Handcrafted America

The Medieval and Renaissance blade, a profound and beautiful object handcrafted by master artisans of old. An object of great complexity, yet one with a singular use in mind- it is designed to kill. The truth of the sword has been shrouded in antiquity, and the Renaissance martial arts that brought it to being are long forgotten. The ancient practitioners lent us all they knew through their manuscripts. As gunslingers of the Renaissance they were western heroes with swords, and they lived and died by them. Yet today their history remains cloaked under a shadow of legend.

Based on the journal of Knud Rasmussen's "Great Sled Journey" of 1922 across arctic Canada. The film is shot from the perspective of the Inuit, showing their traditional beliefs and lifestyle. It tells the story of the last great Inuit shaman and his beautiful and headstrong daughter; the shaman must decide whether to accept the Christian religion that is converting the Inuit across Greenland.

Magazine photographer Alex Anderson and author Colin Page head to Fiji in search of the illusive blue pearl that Colin wrote about in his bestselling novel Pearl in Paradise. Alex stands to land the creative director position if she can photograph the pearl for the magazine’s 30th anniversary issue, and Colin hopes that by writing a guest article about the long-lost gem he can boost sales of his failing other books and not lose his publisher. As the two head off to their search, neither is aware yet that finding love could be the rarest adventure of all.

A once reluctant homeschool family sells their home and everything in it, packs up in an RV and travels the country to tell the story of the millions of American families who are a part of the Homeschool Revolution. After talking with education experts, homeschooling pioneers, and regular families at every step in their home education journey, they learn come away convinced that it's time for America to bring their children home. The movie follows host, Yvette Hampton, as she travels the country with her family talking with education experts, curriculum developers, college and university faculty and administrators, and homeschooling families at every stage in the process, from kindergarten to college graduation and beyond. As viewers follow Yvette on this journey and share in her challenges and victories as a homeschool mom, they will gather the necessary resources and encouragement to homeschool their own children with excellence.

The incredible life-story of fashion icon, style guru and one of the most influential designers of the 20th century, Dame Mary Quant. One of Britain’s most renowned cultural figures, Quant was at the vanguard of the stylistic revolution of the 60s and 70s, leading the charge away from convention and conservatism through the championing of ground-breaking designs including the miniskirt and hot pants, plus an ingeniously creative partnership with hair stylist, Vidal Sassoon.

In the spring of 1903, on a whim and a fifty-dollar bet, Dr. Horatio Nelson Jackson set off from San Francisco in a 20-horsepower Winton touring car hoping to become the first person to cross the United States in the new-fangled "horseless carriage." Most people doubted that the automobile had much of a future. Jackson's trip would prove them wrong.

Vacation slides are as much the butt of jokes as airline food, VCR clocks, and glamour shots. Americana artist Robert Townsend would disagree. With an interest in vernacular photography—in which amateur photographers shoot everyday images—Robert finds some vacation slides and becomes creatively smitten with one lady who appears in numerous photos, whom he thinks has a “superstar quality.” As he immortalizes her world in paintings that are outsized celebrations of the mid-century era, Townsend finds himself picking up clues and setting upon a quest to learn more about this happy mystery woman and her Kodacolor life. It’s a gorgeous and fascinating film celebrating an incredibly talented artist and his middle-American muse in cat-eye glasses.

In County Durham, England, 1984, a talented young dancer, Billy Elliot, stumbles out of the boxing ring and onto the ballet floor. He faces many trials and triumphs as he strives to conquer his family’s set ways, inner conflict, and standing on his toes in a musical that questions masculinity, gender norms and conformity.

Charlie Fitzpatrick is the most successful high school basketball coach in Georgia history. While many of his players think of him as a father, his relationship with his own "bookworm" son, Evan, is strained. With the help of his wife, Laura and Evan's wife, Heather, Charlie determines the best way to connect and bond is to take his son and grandson, Markie, who has just announced he's dropping out of college to tour with his folk band, to a rustic mountain cabin for a weekend retreat. Only this cabin is the same site where he took his many winning teams to test their mettle over a grueling military-style obstacle course, the same one Evan, as a student never got the chance to complete. This is Charlie's idea of fun, Evan's idea of a nightmare, and Markie's idea of-well he's young and idealistic; he's just going with the flow. .

