 From the early 1900s to the onset of the Great Depression, French financier Albert Kahn and a squad of intrepid photographers sought out the world’s vanishing cultures and societies. Using the new technologies of cinema and autochrome photography, Kahn’s team depicted the varied, far-flung faces of humanity—and, in the process, created a massive historical, anthropological, and sociological record. This nine-part series takes viewers inside the making of the Archive of the Planet, displaying hundreds of its films and images and highlighting Kahn’s compassionate, global sensibility. Newly recorded footage draws comparisons with archival views while present-day historians and photography experts add commentary. A BBC/Musée Albert-Kahn (Département des Hauts-de-Seine—France) Co-production. 9-part series, 50-52 minutes each.
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