The Mena Connection

In the past 40 years, the War on Drugs has accounted for 45 million arrests, made America the world's largest jailer, and destroyed impoverished communities at home and abroad. Yet drugs are cheaper, purer, and more available today than ever. Where did we go wrong?

Deep Web gives the inside story of one of the most important and riveting digital crime sagas of the century -- the arrest of Ross William Ulbricht, the 30-year-old entrepreneur convicted of being 'Dread Pirate Roberts,' creator and operator of online black market Silk Road. As the only film with exclusive access to the Ulbricht family, Deep Web explores how the brightest minds and thought leaders behind the Deep Web and Bitcoin are now caught in the crosshairs of the battle for control of a future inextricably linked to technology, with our digital rights hanging in the balance.

Ten easy steps show you how to make money from drugs, featuring a series of interviews with drug dealers, prison employees, and lobbyists arguing for tougher drug laws.

An in-depth look at the prison system in the United States and how it reveals the nation's history of racial inequality.

Over 35 years after Bob Lazar's revelations, this documentary exposes secrets of a facility the government still denies. Featuring Lazar's testimony, recreations, and new evidence, it reopens a case that continues to spark global curiosity

A subjective documentary that explores various theories about hidden meanings in Stanley Kubrick's classic film The Shining. Five very different points of view are illuminated through voice over, film clips, animation and dramatic reenactments.

Through deeply personal interviews with her siblings and an examination of the photographs, letters, and belongings left behind, Mariska assembles a new portrait of her mother Jayne Mansfield, an extraordinary and complex woman.

A string of threatening emails escalates into a revenge plot involving a newly married US marshal and his ex-girlfriend.

Director Peter Joseph examines examples of economic subjugation and offers solutions based on alignment with nature.

Michael Moore's view on how the Bush administration allegedly used the tragic events on 9/11 to push forward its agenda for unjust wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.

A documentary about the Enron corporation, its faulty and corrupt business practices, and how they led to its fall.

In June 2013, Laura Poitras and reporter Glenn Greenwald flew to Hong Kong for the first of many meetings with Edward Snowden. She brought her camera with her.

Unravel the case of Utah therapist Jodi Hildebrandt, whose child abuse arrest with parenting YouTuber Ruby Franke exposed a twisted tale of manipulation.

He's devoted his career to uncovering stories the powerful want buried. From My Lai to Abu Ghraib, dig into the life's work of journalist Seymour Hersh.

Legendary journalist Gay Talese unmasks a motel owner who spied on his guests for decades. But his bombshell story soon becomes a scandal of its own.

The life and tragic death of Whitney Houston.

In August 1969, Charles Manson's followers killed seven people on his orders. Why? Explore a conspiracy of mind control, CIA experiments, and murder.

In the 1980s, ruthless Colombian cocaine barons invaded Miami with a brand of violence unseen in this country since Prohibition-era Chicago - and it put the city on the map. "Cocaine Cowboys" is the true story of how Miami became the drug, murder and cash capital of the United States, told by the people who made it all happen.

In a hypercompetitive world, drugs like Adderall offer students, athletes, coders and others a way to do more -- faster and better. But at what cost?

Days after 9/11, letters containing fatal anthrax spores spark panic and tragedy in the US. This documentary follows the subsequent FBI investigation.

Dir. Scott Calonico's film purports to solve the assassination of President Kennedy, pointing the finger at President Gerald Ford...as well as bigfoot, Stonehenge, pyramids, and extraterrestrials.

Marijuana is the most controversial drug of the 20th century. Smoked by generations to little discernible ill effect, it continues to be reviled by many governments on Earth. In this Genie Award-winning documentary, veteran Canadian director Ron Mann and narrator Woody Harrelson mix humour and historical footage together to recount how the United States has demonized a relatively harmless drug.

The transcript discusses the prevalent drug culture, particularly marijuana use, among youth in national parks. It highlights the perception that marijuana is less harmful than harder drugs and reflects on the challenges park rangers face in enforcing drug laws. While acknowledging the existence of drug trafficking, the narrative emphasizes that marijuana use is often seen as a minor issue compared to alcohol consumption or harder narcotics. The conversation also touches on the need for a more nuanced understanding of drug use, suggesting that current laws may be overly stringent and not reflective of societal attitudes.

High up in the Northern California mountains there is a place, where not too many get to visit. Its called - The Emerald Triangle, real mecca of Americas cannabis game. Follow a ukrainian journalist Luka on a journey that explores lifes of real growers and hustlers and the dangers that come with it.

The true-life story of a Harlem's notorious Nicky Barnes, a junkie turned multimillionaire drug-lord. Follow his life story from his rough childhood to the last days of his life.