In April 1999, one of Britain’s most celebrated and loved television presenters and newsreaders, Jill Dando, known for her work on the Six O'Clock News, Crimewatch and Holiday, was shot and killed on the doorstep of her home in the middle of the day. It was a crime that reverberated across the country, from the millions of television viewers used to seeing Jill in their living rooms, all the way up to the heart of government - even the Queen commented on Jill’s death. Now, ahead of the 20th anniversary of her murder, this film tells the full story behind one of Britain’s most high-profile unsolved killings, as told by the people at the heart of the case.

Blues Story presents an impressionistic history of one of the most lasting art forms America has ever produced - as told for the first time through the eyes of the artists who lived it. Combining exclusive interview and performance footage with vintage clips and the music of many Blues legends long gone, the history of this richly felt music is illuminated - from its African roots to its American urban expression - along with its profound place in our cultural heritage. The result is a rare, first-hand glimpse into the lives of these vanishing artists, and a moving, insightful and informative look into a music that continues to be loved by millions throughout the world.

Enjoy an all-American celebration of what may be the country's most popular fast food. From Connecticut to South Carolina to California, Rick Sebak visits some of the nation's coolest hot dog places, taking viewers inside a giant hot dog-shaped building, stopping at some crazy late-night stands, and looking at how hot dogs are made. Wonder how and when hot dogs became so popular-or what toppings are tops these days? Tune in and find out.

The Royal Tour is a groundbreaking series of television specials, produced and hosted by Emmy Award-winning journalist and CBS News Travel Editor Peter Greenberg. Guided by some of the most dynamic and powerful heads of state, Peter journeys deep inside each country to offer viewers an all access pass to extraordinary locations, historic landmarks, and cultural experiences. In this latest edition, Peter received a royal tour from the President of Ecuador, Rafael Correa. For an entire week, Mr. Correa became the ultimate guide, showcasing the visual gems that his country has to offer. They took four camera crews along as they swam with piranha in the Amazon rainforest, went whale watching off the coast of Manta, shopped like a local in a rural town in the Andes Mountains, returned to the President's hometown of Guayaquil and the school he attended, visited a cacao plantation (aka chocolate) farm in Cacao, and went diving with sharks in the Galápagos Islands.

Award-winning comedian Rich Hall takes a country music journey from Tennessee to Texas to look at the movements and artists that don't get as much notoriety but have helped shape the genre over the years. With the help of prominent performers and producers including Michael Martin Murphey, Robbie Fulks and Ray Benson, Rich explores the early origins of country music in Nashville and Austin. He visits the rustic studios where this much-loved sound was born and discovers how the genre has reinvented itself with influences from bluegrass, western swing and americana.

Sheku Kanneh-Mason made history in 2016 when he became the first black winner of the BBC Young Musician competition. Sheku has six musically gifted siblings and this film explores their extraordinary talents and issues of diversity in classical music. We follow Sheku and his brothers and sisters and examine the sacrifices that parents Stuart and Kadie make in order to support their children in pursuing their musical dreams. Told through the prism of family life we get an understanding of what it is that drives this family to be the best musicians they can be. At the heart of the story is 17-year-old Sheku, and we see him coming to terms with his Young Musician win and the pressures and opportunities it brings. His life is changing dramatically as he now has to learn to deal with the challenges of becoming a world-renowned cellist.

Everybody loves ice cream. It’s cool, sweet and delicious. It’s also the tantalizing topic of this happy documentary program that takes viewers to ice cream places across America from Vermont to Hawaii, highlighting outstanding places to get a cone or a bowl. An Ice Cream Show features mostly small ice cream lovers – from makers and eaters to collectors and cone-makers.

Historian Dr Janina Ramirez unlocks the secrets of a centuries-old masterpiece in glass. At 78 feet in height, the famous East Window at York Minster is the largest medieval stained-glass window in the country and it was the creative vision of a single artist - a mysterious master craftsman called John Thornton, one of the earliest named English artists. The East Window of York Minster is far more than a work of artistic genius, it is a window onto the medieval world and the medieval mind - telling us who were once were and who we still are, all preserved in the most fragile medium of all.

