Grierson Documentary Awards - The Winners

Here's the complete winner's list. Well... I got a few right (see results in red):

Best Doc on Contemporary Theme (Domestic): How To Die: Simon's Choice
Best Doc on Contemporary Theme (International): How To Change the World
Best Doc on Current Affairs: The World: Outbreak - The Truth About Ebola
Best Arts Doc: Amy
Best Historical Doc: Attacking the Devil
Best Science Doc: Oak Tree: Nature's Greatest Survivor
Best Natural History Doc: The Hunt: The Hardest Challenge
Best Entertaining Documentary: Secret life of 4, 5 and 6 Year Olds
Best Doc Series: The Murder Detectives
Best Constructed Doc Series: The Real Marigold Hotel
Best Cinema Doc: Cartel Land
Best Newcomer Doc: Where You're Meant To Be
Best Student Doc: Women in Sink
Best Doc Presenter: Paul Mayhew-Archer
Grierson Trutees Award: Louis Theroux

It's been another great year for factual film and television, providing me with all of the inspiration I need to grow my own factual career. These are the best of the bunch and I can only watch and learn from them all in the hope that one day, I might be even half as successful.

Dreams of A Life

We all dream of that life we wished we'd have led, we all dream of becoming someone better, or wealthier, but film-maker Carol Morley takes that dream one step further. She assumes the dream of Joyce Carol Vincent, a lady found dead in her flat having laid there for three whole years. Morley turns this hopelessly sad situation into a film about a young woman with lots of friends and lots of dreams, with vibrancy and life seeping through the screen.

production-designer.co.uk

campfilms.co.uk

It is at heart, an art-film with an essence of docudrama to fill in the gaps of Joyce's story where there is no record. We do not meet her family. We do not know the whole story. In fact, there is a total lack of any solid evidence of how Joyce spent her time and how troubled she really was. Yet, amidst such a lack of information about her, we are presented with a film that is full of character and one that acts as a respectful memorial to her life.

Carol Morley 's affection for the story is evident in her production. The careful casting of the beautiful Zawe Ashton and the genuine shock of the contributors we meet along the way, on hearing about Joyce's fate almost draw us to keep watching. We want to know what they wish to know, how this beautiful, apparently life-loving girl, came to be forgotten.

madman.com.au

moviemail.com

cineplex.com

The aesthetics were perfect - shadowed rooms in which Joyce always carried a glow. SFX of dripping taps and old 80s music adding character even to stone walls. We have all had moments in our lives where we pretend to be happy, where we tell others (and ourselves) that we are fine, but there is a deep wound that Joyce was hiding and although we're never quite sure which of her experiences hurt her most, we cannot tear our eyes away from trying to work it out. We watch her miming to her beautiful reflection in the mirror, we hear recordings of her singing. Joyce is living and breathing in the film, without ever actually being there. As an audience we want to save her, to reach into the screen and to be her friend, for the story not to be real. We want her to be remembered and Morley in this, does beautifully. 

We find ourselves stunningly moved by a news article that we may have perhaps glanced over before. Suddenly the story is a life, and the life is one we care about.

theartsdesk.com

I can't say much more, but the intimate and tragically beautiful dramatisation of Vincent's life, carried by the painful interviews of those who knew her, is just a wonderful and respectful memorial, to a young woman who met with tragedy. It is one of the most incredible factual films I've seen in the last few years, particularly surprising as there is, as the situation suggests, a significant lack of fact. I feel as though we pay our respects to Joyce and many others like her we will never know about, when we watch this film.

Joyce Carole Vincent

Nowhere to Call Home Q&A

Monday 16th February 2015
Frontline Club Screening
Nowhere to Call Home - Q&A with Director Jocelyn Ford
http://www.frontlineclub.com/

tibetaninbeijing.com

Jocelyn: thank you all for watching and before we start with questions I just want to thank a few people. My editor is here. She took the first pile of material and said oh gosh, I’ll get you something in three months. Anyway, years later, we have a film. Also I believe some Kickstarter donors in here too. I had a lot of support from other colleagues in Beijing, some of whom are here. Mary’s sitting in the back, she went to yoga and every time I had a terrible problem with the film, she was there to listen. So anyway, thank you all very much and if you do have any questions.

Q: It’s really impressive how much access you gained to Zanta and Yang Qing’s everyday life, not only with their families but also their schools, the more institutional areas. I was wondering if you could talk a bit about the different obstacles you faced gaining access, not only in the village but in the city.

As you may have noticed, I have never made a film before and I had no idea how to go about it. But what I was told is that you must have one important thing, and that its trust from the person in your film. And so Zanta gave me that trust within 20mins of our conversation unbeknownst to me, for years. That she thought because I sat down and talked to her that we had this connection in a past life. And I honestly did not know that for many years after I started working with her, and started the film. But with other people in Beijing it’s a lawless sort of place so, I would show up at the police station and they would have to figure out what to do with me. They could have shooed me away, they could have told me I couldn’t do this but I don’t know if you noticed when she goes to get back her items at the police station, the authority never looked at me once. He brought her into the back room and said ‘who is that woman’, she said ‘it’s a reporter’ and then he came out, and I think he did a performance. He wanted to show that he was being fair, because when he didn’t establish eye contact with me once, he pretended I wasn’t there and when we exited the police station a bunch of Han Chinese street vendors pleaded with us to go back in and represent them because they were going to be charged a fine to get back their items. So, that’s just one story. I was just there and I did what I thought I should do.

