''Don't Tell My Mother'' is a television programme hosted by
Diego Buñuel
Diego Buñuel (born 21 July 1975 in Paris) is a French-American filmmaker and the host and director of the National Geographic Channel series '' Don't Tell My Mother''. He is also the host of a television news show in France called '' Les Nouveaux ...
and shown on the subscription television channel
Nat Geo Adventure
National Geographic (also known as Nat Geo) is an Indian pay television channel that features non-fiction, documentaries involving nature, science, culture, and history, produced by the National Geographic Society. National Geographic Channel o ...
.
Development
For the past ten years, Diego Buñuel has been a foreign correspondent for French television covering countries like
Iraq
Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...
,
Afghanistan
Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...
, or the
Congo. Every time he left for one of his stories, he would tell his production crew in the
Paris
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
office, "Don't tell my mother I am in
Colombia
Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...
, it makes her really nervous." After a few years of traveling repeatedly, Buñuel realized that the international news coverage, which he was part of, only focused on the worst headlines possible. Thus, Buñuel embarked on a rather unusual effort – to talk about countries that make headlines, but instead of focusing on the same three basic stories, he extended the reach of his eye to look at a more subtle vision of these countries, full of culture, people, interests that rise high above the daily news reports.
''Don't Tell My Mother'' criss-crosses the globe as Buñuel stops in burgeoning mega-cities – some plagued by the overwhelming demands that come along with housing millions of residents. But all these cities are riding high on the hopes of newcomers arriving daily in search of opportunity. Whether he is spending the night in one of the most dangerous parts of
São Paulo
São Paulo (, ; Portuguese for 'Saint Paul') is the most populous city in Brazil, and is the capital of the state of São Paulo, the most populous and wealthiest Brazilian state, located in the country's Southeast Region. Listed by the GaWC a ...
with a group of graffiti artists inspiring radical social change, dressing in drag in
Dhaka
Dhaka ( or ; bn, ঢাকা, Ḍhākā, ), formerly known as Dacca, is the capital and largest city of Bangladesh, as well as the world's largest Bengali-speaking city. It is the eighth largest and sixth most densely populated city ...
, or drag racing through
Johannesburg
Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu and xh, eGoli ), colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, or "The City of Gold", is the largest city in South Africa, classified as a megacity, and is one of the 100 largest urban areas in the world. According to Demo ...
, Buñuel explores these diverse metropolises.
Buñuel, on the show, comments: "Travelling is my passion – I'm fascinated by the remarkable stories every country has to offer. It was this desire that led me to travel the world – to Pakistan, Venezuela, Iraq and more – looking for stories and meeting fascinating people along the way. It was a great trip, sometimes travelling to dangerous places, which is why I never told my mother where I was when travelling – check out my video, photos and blogs from the trip here, but do me a favour – Don't Tell My Mother."
Season 1
Colombia
Known for drug-trafficking, kidnapping and guns, Colombia has a well-earned reputation for danger. Buñuel gets his first taste of this treacherous lifestyle after meeting a tailor who specializes in bullet-proof clothing. In a country that produces 80 percent of the world's cocaine, Buñuel goes on patrol with the farmers tasked with destroying cocaine plants one-by-one in the mine-littered fields of guerrilla country. Travelling to
Medellin, Buñuel visits the abandoned home of
drug lord
A drug lord, drug baron, kingpin or narcotrafficker is a high-ranking crime boss who controls a sizable network of people involved in the illegal drug trade. Such figures are often difficult to bring to justice, as they are normally not directly ...
Pablo Escobar
Pablo Emilio Escobar Gaviria (; ; 1 December 19492 December 1993) was a Colombian drug lord and narcoterrorist who was the founder and sole leader of the Medellín Cartel. Dubbed "the king of cocaine", Escobar is the wealthiest criminal in h ...
, where he tours Escobar's dinosaur park full of towering dinosaur statues, and visits Escobar's pet hippos. Buñuel also meets one of Escobar's former hired gunmen who now teaches the children of his fallen friends. On Dead Man's Road, Buñuel heads to Cali, where travelling at the wrong time of day can get you kidnapped. Kidnapping is so prevalent, one radio station has developed the 'Hostage Voices' programme so relatives can send messages to hostages over the radio. Despite the rampant civil war dividing the country, Colombia has made steps forward – in Picalena Prison, one warden has helped unite right-wing paramilitaries with left-wing guerrillas through an unlikely tactic: soccer.
