The city of Chongqing is a sprawling metropolis of seven million people. It's the scene of one of the latest chapters in China's remarkable economic rise. Back in the 1980's China's communist party decided to permit the return of private enterprise. In cities along the coast thousands of new factories sprung up fueling an economic boom. Now, China's trying to extent that boom to the interior of the country to places like Chongqing. The government is pouring in money to improve and modernize the city.

Money and Life

This cinematic odyssey connects the dots on our current economic pains and offers a new story of money based on an emerging paradigm of planetary well-being that understands all of life as profoundly interconnected.

This cinematic odyssey takes us on a journey, from the origins of money to connecting the systemic dots on the current global financial crisis and how we got here.

Apologies of an Economic Hitman

John Perkins was a prominent member of the top-secret team of “economic hit men”, who used fraudulent financial reports, rigged elections, payoffs, extortion, sex, military coups and murder to create the global American empire after World War II. After a long internal struggle between his guilt and the fear of telling the truth, Perkins meets the daughter of an assassinated president and speaks out in front of an angry Latin-American audience.

Dispatches: How the Banks Never Lose

As the credit crunch continues to leave Britain cash-strapped and high street banks report huge losses, Dispatches investigates who is responsible for the current crisis.

Reckless lending and risky investments have been blamed for directly driving up mortgage rates and increasing the numbers of people losing their homes. Dispatches investigates how the bank chiefs allowed this to happen and if lessons have been learn from the Northern Rock crisis.

97% Owned

97% owned is documentary film that present serious research and verifiable evidence on our economic and financial system. This is the first documentary to tackle this issue from a UK-perspective and explains the inner workings of Central Banks and the Money creation process.

When money drives almost all activity on the planet, it's essential that we understand it. Yet simple questions often get overlooked, questions like; where does money come from? Who creates it? Who decides how it gets used? And what does this mean for the millions of ordinary people who suffer when the monetary, and financial system, breaks down?

The Taxing Question of Land

It's really important we take notice of the fact that land is the most important resource in our economy? Clearly our stewardship of land takes us right to the heart of what it means to be human. Things that belong to everybody, things that are given and provided by nature, if we can privatize those then really freedom is not free.

Historic laws favor those who own the land, but today everyone believes in economic justice... so the problem is how do we achieve that? We have to make good use of our land and it has to not just respond to the economy but it has to drive the economy. So the challenge then is how do you make the value of land equally available to all.

Monopoly Men

The Federal Reserve, or the Fed as it is lovingly called, may be one of the most mysterious entities in modern American government.

Created during Wilson’s presidency to protect the economy in times of financial turmoil, its real business remains to be discovered. During the Wilson presidency, the U.S. government sanctions the creation of the Federal Reserve. Thought by many to be a government organization maintained to provide financial accountability in the event of a domestic depression, the actual business of the Fed is shrouded in secrecy.

Europe on the Brink: The Debt Crisis

In this documentary, Wall Street Journal editors and reporters examine the origins of Europe's debt crisis and why it spread with such ferocity to engulf much of the continent and threaten the entire world.

Had Europe faced up to the Greek problem earlier, the crisis would likely be more contained and manageable today. It should have reached a broad pact with Athens by trading growth-promoting reforms for long-term financial guarantees and relief.