Real Stories

Nobody would have guessed that Pierre- François Lacenaire would become a murderer; he was born into a well-to-do family and was a brilliant student. Early on he found he had a passion for letters and poetry. But he will end up on fringes of society. His violent crimes lead to his journey towards what he used to call his fiancee, "guillotine".On December the 14th 1834, Mrs Chardon and her son were found dead, victims of an extremely violent crime. Mrs Chardon is found in her bed whilst her son has been attacked with an axe. Their f...

What is the true cost of the death penalty? This documentary explores the complex moral landscape of capital punishment through the eyes of those who have lived it. From Jerry Givens, a former chief executioner who put 62 people to death before questioning the system, to families of murder victims who find themselves at odds over the meaning of "closure." We follow the harrowing story of Earl Washington Jr., a man with an IQ of 69 who came within days of execution for a crime he didn’t commit, and the survivors of the Boston Marathon bombing as they grapple with th...

Released in 2002, Girls On Tour enters the most exclusive girls club in the world, the Sanex WTA women's tennis tour, where women are treated like princesses and the top players are all millionaires. Anna Kournikova, Jennifer Capriarti, the Williams sisters and Martina Hingis have all achieved fame and fortune on the tennis courts, but at what price? Looking good for the sponsors, a ruthless ranking system and pushy parents. It's a relentless treadmill of tournaments, travel and tedium. with unique access to the WTA women's tennis tour, Girls On Tour takes a behind-the-scenes look at this travelling sorority, meeting...

'50 Litres Life' explores the devastating impact of the severe drought in Cape Town, South Africa, which pushed the city to the brink of "Day Zero"—the day taps would be shut off. For two years, citizens endured extreme restrictions, limited to just 50 liters per person per day (four times less than average). This documentary goes inside the crisis, exposing the logistical nightmare for the poor, the $5.9 billion losses in agriculture, and the global climate factors that caused the drought. Learn how a city on the brink averted catastrophe, and why this is a warning for the rest of th...

In 1997 Prime Minister Tony Blair promised the nation that there would be no forgotten people in the Britain he would build. Old is an investigative documentary from Kate Blewett and Brian Woods (Eyes of a Child, Slavery and The Dying Rooms) that shows that being old and forgotten are tragic, undeniable realities for many people in Blair's Britain. Through a handful of characters we are given an insight into a grim future that could await any one of us.Want to watch more full-length Documentaries? Click here: http://bit.ly/1GOzpIuFollow us...

Retired detective Gordon Davie guides us on a chilling journey into the mind of notorious child murderer James Ryan O'Neill who was sentenced to life imprisonment for the murder of two young boys after arriving in Tasmania in 1975. He is Tasmania's longest-serving prisoner for a single offence.Twenty-seven years later, Davie was curious to know the circumstances that led to a good-looking, intelligent young man spending so long in prison. He also wanted to investigate the links between a number of other possible murders and abductions that raise frightening questions about O'Neill's past activities. Over the course...

The Boy Who Rushed is an intimate story about the filmmaker searching for her brother Ivan gone missing during the recent war in Croatia in 1991. Shortly before the war Ivan was twenty years old. His wife was to give birth to a baby so he left faculty and found the job as a traffic policeman, the only job that was available at that time. In September 1991, the war begun and his squad was sent to Bogdanovci, a village near Vukovar. Vukovar is one of the cities that was completely devastated during the war in Croatia. The director’s...

Jose Guevara, Michael Chamberlin and Ariana Garcia are Mexican whistleblowers exposing corruption and drug trafficking. They aim to bring top officials to the International Criminal Court for justice.Instagram - @realstoriesdocsAny queries, please contact us at: owned-enquiries@littledotstudios.com

Every year in the UK, 2,000 babies are born with ambiguous genitalia. Secret Intersex explores what it means to be born genderless by following a range of intersex cases: couples who have given birth to children with ambiguous genitalia and must decide, with a doctor’s help, on the gender of their child; a teenage girl who has lived with a penis structure for 15 years and is only now embarking on treatment; and an adult female who is still coming to terms with her gender after years of living as a male.Want to watch more full-length Documentaries? <br...

This is the story of one single day in one British city and the Births, Deaths and Marriages that take place in one twenty four hour period. Sue Bourne and her team set out to show that as we all go about our daily lives on any particular day in exactly the same 24 hour period something momentous, life changing or life affirming is bound to be happening in other people’s lives. By focusing on Birth, Death and Marriage we showed how different people react to hugely important moments in their life. How the eternal and relentless cycle of li...