Eami means ‘forest’ in Ayoreo. It also means ‘world’. The story happens in the Paraguayan Chaco, the territory with the highest deforestation rate in the world. 25,000 hectares of forest are being deforested a month in this territory which would mean an average of 841 hectares a day or 35 hectares per hour. The forest barely lives and this only due to a reserve that the Totobiegosode people achieved in a legal manner. They call Chaidi this place which means ancestral land or the place where we always lived and it is part of the "Ayoreo Totobiegosode Natural and Cultural Heritage". Before this, they had to live through the traumatic situation of leaving the territory behind and surviving a war. It is the story of the Ayoreo Totobiegosode people, told from the point of view of Asoja, a bird-god with the ability to bring an omniscient- temporal gaze, who becomes the narrator of this story developed in a crossing between documentary and fiction.

In 2004, Evan White was traveling in southern Thailand when the Tsunami washed out the island of Ko Phi Phi. Now she is caught in a world between life and death and seeks help from a gifted young Psychiatrist.

Ann-Margret gave viewers a double dose of movie star glamour in 1975, with a pair of TV specials designed to showcase her musical and comedic talents. Arriving first up in January was this program "Ann-Margret Olsson" with guest stars The Osmonds and Ike & Tina Turner Turner. (The follow-up special "Ann-Margret Smith" debuted in November.)

Divine Design is a Canadian interior design show produced by Fusion Television which airs on W Network in Canada and HGTV in the United States. It is broadcast on Thursdays, 9pm e/p and is hosted by Candice Olson, one of Canada's top designers. In the show, Olson heads a team of artisans and skilled labourers that includes Paul Daly, Lorne Hogan, Chico Garcia, Edmond Joseph, Terry Edward Briceland and Andrew Downward. The half-hour show features Olson's step-by-step interior redesign of a client's living space mixed with campy comedy shorts before each commercial break.

Hosts and judges Duff Goldman and Valerie Bertinelli will lead eight talented kid bakers through challenges designed to find the most-impressive and creative young baker. In each challenge the contestants, ranging in age from 10 to 13, will be tested on their baking skills and originality as they whip up delectable desserts, including creative cakes, mouthwatering cookies and pastries.

In this reality competition, craft makers from all walks of life take on a series of projects. Over the course of each episode, the contestants must tackle a different theme, hand-making items in different disciplines — the difficulty of which increases with every episode until a winner is crowned.

The Oprah Winfrey Show, often referred to simply as Oprah, is an American syndicated talk show that aired nationally for 25 seasons from 1986 to 2011. Produced and hosted by its namesake, Oprah Winfrey, it remains the highest-rated talk show in American television history. The show was highly influential, and many of its topics penetrated into the American pop-cultural consciousness. Winfrey used the show as a platform to teach and inspire, providing viewers with a positive, spiritually uplifting experience by featuring book clubs, compelling interviews, self-improvement segments, and philanthropic forays into world events. The show gained credibility by not trying to profit off the products it endorsed; it had no licensing agreement with retailers when products were promoted, nor did the show make any money from endorsing books for its book club. Oprah is one of the longest-running daytime television talk shows in history. The show received 47 Daytime Emmy Awards before Winfrey decided to stop submitting it for consideration in 2000.

Dancers selected in open auditions across America take part in a rigorous competition designed to best display their talents, training and personalities to a panel of judges and viewers as they strive to win votes and avoid elimination.

Globe Trekker is an adventure tourism television series produced by Pilot Productions. The British series was inspired by the Lonely Planet travelbooks and began airing in 1994. Globe Trekker is broadcast in over 40 countries across six continents. Each episode features a host, called a traveller, who travels with a camera crew to a country—often, a relatively exotic locale—and experiences the sights, sounds, and culture that the location has to offer. Special episodes feature in-depth city, beach, dive, shopping, history, festival, and food guides. The show often goes far beyond popular tourist destinations in order to give viewers a more authentic look at local culture. Presenters usually participate in different aspects of regional life, such as attending a traditional wedding or visiting a mining community. They address the viewer directly, acting as tourists-turned-tour guides, but are also filmed interacting with locals and discovering interesting locations in unrehearsed sequences. Globe Trekker also sometimes includes brief interviews with backpackers who share tips on independent travel in that particular country.

Expert mechanics showcasing repairs that go beyond the basics, from modifications and upgrades to customizations and body work, all using high-end performance and aftermarket products. The guys combine a craftsman's laser focus with some playful banter to lead viewers through hands-on, highly detailed projects.

