The Power and the Glory

Presidents, kings, queens and heroes know that their positions come with power and glory, but it seems that even after death, John F Kennedy, Robert the Bruce and many more, are still revered decades or even centuries later. Mystery adds to the potency of other legendary figures deaths. The princess Pocahontas' grave remains undiscovered, Eva Peron's body caused a government to be overthrown, relatives push for DNA tests for the Vietnam war 'unknown' warrior and the bodies of the murdered Russian imperial family are uncovered. This documentary explores the mysteries that shrouds their deaths and gave them 'immortality' to this day. John F Kennedy's life and death has taken on a mystical aura in our history. The events surrounding his death have many puzzling details which have had conspiracy theorists chewing on for years. But even after he was buried, there is another twist to these events. John F Kennedy was buried in mahogany casket which was different to the one he was first laid in straight from the morgue. The original bronze casket was obtained by the US government after being stored in the national archives. But the Kennedy family demanded that the casket to be disposed of. The casket which once held JFK was drilled with holes and dropped 130 miles off the coast, into the Atlantic sea. Questions surround this action and to this day, like many other events around JFK's assassination, has never been solved. The story of a 'king's heart' starts with the hero of the Scots. The popular movie 'Braveheart' was inspired by the Scots courageous battle for freedom against the oppressive English rulers. Robert the Bruce fought to free his people against the tyrannical rein but his dream was to go on a crusade to the Holy land. When he knew he wasn't going to live after contracting leprosy, he commanded that his heart be cut out and taken on a crusade. His army and loyal men carried his heart with them into many battles. Even after death he gave courage to his country. Centuries later a mysterious tin canister was found during an excavation at a Scottish abbey. Inside scientists and researchers discovered remains of a human heart. The heart of the king was reburied at Melrose Abbey and still beats in the hearts of the Scottish people. Death is not the end for these iconic historical figures but becomes a new twist to their stories. Although they are deceased, their spirits live on and continues to intrigue new generations - all part of the 'power and the glory'.

Westall '66: A Suburban UFO Mystery

Westall '66: A Suburban UFO Mystery, directed and edited by Rosie Jones, is a riveting and unique look at what happened in the Westall suburb of Melbourne in 1966. Westall High School was the center of the biggest mass UFO sighting in Australia, yet the event was deliberately suppressed. Jones and her team try to find out why. At the mention of UFO's, you may be bracing yourself for a film peppered with tin-hat wearing conspiracy theorists, but you may have to revise your opinion. Candid eyewitness accounts reveal active, attentive people who have lived with a memory that brought them ridicule, and censure, but the stories they tell and the pictures they draw show that they have not forgotten what happened. As the film progresses, a variety of techniques maintain the delicate and deliberate balance of fact and opinion. Jones marries the austerity and somberness of statistics, recordings, and interviews with playful sketches, poignant clips, and animated narration. This approach underscores a commitment to present an objective, transparent film that is visually diverse. Jones' commitment to neutrality has a similar effect on the participants and overall tenor of the film. Consequently, we hear students, laborers, community members, researchers, and others talk about what occurred on that fateful April day, and the curious happenings that followed. They all report seeing something above the paddock that did not look like anything they had ever seen. Some saw it land; some saw it fly away. However, they were all told by school authorities, or police, or other officials in uniform to keep quiet. Many of them were punished and ridiculed if they tried to talk about it, and so they kept silent. Still, they remember what they saw, and thus, the mystery persists. In the end, Jones successfully delivers a film that may fascinate you, intrigue you, or simply encourage you to keep listening.

