NGO and charity filmmaking.
Films about a programme start with the people inside it. I work with NGOs and charities to find those stories, film the interviews and follow what the work means in someone’s life.
From the programme to the story.
Bring me a funding film, a programme story, an international assignment or a producer’s filming brief. I can join your production as a camera operator or self-shooting director, help develop the interviews and story, or take the film through to the final edit.
I read the programme documents, evaluations and reports, and talk to the people running the work. Then we find the contributors, access, interview questions and telling details that will make the film understandable to someone encountering it for the first time.
A brief, material from the field, a public film.
Save the Children needed video and photography straight after Typhoon Haiyan for its website and international media. I travelled to the Philippines, gathered the material and made films for The Guardian about children and families in the aftermath.
For Greenpeace, I worked as the onboard journalist on the Arctic Sunrise, filmed the people and campaign against Arctic oil drilling, and placed material with The Guardian. The published film credits Stephen Nugent and me.
Working with local teams and contributors.
Most of my films have involved close collaboration with NGOs, including Kidnapped Brides in Kyrgyzstan and Ukraine’s Lost Children. I work alongside country teams and local crew, with attention to access, consent and what contributors want to say.
In Crimea, I followed local television journalists reporting the takeover. ATR was the featured newsroom; the film was published by The Guardian. My separate West African experience includes FMNR research in Mali on farmer-managed natural regeneration.
Tell me what the film needs to do.
Send the destination, likely dates, intended audience and whether you need filming, editing or both. An indicative budget and any existing brief help us agree the scope. My recent filming work includes bespoke client commissions; the portfolio is a selection of my public work.
Tell me what you’re working on.
The subject, the people involved, your timescale and what you need to make.