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The Fifth Floor

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Global stories from the BBC’s 40 Language Services, with Faranak Amidi

Faranak Amidi presents global stories from the Fifth Floor, home to the BBC’s 40 Language Services.

Faranak Amidi presents global stories from the Fifth Floor, home to the BBC’s 40 Language Services

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The Fifth Floor: China's African Blockbuster

Documentaries

Wolf Warriors 2 poster

11/08/2017 GMT

China's African Blockbuster

BBC World Service - The Fifth Floor, China's African Blockbuster

Looking at foreign policy through the lens of a hit new action film

China's African blockbuster; mothers-in-law; Ecuador's border wall with Peru; Partition friendship; and Colombia's designer smiles.  With Faranak Amidi.

Guest presenter: Faranak Amidi.

A new Chinese action film called Wolf Warrior 2 smashed the country's box office records this week.  It's set in an unnamed African country and tells the story of a Chinese ex-special forces hero fighting African rebels and western mercenaries.  What does the film tell us about how China views Africa, and how are African audiences likely to react?  Over to Howard Zhang of BBC Chinese and BBC Africa's Mohanad Hashim.

Mothers-in-law  
An Indian mother-in-law was in the headlines this week - because she supported her former daughter-in-law in a court claim for alimony.  Is that so extraordinary?  Are jokes and horror stories about mothers-in-law unfair and inaccurate?  We took the question to the Fifth Floor.

The border wall dividing Peru and Ecuador  
A political storm is brewing over the construction of a border wall - not President Trump's planned barrier between the US and Mexico, but a wall on the border between Peru and Ecuador.  It's only about a kilometre long, but it has upset a lot of people in both countries - as Martin Riepl of BBC Mundo has been finding out.

Partition letters 
In 2007, BBC Urdu's Arif Shamim made a documentary based on letters he discovered after the death of his great-uncle in Lahore.  They were from the original owner of his uncle's house, who fled to India after Partition.  Arif told the story of the letters, but was unable to trace the writer.  Fast forward to 2017.  The story has moved on in a surprising and moving way, as Arif explains.    

Colombian teeth  
Colombians are famous for being well-groomed.  Appearance matters, and that includes teeth - which is why you see a lot of 'metal smiles' in Colombia.  BBC Mundo's Beatriz de la Pava tells us about her country's love affair with braces. 

And Fifi Haroon's pick of the world wide web.

Image: A woman standing next to movie posters for 'Wolf Warriors 2' in Beijing.
Credit: GREG BAKER/AFP/Getty Images

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