Our Very Own Christmas TV Guide

The festive season is well and truly upon us: Dark skies, flashing candle lights and good old nights in with the television. For the love of documentary we have have created our very own alternative TV guide rounding up some of the best docs showing on TV and on demand this winter.

We start with a couple recent docs about to broadcast for the first time and then list those rather convenient veiw-on-demand documentaries available to watch at your leisure.

The Arbor
Screens on More4 this Saturday 17th December at 9pm
The Arbor is followed by the classic ‘Rita Sue and Bob Too ....’ and then… ‘The Arbor’ once more for late night viewing at 00:40!

Please don’t miss this special documentary from Clio Barnard.

Sarah Palin: You Betcha!
Nick Broomfield heads to Alaska to find the real Sarah Palin and meet the friends, family and colleagues that gave their heart, soul and belief to the charismatic, charming, intoxicating ex-hockey mum
Showtime: Tue 27 Dec, 10PM

ON 4oD

Donor Unknown
The funny, moving and surprising story of a young woman searching for her sperm donor father, who she knows only as Donor 150

Foundation funded Calvet
In 2002, Jean Marc Calvet was on the run in Central America with a large sum of stolen money, on a course of self-destruction and tortured by his abandonment of his six-year-old son. Death seemed the only way to escape his dark, violent past.

The Story of Film: An Odyssey
Award-winning film-maker Mark Cousins provides a worldwide guided tour of the greatest movies ever made and tells the story of international cinema through the history of cinematic innovation

Sarah Palin: You Betcha!
Nick Broomfield heads to Alaska to find the real Sarah Palin and meet the friends, family and colleagues that gave their heart, soul and belief to the charismatic, charming, intoxicating ex-hockey mum
Tue 27 Dec, 10PM

Up in Smoke
A British scientist is attempting to convince farmers and the authorities to adopt his revolutionary alternative to slash-and-burn farming

After the Apocalypse
The story of the people of Semipalatinsk in Kazakhstan, who were used as guinea pigs in the Soviet Union’s testing of nuclear weapons

Voices from the Killing Fields
The Khmer Rouge slaughtered nearly two million people in the late 1970s. Yet the Killing Fields of Cambodia remain unexplained. Investigative journalist Thet Sambath records shocking testimonies, from the foot soldiers to Pol Pot’s right-hand man.

Countdown to Zero
We used to be terrified of nuclear conflict. But the nature of war has changed and we now seem to fear new threats. But the prospect of nuclear devastation has not receded.

Last Train Home
Lixin Fan’s extraordinary and visually stunning film, showing in the True Stories strand, charts one family’s involvement in the world’s largest planned mass migration.

The Sound of Mumbai: A Musical
The Sound of Mumbai: A Musical tells the story of a slum school choir in Mumbai who performed a concert of songs from The Sound of Music with a full orchestra, before an audience of over 1,000 people.

The Battle for Barking
Laura Fairrie’s film records an historic moment in British politics through the microcosm of one east London constituency. Made over the course of a year, the film follows two very different political opponents as they battle towards the 2010 General Election.

I was Bin Laden’s Bodyguard
Laura Poitras’ film is the story of two men whose lives were intimately caught up with the Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden and the very different paths those lives took after the American invasion of Iraq.

Wild Things
In the early 1970s, a group of idealistic young adults converted a regular North London townhouse into a revolutionary commune.

BBCiplayer

Iron Ladies of Liberia
Documentary about the Liberian president Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, Africa’s first elected female head of state, as she struggles to take control of a country devastated by civil war.

Rostropovich: The Genius of the Cello
Documentary exploring the talents of the great Russian cellist Mstislav Rostropovich.

I’m afraid we don’t have a gossip column for you… but hope you enjoy find something here to share with family and friends!