Cocaine has always gotten a bad rap, and for a reason. It is a drug used by the rich and the poor legally and illegally, Mexican cartels fought over it with Colombia once associated with the brutal cocaine wars, and a source of tension between the American and Mexican borders on the people who are illicitly bringing in cocaine from one side of the border to another and will do anything to do it. So it can be surprising at times to the viewer throughout the course of the documentary special, that it was never always like this.

Two teenagers stumble upon a major drug smuggling operation. The boys are brutally murdered and their bodies placed on railroad tracks to give the appearance of a train accident. Soon, crime scene eyewitnesses vanish and investigations are shut down. The grieving parents are stunned. Corruption involving high level officials from Arkansas to Washington is documented in this incredible true life story. Why were numerous county, state and federal government investigations blocked? Why was a thirty month federal-grand-jury investigation abruptly shut down. Why did the FBI tell one boy's grieving parents, "You should accept the fact that a crime has not been committed?" This story of murder, drugs, corruption, and cover-ups, involves high ranking government officials, reaching up to the most powerful office in the world. It shows that interference from sinister political allies continues to protect these criminals from prosecution.

Since the 1970s, Switzerland has been characterized by a sometimes controversial, sometimes innovative drug policy that has become a model for other countries around the world. Using archive footage and interviews with contemporary witnesses - politicians, social workers and former drug addicts - the film reconstructs key moments in this turbulent chapter of national politics.

Thirty years after the release of his film JFK (1991), filmmaker Oliver Stone reviews recently declassified evidence related to the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, which took place in Dallas on November 22, 1963.

For months, the FBI have been investigating Russian interference in the American presidential elections. ZEMBLA is investigating another explosive dossier concerning Trump’s involvement with the Russians: Trump’s business and personal ties to oligarchs from the former Soviet Union. Powerful billionaires suspected of money laundering and fraud, and of having contacts in Moscow and with the mafia. What do these relationships say about Trump and why does he deny them? How compromising are these dubious business relationships for the 45th president of the United States? And are there connections with the Netherlands? ZEMBLA meets with one of Trump’s controversial cronies and speaks with a former CIA agent, fraud investigators, attorneys, and an American senator among others.

Tupac: Assassination is a documentary film about the unsolved murder of rapper Tupac Shakur. The film is produced by Frank Alexander (Tupac's bodyguard who was the only guard assigned and present at the time of the shooting) and RJ Bond, who also directed the film.

A documentary that traces the origins of the political power structure that rules our nation and the world today. The modern political power structure has its roots in the hidden manipulation and accumulation of gold and other forms of money.

A failed documentary became something more. When every participant disappeared, only the conversations remained-highlighting the contradictions, quirks, and the underlying motivations behind their convictions.

Aswang follows a group of people whose lives have been caught up in these events: a journalist who tries to make a stand against lawlessness, a coroner, a missionary brother who comforts bereaved family members, and a street kid with parents in prison and friends in the cemetery. The film is a shocking account of unprecedented violence and the moral bankruptcy of a regime that still enjoys support from voters.

A journey through the dark, chilling and frequently unbelievable tales of power-broking and deceit from inside the nation's capital. Australian political journalist and commentator Annabel Crabb goes in search of Canberra's secrets over the past century, exploring the passionate interplay of sex, secrets and subterfuge that has long been carried out in the shadows of the national stage. How have our secrets changed over the past century and what does this reveal about us as a society? This is the history that Canberra has tried to hide.

Archival footage, animation and music are used to look back at the eight anti-war protesters who were put on trial following the 1968 Democratic National Convention.

This documentary chronicles the life of Jack Herer and his struggle for awareness and enlightenment of cannabis sativa, a.k.a. marijuana or hemp. His research into this plant culminates in his writing The Emperor Wears No Clothes: The Official Hemp Bible. He has dedicated his life to educating people about the history and many utilizations of hemp, the conspiracy against it, and ending marijuana prohibition.

The two-channel video installation captures scenes from the Manila metropolitan area, home to over 12 million people. Since July 2022, Ferdinand Marcos Jr. – son of the former dictator – has governed the Philippines as its president, alongside Vice President Sara Duterte, daughter of Rodrigo Duterte. The collaboration between Kiri Dalena and Ben Brix incorporates aerial images to reveal the city’s dynamic activity from above, while ground-level shots follow individuals through various aspects of daily life and diverse social and urban spaces: They go to school, drive to work, attend cultural events or church services, paint protest posters, play music, or do domestic chores. Many scenes capture spontaneous moments, while others were reenacted with participants, blurring the lines between documentary and drama. - Michaela Richter, Berlin

Shot over the course of 18 months in New York City's Lower East Side, METHADONIA sheds light on the inherent flaws of legal methadone treatments for heroin addiction by profiling eight addicts, in various stages of recovery and relapse, who attend the New York Center for Addiction Treatment Services (NYCATS).