Afghanistan
Buñuel takes a 52-minute road trip from the capital Kabul to Taliban hotbed Kandahar, stopping by Mazar-e-Sharif and Herat. From the Kabul golf course, to a female Army helicopter pilot, from an interview with Mullah Omar's look-alike who spent two years in hiding, to the first night-club open to Afghanis, Buñuelexplores stories about a country that many have tried to boil down to burkas, bearded fighters and poppy harvests.
Congo
Buñuel travels around the Democratic Republic of Congo, a place ridden with gang violence and political instability.
Pakistan
Buñuel travelled to Pakistan to break some of the stereotypes that have plagued this country. Roaming from
Karachi
Karachi (; ur, ; ; ) is the most populous city in Pakistan and 12th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 20 million. It is situated at the southern tip of the country along the Arabian Sea coast. It is the former cap ...
,
Hyderabad
Hyderabad ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana and the ''de jure'' capital of Andhra Pradesh. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River (India), Musi River, in the northern part ...
,
Lahore
Lahore ( ; pnb, ; ur, ) is the second most populous city in Pakistan after Karachi and 26th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 13 million. It is the capital of the province of Punjab where it is the largest city. ...
,
Islamabad
Islamabad (; ur, , ) is the capital city of Pakistan. It is the country's ninth-most populous city, with a population of over 1.2 million people, and is federally administered by the Pakistani government as part of the Islamabad Capital T ...
and to end finally in the Pakistani Himalayas.
North Korea
After leaving behind his cell phone, GPS and even newspapers before entering the country, Buñuel poses as an actor to enter North Korea. Two friendly touring guides accompanied him and provides any necessary information. Starting in the capital of Pyongyang, Buñuel is housed in a hotel built on an island. Attending a Catholic mass in Pyongyang, Buñuel finds that there are no ordained priests in North Korea; mass is led by party members. Buñuel also tours a fairground where children have the chance to 'Kill American Imperialism' in a shooting game. Venturing to the world's largest stadium, Buñuel watches 100,000 dancers perform in celebration of 60 years of dictatorship. While this festivity paints an image of happiness and unity, the portrait is not quite as picturesque in the countryside. The effects of poverty, famine and oppression are deeply etched in the faces of its people and the landscape. Even in Pyongyang, the signs of repression are omnipresent – from the number of dances allowed to be performed (only 5–7 according to one party member) to the images of
Kim Jong Il
Kim Jong-il (; ; ; born Yuri Irsenovich Kim;, 16 February 1941 – 17 December 2011) was a North Korean politician who was the second supreme leader of North Korea from 1994 to 2011. He led North Korea from the 1994 death of his father Kim ...
found in every corner.
Holy Land (Palestine)
Buñuel goes from the
Gaza Strip
The Gaza Strip (;The New Oxford Dictionary of English (1998) – p.761 "Gaza Strip /'gɑːzə/ a strip of territory under the control of the Palestinian National Authority and Hamas, on the SE Mediterranean coast including the town of Gaza.. ...
to
Jerusalem
Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...
. We meet a printer of the Martyrs of Gaza; Nadim, a Christian brewer in
Ramallah
Ramallah ( , ; ar, رام الله, , God's Height) is a Palestinian city in the central West Bank that serves as the ''de facto'' administrative capital of the State of Palestine. It is situated on the Judaean Mountains, north of Jerusale ...
; Lucy, who rescues Palestinian donkeys and tries to rehabilitate them; and rappers at a Gazan bachelor party.
Venezuela
Buñuel visits Caracas. He stumbles across a socialist protest where tense relations with the U.S. over politics and oil are top of mind for participants. But while government-enforced low costs have made gas unbelievably cheap for Venezuelans – just a few cents per litre – regulations have caused massive food shortages. Buñuel sneaks over the Colombian border to investigate illegal gas smuggling. In the countryside of San Felipe, agrarian reform is putting land back into the hands of the people with former sugar cane workers kicking out their former bosses. With a machete and some VHS film tape, workers mark off their land, waiting for it to be recognised by the local mayor's office. High in the Venezuelan Andes, Buñuel follows two volunteers who bring a mobile library by mule to help families attending school in the mountains. In the Caracas slum of Antimano, he plays pick-up basketball, and visits an area where school is held in the streets.
