July Stories Spotlight Chinese Surf Team, Disability Advocacy in Bolivia

Boston, MA (July 17,  2024) – WORLD, the leading public media platform renowned for original documentary and nonfiction storytelling, has announced a new season of its Doc World series, featuring compelling documentaries that explore global issues. Highlights include Surf Nation, the story of how China’s National Surf Team geared up quickly with the help of international coaches, and La Lucha, the story of Bolivian activists with disabilities on a quest to demand rights from their government.

Surf Nation  
Premieres Thursday, July 18 at 8pm ET on WORLD, WORLDchannel.org, WORLD YouTube, and the PBS app
In Hainan, China’s southernmost province, hundreds of athletes as young as 9 years old train as part of the Chinese National Surf Team. The young recruits, who have left their families, feel the pressure of failure. Over the course of two years, the film follows two of the country’s top surfers, Alex, 17, and Lolo, 22, as they train, compete, and discover what they want their lives to be. Watch the trailer.

La Lucha  
Premieres Thursday, July 25 at 8pm ET on WORLD and WORLDchannel.org. The WORLD YouTube and the PBS app streams will include versions with American Sign Language and Descriptive Video Services.
In Bolivia, activists with disabilities risked everything for dignity. When pleas for a pension were ignored, they united in protest - trekking across the Andes in their wheelchairs. A grueling journey followed as the group faced off against a government determined to silence them and a society indifferent to their struggle. But through cold, hunger, and vitriol, their resilience proved unstoppable. Watch the trailer.

Hosted by award-winning voice actor Andia Winslow, Doc World showcases the best international documentaries, giving American viewers a chance to understand the lives and concerns of people from around the world.

“Each documentary this season provides an intimate look into unique struggles and triumphs from around the globe, highlighting the resilience and determination of individuals fighting for their rights and dreams,” said Chris Hastings, Editor-in-Chief and Executive Producer for WORLD at GBH in Boston. “These stories are not only inspiring but essential for fostering a greater understanding of the challenges faced by diverse communities worldwide.”

Doc World will broadcast on WORLD through August and will feature select encores from previous seasons. For more information, visit www.WORLDchannel.org/ or follow @WorldChannel on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, TikTok and YouTube.

About WORLD
WORLD shares the best of public media in news, documentaries and programming. WORLD’s original series examine the issues and amplify the voices of those often ignored by mainstream media. The multi-platform channel helps audiences understand conflicts, movements and cultures from around the globe. Its original work has won a Peabody Award, an Alfred I. duPont-Columbia Award, an International Documentary Association Award, a National News and Documentary Emmy Award, two Webby Awards, and many others honoring diversity of content and makers. WORLD is carried by 194 member stations in markets representing 77% of US TV households. Funding for WORLD is provided by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, Wyncote Foundation and the National Endowment for the Arts. WORLD is produced by GBH in partnership with WNET and is distributed by American Public Television (APT). Find out more at WORLDChannel.org.

Media Contact:
Emily Balk
emily_balk@wgbh.org
617-300-5317