Documentaries

Larry King Special: Dinner with the Kings 

CNN’s Larry King and wife Shawn King invite viewers to join their dinner party with some of the biggest names in Hollywood to discuss life, love, finding success and coping with insecurities and failure.  With dinner prepared by celebrity chef Wolfgang Puck, the Kings host Tyra Banks, Russell Brand, Twitter / Square founder Jack Dorsey, Quincy Jones, Seth MacFarlane, Conan O’Brien, and Shaquille O’Neal. (60mins)

Anderson Cooper Special Report: CNN on the Frontlines 

This hour is a look at the big international stories of this year through the eyes of the correspondents who covered them, often in dangerous situations.  We zero in on Egypt, Libya, and the Japan Tsunami with Nic Roberton, Matthew Chance, Sara Sidner, Arwa Damon, Ben Wedeman, Hala Gorani, Ivan Watsno, and Kyung Lah. (60mins) 

CNN Heroes: An All-Star Tribute

Hosted by Anderson Cooper at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, CNN Heroes: An All-Star Tribute will honor individuals who are making extraordinary contributions to help improve the lives of others.  Since its inception, CNN Heroes has received more than 40,000 submissions from over 100 countries and profiled over 150 heroes.  

Each of the Top 10 CNN Heroes will receive a $50,000 grant and one of the honorees, as voted by fans across the globe, will be lauded as the "CNN Hero of the Year", receiving an additional $250,000 grant to further aid their cause. During the live broadcast, the Top 10 CNN Heroes will each have their story introduced by a celebrity. (100mins)

UEFA Euro 2012: The Final Draw

World Sport presents a half hour special from the dual sites of the UEFA Euro 2012 tournament: Poland and Ukraine. Join host Pedro Pinto for on and off pitch  analysis of the quadrennial event to determine the best footballing countries in Europe. Following the all-important draw to determine who plays who among the 12 finalists, the show will feature top expert opinion and of course unveil the so-called “Group of Death”. It wouldn’t be a World Sport production without the big names of course, so sit back and listen to what the likes of UEFA President Michel Platini, as well as former world football stars Zinedine Zidane and Peter Schmeichel (all 3 have won the Euro) have to say about the prestigious tournament. The biggest name in the history of Ukraine soccer, Andrei Shevchenko, sits down with Pedro as well. (30mins)

Piers Morgan: Manny Pacquiao

CNN's Piers Morgan steps into the ring with boxing superstar Manny Pacquiao when “Piers Morgan Tonight” features a visit to the reigning WBO welterweight world champion.

In addition to a sparring session with the knockout king, Morgan  talks at length with Pacquiao, who is a Congressman in his native Philippines. He also hears from Top Rank chairman Bob Arum and Pacquiao’s longtime trainer, Freddie Roach. The interviews take place at Roach’s legendary Wild Card Boxing Club in Hollywood, California. (60mins)

Common Dreams: A CNN Freedom Project Documentary

Haiti is a nation with a dramatic beginning and a disturbing secret. The world’s first black republic was created by slaves who rebelled against their masters in order to create a better future for themselves and their descendents. But 200 years later, that promise of freedom still eludes many Haitian children, who are today living in a form of abuse and exploitation known as ‘restavek’. A French word meaning to ‘stay with,’ restavek began with noble intentions to educate children from rural villages. Unfortunately, many restavek children today are forced to work long hours in other people’s homes, cooking, cleaning dishes, doing laundry and fetching water. Worse yet, many of these children are not even allowed to go to school. 

Actor and Grammy-winning artist Common travels to Haiti to see this hardened practice rooted deep within the culture. He learns of the noble premise on which the system began and comes to understand how a devastating earthquake and decades of despotic rule have eroded the restavek ideal.  Common meets the children, their ‘guardians’ and a team of dedicated people determined to change cultural perceptions and provide them with a better life. In the process, his team helps convince a family to give a little girl what she so desperately wants: the chance to go to school and dream of a better future. (60mins)

Death in the Desert: A CNN Freedom Project Documentary 

The Sinai Peninsula in Egypt is a lawless and dangerous place under the control of Bedouin tribes. The black market is the economy here, and some illegal activities are especially cruel. African refugees, mostly from Sudan and Eritrea, looking to flee to Israel through Sinai, are often held captive by rogue Bedouins; tortured, beaten and even killed as the tribesmen try to extort thousands of dollars from the poorest of the poor to smuggle them across the border to Israel. (30mins)

CNN Presents: Larry King Special - Johnny Depp

CNN’s Larry King scores a rare interview with versatile, reclusive Golden Globe-winning actor Johnny Depp about his life and career, and collaborating with journalist and screenwriter Hunter S. Thompson for his forthcoming film "The Rum Diary". (40mins)

The CNN Freedom Project – Dan Rivers Investigates Bonded Labor in Malaysia

CNN's senior international correspondent Dan Rivers travels to Southeast Asia to follow the complex trail of exploitation in a business supply chain. In Cambodia Rivers meets a grieving mother desperate to see her daughter, who left her home for the promise of well-paid work in Malaysia. Rivers travels to an electronic parts factory in Malaysia to find the young woman and upon doing so, discovers she is trapped there until she pays off a supposed debt. From Malaysia Rivers tracks this business supply chain all the way to London – where these unethically-manufactured electronic components are sold – and it becomes clear that neither buyer nor seller is aware of the products’ origination. (30mins)

