Turkeys for Xmas

Simon Russell Beale takes a journey through Italy, Britain, Germany and Austria as he explores how the sound of Christmas has evolved in response to changing ideas about the Nativity. His story takes us through two millennia of music, from a fragment of papyrus preserving the earliest known piece of Christian music to the stories behind Hark the Herald Angels Sing, Silent Night and In the Bleak Midwinter, and the work of popular Christmas composer, John Rutter. Music is performed by Harry Christophers and his choir, The Sixteen.

Does the supermarket offer the cheapest Christmas cheer? The Wynne family put the store through its paces, to find out whether it offers the cheapest turkey and trimmings.

Learn how the budget supermarket conquered Christmas in Britain and what random delights are on offer in the famous and festive middle aisle, as one family sees how many gifts they can get for £100.

The Turkish army considers homosexuality a mental disorder which exonerates young men from military service, but also requires a medical diagnosis to be reached through both psychological and more invasive (and humiliating) diagnostic procedures.’Çürük’ is an intense, entirely anonymous recording of the mortifying procedure used by the Turkish military to make it possible for gay men to exempt themselves from military service. The humiliation includes psychological tests, anal examinations and the photographical proof of gay sex. The impact on gay men‘s self-esteem becomes more than obvious, when one of the protagonists doubtfully asks: “Do you think I'm a real man?”

What happens when your child comes out to you? In this feature documentary, parents of lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans-gender individuals in Turkey intimately share their experiences with the viewer, as they redefine what it means to be parents in this conservative society.

Superstar a capella group Pentatonix is struggling to find inspiration for their annual holiday album, and the clock is ticking. To make matters worse, their well-intentioned but misguided manager mistakenly locks them in a magic mailroom. But with the help of some Disney magic, we’re soon on a whirlwind tour around the world, discovering holiday traditions and inspiration from Pentatonix fans all around the globe: from Tokyo to Grenada, Ghana to Mexico and Iceland.

Christmas 1968 in Stockholm. A lot of people are working and promoting an alternative christmas. They gather to talk, paint and play music together.

While the film focuses on a mother and son’s relationship, it investigates the long-term effects of the immigration of the filmmaker’s family from Bulgaria to Turkey and the life of a widow in a patriarchal culture.

Nigella returns for a very special Christmas treat when she travels to Amsterdam to enjoy the festive season in the Venice of the North.

Dr. Mark Fairchild, world-renowned archaeologist, traces the hidden years of Saint Paul's life in the mountainous Turkish countryside of Rough Cilicia.

Recreating festivities from Henry VIII's era, Lucy Worsley dresses, eats, drinks, sings and parties like it is 500 years ago - discovering long-lost traditions as well as familiar customs.

This documentary visits the towns and villages of the Alsace region of France at Christmastime. See the charmingly decorated storybook towns and learn of the unique holiday traditions and celebrations. The Alsatian landscape is covered with medieval towns, castle ruins and vineyards, and the communities of the region create a season of enchantment in their celebration of Christmas.

Lucy Worsley reveals the surprising stories behind our favourite Christmas carols. From pagan rituals to religious conflicts, French dances and the First World War, carols reflect our history.

Dame Mary Berry travels to her mother’s homeland of Scotland, where she’s joined by friends Andy Murray, Iain Stirling and Emeli Sandé to cook indulgent Christmas dishes.

Everyone thinks of Santa Claus as a magical figure without flaws, but the men who keep his legend alive, real-bearded professional Santas, are nothing like the jolly ol' Saint Nick we've all grown up knowing. In reality, the mall Santa in your cherished children's photo has problems just like the rest of us. Even the jolliest of men fall victim to divorce, job loss, insecurity and even the occasional hangover. 'I Am Santa Claus' is a documentary that follows the lives of five real-bearded professional Santa Clauses as they anticipate and prepare the coming holiday season while showing them for who they actually are flawed, flesh and blood men who feel an overbearing responsibility to protect the integrity of the spotless, untarnished reputation of the "Red Suit."

Karaoğlan: Bir Ecevit Belgeseli

Picture story about Christmas and Christmas celebrations by Carsten E. Munch. With black-and-white atmospheric photos from the 1960s and the Christmas music of the time, we get a glimpse of Christmas celebrations at home and abroad, on land and at sea. The last part of the program gives us melancholic summer moods with poems by Herman Wildenvey, Arnulf Øverland, Jan-Magnus Bruheim and Inger Hagerup. Commentator is Ole Christian Lagesen.

Turkey's history has been shaped by two major political figures: Mustafa Kemal (1881-1934), known as Atatürk, the Father of the Turks, founder of the modern state, and the current president Recep Tayyıp Erdoğan, who apparently wants Turkey to regain the political and military pre-eminence it had as an empire under the Ottoman dynasty.

Gathering for a Christmas lunch, the film critics and writers of Discovering Film discuss the merits of 20 films from Bill Murray's star turn in Scrooged, the James Stewart classic It's a Wonderful Life, Ingmar Bergman's Fanny & Alexander, to Bruce Willis' memorable Die Hard.

In a Walt Disney Family Museum original production directed by Don Hahn, view Disney family home movies and holiday segments from Walt’s shorts and feature films as Walt’s daughter, Diane, shares her Christmas memories alongside Disney family home movies, holiday segments classic Disney films, and vintage Disneyland footage.