Plot Synopsis

RESILIENT CITIES is a five-part documentary series that uncovers thriving underground arts scenes in cities that have experienced major traumas: natural disasters, long-term war, political unrest or economic meltdown. Featuring five creatively unique cities -- Beirut, Lebanon; Kiev, Ukraine; Athens, Greece; Port-au-Prince, Haiti and Medellin, Columbia -- each episode features local artists who are determined to create art as a means of political protest, to create change or to display courage. In Beirut, a writer, a graffiti artist, a hip-hop artist and a Baladi (belly) dancer embody art as protest in a post-civil war city divided by religion. Kiev is home to a poet, a rocker and a performance artist who continue to push creative boundaries in a city that is struggling in the wake of the Euromaidan Revolution. In Athens, a photographer, an electronic pop band, a mural artist and a writer demonstrate how art is a means of survival in the midst of a city under economic crisis. Port-au-Prince is home to a radio host, a photographer, a Raboday singer, and a creole rapper showcase the emerging, subversive art of Haiti in the aftermath of the devastating earthquake.? In Medellin, the city once considered the most dangerous place in the world, a rapper, a musician, a filmmaker and an urban planner take viewers on a tour of their city currently experiencing a cultural renaissance.