Iraq
In Baghdad's Christian quarter, Buñuel visits the booming Iraqi stock market where white boards follow the U.S. $5 million in traded stocks. He finds the stock market is not the only business in Iraq that is thriving – gyms are seeing a significant increase in memberships as men flock to gain muscle in hopes of getting a well-paying job in security. At a heavy metal concert, Buñuel meets some rebellious Iraqi men whose love for death metal, long hair and shaggy beards can put them at odds with more conservative Iraqis. He witnesses a 1,300-year-old burial ritual at one of the world's largest necropolises with millions of people buried in Najaf, and also visits a torture museum in Sulaymaniyah to remember atrocities committed against Iraqi Kurds.
Iran
Buñuel checks out an underground rap show in Tehran, featuring a performance by a local mullah's son. With a huge following and representatives from more than 30 countries, he attends the Olympics of Koran reading where participants memorise and recite entire chapters of the Koran from heart. Meeting with a Jewish antiques dealer in Tehran, he shares alcohol made from grapes before visiting one of the city's synagogues and heading over to the Iranian parliament with one of its Jewish members. In
Esfahan
Isfahan ( fa, اصفهان, Esfahân ), from its Achaemenid empire, ancient designation ''Aspadana'' and, later, ''Spahan'' in Sassanian Empire, middle Persian, rendered in English as ''Ispahan'', is a major city in the Greater Isfahan Regio ...
, he takes in a local basketball game and hits the town afterwards with an American player finding stardom in Iran. At Tehran's Museum of Contemporary Art, Buñuel examines works of
Picasso
Pablo Ruiz Picasso (25 October 1881 – 8 April 1973) was a Spanish painter, sculptor, printmaker, ceramicist and Scenic design, theatre designer who spent most of his adult life in France. One of the most influential artists of the 20th ce ...
,
Jackson Pollock
Paul Jackson Pollock (; January 28, 1912August 11, 1956) was an American painter and a major figure in the abstract expressionist movement. He was widely noticed for his " drip technique" of pouring or splashing liquid household paint onto a hor ...
,
Andy Warhol
Andy Warhol (; born Andrew Warhola Jr.; August 6, 1928 – February 22, 1987) was an American visual artist, film director, and producer who was a leading figure in the visual art movement known as pop art. His works explore the relationsh ...
,
Monet
Oscar-Claude Monet (, , ; 14 November 1840 – 5 December 1926) was a French painter and founder of impressionist painting who is seen as a key precursor to modernism, especially in his attempts to paint nature as he perceived it. During ...
and more – all of which have remained in basement storage since 1979. At the Caspian Sea, he hitches a ride with police who monitor the waterways for
caviar
Caviar (also known as caviare; from fa, خاویار, khâvyâr, egg-bearing) is a food consisting of salt-cured roe of the family Acipenseridae. Caviar is considered a delicacy and is eaten as a garnish or a spread. Traditionally, the ter ...
poachers.
Balkans
Buñuel visits the Balkans, where tensions still sizzle just below the surface and the slightest misstep can re-open old wounds. His road trip across
Croatia
, image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg
, image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg
, anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland")
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, capit ...
, Bosnia,
Serbia
Serbia (, ; Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe, Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Bas ...
and
Kosovo
Kosovo ( sq, Kosova or ; sr-Cyrl, Косово ), officially the Republic of Kosovo ( sq, Republika e Kosovës, links=no; sr, Република Косово, Republika Kosovo, links=no), is a partially recognised state in Southeast Euro ...
unearths an area recovering from the ravages of war. In
Srebrenica
Srebrenica ( sr-cyrl, Сребреница, ) is a town and municipality located in the easternmost part of Republika Srpska, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is a small mountain town, with its main industry being Salt mine, salt mining a ...
, he meets a Bosnian Muslim woman in charge of the uncovering mass graves of more than 8,000 Muslim men and boys massacred days after declaring independence from Serbia. He visits a farm in
Tuzla
Tuzla (, ) is the third-largest city of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the administrative center of Tuzla Canton of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina. As of 2013, it has a population of 110,979 inhabitants.
Tuzla is the economic, cultural, ed ...
where oil bubbles out of the ground. In Serbia, he takes a guided tour of hangouts where alleged war criminal
Radovan Karadzic went incognito before visiting one nostalgic Serb who has recreated Yugoslavia in his own backyard – even presenting Buñuel with his own Yugoslav "passport". Finally, to enter Kosovo, Buñuel must remove his car's license plate in order to safely enter the country to meet with the man responsible for the newly formed country's national anthem and a football team with dreams of playing against other nations.
