An exploration into why some children are severely damaged by early adversity while others are able to thrive. By revisiting childhood trauma victims profiled decades ago, we learn how their experiences shaped their lives as adults.
Social & External
Narrator (voice)
There are children. There are those who abuse them. And there are those who know, but never tell.
Meet the real Paris Hilton for the very first time as she embarks on a journey of healing and reflection, reclaiming her true identity along the way.
Six men who were sexually abused by Catholic clergy as boys find empowerment by creating short films inspired by their trauma.
In 1998, Natascha Kampusch was abducted in broad daylight at the age of ten and held hostage in a basement for 3096 days. When she escaped in 2006, she was met with mistrust. Explores her story and how conspiracy theories have impacted her life.
On Fanø, Denmark, three young families have their lives brutally turned upside down when the municipality suspects them of having abused their children. The suspicion is unfounded, but the damage is done, and the families are now dragged through a process involving child interviews, police interrogations, and more. Is the law on protecting children from abuse too far-reaching, or is it simply the price some must pay to prevent serious cases of mistreatment and neglect?
An altar boy and a gardener decide to break a long and painful silence by denouncing the Catholic priest who abused them as minors. This unprecedented incident in Costa Rica causes the priest to flee, becoming a fugitive from the law and Interpol. The young people unite to find him. Will justice be served this time?
An investigation into accusations of teenagers being sexually abused within the film industry.
British documentarian Nick Broomfield creates a follow-up piece to his 1992 documentary of the serial killer Aileen Wuornos, a highway prostitute who was convicted of killing six men in Florida between 1989 and 1990. Interviewing an increasingly mentally unstable Wuornos, Broomfield captures the distorted mind of a murderer whom the state of Florida deems of sound mind -- and therefore fit to execute. Throughout the film, Broomfield includes footage of his testimony at Wuornos' trial.
Melissa Lucio was the first Hispanic woman sentenced to death in Texas. For ten years she has been awaiting her fate, and now faces her last appeal.
The first documentary feature to explore the tragic and bizarre life of the late chess master Bobby Fischer.
The true story of a young teenage girl whose mother is incarcerated for murder. Living in a Catholic Children's home run by an order of nuns, she provides poignant commentary about her mother, her own situation and her outlook for the future.
"The Monsters in My Home" focuses on the work Carme Artero, a foster mother from Majorca, Spain, who has devoted her time to setting up a foundation in defense of the rights of children who have suffered from abuse. The documentary features testimonies and the experience of people who care of children living situations of vulnerability, such as sexual or physical abuse or neglect and whose parents have their parental custody taken away by the Law.
Everyone has a skeleton or two in his or her closet, but what about the director behind some of the most successful thrillers ever to hit the silver screen? Could M. Night Shyamalan be hiding a deep, dark secret that drives his macabre cinematic vision? Now viewers will be able to find out firsthand what fuels The Sixth Sense director's seemingly supernatural creativity as filmmakers interview Shyamalan as well as the cast and crew members who have worked most closely with him over the years. Discover the early events that shaped the mind of a future master of suspense in a documentary that is as fascinating as it is revealing.
Walter Littlemoon attended a federal Indian boarding school in South Dakota sixty years ago. The mission of many of these schools in 1950, was still to “kill the Indian and save the man.” The children were beaten, humiliated or abused if they spoke their language or expressed their culture or native identity in any way. The trauma led many to alcoholism and violence in adulthood. At age 58, Walter began writing his memoirs as a way to explain his own abusive behaviors to his estranged children, but he could not complete the project without confronting the “thick dark fog” of his past so he could heal.
One winter, a pastor finds an abandoned infant on his church steps, and builds 'a drop box' to rescue any future foundlings.
Alice Miller (1923-2010) psychologist and researcher, became world famous for her books about child abuse and its consequences. But how was it like to grow up as her son? And why did she keep parts of her history a secret?
A temporary house for abandoned children near the front line in eastern Ukraine is run by a small group of social workers determined to provide comfort and safety. It may be humble and somewhat run-down, but this house is filled with love and offers up to nine months of refuge to kids whose fate will be determined by the system. During this short time, the caretakers try to nurture within them a sense of stability and normalcy.
