MOSCOW, JUNE 23 — RTDoc, RT's 24/7 documentary channel, is marking its 10th anniversary. Over its decade on air, RTDoc has produced over 800 films and aired some 1,000 episodes of documentary series, many of which have been recognized for excellence by top international awards including the New York Festivals, Telly Awards, and OMNI Intermedia Awards.
“For the last ten years we've been making documentaries that have highlighted crucial global challenges and compelling personal stories. While the channel’s content originally focused on Russia, it has grown to explore the entire planet, taking our crews to the farthest corners of the Earth. RTDoc teams are willing to take the risk to cover stories that matter,” says head of RTDoc Ekaterina Yakovleva.
RTDoc’s work has also been a force for positive social change. For example, films that focused on women's and children’s rights in Afghanistan and Kyrgyzstan (She is My Son: Afghanistan's Bacha Posh, When Girls Become Boys and Brides by Force. Marriage by kidnapping pushes Kyrgyz women to suicide) sparked public debate about the issues they addressed.
Over its years of broadcasting, RTDoc has won dozens of international awards. In 2021, its documentary titled Dying Alone: Kodokushi, Japan's epidemic of isolation through the eyes of a 'lonely death' cleaner received gold at the New York Festivals awards. The film tells of modern Japan and its epidemic of isolation, where thousands of elderly people die in their homes without anyone knowing. A number of RTDoc's films have also previously received the New York Festivals’ top awards: Growing up with War: Children of Syria. The tragedy of kids who have never known peace, H2WOE India's Water Crisis: A Warning To The World, and Blood & Honor: Chechen Vendetta Code, which details an ancient custom still alive in modern-day Caucasus. In 2019, RTDoc film My Forever Family. Why special needs children need really special families, which talks about a Russian charity called 'Road of Life', was Highly Commended in the finals of the AIB Awards.
RT Documentary is available on satellite and cable TV networks in Russia and abroad. RTDoc films are also available at doc.rt.com.