Story House Productions

40, 000 years ago the steppes of Eurasia were home to our closest human relative, the Neanderthals. Recent genetic and archaeological discoveries have proven that they were not the dim-witted cave dwellers we long thought they were. In fact, they were cultured, technologically savvy and more like us than we ever imagined! So why did they disappear? We accompany scientists on an exciting search for an answer to this question and come to a startling conclusion …

This biographical program illuminates the fascinating life of Qin Shi Huangdi, "The First Magnificent Emperor of Qin," a man considered both influential and controversial in Chinese history. The ancient emperor's long list of accomplishments includes planning the construction of China's first Great Wall, building the world's largest burial site guarded by the famous Terracotta Army and amassing the most expansive empire of his time.

An analysis of the sources of inspiration that fed the imagination of the British writer, poet and philologist J. R. R. Tolkien (1892-1973), great master of epic fantasy.

Burned out and lonely Rocky is almost 50 years old and has seen better times as a womanizer. One day, Thorben shows up at his door claiming to be his son. He is trying to get advice on how to be successful with women.

What happens when a group of international artists travel to North Korea to create art like the regime have never seen before? While the world is on the verge of nuclear war, a group of Western contemporary artists are invited into the eye of the storm. The aim is to collaborate with North Korean artists in a creative exchange project displaying new and challenging art in a country where abstract art is forbidden.

Pop icon, film star, LGBTQ+ activist: Lady Gaga inspires her fans with much more than just her singing talent. But she is paying a high price for her rise to the top.

Nowadays, people board large jets and travel across continents to their destination as a matter of course. This was not always the case. The documentary tells the story of Hans Pabst von Ohain and the Englishman Frank Whittle, who independently came up with the idea of using jet propulsion for airplanes in the 1930s.

On the occasion of his 80th birthday, we look back in pictures at the unusual and flamboyant career of the prodigy from Liverpool.

For centuries, people have reported sightings of a strange creature lurking within the gloomy waters of Scotland's infamous Loch, but are these accounts true or are they just another myth or giant hoax? Despite years of investigation and countless eyewitness testimonies, the riddle of this legendary brute has continued. Now, dive into the depths of this controversy using a mix of science, eye witness testimony, zoology, and psychological testing.

Over 75 years ago, 1,177 men lost their lives on the USS Arizona during the attack on Pearl Harbor. The ship, underwater, is a shrine and monument, visited by tourists, and the families of those who perished. New 4K footage shows us previously unexplored areas of the battleship wreckage.

After the United States mounted a covert mission to eliminate America's number-one terrorist target, celebration turned to mounting questions. Now, Peter Bergen obtains rare access to interview former CIA agents, Navy Seal operatives, and a Black Hawk pilot who reveal how the United States gathered the intelligence needed to pull off the surprise attack. He'll talk to White House and Pakistani intelligence officials, as well as neighbors of the Pakistani compound and eyewitnesses to the raid.

In 1990, one sixth of the population of Bhutan was exiled because they demanded greater democratic rights from the ruler. The film follows the story of Sarita, a 13-year-old girl born in Khudunabari, a refugee camp in Nepal where over 100,000 Bhutanese exiles live. Now they will be "relocated": thousands of families will be forced to emigrate and their Lotshampa identity will disappear forever. Sarita and her friends will not tell us their odyssey: they will dance and sing it.

With humor and curiosity, Maya Leinenbach reinterprets iconic tapas such as albondigas, calamares, and tortilla—naturally vegan and completely free of animal products. The documentary accompanies the creative process as well as the personal encounters and culinary experiments. The central question always hangs over the table: Does it really taste "better than beef"?

China, the “Middle Kingdom,” has long been thought to have developed independently from the West. Mighty mountains and the inhospitable Taklamakan formed insurmountable barriers. But the belief in China’s isolation has been challenged by surprising discoveries. Mummies from the Bronze Age are turning this assumption upside down and recasting the cultural relationship between east and west.

It is the most spectacular criminal case of the post-war era: the murder of the Frankfurt noblewoman Rosemarie Nitribitt moves the still young Federal Republic in the years of the economic miracle. However, the story from Frankfurt's red-light district quickly mutates into a full-blown moral scandal in the stuffy Germany of the 1950s. And the police, who come under increasing pressure, make one blunder after another. The case turns into a farce and a murderer is never found. Can a fresh look at the old files solve this mysterious cold case today?

The Great Dismal Swamp: an uninhabitable wasteland, covering parts of Virginia and North Carolina. A treacherous den of poisonous water snakes, blood-sucking insects, spiders and predators like black bears and lynxes. But some had no other option except braving these dangers, like fugitive slaves, who needed a way to escape the cruelty of their white masters.

One of Germany's U-boats, U-234, was loaded with secret supplies and passengers for a huge voyage to Japan in the waning days of World War 2, this is its story.