Symbols of an Alien Sky

As a modern society, we stand in awe as we gaze upon the colossal monuments and mysterious cultures of ancient times. These civilizations were vastly different from our own; so different, in fact, that our perspectives on the world as it exists today often place a barrier to our comprehension of ancient beliefs and customs. This documentary titled Symbols of an Alien Sky seeks to rectify this. With vivid insight and enlightening exploration, the film allows us to fully grasp and appreciate the customs of our ancient ancestors through their observations and interpretations of celestial events. Celestial activities and planetary movements are the subjects of exhaustive research today, and can generally be predicted with great degrees of accuracy. But ancient civilizations approached the canvas of our skies with great fear and reverence, often imbuing its activities with profound mythological connotations. For them, the chaotic events of their times were written and reflected in the skies. The movements of planets were once thought by our earliest astronomers to represent the presence of omniscient gods. These gods were the subject of much worship and trembling wonder as evidenced by the ceremonies, monuments and artifacts of the time. In fact, reverence for the gods overwhelmingly defined every aspect of these ancient cultures. While most modern scientists generally regard these beliefs as symptomatic of a naive civilization, Symbols of an Ancient Sky poses several intriguing theories which challenge this assumption. For example, the prominence of various beliefs, symbols and archetypes are strikingly common across every ancient culture. This commonality is apparent in centuries-old recounts of the dragon, an unexplained mythological phenomenon whose existence was insisted upon by every culture of ancient times. Could this creature, in addition to the other widely accepted archetypes of the day, have really existed in some form? Symbols of an Ancient Sky opens our minds to the infinite possibilities of our ancient world. This noble journey is unlike any other, and could forever alter our perceptions of the planet we once inhabited and the one in which we exist today.

The Lightning-Scarred Planet Mars

Few planets have been the subject of more intense study than Mars. In spite of these efforts, there is much about our planetary neighbor that remains elusive to us. How, for instance, can we logically account for the volume and depth of various craters and ridges that scar the surface of Mars? So begins the journey of The Lightning-Scarred Planet Mars (second episode from the Symbols of an Alien Sky), a riveting dissection of each prominent formation present on the planet's surface, and theories which propose answers for how they originated. Once considered a barren wasteland void of any measure of activity, our understanding of the planet Mars has evolved significantly over time. Yet, modern cosmology frequently falls back on antiquated theories when trying to explain the planet's endless grooves, indentations, carvings and gouges. Experts have long held that these imperfections resulted from interactions with assorted asteroids and comets over the course of millions of years. But the specificity of many of these craters - including their oftentimes peculiar shapes, sizes and locations - exclude such a possibility. As in the first episode of the series, connections are made between our present search for answers and the beliefs of our ancient ancestors who were likely presented with a much more volatile and active celestial landscape. They interpreted these phenomena as the workings of all-powerful gods to whom they regarded with awe-struck reverence. While this thinking may be considered intensely naïve to the scientific culture of today, it could still represent a powerful key to reaching the plausible explanations which continue to mystify us. Picking up cues from these ancient ancestors, The Lightning-Scarred Planet Mars explores the possibility that this "scarring" could only have been the product of interplanetary electrical discharge, the cosmic thunderbolts of sorts that occur when planets near orbital collision. Authoritatively narrated by comparative mythologist David Talbott, the film presents hypothesis supporting the veracity of this claim, including a series of laboratory tests that supposedly preclude any other conclusions.

The Electric Comet

The third episode of the Symbols of an Alien Sky series, Electric Comet investigates the science of comets with a focus on the electrical behavior of the sun in comet creation, and the greater cosmic implications of these findings. Through the use of motion graphics, stock space photography, and a moody instrumental score the filmmakers dramatize their study, contrasting existing long-held views of comet science against the more recent electrical theory. While standard scientific belief to date has supported a "dirty snowball" hypothesis that comets are made primarily of water, carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, and primordial dust originating from solar dust known as the Oort Cloud, the bulk of the film makes the case for new evidence supporting an electric model of comets. The electric theory posits that comets are created by debris left behind by powerful electrical activity during an earlier phase of the solar system's development. Electric theorists believe that comets were born of "a much more recent epoch of planetary instability and violence" than previously believed, a possibility that not only challenges the current understanding of comets, but an understanding of the greater universe in general. Arguing in favor of the electric model, the film examines several variables that differentiate the two theories. From the mineral makeup of comets to the role of heat in comet projection, the function of water in comet illumination, and the impressive amount of information that can be gleaned from the study of comet tails, there is no shortage of supporting material to consider. A number of notable comets and comet events are also reviewed, calling into question what those events might offer as insight into the nature of comets. Electric Comet's jargon-rich narration assumes an existing level of familiarity with comet theory from the audience, and may most appeal to those with an active interest in astronomy and related sciences. Relying heavily on informative narration and images of the cosmos intercut with title cards of supporting quotes, questions, and research findings, Electric Comet is essentially a feature-length research presentation that challenges existing notions of comet science.

