Log in
Blood, Sweat and Sugar

Blood, Sweat and Sugar

How sugar was built on a global system of slavery

2025 · 92 min · Documentary, History

Sugar is sweet, seductive, addictive - but built on human suffering. This feature-length reveals how an enticing luxury became the engine of a global system powered by slavery, exploitation and environmental destruction, a legacy still shaping the world today. From the 19th-century slave plantations to modern refineries in the Dominican Republic, Brazil, Reunion, India, South Africa and Europe, the series traces how sugar fuelled colonial empires, drove some of the worst aspects of international trade and commerce, and left deep social and ecological scars that are still present in labour abuses and exhausted landscapes today.

Directed by Mathilde Damoisel

Your Rating

Make it a double feature

Blood, Sweat and Sugar

Infirmières, notre histoire

Both from Mathilde Damoisel.

More from Mathilde DamoiselSee all →

The End of the Ottoman EmpireThe End of the Ottoman Empire · 2016
The End of the Ottoman Empire
★ 9.02016
SeriesDocumentary
The Ottomans ruled over three continents and seven seas for six centuries. The century-long collapse of the Ottoman Empire created a whole new world along with many political, religious and ethnic challenges that persist to the present day – in Bosnia, in Kosovo, in Turkey, in Lebanon, in Syria, in Israel, in Palestine, in Irak…
Le sucre, pour la douceur et pour le pireLe sucre, pour la douceur et pour le pire · 2025
Le sucre, pour la douceur et pour le pire
★ 8.32025
SeriesDocumentaryWar & Politics
The End of the Ottoman EmpireThe End of the Ottoman Empire · 2016
The End of the Ottoman Empire
★ 8.22016
MovieDocumentary
This documentary traces the Ottoman Empire from its beginnings in the 14th century to its incarnation as one of the largest empires in history, spanning three continents, to it's final days at the beginning of the 20th century.
Wuthering Heights: Love, Hate and VengeanceWuthering Heights: Love, Hate and Vengeance · 2022
Wuthering Heights: Love, Hate and Vengeance
★ 8.02022
MovieDocumentaryHistory
In 1847, British writer Emily Brontë (1818-48), perhaps the most enigmatic of the three Brontë sisters, published her novel Wuthering Heights, a dark romance set in the desolation of the moors, a unique work of early Victorian literature that stunned contemporary critics.
Who's Afraid of Lady Chatterley?Who's Afraid of Lady Chatterley? · 2020
Who's Afraid of Lady Chatterley?
★ 8.02020
MovieDocumentaryHistory
England, 1960. The Crown sues the publisher Penguin Books in order to ban the publication of Lady Chatterley's Lover, a novel by the British writer D. H. Lawrence (1885-1930), published privately in Italy in 1928, which celebrates nature and deals with sex without taboos.
Infirmières, notre histoireInfirmières, notre histoire · 2023
Infirmières, notre histoire
★ 8.02023
MovieDocumentary
Paris romantique, Paris érotiqueParis romantique, Paris érotique · 2020
Paris romantique, Paris érotique
★ 8.02020
MovieDocumentaryHistory
The image of Paris as the capital of love seems to be obvious today. However, it is only in the 19th century, with its "haussmannisation", that it acquired this title. How did this reputation impose itself on the whole world? From the grand boulevards to the banks of the Seine, through the darkness of the porte cochères, the documentary "Romantic Paris, Erotic Paris" looks back at the making of this myth and revisits, through emblematic characters and tasty archives, a century of cultural and social history. From the boudoirs of the great courtesans of the Second Empire to free love in the post-war Saint-Germain-des-Prés, through the interloper nights in the cabarets of the Occupation, a look back at a part of the history of the capital.
La Case du SiècleLa Case du Siècle · 2010
La Case du Siècle
★ 8.02010
SeriesDocumentary
La Case du Siècle is a French television program launched in 2010 and broadcast on France 5. Hosted by Fabrice d'Almeida, it airs documentaries every Sunday that aim to shed light on the history of the 20th century, both in France and around the world. Through these documentaries, viewers can deepen their knowledge of a specific subject or simply discover a particular era. *La Case du siècle* offers an in-depth look at the events that changed the course of history.
Far West, l'histoire oubliéeFar West, l'histoire oubliée · 2022
Far West, l'histoire oubliée
★ 7.52022
MovieDocumentary
When Banana RuledWhen Banana Ruled · 2017
When Banana Ruled
★ 7.52017
MovieDocumentaryHistory
The abusive harvest of a simple fruit built an empire: the United Fruit Company. A fruit that conquered the markets of the world, but devastated Central America. The amazing story of the banana: pioneers of globalized capitalism, dictators of banana republics, revolutionaries, the inventor of modern advertising, tons of bananas, bloody shades of yellow. The story of a ruthless enterprise, without borders or rules to respect, except the cruel law of supply and demand…
The Man Who Cracked the Nazi Code: The Story of Alan TuringThe Man Who Cracked the Nazi Code: The Story of Alan Turing · 2014
The Man Who Cracked the Nazi Code: The Story of Alan Turing
★ 7.02014
MovieDocumentary
During the Second World War, the allies' key objective was to crack the German army's encrypted communications code. Without a doubt, the key player in this game was Alan Turing, an interdisciplinary scientist and a long-forgotten hero.
Gandhi, de l'homme à l'icôneGandhi, de l'homme à l'icône · 2019
Gandhi, de l'homme à l'icône
★ 7.02019
MovieDocumentaryHistory
Christiane Taubira : une loi pour mémoireChristiane Taubira : une loi pour mémoire · 2026
Christiane Taubira : une loi pour mémoire
★ 6.02026
MovieDocumentaryHistory
Mahatma Gandhi: Beyond the MythMahatma Gandhi: Beyond the Myth · 2019
Mahatma Gandhi: Beyond the Myth
2019
MovieDocumentary
Explore the life of renowned historical figure Mahatma Gandhi, a lawyer, political ethicist, and anti-colonial nationalist whose non-violent methods led a movement that helped India successfully gain independence from Britain in 1947.

More Like This

Couldn't load this row right now.

Rate this film

Your ratings make Midnight smarter