The Last Survivors

Documentaries showing faces and places that make up the way we live today.

For over fifty years, the disappearance of Paul McCartney’s original Höfner bass has been one of rock ‘n’ roll’s enduring mysteries. The Hunt for the Lost Bass tells the extraordinary story of this iconic instrument, and the fan powered quest to find it.

Sixteen years after his documentary When Louis Met Jimmy, Theroux seeks to understand how he was tricked by a man who became his friend.

Since it began in 1983, Frontline has been airing public-affairs documentaries that explore a wide scope of the complex human experience. Frontline's goal is to extend the impact of the documentary beyond its initial broadcast by serving as a catalyst for change.

Jailed for life in 2011 for killing her husband, Sally Challen was convicted on the unanimous decision of the jury. The result provoked little surprise among her friends and family, yet evidence later revealed that Challen was the victim of coercive control from her husband, who would manage her social life and spending. With fewer than 10% of appeals ever quashing a conviction, this documentary is a compelling case for the need for greater nuance in the law and its reporting.

In 2015 a lion in Zimbabwe named Cecil was killed by Walter Palmer, an American dentist, provoking a global outcry. The story of Cecil’s death turns the gaze back on to us and our behaviour. The simplicity of the outrage is a stark contrast to the complexity of the reality.

An observational documentary following a scientist who has devoted thirty years of his life to developing a vaccine for leukaemia. Now, as his retirement looms, it is finally being trialed in up to 12 terminally ill patients.