Witness History

On 1 February 1969, the first African film festival of Ouagadougou opened in the Republic of Upper Volta, now known as Burkina Faso.
In 1972, the event was made into an official institution by government decree.
It became known as the Pan-African film festival of Ouagadougou - Fespaco for short.
It is Africa's largest film festival and is held every two years. Alimata Salembéré was President of the organising committee who put together the first event.
She tells Jen Dale how it all came about.
Eye-witness accounts brought to life by archive. Witness History is for those fascinated by and curious about the past. We take you to the events that have shaped our world through the eyes of the people who were there.
For nine minutes every day, we take you back in time and all over the world, to examine wars, coups, scientific discoveries, cultural moments and much more.
Recent episodes explore everything from how the Excel spreadsheet was developed, the creation of cartoon rabbit Miffy and how the sound barrier was broken.
We look at the lives of some of the most famous leaders, artists, scientists and personalities in history, including: the moment Reagan and Gorbachev met in Geneva, Haitian singer Emerante de Pradines’ life and Omar Sharif’s legendary movie entrance in Lawrence of Arabia.
You can learn all about fascinating and surprising stories, like the invention of a stent which has saved lives around the world; the birth of the G7; and the meeting of Maldives’ ministers underwater. We cover everything from World War Two and Cold War stories to Black History Month and our journeys into space.
(Photo: Fespaco. Credit: Luc Gnago/Reuters)

In 2016, a fragile-looking aircraft with the wingspan of a jumbo jet and the power of a scooter attempted something no-one had ever managed before: flying around the world without a drop of fuel.
But behind the serene images of Solar Impulse Two, gliding over oceans, was a story of near disaster, exhaustion, and a team pushed to breaking point.
Bertrand Piccard - explorer, balloonist and one of the two pilots - tells Kurt Brookes how a dream born in the Egyptian desert became a 40,000km test of nerve, technology and sheer stubbornness. A Made in Manchester production.
Eye-witness accounts brought to life by archive. Witness History is for those fascinated by and curious about the past. We take you to the events that have shaped our world through the eyes of the people who were there.
For nine minutes every day, we take you back in time and all over the world, to examine wars, coups, scientific discoveries, cultural moments and much more.
Recent episodes explore everything from how the Excel spreadsheet was developed, the creation of cartoon rabbit Miffy and how the sound barrier was broken.
We look at the lives of some of the most famous leaders, artists, scientists and personalities in history, including: the moment Reagan and Gorbachev met in Geneva, Haitian singer Emerante de Pradines’ life and Omar Sharif’s legendary movie entrance in Lawrence of Arabia.
You can learn all about fascinating and surprising stories, like the invention of a stent which has saved lives around the world; the birth of the G7; and the meeting of Maldives’ ministers underwater. We cover everything from World War Two and Cold War stories to Black History Month and our journeys into space.
(Photo: Solar Impulse 2 second test flight over Abu Dhabi. Credit: Solar Impulse/ Stefatou)

On 3 June 1998, a stone carving of Native American warrior Crazy Horse's face was unveiled in South Dakota.
It is 27m tall and is part of a much larger sculpture showing the Native American warrior riding a horse and pointing towards the sacred Black Hills. When finished, it will be the largest mountain carving in the world.
Crazy Horse helped defeat the US Army in 1876 at the Battle of the Little Bighorn.
The granite memorial was started by Korczak Ziolkowski in 1948 after being asked by Lakota Chief Henry Standing Bear to carve a likeness of the warrior out of a mountain.
After Korczak's death, his family continued the project.
Daughter Monique Ziolkowski is the memorial's artistic and historical adviser.
She tells Jen Dale what it was like to help drill, blast and carve the mountain into the likeness of Crazy Horse.
This programme contains outdated language.
Eye-witness accounts brought to life by archive. Witness History is for those fascinated by and curious about the past. We take you to the events that have shaped our world through the eyes of the people who were there.
For nine minutes every day, we take you back in time and all over the world, to examine wars, coups, scientific discoveries, cultural moments and much more.
Recent episodes explore everything from how the Excel spreadsheet was developed, the creation of cartoon rabbit Miffy and how the sound barrier was broken.
We look at the lives of some of the most famous leaders, artists, scientists and personalities in history, including: the moment Reagan and Gorbachev met in Geneva, Haitian singer Emerante de Pradines’ life and Omar Sharif’s legendary movie entrance in Lawrence of Arabia.
You can learn all about fascinating and surprising stories, like the invention of a stent which has saved lives around the world; the birth of the G7; and the meeting of Maldives’ ministers underwater. We cover everything from World War Two and Cold War stories to Black History Month and our journeys into space.
(Photo: Crazy Horse memorial. Credit: Crazy Horse Memorial Foundation)