Host Neil deGrasse Tyson brings together celebrities, scientists and comedians to explore a variety of cosmic topics and collide pop culture with science in a way that late-night television has never seen before. Weekly topics range from popular science fiction, space travel, extraterrestrial life, the Big Bang, to the future of Earth and the environment. Tyson is an astrophysicist with a gifted ability to connect with everyone, inspiring us all to to "keep looking up."

We all know celebrities who inspire us. But have you ever wondered where the inspiration for their home design comes from? From Backstreet Boy AJ McLean's gothic-inspired home to country superstar Naomi Judd's Nashville estate, host Nancy O'Dell gets an all-access pass inside the homes of today's hottest celebrities to see what inspires their spaces.

Kirstie provides a flurry of jovial festive fun - with enough competitions, makes, decorations, gifts, food and drink to inspire every kind of crafter.

In A Craftsman’s Legacy, host Eric Gorges goes on a quest to discover the true craftsmen in today's world. Traveling across the country, Gorges interviews the men and women responsible for carrying the tools, trades and traditions of fine craftsmanship into the 21st century.

Follow husband and wife tiny home builder duo, Tyson and Michelle Spiess as together with Michelle's two brothers and their wives they run the country's premier, high-end tiny home building company. In each episode we'll see a tiny home built from start to finish as this team works to fit every single client wish item into a space suited to travel anywhere.

Follow innovative builders as they crisscross the country transforming shipping containers into luxurious and creative homes for discerning clients. Give up your idea of traditional design and start thinking inside the box!

Driven by faith, family and American tradition, three young cowboys - Bubba Thompson, Cody Harris, and Chris "Booger" Brown - work hard to build their cattle business in South Alabama and live according to an old-fashioned cowboy code.

Italian cuisine is so much more than pizza and pasta – but there’s still lots of tasty pasta in Bonacini’s Italy. Celebrity Chef Michael Bonacini cooks his way through 15 Italian regions, exploring the flavours and ingredients that make these areas unique. Each episode takes us through an entire meal from one region, from antipasto, soup, or salad, to delicious primo, succulent secondo, and even sometimes a decadent dolce. As he cooks, Michael regales viewers with stories of his travels in Italy and tells us interesting facts about each region he focuses on. Set in a warm, contemporary kitchen, Michael inspires viewers to try their hand at making sumptuous Italian fare.

In each of the six hour-long episodes, four bakers, along with their assistants, must bake non-stop in 3 rounds for 2 hours each. They first must complete creative cookies, next is decadent cupcakes and, finally, a showpiece cake; all from scratch and inspired by a surprise theme. As each round nears the two hour mark, Buddy and two rotating expert judges visit each baker’s station to taste and critique their sweets. With time still running and the bakers continuing to work, the judges determine the baker’s item on the bottom of the batch and send them home; until the last round when a winner is declared from the 2 remaining bakers. It’s a battle against the clock and the winning baker gets to finally relax on a dream vacation of their choice!

A celebration of Scottish history and culture, with Outlander stars Sam Heughan and Graham McTavish discovering the heritage of their native country, meeting local artisans and experts and experiencing genuine moments of awe and fascination as they share their travels with the audience.

If there's one man who can work the room, it's designer and host Kenneth Brown (a frequent guest on HGTV programs before starring on "reDesign"). The Louisiana native's tasteful take on interiors always results in interesting transformations, and his warm and bubbly personality lends itself to easily understood explanations of how the creative process unfolds. Brown's natural inclination to always work closely with clients and clearly explain his reasoning during the redesigns also helps viewers understand his process for redefining spaces.

In an atmosphere as inviting as her recipes, Sandra Lee, author of the best-selling cookbook Semi-Homemade Cooking, shares her techniques for combining fresh ingredients with specially selected store-bought items. The results: mouthwatering meals and desserts, prepared in minutes, that taste like they were made from scratch. Now you can see why consumers, viewers and celebrities from Katie Couric to Nathan Lane have made Sandra Lee one of America's most sought-after culinary experts!

This do-it-yourself series features the creative talents and enthusiastic personality of the top-selling craft book author Mark Montano. The trend-setting former fashion designer and his guest experts create affordable, accessible and customizable projects for the whole family. Each episode allows Mark to explore a fun theme — from Halloween and Downton Abbey to Fashion Week.