Cinema History

The festival is established as a response to Mussolini's control of the existing Venice Film Festival. It becomes an inspiration to a generation still recovering from the impact of WWII by attracting the biggest stars of the time including Grace Kelly, Elizabeth Taylor and legendary director Orson Welles.

The French New Wave directors, including Francois Truffaut and Jean-Luc Godard, cause massive controversy and manage to get the event cancelled in 1968. Sophia Loren becomes the new queen of the festival and the Golden Boys of American cinema, including Martin Scorsese and Robert Altman, become regular winners of the Palme d'Or.

We hear from the likes of Francis Ford Coppola, Quentin Tarantino, Mike Leigh and many others about the festival as it is today. Cannes still attracts the biggest stars in the world but it is also the most prestigious film festival where all the world's greatest directors want to show their films.

Muhammad Ali is not only considered among the greatest heavyweights in boxing history but as arguably the greatest sports personality of all time. We meet George Lois, the man behind the legendary Esquire cover, and Lawrence Lusting, who photographed many of Ali's fights.

Agatha Christie's novels have been translated into 44 languages and sold in 103 countries. After Shakespeare, she is the world's best-selling author in any genre with over 2 billion books sold.

Anne Frank was one of the most discussed Jewish victims of the Holocaust. Her wartime diary, "The Diary of a Young Girl," has been the basis for several plays and films, and is an inspiration to young people. In this episode we meet Eva Schloss (Anne Frank's step-sister) and visit the Anne Frank museum.