 Beetles
Battle: Kwang Bang
In
the North of Thailand, Beetle fighting
is a sport taken very seriously. The
Kwang, the great fighting beetle,
is revered by the local people as
a mighty warrior. This fight season,
we follow two rival beetle trainers
as they prepare their insect gladiators
for the annual Kwang Fighting Festival.
The stakes are high. Rivalry pushes
them to the limits. Obsession tests
their loyalties. Let the Showdown
begin
NEXT
ON 
Wed, Mar 2 @
10pm
Hidden
Gender
Explore
the world of the transsexual and cross-dresser.
This fringe group of society has always
managed to cling to civilization at
large. Hirjras of India sometimes
go through drastic physical alterations
and transvestites have always prospered
in Thailand. Delve into this unique
world and meet the "third sex"
From Treatment
NEXT
ON
Wed, Mar 9 @10pm
 |
Hong
Kong's Big Bet
Hong
Kong' s incredible passion for gambling
and the unique sub-culture of high
stakes horseracing is part of everyday
life in Hong Kong. This story is not
about the horseraces or the horses.
Learn about the ecstasy and the misery,
the excitement and the exhilaration,
and the love affair that Hong Kong
has with the game and the gamble of
horseracing. Version 2: Hong Kong's
Big Bet is a fast-moving, exciting
programme that looks at one of the
most extraordinary phenomena in all
of Asia: Hong Kong's obsession with
horse-racing. Delving behind the clichés
of the Chinese as inveterate gambling
addicts, we go to the very roots of
a unique culture in this tiny territory.
The characters range from the rich,
brash horse trainer, Brian Kan, with
his collection of luxury cars, to
the poor but optimistic Teddy Ming,
who gives tips to punters on race
days to eke out a meagre living. We
follow two unusual stories: one about
Kwan Ki Kwong, a poor man who became
rich through gambling, and later was
cheated of all his riches by his wife;
the other about Michael Yip, a former
gambling addict with a strong, Christian
faith. Before venturing down the path
of history, we aso learn about the
powerful corporation which runs Hong
Kong racing monopoly (with its US$10bn
turnover annually). Racing in Hong
Kong, it turns out, is the key to
understanding the whole territory.
NEXT
ON
Wed, Mar 16
@ 10pm
The
Kung Fu Dragons of Wudang
Mysterious
and legendary, Mount Wudang is the
birthplace of some of China's most
famous kung fu---Tai Chi, Ba Gua Boxing,
Xing Yi Boxing and the various fascinating
Wudang swordplays. An 11-year-old
girl, Jade Dragon, and two 15-year-old
teenage boys, Dutiful Dragon and Little
Dragon, are among those young apprentices
who come to Mount Wudang to undergo
various tough trainings to become
great kung fu masters. Devoting himself
entirely to Wudang kung fu, sword
fanatic Master Wang chose to live
in complete isolation from the outside
world for 10 years. What do these
kung fu dragons seek in Mt. Wudang?
What are Wudang styles of kung fu?
How powerful are they?
NEXT
ON
Wed, Mar 23
@10pm
|
Guardians
Of Angkor
In
the late 1960's war took a murderous
grasp on Cambodia and didn't let go
for 30 years. The temples of Angkor
were lost to the jungle. During the
war years Cambodia was littered with
unexploded ordinance and landmines.
Often, the only ones brave enough
to explore the temples were looters
driven by greed, until now. In this
program, anthropologist Charles Higham
and guide Sokhorn Sin travel to Northern
Cambodia to explore the temples around
Koh Ker. Some of these temples have
been recently cleared of landmines,
while others are still mined. The
pay off is the first look at ancient
temples which only the locals have
seen and only from a safe distance.
Dr. Higham explores seven temples,
one of which has not been demined,
and brings his unique expertise to
bear on them. The program also discussses
the demining process, showing how
it is done, and witnessing the detonation
of some live landmines. Landmines
have guarded the temples by keeping
all but the bravest or most desperate
looters at bay. The Cambodian government
wants to rebuild the temples to bring
in more tourism. Now, instead of landmines,
it is up to the people of Cambodia
to protect the temples. Cambodians
must become the new Guardians of Angkor.
