SBS Documentaries

This documentary provides a portrait of the late Joe Sarno, one of the pioneering directors of the 1960s ‘sexploitation’ film genre. Known for a distinctly economic style and an abiding interest in tense, psycho-sexual character development, Sarno has come to be recognised as one of the true auteurs to emerge from the sexploitation form. The program includes archival footage from his films and interviews with Sarno, his wife, and expert cinephiles. (From France, in English and French) (Documentary)

Explores censorship and public decency on television using the example of the infamous 1970s 'filmmaker', Ugly George. George was host, cameraman and producer of a lewd cable access television show. With a camera taped to his backpack, he would roam the streets of New York City in search of women who were willing to reveal their naked bodies for his television program. He was surprisingly successful. Reviled by many for his sexist attitude, he was also admired by others who saw his program as revolutionary. (From the US) (Documentary) MA (S,L,N) CC

Nothing so awe-inspiring had ever been seen in medieval Europe. Gothic cathedrals towered above the horizon with stone spires that seemed to reach heaven. But now some of these cathedrals teeter on the brink of catastrophic collapse. To save them, an international team of engineers, architects, art historians and computer scientists searches the naves, bays and bell-towers for clues to their architectural secrets. (From the US) (Documentary) G CC

Diseases that were largely eradicated forty years ago are returning. Across the world children are dying from preventable conditions, because nervous parents are skipping their children’s vaccinations. Yet the stories of vaccine injury are frightening, with rare cases of people being seriously hurt by vaccines. This documentary looks at the growing trend of vaccine hesitancy around the world, exploring the reasons for complacency and concerns, and highlighting the impact of delaying or refusing immunisation.

This documentary explores teenagers' emerging sexuality in an age of increasingly accessible and hardcore pornography. While the technology of our times (internet and mobile phones) amplify the availability of pornography, the impact on young people's sexual development and early relationships is unprecedented. The program tells the stories of young people for whom pornography is normalized, and goes behind the scenes of the porn industry to discover the reality behind the fantasy. (From Australia) (Documentary) MA (A,S,N)

Anna Choy, takes a personal and highly confronting journey uncovering the growing trend of deracialisation cosmetic surgery in Australia. This is no simple case of nip and tuck; procedures include, extreme facial contouring, double eyelid surgery, nose jobs, skin whitening and calf reductions. But as Anna digs deeper into what drives people to change their race, she comes face to face with her own demons.

To commemorate the passing of Nelson Mandela, SBS presents Nelson Mandela: The Final Chapter, a fresh portrait of the anti-apartheid hero, never-before screened in Australia. Directed by award-winning filmmaker Clifford Bestall, this film offers a unique glimpse into the life of Nelson Mandela at a point when, in his own words, he ‘retired from retirement’. The filmmakers were given unprecedented access to Mandela from the beginning of his 90th year until his final retreat from public life. The resulting documentary is an intimate portrayal of one of history’s most respected and revered statesmen. Nelson Mandela – The Final Chapter includes never-before seen footage of Mandela’s last ever tour abroad, as well as private meetings and discussions with admirers, celebrities, heads-of-state and ordinary people. It is a privileged insight into his time in retirement, the final chapter in a remarkable life.

Out on the ocean, a ship of doctors and nurses is traveling to the poorest of the poor living in West Africa. It carries life-saving medical services for people who have none: children who suffer with terrible leg deformities, women outcast from their communities by birthing fistulas, vast tumors of all shapes and sizes which afflict the unlucky. The ship is the last hope for so many – and for the lucky ones, doctors will carry out lifesaving operations on unbelievable cases, many of which do not exist outside of West Africa and have never been seen before by these doctors. Nonetheless, the volunteer medics must make on-the-spot life-and-death decisions. The young nurses and doctors will be challenged to the limits of their training and abilities.

On March 11, 2011, a magnitude 9.0 earthquake hit Japan's north-east coast followed by a massive tsunami. The country suffered widespread devastation and in the aftermath of the disaster, four nuclear reactors in Fukushima began to disintegrate. This program details the unfolding disaster at Fukushima and reveals exactly how it happened and why.

Wild Iran Wildlife photographer Benny Rebel returns to his native Iran to document its little-known wilderness and extraordinary collection of plants and animals – from wild donkeys to cheetahs, leopards, striped hyenas, golden eagles and giant lizards. He laboriously tracks down wildlife in ancient rainforests, temperate plains, craggy mountains and baking deserts. His intimate knowledge of the land allows him to introduce the animals and people of a country that we often only hear about through its politics.

Just off the southern coast of mainland Greece lies Pavlopetri, the oldest submerged city in the world. It thrived for 2,000 years during the time that saw the birth of western civilisation. An international team of experts is using cutting-edge technology to prise age-old secrets from the complex of streets and stone buildings that lie less than five metres below the surface of the ocean. State-of-the-art CGI helps to raise the city from the seabed, revealing for the first time in 3,500 years how Pavlopetri would once have looked and operated.

The world is watching closely as Somalia continues to raise fears of extremism and unending clan warfare. Years of civil war and crippling drought have torn this once-prosperous nation to shreds. Now pirates and terrorists are destroying what remains of civil society… But one man thinks he can make a difference. This film gains unprecedented access to Abdirahman Farole, a Somali-Australian former refugee who has returned to his native land to become the President of Puntland (the northern province of Somalia) with the sole mission to bring back peace and a working democracy to Somalia once and for all. Can Somalia be saved?