This May, allow us to reintroduce Doc World, our award-winning international documentary series featuring compelling characters and unfiltered storytelling that reveal how the human experience is shared no matter where we’re from. Beginning May 4, “And Still I Sing” will have you rooting for two young female singers on Afghanistan’s top competition reality show; the rest of the season takes viewers from Toronto to Malawi, Budapest and Tokyo, to explore universal themes that keep us all connected.
Also this month, Stories from the Stage celebrates women taking charge of their own destiny, the power of love in all its forms, and what we can learn about ourselves through a journey abroad in four new episodes.
And stream Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander films that encompass the energy and depth of the diaspora, like “Geographies of Kinship,” examining Korea’s adoption program, “In Search of Bengali Harlem,” following a New York City-based Bangladeshi comedian rediscovering his roots, and more.
WATCH LIVE
Small Town Universe | Reel South
May 1 on TV & the PBS app
Green Bank, West Virginia, is home to the world’s most sensitive radio telescope – and the only U.S. town where Wi-Fi and cell phones are banned. Here, scientists search for signs of extraterrestrial life while residents navigate pivotal moments in their own lives. This film explores the community’s deep connection to the universe and each other.
NEW And Still I Sing | Doc World
May 4 on TV, YouTube & the PBS app
Afghanistan’s controversial pop star Aryana Sayeed mentors two young singers who vie to become the first-ever female winners of the hit TV series Afghan Star. But all of their lives are upended when the Taliban returns to power, reversing 20 years of progress for women’s rights. Amidst the fear and panic caused by the fall of the Afghan government, each woman must make a harrowing escape from Kabul into exile while the U.S. fully evacuates.
NEW Women in Action | Stories from the Stage
May 5 on TV & the PBS app
Meaningful action can change everything. Suna Turgay reimagines life for her neurodivergent daughter, growing a world of flowers, summer camp spirit and belonging; Ann Marie Russell, once a child on the run, uncovers the truth behind her family’s past and transforms it into a life of purpose by guiding students through their journeys; and Holly Seaver opens her home to three young sisters – and discovers unexpected joy in a place she feared might bring heartbreak.
Matter of Mind: My Alzheimer's | Independent Lens
May 7 on TV & the PBS app
An intimate portrayal of three families confronting the unique challenges of Alzheimer’s and how this progressive neurodegenerative disease transforms roles and relationships. Whether it's a partner caring for a loved one or an adult child shifting into being their parent's caregiver, these stories show how families evolve when a loved one is diagnosed.
Antidote | FRONTLINE
May 7 on TV & the PBS app
Chronicling the lives of Christo Grozev, a Bulgarian investigative journalist whose reporting has exposed hundreds of Russian spies, assassins, and those involved in the poisoning of opposition leader Alexei Navalny; and Evgenia Kara-Murza, the wife of prominent political activist Vladimir Kara-Murza, who was poisoned twice and sentenced to 25 years in a Russian prison.
Called to the Mountains | Reel South
May 8 on TV & the PBS app
Bluegrass 45, one of Japan’s first bluegrass bands, brings its unique sound to the American South. Through intimate cinematography and interviews, this film explores the band’s journey – from daily life in Japan to performances in the U.S. – showcasing the powerful cultural connections forged through music and shared experiences.
NEW Flying Hands | Doc World
May 11 on TV, YouTube & the PBS app
In Pakistan’s remote mountains, Aniqa Bano gave birth to her deaf daughter, Narjis, unaware of the deep stigma and silence surrounding deaf children. In a society that once kept them in the shadows, Aniqa challenges deep-rooted beliefs and lays a foundation where deaf youth now find not only education and respect, but a world of possibility.
And So It Begins | Independent Lens
May 14 on TV & the PBS app
Chronicling the Philippines’ turbulent 2022 presidential race, with the son of ousted former dictator Ferdinand Marcos waging a combative social media campaign against his more progressive opponent, incumbent Vice President Leni Robredo. Following it all is independent journalist and Nobel winner Maria Ressa, with an eye toward the specter of increasing autocracy.
Loimata: The Sweetest Tears | Pacific Heartbeat
May 15 on TV
Featuring the redemptive tale of waka builder and captain Lilo Ema Siope’s final years, this film is a chronicle of journeys – journeys of migration, spirituality, voyaging, healing and coming home. Confronting intergenerational trauma head on, the Siope family returns to their homeland of Sâmoa.
NEW Someone Lives Here | Doc World
May 18 on TV, YouTube & the PBS app
Follow Toronto carpenter Khaleel Seivwright, who builds tiny shelters for unhoused people during the pandemic. As his work gains global attention, city officials push back, sparking a heated battle over compassion, safety, and the right to shelter.
Who Is Michael Jang? | Independent Lens
May 21 on TV & the PBS app
After a long career as a commercial and portrait photographer, mischievous San Francisco artist Michael Jang sat for decades on a hidden treasure of pictures taken in his 20s – both candid celebrity shots and a down-to-earth cross-section of Chinese American family life rarely captured so playfully. Then, during the pandemic, Jang set out to share his work with the world, street guerilla-style.
Hurricane Helene's Deadly Warning | FRONTLINE
May 21 on TV & the PBS app
How Hurricane Helene became an ominous warning about America's lack of preparedness. With NPR, drawing on a decade of reporting on disasters and their aftermath, how and why the U.S. is more vulnerable than ever to climate change-related storms.
NEW The Ants & the Grasshopper | Doc World
May 25 on TV, YouTube & the PBS app
Anita Chitaya has a gift; she can transform barren soil, challenge gender norms, and inspire her village to fight hunger and climate change. But as worsening weather threatens her home in Malawi, she sets out on a journey across the United States to meet with farmers, activists, and lawmakers, exchanging ideas amid a shifting landscape.
WATCH LIVE
Geographies of Kinship | America ReFramed
Available now on the PBS app
Weaving together the complex personal histories of four adult adoptees born in South Korea with the rise of the country’s global adoption program. Raised in foreign families, each adoptee sets out on a journey to reconnect with their roots, mapping the geographies of kinship that bind them to a homeland they never knew.
Surf Nation | Doc World
Available now on YouTube
In Hainan, China’s southernmost province, hundreds of athletes as young as 9-years-old train as part of the Chinese National Surf team. The young recruits, who have left their families, feel the pressure of failure. Over the course of two years, the film follows two of the country's top surfers, Alex, 17, and Lolo, 22, as they train, compete, and discover what they want their lives to be.
In Search of Bengali Harlem | America ReFramed
Available now on YouTube & the PBS app
As a teen, Alaudin Ullah was swept up by the energy of hip-hop and rebelled against his Bangladeshi roots. Now a playwright contending with post-9/11 Hollywood’s Islamophobia, he sets out to tell his parents’ stories. Follow his quest from mid-20th-century Harlem to Bangladesh, unveiling intertwined histories of South Asian Muslims, African Americans, and Puerto Ricans.
Growing Up Asian | Stories from the Stage
Available now on the PBS app
Every day, millions of people are creating their own definitions of what it means to be Asian American. Suzanne works with a parents association to organize during Boston's busing desegregation crisis and gains strength from the women; David travels to China for the first time to connect with his roots; and after being held at gunpoint in her family’s store, Eson learns the definition of love.
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