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, 10pm, and Saturday, 7pm.
Access News — Melbourne community TV, Channel 31, has excellent coverage of industrial, environmental and community actions throughout Victoria. Access News broadcasts every Monday and Friday at 8pm. Phone (03) 9525 3551 to contact the producers or make a donation.
Australian Biography: Hayes Gordon — US-born Hayes Gordon came to Australia after being blacklisted during the McCarthy era and, as well as becoming one of Australia's most respected actors, founded the Ensemble Theatre in 1958. SBS, Friday, January 31, noon.
In a City of Bricks — Ton Lao, a Vietnamese photographer who was maimed in the war, interviews other refugees and immigrants in Birmingham, and talks about their community work, their prospects of employment, returning to Vietnam and the expected boom in the Vietnamese economy with the lifting of the US embargo. SBS, Friday, January 31, 12.30pm.
Messengers from Moscow — First of a four-part documentary series, filmed over two years in Russia, China, Europe and North America, which tells the stories of the four crucial phases of Cold War confrontation from inside the Soviet Union. SBS, January 31, 7.30pm.
Rachida, an Algerian Mother — Rachida and her seven children live in a housing estate controlled by the FIS (Islamic Salvation Front). One of her sons has been thrown into jail without trial; another, a policeman, is assassinated during the filming of the documentary; a daughter is the only female member of the Algerian judo Olympic team; and her younger children dream of a better world while watching French soap operas on television. SBS, Friday, January 31, 8.30pm.
Movie: The Battle of Algiers (1966) — The war for Algerian independence from the French as seen through the eyes of some of the participants. Shot on location, mixing actors with those who fought in the battle, and without recourse to newsreel footage. SBS, Friday, January 31, 9.30pm.
The Secret of Porton Down — A documentary investigating the testing of chemical and nerve gases on human guinea pigs, carried out in secret at Britain's Porton Down during the postwar years. The program examines the development of chemical weapons in Britain and the US. SBS, Saturday, February 1, 7.30pm.
Presumed Guilty — Michael Mansfield QC reveals the injustices of the British legal system, with victims such as members of the Birmingham Six and the Guildford Four interviewed, to illustrate the iniquities of a system once thought to be the most just in the world. SBS, Sunday, February 2, 1.30pm.
The Battle Over Citizen Kane — Incensed over the thinly veiled portrait of himself in the classic 1941 movie Citizen Kane, newspaper tycoon William Randolph Hearst launched a battle to destroy both the film and its maker, Orson Welles. ABC TV, Sunday, February 2, 8.30pm (Citizen Kane screens on ABC TV, Wednesday, February 5, 8.30pm).
Mission Impossible — This documentary investigates the violent and unsuccessful stand-off against General Aidid which was the result of the "humanitarian" peace-keeping mission in Somalia. SBS, Sunday, February 2, 11.10pm.
The Truth Lies in Rostock — In August 1992, a right-wing mob launched a petrol bomb attack against a refugee hostel and a home for Vietnamese guest workers in the former East German port of Rostock. This documentary reconstructs the incident with footage shot at the time, and interviews with the attackers, their victims, local politicians and the police. SBS, Sunday, February 2, 11.55pm.
Greenpeace: Eco-warriors — An in-depth analysis of the pros and cons of Greenpeace, this program reveals the movement's history, its financing, its networks and its past and planned actions. SBS, Monday, February 3, 5pm.
Onward Christian Soldiers — The influence of the radical religious right on US politics. SBS, Tuesday, February 4, 8.30pm.
Movie: Cabeza de Vaca (1989) — A remarkable depiction of Native American life in the 16th century. From Mexico. SBS, Wednesday, February 5, 11.05pm.
Bolivar's Road: Profile of a Continent — Simon Bolivar's dream of a free and united continent is the starting point of this two-part documentary which follows his route along the Andes cordillera as he liberated half the continent from Spanish rule. The program examines aspects of South American life such as colonisation, independence, violent crime and the suppression of indigenous people. SBS, Thursday, February 6, 7.30pm.