RTDocumentary

A disabled street cleaner becomes a fashion model #video#Russia Russian street cleaner, Yura, is an orphan and disabled. His life has never been easy: he was tricked into huge loans and spent a year in forced labour. But one day he woke up a local star. His flatmate, a photographer, snapped a few pictures of Yura and shared his story on Instagram. People sympathised with Yura's naivety and raised money to pay off his debts. Yura has kept his job sweeping streets, but he’s now in high demand for photoshoots. His secret to being so photogenic? ‘Yura remains himself and stays natural’. Follow: https://t.me/rtdocumentary

Living off-grid #video#USA These sustainable houses will take your eco-consciousness to a whole new level! They are built from recycled and natural materials and are completely off-grid. Architect Michael Reynolds calls them ‘earthships’. He started building his eco-houses in the 1970s. They don’t need access to water, gas or electricity. Earthships store rainwater and the sun’s heat, treat sewage and garbage, maintain a comfortable temperature inside and generate sustainable power. What else do you need? He has since built an entire community in a New Mexico desert, where he lives with like-minded people and teaches them to build earthships from scratch. Could you live in a sustainable house like this? Follow: https://t.me/rtdocumentary

What do baby elephants dream about? 🐘💤 #video#Africa Little Limpopo is like a human baby! He has to be bottle-fed, sung a lullaby to, covered with a blanket and patted before going to sleep. What a cool job his nanny has! Limpopo is an orphaned baby elephant. He lives in a special elephant nursery in Zimbabwe, where one family of conservation enthusiasts take care of orphaned infants. Follow: https://t.me/rtdocumentary

World’s largest e-waste dump #video#Africa Agbogbloshie is one of those places you’d never want to visit. Ever. It’s where your previous generation iPhone goes after Apple presents the new one. Electronic goods containing toxic chemicals are supposed to be recycled properly. However, it’s too expensive and used electronics are mostly disposed of in places like Agbogbloshie. Tonnes of e-waste from Western countries and Asia are delivered to the former wetland near Ghana’s capital Accra. The e-waste doesn’t just lay there, some 80,000 locals work here day and night, collecting scrap metal. They call it Sodom and Gomorrah that feeds and kills them. They can earn $3-5 a day for one meal a day, but the terrible air pollution makes it very dangerous. Emmanuel is one of the metal scrappers at Agbogbloshie. Follow: https://t.me/rtdocumentary

AI love you! #video#Japan This guy just married a hologram… Now you’ve seen everything. Akihiko Kondo identifies as ‘fictosexual’, which means he’s only attracted to fictional characters. His wife is Hatsune Miku, a computer-generated hologram. She is a popular virtual singer and idol in Japan, whose songs helped Akihiko ‘heal’. Akihiko had always thought he would stay alone for the rest of his life. He was never a hit at school, nor did his co-workers like him very much. Miku has many manifestations and Akihiko owns them all: a voice assistant in the form of a hologram, a doll and a bunch of stuffed toys. Although the hologram’s creators stopped supporting it a while ago, Akihiko keeps loving his fictional wife. Advantages over real women? Miku won’t die, betray or age. Akihiko isn’t unique for his love for a virtual character. He’s among 3,700 Japanese who married their favourite characters from anime or computer games. Follow: https://t.me/rtdocumentary

Father of the world’s largest family dies #video#India Ziona Chana, the leader of a polygamous cult in India and the patriarch of supposedly the world’s largest family, died at the age of 76. According to various reports, he could have from 89 to 94 children from 38 or 39 wives. They all lived together in a 4-storey house they built themselves and had no doubt Ziona is a god. Ziona led the ‘New Generation’ cult, whose male members can have as many wives as they wish. The sect was founded by Ziona’s father and uncle, who believed the human body is immortal. So it took a while for the cult members to accept Ziona’s death. While they decide on a successor, you can check out our documentary about the world’s largest family and the bizarre cult. Follow: https://t.me/rtdocumentary

Tanzanian 'ghosts' #video#Africa Being an albino in Tanzania (and a few other African countries) is very dangerous. Not because it's sunny all the time and UV radiation is bad for people with this condition. But instead, albinos are hunted down and hacked for body parts by witch doctors. These traditional healers stoke a superstition that people with albinism don't die and their bodies possess magical properties. They cut their limbs and drain their blood to use in potions and make amulets. The old beliefs are so strong that albinos often become outcasts in society. Many choose to live in special sanctuaries. Here's a heartbreaking story of a girl named Kabula, who was traced and attacked by hitmen. Follow: https://t.me/rtdocumentary

How our film crew escaped a polar bear attack #video#Russia When you're a filmmaker, you have to be ready for any situation, like encountering a wild polar bear! Our film crew came across one during the shooting of 'Freed to Be Wild' in Kamchatka. The polar bear didn't retreat, while our crew and bear warden Tatyana only had flares and their voices. However, Tatyana had told the crew what to do. "I had to remember Tatyana's lessons, so together with the entire film crew, we growled and waved tripods and sticks over our heads," director Natalya Karachkova recalls. In the Kamchatka peninsula, polar bears are a common sight. The predators have become frequent visitors to villages along the coastline. They're attracted by delicious Pacific walruses, who now spend more time on the mainland and less on the sea-ice that is slowly disappearing. That's why locals know this life-saving skill very well. Phew! The polar bear looks adorable, but only from a safe distance, right? Follow: https://t.me/rtdocumentary

Slumdog Ballet Dancer #video#Brazil Luiz grew up in Complexo do Alemao, one of Brazil's largest slums. Boys there are expected to enjoy 'boyish' things, like playing football. But Luiz dreamed of becoming a ballet dancer. Although he had doubts because of the colour of his skin and what his family would say, his passion found him. Luiz entered a ballet school for deprived children run by the iconic Bolshoi Ballet from Russia. Children from all over South America compete for a place to learn classical dance in the best traditions of Russian ballet. We can't wait to see Luiz on the stage of the Bolshoi! 🩰 Follow: https://t.me/rtdocumentary

World's most explosive city #video#Mexico The city of Tultepec in Mexico is almost literally sitting on a powder keg: three quarters of Tultepec's population work in the fireworks business, and sometimes their pyrotechnics activities cause deadly accidents. However, locals shrug their shoulders and say that it’s the lot of a fireworks maker. They throw an extravagantly wild, week-long fireworks festival every year. Its highlight is the ‘pamplonada’, or a parade of colourful bull effigies rigged with fireworks. Participants prepare everything themselves - they build bull-shaped floats, paint them and load them with hand-made fireworks. Then they set them on fire to watch sparks fly in every direction as they celebrate the passion and peril of their craft. Follow: https://t.me/rtdocumentary

#video#SouthKorea TGIF and it’s time to relax. In South Korea, where it’s common to work late and generally overwork, they come up with most unusual ways to unwind. But if you feel on edge and aren’t in South Korea right now, maybe try the simplest, most delicious and affordable way? We know what we’re going to order tonight… 😋🌶🍜 Follow: https://t.me/rtdocumentary

Lonely, I'm Mr. Lonely #video#Japan Ito is ‘hikikomori’. This is what the Japanese call people who don’t want to face the outside world. These modern hermits spend weeks and even months in isolation, hiding in their bedrooms. They almost never go out, don’t work or study, and rarely interact with others. Hikikomori are mostly young men who hide away from the pressure and expectations of their families and society. A while back, we filmed Ito for four days, during which he never left his room. Don't we all feel like hikikomori sometimes? Follow: https://t.me/rtdocumentary