Before 1977, flamenco percussion relied solely on hand‑clapping and dancers' footwork. But that year, at a party in Lima, Peru, the cajon entered the scene.
Spanish guitarist Paco de Lucia and Brazilian percussionist Rubem Dantas attended an event at the Spanish embassy where they saw local musicians playing the cajon, an Afro‑Peruvian box drum that evolved from the wooden crates enslaved people used to make music in the 17th century. Since then, the cajon has become a staple of flamenco.
Rubem Dantas spoke to Stefania Gozzer about what happened that night.
Eye-witness accounts brought to life by archive. Witness History is for those fascinated by and curious about the past. We take you to the events that have shaped our world through the eyes of the people who were there.
For nine minutes every day, we take you back in time and all over the world, to examine wars, coups, scientific discoveries, cultural moments and much more.
Recent episodes explore everything from how the Excel spreadsheet was developed, the creation of cartoon rabbit Miffy and how the sound barrier was broken.
We look at the lives of some of the most famous leaders, artists, scientists and personalities in history, including: the moment Reagan and Gorbachev met in Geneva, Haitian singer Emerante de Pradines’ life and Omar Sharif’s legendary movie entrance in Lawrence of Arabia.
You can learn all about fascinating and surprising stories, like the invention of a stent which has saved lives around the world; the birth of the G7; and the meeting of Maldives’ ministers underwater. We cover everything from World War Two and Cold War stories to Black History Month and our journeys into space.
(Photo: Spanish Flamenco dancer Belen Lopez and members of her Flamenco dancing company in Portugal. Credit: Corbis via Getty Images)

In March 2008, former female wrestler Juana Barraza was found guilty of murdering at least 11 elderly women in Mexico City.
The murders took place over a period of seven years, and Barraza became known as the “little old lady killer”.
She admitted to murdering three women and told investigators it was because of abuse she suffered in childhood at the hands of her alcoholic mother.
In 2021, Mike Lanchin spoke to the neuropsychologist Dr Feggy Ostrosky, who interviewed Barraza in jail, about the disturbing story.
Eye-witness accounts brought to life by archive. Witness History is for those fascinated by and curious about the past. We take you to the events that have shaped our world through the eyes of the people who were there.
For nine minutes every day, we take you back in time and all over the world, to examine wars, coups, scientific discoveries, cultural moments and much more.
Recent episodes explore everything from how the Excel spreadsheet was developed, the creation of cartoon rabbit Miffy and how the sound barrier was broken.
We look at the lives of some of the most famous leaders, artists, scientists and personalities in history, including: the moment Reagan and Gorbachev met in Geneva, Haitian singer Emerante de Pradines’ life and Omar Sharif’s legendary movie entrance in Lawrence of Arabia.
You can learn all about fascinating and surprising stories, like the invention of a stent which has saved lives around the world; the birth of the G7; and the meeting of Maldives’ ministers underwater. We cover everything from World War Two and Cold War stories to Black History Month and our journeys into space.
(Photo: Barraza being presented to the media following her arrest in 2005. Credit: Reuters/Danil Aguilar)