The European Union has set a target of 20% of its energy needs coming from renewable sources by 2020. To make this happen, they will have to harness the power of wind sun and the sea…. In the first of a series of films I’m making for EARTHRISE, I travelled to the coast of Northern Ireland to explore the potential of tidal power Read the rest of this entry »
“Who are you?”
(Australia’s Hidden Valley: Unreported World, Channel 4, 19:30, Fri 9th Dec)
I’ve recently been in Central Australia investigating the impact of Aboriginal people losing their identity and it’s got me thinking about the value of identity to our health and what happens if we lose it…The basis of our identity is what many tribal people called ‘Land’. ‘Land’ is more than just a physical concept like a field or a house but embodies history, language, beliefs and food. And the loss of land is the departure gate for the destruction of identity. Read the rest of this entry »
Four years ago, the Australian Government used controversial emergency legislation (aka ‘the Intervention’), aimed only at aboriginal Australians, to take control of many Aboriginal settlements. It said this was to help to end violence and child abuse, and combat the alcohol abuse that ravages many Aboriginal communities. Australia’s Hidden Valley is a documentary I made about the lives of Aboriginal people in Alice Springs, focusing largely on a town camp called Hidden Valley, one of many places affected by the Intervention and what has happened since… Read the rest of this entry »
Sharing word on a Dispatches I’ve just made with director Richard Sanders and Blakeway investigating the conservation movement…We reveal that far from stemming the tide of extinction that’s engulfing the planet, some conservationists have got their priorities wrong. Unquestionable, conservation is crucial – we’re in an extinction crisis right now, set to lose 2.5million species by 2050…. and we need to get it right. Sadly we unearth questionable business connections, human rights violations and far more… Far too often alienating the very people they would need to stem the loss of species from earth… including the incredible Dominican Mountain Chicken, that’s a frog, that tastes like chicken… Please tune in… and spread the word.. and get the debate going.
On twitter: @Dispatches #conservation
Full Details: on Dispatches Website
He Zhimin’s hands shake as he holds a small coloured photograph of his son. The shakes had started nine months ago, when his son vanished. On the back of the card, he has printed his son’s details. “He Wen, Age 35, 1metre 75cm. Missing…”
Unlike Ai Weiwei, China’s best-known dissident and artist who was arrested boarding a plane to Hong Kong, on April 3rd, He Wen’s disappearance has gone largely unreported by the world’s media and there are no high profile calls for his release. But his story holds the key to understanding China’s most repressive crackdown since Tiananmen 1989. Read the rest of this entry »
Thousands of mentally impaired people in China are being abducted into slavery. China’s Lost Sons is a documentary I’ve just made with Director Matt Haan for Channel 4’s critically acclaimed foreign affairs strand, ‘Unreported World’ to expose one of the untold stories behind China’s economic boom. This is a very dark film that focuses on one man’s inspirational search for his son. We shot this film in the midst of the most repressive crackdown since Tiananmen ’89 and I hope stories like can add some sort of context to the cracks opening up as China feels the growing pains of massive social upheaval and economic development. Click here for a clip from the film. Read the rest of this entry »
Unreported World – the critically acclaimed foreign affairs series is back for our 21st Series – on UK Channel 4, online on 4oD, and un-geoblocked for first time for the world to witness. We bring an insight into the lives of people in some of the most neglected parts of the planet – lives largely overlooked by the global news machine. The new series kicks off in India with a powerful film from reporter Seyi Rhodes and director Richard Cookson: ‘Leprosy Heroes’ premieres this Friday @ 7:30pm. Our investigations have no place without our audiences, awareness & impact – so please spread the word and tune in… Read the rest of this entry »
Welcome to my new online home – it’s been given a slight makeover, a proverbial haircut, and some minor corrective surgery by some kind pros who refused my suggestion of a web-equivalent of a moustache. Shame. So with less facial furniture than planned, a warm welcome to a reversioned portal in my little professional world – including such snazzy additions as a video section, more photos in the gallery, press links, talks (if anyone ever wants to listen) and general information etc! Promise to do a better job updating it in the future – with videos from new films, photos from shoots, blogs from the road etc – and quick bite size morsels on FB and Twitter. Well we’ll see how we get on… and if anyone’s interested! Happy travels, Olx
We’ve made a film about malaria in Uganda but so what? Will it change anything? Hopefully awareness of the disease is increased a little bit, perhaps even more attention and resources focussed on the theft of government drugs. But then what? Can we make a difference? And should we? I hope we can. I’ve teamed up Malaria Consortium to establish a project in Apac to provide support for the embattled local hospital. For more info, get involved or donate and help save lives- please click here…
Despite being a preventable and treatable disease, malaria still kills nearly a million people a year – the majority are young children in Africa. ‘Malaria Town’ is a documentary I’ve made with Director Will West for Channel 4’s critically acclaimed foreign affairs strand, ‘Unreported World’ where we report from northern Uganda and the town known as the “malaria capital of the world.” We documented shocking levels of corruption including the theft of malaria treatment drugs, and how organic products sold on Britain’s high streets are also playing a role in continuing the pandemic. Full details here. Here are a few easy links:
ARTICLE IN THE INDEPENDENT: Theft and Drugs take Malaria Drugs away from Africa’s poorest, by Oliver Steeds
VLOG: Emotion in Journalism
SOME THOUGHTS: Reporters Blog
MALARIA INFO: Links to more information about Malaria, organisations involved in the fight, educational resources etc.
FACEBOOK: Unreported World on FaceBook
FILM SUMMARY & PRESS REVIEWS – read on.. Read the rest of this entry »