The Children of Theatre Street

At age 20, Guillaume Diop risked his career to sign a manifesto against racism at the Paris Opera. But just three years later, he was named a Danseur Étoile — a star dancer — in the Paris Opera Ballet, one of the world’s most prestigious companies. As the first Black Danseur Étoile, Guillaume is thrust into becoming a role model and a national symbol for diversity. But, as YOUNG, BLACK AND GIFTED shows us, in intimate conversations with family and friends, he sometimes questions whether he is ready for this responsibility.

Gehtto Ballet follows the inter-linked stories of a number of students in a groundbreaking program called Dance For All. The raison d'etre of the program - founded by Philip Boyd and his late wife Phyllis Spira - is to give disadvantaged kids in the townships the opportunity to study ballet and, if they are lucky, find a way out by joining a professional ballet company.

As his country is gripped by revolution and war, a Ukrainian victim of the Chornobyl nuclear disaster discovers a dark secret and must decide whether to risk his life and play his part in the revolution by revealing it.

Right outside of Moscow – home to the highest number of billionaires pr. capita – you’ll find the largest junkyard in the world: The Svalka. It’s a hard place run by the Russian mafia. And it's where Yula lives with her mother, her friends and many other people. Life is tough in the Svalka, but it’s also a place where beauty and humanity can arise from the most unlikely conditions. It is from this place that Yula dreams of escaping and changing her life, even if it seems impossible. Oscar-nominated director Hanna Polak followed Yula for 14 years, bringing us along on Yula's journey to achieve this dream.

The Soviet Union was a sinister world. Now the Iron Curtain has fallen, and for the first time we can investigate those rumours.

The Moscow Case is a 52 minute documentary with never-before-seen footage of Michael Jackson in Moscow during the "Dangerous" tour. This film tells the behind the scenes story of Jackson's ill fated concert in September 1993. It includes unique archival footage showing Michael close up and personal while meeting fans and playing with orphan children.

A humorous story of a non-humorous national identity question. In globalizing Russia, the spiritual leader of the renewed Besermyan Nation and an Estonian folklore singer Masha try to save the dying Besermyan culture.

Rusia: Revolución conservadora

The Los Angeles-based Marat Daukayev School of Ballet gathers the resources, volunteers, and cast to put on The Nutcracker.

Correspondent Nick Schifrin and producer Zach Fannin take us inside Vladimir Putin's Russia, with an in-depth look at the resurgent national identity, the government's propaganda machine, the risk of being a Kremlin critic and much more.

Russia, 1917. After the abdication of Czar Nicholas II Romanov, the struggle for power confronts allies, enemies, factions and ideas; a ruthless battle between democracy and authoritarianism that will end with the takeover of the government by Vladimir Lenin and the Bolsheviks.

A documentary about the poisoning of political opponents by Russia. Focuses on specific cases of politically motivated assassinations by poisonings, including the attempted murder of Victor Yuschenko, the candidate and eventual President of Ukraine, using the deadly Dioxin. The film explains that Russia has not stopped this activity and its "Lab X" is still in operation. Originally created for the UK by FremantleMedia's production company talkbackTHAMES, "Poisoned" aired on Sky One in April 2005. (This documentary was made before the well-publicized poisoning by Russia of Alexander Litvinenko in 2006.)

A documentary charting the rigors of the Russian space program, where the symbol of national pride would justify the most demanding training conditions.

The former principal ballerina tells her story, with historic performances from the BBC archives and candid interviews from throughout her career. Showing how she grew up in front of the camera and mastered television.

A documentary about renowned ballet dancer Mikhail Baryshnikov.

Choreographed by Frederick Ashton in honor of William Shakespeare's 400th birthday, this magical production -- based on the Bard's play "A Midsummer Night's Dream" -- features Felix Mendelssohn's famed score and sublime sets that add to the charm. Ethan Stiefel delivers an impressive performance as the lordly Oberon, Alessandra Ferri shines as fairy queen Titania, and Herman Cornejo is pitch-perfect as the impish Puck.

Alexander Birgukov shot and killed his two commanding officers. He was sentenced to death but when it was alleged that one of his victims had sexually harassed him, his sentence was commuted to life in prison. Tenderly revealing two lives lived in limbo, this film bears witness to the first and final visit of his mother, Lubyov.

After 20 years of living in Berlin, the director Olga Delane goes back to her roots in a small Siberian village, where she is confronted with traditional views of relationships, life and love. The man is the master in the home; the woman’s task is to beget children and take care of the household (and everything else, too). Siberian Love provides unrivaled insights into the (love) life of a Siberian village and seeks the truth around the universal value of traditional relationships.

The Blu-ray Experience II: Opera, Ballet & theatre

This recording of all six cantatas from the Salle Henry Le Bœuf in the Palais des Beaux-Arts in Brussels, Belgium, in December 2012 features internationally renowned Bach expert Philippe Herreweghe and the Collegium Vocale Gent.