[http://www.natgeotv.co.in/programmes/EpisodeGuide.aspx?Id=337]
Season 2
Johannesburg
Johannesburg's risen to become the thriving economic hub of the continent.
Tokyo
Tokyo is by far the biggest city on the planet. Buñuel explores where past and present collide, the line between reality and science fiction is thin.
Lagos
Buñuel explores Lagos to find out why lots of newcomers arriving the city every day despite its problems of traffic jam, poverty and pollution.
Delhi
Buñuel explores the reality of the city.
Mexico City
Buñuel enters the sewers and runs from canine immigration agents to discover just how creative the residents of Ciudad de Mexico really are.
São Paulo
Buñuel mingles with graffiti artists and dodges bullets to search for a common thread that unites the extremes of rich and poor in São Paulo.
Beirut
Buñuel travels from the seaside to the mountains, meeting some surprising black-market dealers in Beirut as well as the gay community preparing the first commercial promoting gay tourism to Beirut.
Cairo
Buñuel explores ancient and modern elements of Cairo.
Dhaka
Buñuel begins his adventure in an area of Dhaka where the term ''urban jungle'' is given new meaning. In this area, macaque monkeys have taken control.
Manila
Manila faces some of the world's worst urban problems but Buñuel quickly finds out there is an energetic and quirky side to city and its people.
Season 3
Indonesia
This explores Indonesia's culture and exports as well as creatures of its rainforest. It also questions the wisdom of some government and policy decisions.
Somalia
It starts with the Somalia capital Mogadishu where the fight goes on between Islamist revolutionist and the government forces. The theatre of war is shown. Then the program follows the puntland where it is shown how the government is battling the sea piracy in the gulf of Aden. Then it shows the Somaliland where Buñuel is without guards where it is totally different from the other parts of the country.
Kazakhstan
It starts with
Astana
Astana, previously known as Akmolinsk, Tselinograd, Akmola, and most recently Nur-Sultan, is the capital city of Kazakhstan.
The city lies on the banks of the Ishim (river), Ishim River in the north-central part of Kazakhstan, within the Akmo ...
the capital of Kazakhstan, followed by a visit to soviet nuclear town of
Semipalatinsk
Semey ( kk, Семей, Semei, سەمەي; cyrl, Семей ), until 2007 known as Semipalatinsk (russian: Семипала́тинск) and in 1917–1920 as Alash-kala ( kk, Алаш-қала, ''Alaş-qala''), is a city in eastern Kazakhst ...
. It shows how the country is developing and advancing towards new Kazakhstan.
Russia
This deals with Russia after the fall of communism. Topics include materialism, the arms trade and the vast land between Moscow and Siberia.
Wild Wild West
The episode deals with the USA-Mexico border fence cutting off American soil and the world's first commercial spaceport.
Season 4
Pakistan
Buñuel goes on a 2,000 kilometre journey across Pakistan, confronting prejudices about Pakistani religion and culture.
Antarctica
Buñuel spends 28 days in Antarctica, finding shelter and friends in the zero emission base that 27 scientists call home.
Central America
Buñuel takes a journey through the war-ravaged countries of
Guatemala
Guatemala ( ; ), officially the Republic of Guatemala ( es, República de Guatemala, links=no), is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico; to the northeast by Belize and the Caribbean; to the east by H ...
,
Honduras
Honduras, officially the Republic of Honduras, is a country in Central America. The republic of Honduras is bordered to the west by Guatemala, to the southwest by El Salvador, to the southeast by Nicaragua, to the south by the Pacific Oce ...
,
El Salvador
El Salvador (; , meaning " The Saviour"), officially the Republic of El Salvador ( es, República de El Salvador), is a country in Central America. It is bordered on the northeast by Honduras, on the northwest by Guatemala, and on the south b ...
and
Nicaragua
Nicaragua (; ), officially the Republic of Nicaragua (), is the largest country in Central America, bordered by Honduras to the north, the Caribbean to the east, Costa Rica to the south, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. Managua is the cou ...
.
Ukraine
Buñuel explores Ukraine?
Thailand
From the city streets of Bangkok to the remote villages where residents have formed vigilante groups to fight terrorist groups, Buñuel explores Thailand.
References
{{Reflist
External links
Official site
National Geographic (American TV channel) original programming
Cultural depictions of Pablo Escobar
Cultural depictions of Radovan Karadžić