RT Documentary’s most memorable filming locations
In pursuit of the most powerful stories, our film crews have travelled to all continents and the most distant places, from North Korea to the Faroe Islands, from the depths of the Siberian taiga to Mauritania, from the Amazon rainforest to the paradise islands of the Philippines. Here are some of them.
Western Sahara
Our correspondent, Marina Kosareva, went deep into the world’s biggest desert to visit the disputed territory of Western Sahara for her film, Western Sahara - Determined. It was a long, hot journey interspersed with days of waiting at a dusty Sahrawi refugee camp in the South of Algeria for permission to cross the border.
Marina’s destination was a minefield in Western Sahara. This was being cleared by a team of refugee women, after a decades-long conflict which has left the desert strewn with millions of mines. She finally joined the women at dawn, dodging both mines and venomous snakes, before enjoying traditional desert hospitality right in the conflict zone.
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Agafia’s Siberian taiga
Author Vitaly Buzuev and film-maker Pavel Baydikov took an epic journey to the literal wilds of Siberia for the honour of filming the world’s favourite hermit, Agafia Lykova. When the crew landed in Abakan, the capital of the republic of Khakasia, there was a local state of emergency due to flash flooding. But they still had 500 km to go in the taiga. This included a 300 km boat ride up the Abakan river that flows past Agafia’s forest dwelling, since no road comes anywhere near her home, deep in the National Park of the Western Sayan Mountains.
Because the river had swollen considerably, no one was prepared to risk their lives on the trip. But three weeks later, after the flooding had subsided somewhat, they finally found a park inspector who was willing to give it ago. So they went up the raging river, dodging trees and rocks, and even having to walk along the river bank for 1 km while their captain navigated a particularly treacherous rapid. They finally made it, and the men were soon put to work by Agafia.
Stone Agers on Palawan Island
To film Palawan Lost, director Natalya Karachkova went right back to the Stone Age when she travelled to the island of Palawan in the Philippines. The turquoise sea and palm beaches were straight out of paradise. Here, the local inhabitants, known as Tau’t Bato, or ‘stone people’ still dwell in caves during the rainy season, wear minimal clothing and hunt for food in the ancient rainforest. But the modern world wouldn’t just let them be. So they shared with Natalya their simple lifestyle as well as the story of their battle with the illegal loggers who are destroying their garden of Eden.
RT Documentary’s crews have managed to get to many astonishing places, but there’s many more to come. Here’s to the next 10 years of exploring the farthest corners of planet Earth!