Unreported World, Channel 4’s foreign affairs series produced by Channel 4 News, is set to return to screens this April for a new run, uncovering major stories from across four continents.
Back in its Friday evening prime-time slot, Channel 4 News has today announced the slate of films in this, its 45th season, as the programme travels from Lebanon to Tennessee via Brazil, Japan and Karnataka in India.
The series begins with presenter Krishnan Guru-Murthy in Lebanon following raids on the banks accused of stealing customer’s savings and concludes with Culture Correspondent Minnie Stephenson in Tennessee with the drag queens resisting new state legislation restricting their rights to perform in public.
Presenter, Krishnan Guru-Murthy, said: “Unreported World is back for yet another series of unparalleled access to some of the most compelling foreign stories of our time. From Lebanon to Brazil, stunning eye-witness reporting will take audiences into unexplored worlds, giving a global platform and voice to communities otherwise unseen. I am delighted to lift the curtain on this, our 45th series, with a special investigation into Beirut’s banking raids.”
The launch of the next series comes as Unreported World is long-listed for TV Doc 2023 in this year’s One World Media Awards, after picking up the Best In Show award at the prestigious Docs Without Borders International Film Festival following our special investigation on Guatemala’s teenage pregnancy crisis last season. Unreported World’s dedicated YouTube Channel has amassed over 1.3 million subscribers demonstrating the brand’s global reach and impact.
Ed Fraser, Executive Producer Unreported World, said: “With its significant global reach, Unreported World continues to go from strength to strength. This next series – the 45th – will be no different, packed with five exceptional films, expertly presented and produced by exclusively Channel 4 News talent. This is foreign reporting at its best, spotlighting some of the most remarkable untold stories from across four continents in signature Channel 4 News style.”
The first of the five 30-minute specials will air from 14 April immediately after Channel 4 News.
Unreported World then joins up with Latin America Correspondent Guillermo Galdos for episode two, following the Brazilian Federal Police investigating how illegal gold, mined in indigenous regions, is allegedly being bought and sold by Brazilian companies and exported abroad, potentially tainting the supply chains of big tech companies. They take in the Kayapo people whose land is being poisoned by gold mining and follow the police’s mission in the rainforest as they tighten the net on the companies supposedly involved.
Next to Chongryon in Japan for episode three with Foreign Correspondent Secunder Kermani who meets a secret community of Koreans whose culture is under attack, as right-wing politicians look to close down schools pledging allegiance to the ‘great leader’ [Kim Jong-Un].
For episode four, Mandakini Ghalot joins the 60-person task force hastily assembled in India to stop a growing number of leopard attacks. As successful conservation collides with rampant urbanisation, Ghalot looks at increasing leopard populations coming into contact with sprawling urban areas, and the communities inhabiting those spaces.
Andy Lee, Series Producer Unreported World, said: “Unreported World unpicks the big issues of our time, through personal and powerful stories, and this series is no exception. In these tumultuous times the programme challenges what it means to have safe savings in the bank, what could really be in our phones, and forces us to think about how the rights we all take for granted could be gone in an instant. Lovers of drag performances will be particularly interested in our series finale.”
Nevine Mabro, Commissioning Editor, Channel 4, said: “We’re delighted to see Unreported World return to Channel 4 this April. The series is a vital part of Channel’s commitment to foreign storytelling, bringing global stories to audiences at home. With a series of stand-out films across four continents, this is Channel 4 News doing what it does best, and we look forward to bringing the remarkable stories and captivating eye-witness journalism to air.”
‘Unreported World’ will be broadcast on Channel 4 from Friday 14 April to Friday 19 May at 7.30pm BST, before being published on YouTube in full each Sunday for global audiences.
Pippa Considine
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