ARTE France.

Can the phenomenon of today's allergy explosion be rationally explained? This film highlights environmental causes and the protection strategies we have at our disposal. It debunks the classical theory that attributes allergies to a natural flaw in our immune system and sheds light on industry's role in the spread of this modern scourge. Calling to attention the lack of testing on the effects of pesticides and antibiotics before putting them on the...

The Leica is unique in the history of twentieth-century design - in terms of longevity, if nothing else. Designed in 1914 by an engineer named Bernack, it went into mass production in 1925. The ten-year interval between design and production reflects the uncertainty of a period in which war was followed by a series of political and economic crises. As the first camera that allowed the photographer to take snapshots, the Leica ushered in the photo-journalism...

Having become organizer of the world, Zeus entrusted the world of the sea to his brother Poseidon, and the underworld, or the kingdom of the dead, to Hades. Alone, in a place he had not chosen himself, Hades reigned over the people of the shadows and over the grimacing creatures that surrounded him. One day, having left his kingdom to breathe a little air on the surface, he crossed paths with the beautiful Persephone, with whom he fell in love - and...

From the Danish "Leg godt" meaning "play well," the name Lego has become synonymous with facility, imagination, functional design, longevity, success, and limitless creativity. In 2009, Lego will celebrate its 50th anniversary and the 320 billions of blocks sold since the toy first debuted in1949. The Danish creator, Ole Kirk Christiansen, set forth a revolutionary concept that would make his invention last for generations to come: plastic modular...

Raphael's Portrait of Baldassare Castiglione inspired many painters including: Rembrandt, Rubens, and Matisse. The portrait reveals the friendship between the artist and model, but also philosophy of the Renaissance and proclivities of Castiglione. Learn about the artist's technique, inspirations, influences, and legacy.

The war has ended, and the streets erupt in celebration. Montparnasse swings to the rhythms of jazz and hops to the buzz of lively cafés. Paris is a movable feast. Conceived as reactions against the absurdity of war, the Dadaist and Surrealist revolutions are underway. Leading the charge are "the three musketeers": Breton, Aragon, and Soupault, backed by Man Ray, Desnos, Tzara, and many others. In 1919, one of the major works of the Surrealist movement...

At the gates of Dakar, the blue and white buildings of the Keur Massar Hospital of Traditional Medicine stretch out peacefully. When it was founded in 1980, the hospital was built in an isolated zone to treat people with leprosy. Today, patients come from all over the capital and the surrounding regions to consult the hospital's healers and to visit the pharmacy. Traditional practitioner Alio Ngom welcomes Bernad Fontanille to Keur Massar and explains...

The Maisons-Laffitte chateau overlooks the Seine and has a French- style garden on a gentle slope. It is made up of a central block, flanked by two wings. The Hotel de Ville in Paris and the town halls of each of the twenty Paris arrondissements were built on the same model. The chateau is so famous that its image is commonplace. Yet the Château de Maisons was revolutionary in French chateau architecture. It was the masterpiece of a brilliant architect,...

Brazil is said to be a sleeping giant waking up to become one of the world leaders. Our film will tell the country's history through the eyes of two families over several generations. In one of the families, the slaves of before became domestic workers, and the former domestics are now employees, with fixed hours and living in their own homes, where they raise their own children rather than those of their bosses. They have reached the middle class....

After the First World War ended, the parish priest at Le Raincy decided to build a new church to honor fallen soldiers. But the country was ruined and the clergy's coffers were empty. Architect Auguste Perret took up the double challenge of urgency and budget. Building quickly and cheaply at that period meant building with reinforced concrete-a material considered shameful and only fit for industrial use. Thirteen months of work on site was enough...