Listen to our podcast episode on the mysterious case behind our Real Stories Original: "Vanished: The Surrey Schoolgirl" with journalist Martin Bright here: http://bit.ly/VanishedE6 In the final episode, Joe gives us two big success stories of Australia’s most difficult repossessions. The result behind these stories show why Joe is one of the most unique Debt Collectors in Australia.‘Little Joe’ is a short-form documentary series set in the hyperreal world of Debt Collector Joseph. With his unique voice and compelling stories, Joe gives the viewer a voyeuristic insight into the grinding gears of a debt...

While middle-class stability vanishes, a new elite is rising to unprecedented power. This premium investigative documentary draws back the curtain on the world's ultra rich, a group whose numbers have exploded from 140 to over 1,200 billionaires in just 25 years. Real Stories explores the geopolitical and economic forces fueling this massive concentration of wealth, examining the "visionary ideas" and immense personal projects these individuals pursue—projects that have massive repercussions on all of us. Featuring compelling analysis and exclusive glimpses into the world of luxury, finance, and influence, this film asks: is this extreme wealth a sign of global success or a...

Unmask the man who pulled the strings behind some of the most controversial political tactics in America.Instagram - @realstoriesdocsAny queries, please contact us at: owned-enquiries@littledotstudios.com

Alzheimer's is the fastest growing disease in the world's ageing population. Thirty million people around the world suffer from the condition. For the last 10 years, billions of dollars have been spent on trying to develop antibodies to vaccinate, or even cure, patients. But all of them have failed - until now. The search for a cure for Alzheimer's has finally taken a revolutionary step forward. This film looks at the promising work on all fronts, from the scientists working on catching the disease at its earliest stages to the researchers working to understand the causes.From: Horizon...

In this episode, we spend 24 non-stop hours inside Jerusalem—a city holy to billions, but claimed by two nations. From the pre-dawn call to prayer echoing over the Old City to the intense security checkpoints and the unexpected nightlife of West Jerusalem, we take you beyond the headlines and onto the streets.This isn't just a travel guide. It’s a deep dive into the delicate balance of life in the Holy City. We navigate the invisible borders between the Armenian, Christian, Jewish, and Muslim quarters, witnessing how three major faiths coexist in a space smaller than an a...

In 1990 Romania, the world was stunned by what was revealed: Images of orphanages, of starving, freezing unloved children, suffering shocking untold misery.Crammed into small rooms, bed-bound on rotting faeces stained matresses, they were closeted away from the society and often malnourished.Many of them in fact were not orphans, but had been placed in the institutions by the desperately poor families who had been forced to have more children than necessary as part of Nicolae Ceausescu’s insane population building policy.Thousands of parents all over the world responded by going to Ro...

Gripping documentary exploring the stories of five exceptionally talented people, investigating where their amazing skills came from and finding out if they and their families can ever have normal lives.Want to watch more full-length Documentaries? Click here: http://bit.ly/1GOzpIuFollow us on Twitter for more - https://twitter.com/realstoriesdocsFacebook - https://www.facebook.com/RealStoriesChannelInstagram - @realstoriesdocsContent licensed from ITV Global. Any queries, please contact us at: owned-enquiries@littledotstudios.comProduced by ITV Studios

Want to watch more History Documentaries? Go to our dedicated history documentary channel called Timeline - https://goo.gl/WHJFhhGriff Rhys Jones goes on a personal journey to explore his father's secretive military past bringing him from Wales to Ghana and Nigeria in West Africa and into the deep jungles of Burma. Here, he discovers incredible and previously unheard stories from the Second World War, and discovers how this war truly affected lives on a global scale, injuring and claiming the lives of West African soldiers in Burma fighting the Japanese. Want...

The press and TV news reports are full of politicians, youth workers, police and journalists pontificating about the epidemic of gun and knife crime on Britain’s streets, but where are the voices of the young people themselves?This film takes the audience onto the streets of London, Manchester and Bradford to find out what the young men who actually carry guns and knives really think.Why do so many youths “tool up” these days? How important are notions like territory, respect and revenge? What kind of weapons are being used on our streets on a dail...

Against the background of his wedding to Camilla the film examines his controversial ideas on architecture (nothing too modern, please), on medicine (coffee enemas and a diet of liquidised fruit) and on religion (flirting with Islam, Sikhism and regularly visiting the Greek orthodox monasteries on Mount Athos). Looking at the heir to the throne's difficult relationships with women, family and the media.Instagram - @realstoriesdocsAny queries, please contact us at: owned-enquiries@littledotstudios.com