Since the beginning of her career, Sinéad O’Connor has used her powerful voice to challenge the narratives she was surrounded by while growing up in predominantly Roman Catholic Ireland. Despite her agency, depth and perspective, O’Connor’s unflinching refusal to conform means that she has often been patronized and unfairly dismissed as an attention-seeking pop star.
As a child, Michael Stock was sexually abused - by his own father. 25 years later he is still looking for inner peace. In conversations with his family and friends and his own reflections, he paints an ever clearer, if contradictory picture of what happened and of the consequences for each of the family members. Old family films seem to show a happy family - excerpts from Michael's first feature film hint at his extreme adult life, overshadowed by his lifelong trauma. Yet in spite of the intense drama, the film doesn't have an atmosphere of anger and hatred but rather a surprising air of hope and love of life. Michael's aim is not to accuse the "perpetrator" but to understand. In the end, he takes his video "Postcard" to his father. With the camera running, he confronts him with his past.
A documentary chronicling the shared experiences of prominent former child stars and the personal and professional price of fame and failure on a child.
Hundreds of refugee children in Sweden, who have fled with their families from extreme trauma, have become afflicted with 'uppgivenhetssyndrom,' or Resignation Syndrome. Facing deportation, they withdraw from the world into a coma-like state, as if frozen, for months, or even years.
Those who knew iconic funnyman John Candy best share his story, in their own words, through never-before-seen archival footage, imagery, and interviews.
Unravel the case of Utah therapist Jodi Hildebrandt, whose child abuse arrest with parenting YouTuber Ruby Franke exposed a twisted tale of manipulation.
Elizabeth Smart's harrowing abduction at 14 from her family's Utah home unfolds through her own words and never-before-seen material in this documentary.
Vulgar, taunting texts blow up the phones of a teen and her boyfriend. Who's sending them — and why? This twisty documentary reveals the shocking answer.
An investigation into abuse and missing children at an Indian residential school in Canada ignites a reckoning on the nearby Sugarcane Reserve.
Sir Elton John looks back on his life and the astonishing early days of his 50-year career in this emotionally charged, full-circle journey. As he prepares for his final concert in North America at Dodger Stadium, Elton takes us back in time and recounts his struggles with adversity, abuse, and addiction, and how he overcame them to become the icon he is today.
A woman’s Holocaust memoir takes the world by storm, but a fallout with her publisher-turned-detective reveals her story as an audacious deception created to hide a darker truth.
Three young men bond together to escape volatile families in their Rust Belt hometown. As they face adult responsibilities, unexpected revelations threaten their decade-long friendship.
A filmmaker who grew up alongside Chucky the killer doll seeks out the other families surrounding the Child's Play films as they recount their experiences working on the ongoing franchise and what it means to be a part of the, "Chucky" family.
A chef's life is upended when a jet-setting, champagne-sipping, hotel-hopping woman claims to be his long-lost mother. This documentary reveals the untold story.
Through deeply personal interviews with her siblings and an examination of the photographs, letters, and belongings left behind, Mariska assembles a new portrait of her mother Jayne Mansfield, an extraordinary and complex woman.
Against the darkening backdrop of New Delhi's apocalyptic air and escalating violence, two brothers devote their lives to protecting one casualty of the turbulent times: the bird known as the black kite.
Explore the evolution of Buzz Lightyear from toy to human in the making of Pixar’s Lightyear. Dive into the origin and cultural impact of everyone’s favorite Space Ranger, the art of designing a new “human Buzz,” and the challenges faced by the Lightyear crew along the way.
Aileen Wuornos remains a rarity: a female serial killer. From childhood abuse to death-row revelations, this documentary revisits her life and crimes.
Through revealing interviews with experts and victims' families, this gripping documentary examines the problem of deadly foodborne illness in the US.
When Jack and Beata Kowalski are wrongfully accused of child abuse after their 10-year-old daughter Maya visits the ER, a nightmare unfolds.
This documentary brings to life the stories of four people believed by their family and friends to be “DB Cooper,” a man who hijacked a 727 flying out of Seattle and jumped from the plane over the wilds of Washington State with a parachute and $200,000, never to be heard from again.
An inside look at the years of effort and craft that went into the final installment of the Duffer Brothers' generation-defining series.