Actively Radical TV — Sydney community television's progressive current affairs producers tackle the hard issues from the activist's point of view. CTS Sydney (UHF 31), every Thursday, 7pm.
Access News — Melbourne community TV, Channel 31, has excellent coverage of industrial, environmental and community actions throughout Victoria. Access News broadcasts every Monday, Thursday and Friday at 8pm. Phone (03) 9525 3551 to contact the producers or make a donation.
Better Dead than Gay — The suicide of Simon Harvey, a devout Christian, is the topic of this moving documentary. Harvey was gay. This film explores what drove the young man to death and the reactions of his family. Harvey chronicled his life and death, with diary entries, suicide letters and a letter he wrote while he was waiting for the tranquillisers and car fumes to take effect. SBS, Friday, August 30, 8.30pm.
Attenborough in Paradise — Britain's answer to Harry Butler blunders through the forests of New Guinea in search of birds of paradise and bower birds which, the blurb says, have "delighted him from boyhood". ABC TV, Sunday, September 1, 6pm.
Voices from the Island — The history of South Africa's notorious Robben Island prison, where Nelson Mandela and numerous other political prisoners endured inhuman conditions. They now tell of their struggle, their despair and ultimately the victory of their cause. SBS, Monday, September 2, 5pm.
Stalin — A four-part documentary series using previously unseen footage, which focuses on the rise and rule of Joseph Vissarionovich Djugashvili, known as Stalin. Episode 1 deals with Stalin's early life and his role in the revolutions of 1917. SBS, Monday, September 2, 7.30pm.
Movie: Private Ivan (1990) — Igor Chernitskiy's rare look at Soviet army life in the last years of the USSR centres on Private Ivan, who, having refused to shoot an escaping prisoner, is to be court-martialled. SBS, Monday, September 2, 9.30pm.
Torture Trail II: Business as Usual — Sequel to the Torture Trail, the undercover investigation into the illicit arms trade in weapons of torture between British companies and some of the most repressive regimes in the world. This instalment examines the British government's reaction to the issues raised in the original documentary and how it deflected demands for an inquiry. SBS, Tuesday, September 3, 8.30pm.
Igor: Child of Chernobyl — Igor Pavlovets, eight years old, was one of the first children conceived in Belarus after the Chernobyl nuclear power disaster. His tiny body bears the cruel legacy of radiation. ABC TV, Thursday, September 5, 9.30pm.