Steve Jobs

Words like "revolutionary" and "visionary" have become synonymous with one man: Steve Jobs. The co-founder of Apple has changed the way the world communicates.  But many don’t know all the twists and turns behind the scenes that made him the man we see today.  In a unique television opportunity, Apple insiders, friends and colleagues of Steve Jobs come together in a revealing half-hour devoted to a man who changed the technology industry forever. (30mins)

Fashion: Backstage Pass

Marc Jacobs, Rachel Zoe, Tommy Hilfiger, Joseph Altuzarra, Billy Reid and Jenna Lyons and Mickey Drexler of J.Crew get the "Fashion: Backstage Pass" treatment as CNN National Correspondent Alina Cho hosts the latest installment of her series, a behind-the-scenes look at the latest trends in fashion. (30mins)

Witness to Famine

More than 12 million people across the Horn of Africa have been affected by the worst drought in 60 years. As the U.N. declared famine in parts of Somalia, CNN correspondents traveled to the region to report on the devastating effects. Anderson Cooper, Dr. Sanjay Gupta, David McKenzie and Nima Elbagir share their personal experiences, covering the catastrophe from Kenya and Somalia.  They recall the stories of the people they met and tell us how this disaster compares to the others they've covered. Taking us behind the compelling stories they've reported on, they help us understand what it was like to witness this spiraling food crisis. (30mins)

Trapped by Tradition - A CNN Freedom Project Documentary

Actor, producer and Indian film luminary Anil Kapoor has partnered with the CNN Freedom Project to expose one region’s secret tradition of trafficking in ‘Trapped by Tradition: A CNN Freedom Project Documentary’. This is the year’s second major documentary produced by the CNN Freedom Project, the network’s multi-platform initiative which aims to expose the horrors of modern-day slavery and to push for change.

As a special contributor to the CNN Freedom Project, Kapoor visits Bharatpur, a district in his native India where many young girls and women are sold into the sex trade often by members of their own family. This is the second trip to Bharatpur in two years for the Indian film luminary, who is internationally recognized for his work in the award-winning film ‘Slumdog Millionaire.’ Kapoor has been involved in the fight against human trafficking for the past several years through his involvement with Plan India, an organization working on the frontlines to protect children against abuse and exploitation.

Trapped by Tradition follows Kapoor to Bharatpur, where he spends time with many young girls and women who followed the socially-accepted tradition of joining the sex trade. One of the women he meets says her brother convinced her to join the business more than 20 years ago and every penny she’s earned is used to support her family.  While her story is not an unfamiliar one in Bharatpur, it becomes clear the district’s poverty, illiteracy, family pressures and geographical location all contribute to the perpetuation of trafficking females for family honor and commercial gain. (30mins)

CNN Presents: A Larry King Special: Harry Potter - The Final Chapter

After 10 years, some six billion dollars in ticket sales and millions of excited fans around the world, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 will mark the end of one of the most successful film franchises in history.  It's being called the "pop culture event of the summer" and Larry King will take viewers behind the scenes to reveal the magic of the making of the final movie.  King will interview all three stars of the films (Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson & Rupert Grint) in their first extended interview about the final movie, along with the special effects teams who brought the wizarding world to life on the big screen.  Never seen before footage will give viewers a glimpse into how the iconic characters and creatures were created.  And for the first time, fans will be treated to an extended clip of the film that will be shown exclusively on this Larry King Special just days before it opens in theaters. (60mins)

Nepal's Stolen Children: A CNN Freedom Project Documentary

In Nepal’s Stolen Children: A CNN Freedom Project Documentary, actress and anti-sex trafficking activist Demi Moore partners with the CNN Freedom Project to shine a light on the shocking trade of human life in Nepal.  As a special contributor to the CNN Freedom Project, Moore joins up with 2010 CNN Hero of the Year Anuradha Koirala and her organization, Maiti Nepal, which has rescued more than 12,000 stolen Nepalese children from sex trafficking since 1993.  Moore is a passionate advocate for victims of human trafficking and through her organization, DNA Foundation, she is outspoken about the need to address and attack the demand side of sex trafficking.  Nepal’s Stolen Children follows Moore as she spends time in the Maiti Nepal shelter, hearing emotional first-hand accounts from dozens of girls who had been trafficked.  She travels from Kathmandu to Bhairahawa, a hotbed of human trafficking, to document how and where girls from Nepal are smuggled into India to work in the sex trade.  Moore also meets with Nepal’s Prime Minister, Jhalanath Khanal, to discuss his country’s problem with sex trafficking and how it’s being addressed. (60mins)

On The Border

A four-part documentary series on human rights situation of the North Korean refugees. The producer and production team of Chosun Ilbo Daily risked their lives with the refugees/defectors throughout their escape to freedom. Following are the stories:

• Standing on the Border: In the border regions of China and North Korea, drug and human trafficking prevail. People are crossing the rivers for food and for their own reason. Some of them may even freeze to death during the course.

• Ghost Children: There are many stateless children in every village of Chinese border area. They become illegal immigrants because their mothers are North Korean defectors who cannot be registered in China. They are excluded from social benefits without any medical care and education. These children are living like ghosts with no identity since their birth...

• Crossing the Border: Following defectors in their escape to South Korea, the team covered the entire escape route and risked their lives together with the defectors who were smuggling into Thailand through Laos and China.

• People Deserted by their Motherland: North Korean timber site in Sibera has been opened to the public first time in history with interviews of former timber workers who have successfully escaped from the site and discovered shocking truths.