Sport & Adventure Documentaries

The charming story of Angus, a 12-year-old boy from Australia who dreams of being the first foreigner to win one of Mongolia’s biggest horse races, the Naadam. He travels to the stunning Mongolian steppe with his family and searches for a trainer to take him on – a heart-warming and often dangerous journey of discovery where the stakes are high and there can be only one winner.

Damien Rider paddles and runs non stop around Phuket and skateboards Route 66 to raise awareness for his charitable causes.

In Japan, sumo isn’t just a sport – it is almost a religion with its stars hailed as demigods. But it’s a world closed to outside influence, where scandals are immediately covered up.

If you’re a fan of drift racing the name Nigel Petrie is sure to ring a bell. In this cinematic documentary, the pursuit of speed leads Nigel to create a salt flat racer from a 350cc KTM, to realise a dream of competing at the salt flat speed trials on Lake Gardiner, South Australia.

In Russia and the former USSR, the extreme combat sport MMA has become a social phenomenon. The champions are superstars, adulated by their fans and paid fortunes. More than a sport, MMA is a social elevator, a political tool and even an instrument of propaganda glorifying the Russian man: virile, invincible and ready to defend the fatherland.

Since she started ski jumping at the age of seven, Lindsey Van dreamt of winning an Olympic medal. By the time the Olympics came to her home country of Canada in 2010, she had already won countless competitions, including 13 national championships, and was setting records that beat even the men’s. When the IOC refused to recognise women’s ski jumping as an Olympic sport, Lindsey and her teammates decided to sue the organizers of the Vancouver Olympics to force them to include female ski jumping on the basis of gender equality.

Travel agencies specialising in perilous holidays are offering organised trips to war zones and even areas struck by natural or nuclear disasters. In Afghanistan, a group of tourists scale the mountains of Hindu-Kush, climbing 4,000m above sea level in order to ski down this one-of-a-kind slope; in Indonesia, plucky thrill-seekers climb Anak Krakatoa, an erupting volcano; and in Ukraine, adventurous tourists come from all over the globe to visit the dead city of Chernobyl, the site of the worst nuclear disaster in human history.

Football can be the crucible in which lessons of class, pride and perseverance are learned and disputed – lessons that will last a lifetime. A moving story of ‘haves’ versus ‘have-nots’, this documentary follows two rival towns in Maine – blue-collar Rumford and wealthy, coastal paradise Cape Elizabeth – whose residents settle their differences on the high school football field.

Oklahoma to California, 2600km, $420, 30 days, 5 bikes, 2 guitars and one of the most influential novels of the 20th century - this is the story of adventure, human connection, and an in-depth look at inequality and disenfranchisement in today's America told through the lens of John Steinbeck's 'The Grapes of Wrath'.

Follow Damien Riders' epic record setting 800km paddle board along the coast of Australia. Paddling 800km over 17 days on a solo mission, he set off on what many thought to be an impossible journey. Interwoven with his personal story, Heart of the Sea is a deeply moving tale of a tragic past, that has fuelled a desire to help others.

Featuring vivid dramatised recreations, this series explores bare-knuckle boxing, duelling and jousting as it traces the history of man to man – and woman to woman – fighting. It delves into the impact on a fighter's body and mind, while exploring their social and historical context.

Gymnasts and swimmers in the U.S., football players in the UK, skaters in South Korea, sprinters in France, gymnasts in Brazil: many recent news stories have exposed the sexual abuse of minors in sports all over the world, suggesting an even broader phenomenon. This film reveals how the system often protects the abusers.

The story of Olympic aerials champion Lydia Lassila who returns to the sport as a young mother – and dares to reach for an almost impossible dream. Charting her rise from aspiring young gymnast to freestyle skiing gold medallist, this film follows Lydia as she aims to do what no woman has ever done before: perform a quadruple-twisting triple somersault on skis.