The City of Atlantis

This episode of National Geographic's Naked Science centers on the fabled lost city of Atlantis, believed to have been destroyed by a natural disaster an estimated 11,000 years ago. The filmmakers explore ancient ruins in four Mediterranean and Caribbean locations in an effort to confirm or dispel theories of where - and if - Atlantis may have been. Writer Ignatius Donnelly first sparked public interest in the search for Atlantis in the 19th century, a quest that has continued to maintain its momentum through present day. First introduced by the writings of Plato, Atlantis is said to have been an advanced, sophisticated civilization rich in art and culture. It is widely believed that a tsunami brought Atlantis to its end, and commonly assumed that its remains are underwater. The filmmakers cite certain details from Plato's depiction of the doomed metropolis, such as the city's layout and ritual practices like animal sacrifice, and use them as a gauge to determine if any of the sites they visit could indeed be the remains of the legendary city. The filmmakers travel to Malta, the Bahamas, Greece and Cuba to evaluate ancient architecture both above and below the sea as we learn some of the historical reasons for selecting these locations. For example, Nazi party leaders were the first to focus on Malta. The SS had a vested interest in locating Atlantis, as they felt their "super race" may have originated there and finding evidence of it would prove their superiority. In the 1940s a self-proclaimed psychic named Edgar Casey predicted Atlantis would rise again near the Bahama's Bimini Islands. In 1968 an underwater rock formation now known as the Bimini Road was discovered, leading some to theorize that these large, flat structures are remnants of Atlantis. Interviews with tour guides, researchers and general Atlantis enthusiasts paint a fuller picture of both the mythical society and those who seek it, balancing arguments for its existence against skepticism and wonder. A fun and unique travelogue, Naked Science: Atlantis takes viewers on a playful and whimsical trans-Atlantic journey that stimulates the imagination and provokes one’s curiosity.

The Living Stones of Sacsayhuaman

A fascinating document of an architectural, historical and cultural wonder, The Living Stones of Sacsayhuaman takes viewers on a journey to the outskirts of Peru where a team of Russian researchers work to uncover the mysteries of the stone walls built by the Incas. This marvel of construction seems impossible even by today's standards. Lacking any form of scripted communication, the Incas left behind no written indications of their customs. This has long complicated the quest to retrace and fully comprehend their astounding architectural achievements. Their structures can be found in a variety of sites from Ecuador to Chile, including Machu Picchu and Ollantaytambo. The walls of Sacsayhuaman, however, are perhaps the most awe-inspiring and perplexing of all Incan structures. Massive in scale and sophisticated in its geometric precision, the sheer complexity of Sacsayhuaman left many questioning whether it was the work of gods or demons. Thought to have been constructed in the middle of the 15th century, Sacsayhuaman features long stretching rows of stones, each weighing as much as three hundred tons. How were these blocks transported, and forced to fit together with such accuracy? That is but one mystery confronted by a team of Russian geophysicists as they travel to the site during the summer of 2012. The film follows these researchers, and benefits from the wealth of finely detailed footage they captured on their expedition. They collect samples of the soil surrounding the structure, as well as several of the stone formations, all of which will undergo further in-depth study at a research laboratory in their homeland. These studies will hopefully indicate the types of stones that comprise the mammoth walls, the means by which they were joined, and the materials used to aid in the process of their construction. Illuminating and transporting, The Living Stones of Sacsayhuaman reminds us of the awesome wisdom of ancient civilizations, and how they managed to transcend their minimal resources with maximum ingenuity and skill. In spite of the countless advances brought forth by our modern world, many of their most spectacular accomplishments may forever remain out of our reach of understanding.