NEXT
ON
Wed, Mar 30@10pm
|
Cyberwars-To
Catch A Little Fish
Sometime
in 1996, a 15-year-old Chinese teenager
known as "Little Fish" reportedly
hacked into the CIA's master computer.
Whether his story is true or not,
the search for Little Fish leads us
to the fascinating world of hacking.
Meet the fourteen to twenty-year-old
"hackers" from Asia who
are breaking into the high tech computers
of the West every day. They often
actually leave their signature "icons,"
personalized smiley faces, fishes,
little graphics, on the victim's system.
Hackers worry governments and big
corporations keep the multi-billion
dollar Internet security industry
up and running, a burden to taxpayers.
Who are these kids? What makes them
tick? Why do they do what they do?
Where is all this headed? How does
it affect us? In a personal journey
of discovery, the filmmaker looks
for answers to these questions. The
search takes us to the Philippines,
Korea, China and the US. Here we meet
and talk with several hackers, security
experts, cops and ex-cops who've made
it their mission to "save"
these kids and to protect the world
from them.
NEXT
ON
Wed, Apr 6 @10pm
Love
Market in the Clouds
Imagine
a place where - for one day a year
- rules of marriage, fidelity and
society are thrown out the window.
Imagine a place where married couples
are free to seek out old lovers with
no consequences. What would you do?
This mesmerizing concept is explored
in Love Market In the Clouds, a documentary
set in the rugged hills of Northern
Vietnam, where a festival sanctioning
illicit passion is a reality. Seen
through the eyes of a pair of modern
Vietnamese newlyweds, this vivid journey
of discovery takes viewers into the
rural landscape of Vietnam's Hmong
people to find out why its legendary
Love Market offers a respite from
toil and the promise of love.
NEXT
ON
Wed, Apr 20
@10pm
Two
Way Tea Journey
Under
the red sky of China, anyone who has
lived through the Cultural Revolution
has a story to tell. Jian-Guo Yuan
is a middle-aged man of the Revolution
generation, an ex-philosophy academic
and a passionate soul of the Chinese
tea culture. Fascinated by tea, Jian-Guo
sets out on a voyage from the east
to the west of China to trace the
once lost tea culture. As the journey
moves on, benign encounters with people
recall painful memories of the Revolution.
The tea journey is also an internal
quest of self-discovery that unravels
the grief caused by the Revolution
layer by layer. In terms of style,
Two-Way Tea Journey is a music-documentary.
Aided by Taiwan's musical genius Giong
Lim, the program blends the beauty
of these two art forms and provides
an interesting variation on traditional
documentary style.
NEXT
ON
Wed, Apr 20
@10:30pm
ShowReal
Asia: Operation Hot Pursuit
For
the past ten years, Vivek Menon, the
executive director of the Wildlife
Trust of India, has been at the forefront
of the fight against organized wildlife
crime and poaching in India. Follow
him in hot pursuit of the illegal
trade of ivory from India, starting
from the culling of gentle giants,
to the sale of their tusks - packaged
and smuggled via trading blocks in
the Middle East before ending up in
Japan or China. We capture the live
drama of sting operations as Vivek
sets out on his ivory trail, filming
with hidden cameras to expose undercover
investigations, raids to nab poachers,
and secret meetings with traders.
NEXT
ON
Wed, Apr 20
@10:30pm
ShowReal
Asia: Body Snatchers of Bangkok
BODY
SNATCHERS OF BANGKOK delves into the
fascinating first person perspectives
of three Thai volunteers, ages 13
to 43, who respond to the Thai public's
need for paramedical aid. They lead
double lives on alternate days of
the week - by day, they work at regular
jobs to earn their livelihood or they
attend school. By night, they set
out in their pickup trucks to work
as volunteers for Ruamkantanyu and
Por Teck Tung Foundations, collecting
corpses and injured victims from accidents,
murders and suicides. Equipped with
skeletal medical equipment, insufficient
medical knowledge and an overpowering
desire to help others in need despite
their own fears and superstitions,
they cruise the darkest corners of
Bangkok each night to confront the
greatest human fear no one wishes
to face: the smell of death.
NEXT
ON
Wed, Apr 27
@10:30pm
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