Q: Once the police knew you were a reporter, was it a concern for them who you were a reporter for? Who you were reporting to?

So, as many of you in this room know, in Beijing you’re required to register as a reporter and so the police would come and look at my card and call up their colleagues and I’d have to write down all my details. So they knew who I was with but I don’t know if that made a difference.

filmplatform.net

Q: Was this is Chinese Tibet, rather than TAR, did you have any feelings of things out there?

Thank you very much for that question. Often times in screenings I like to point out that Tibet is a huge area, the size of Western Europe and there are many different cultural groups within it, many different languages, perhaps 50. When is started the film someone told me there were 25 different languages, now I’m told there are 50.Not a lot is known about it because there are a lot of restrictions on journalists or outsiders going into the area.

This was actually filmed in Sichuan. There are more Tibetans living outside the Tibetan Autonomous Region than there are living inside of it and that is also I think, not very well known. There are several provinces with a lot of Tibetan communities so when I went to her local area – and according to official rules, journalists are supposed to be able to travel there without impediments or without registering in advance, to the Tibetan areas outside of the TAR. You need special permission to go to the Autonomous region. That’s often not upheld as many of you know, but that was the official rule and this was in 2009 and the Olympics had just come along. I spoke to the local police, who did call me into the police station and said well the rules say ‘I’m allowed to be here’ and they said ‘yes, we know that. You’re here for a family visit so, be good’.

Q: Firstly that was brilliant thank you so much, I really enjoyed it. You said this was in 2009 so, 6yrs later, are you in regular contact with Zanta?

Yes, Zanta just sent me a few WeChat voice messages. She’s in her village for new years as we speak. There was a big religious ceremony there today and she and her son went back. This is the second time that her son has gone back since that agreement which both sides broke. When he was younger she was very reluctant to allow him to go back because she thought she might never see him again. He might not be allowed to come back to education. But he’s now 14 and he can take care of himself.

facebook.com

Q: And how’s he doing, is he doing well at school?

His English is excellent, his math, (gestures ‘not so much’). He’s had a lot of difficulties in school. The teacher has been very unwelcoming towards Tibetans and has told other children not to associate with him and I think, she’s trying to force him out. But I should say that he’s now in a public school and has been there for about three years and you do not see that school in this film.

So it’s not been easy but last week I believe, maybe a bout ten days ago he actually asks his grandfather if he could have his ID because he would like the study in the United States.

So this is very much in play. Apparently the last message I received is that the grandfather, Aba, had agreed. And said, ‘I wouldn’t give it to you if it was that lousy foreigner who wanted you to go but if it’s you who really wants to go, let’s go’.

Q: And how would they afford it?

There’s a little bit of a back-story. When I screened, did the premiere in the US at the Museum of Modern art, I got a phone call from somebody who says, ‘hi’ – perfect American accent – ‘I’m in Queens, and Aba is my relative’. Yeh, no way! He said ‘yeh, we want to go see the film’. I said, ‘well I’m sorry it’s sold out but I’d like to meet with you’. And so I went to their house and the person who called me was the 25yr old son of Aba’s cousin I believe, or something like that. And so, his dad grew up with Aba and they left, the 25yr old, left the country aged 10, walked to India and somehow they got their family – and almost died on the way, aged 10. Somehow the family got to the US, I haven’t heard the whole story and seven years ago, the 25yr old man managed to get from India to the US where he is now a marketing manager for Horizon.

facebook.com

Yeh, wonderful kid and I mean, I was so impressed with him I said ‘wow, I want what he’s having’. His English was great, he understood American ways of thinking about things and knew something about his village but was quite shocked when he actually watched the film. He had no idea what life was like.

So, then they said, ‘what are you going to do about the kid’s schooling’ and I said, ‘they are not a lot of great choices out there’. So he said, ‘why don’t you have him come to the US’ and I said, ‘he doesn’t have his ID’ and the 25yr old’s dad said, ‘actually, I visited my village a few years ago, I’m the one who convinced Aba that education is good and that he should allow his son to continue studying in Beijing’. He said, ‘I can get that ID’.

It’s a long story, I won’t go through all of it but needless to say, Aba was not very happy with all this. There were a lot of negative messages going to Zanta but the guy in the US was saying everything’s fine. Anyway, it might be cool, it might be fine and if so, I will probably be looking for a home stay family for Yang Qing because the neighborhood that his cousin, or whatever the relationship is, lives in, is not that great and he’s quite busy and I wouldn’t want, I don’t think Zanta wants him in the city wandering around.  So then he went and had all these ideas about America. 

Q: How far back does this prejudice against Tibetans go?

First of all I’d like to say it’s quite mutual. From what I can gather. Are there any Tibetans in the audience? Are you interested in answering?

Audience: Well I mean obviously the invasion in 59, I guess it predates that really.

So the words that are used in Mandarin, tend to be ‘barbarian’, not very complementary. Going back way back in history. Anybody who was not Han Chinese - and what is Han is a whole other debate we’re not getting into tonight - was considered to be inferior in terms of culture. So I think that’s a deep-seeded sort of feeling.

When I do these screenings in China, I often bring up one of the Tibetan saying which I don’t know if you know, there are a couple in her village that go like, ‘there are as many good-hearted Han Chinese as there are white crows’. And I don’t know how old this is but I think it goes back pretty far. So I think there’s a lot of work to be done to build mutual respect.

 Q: When did you decide to do the film?

I didn’t actually decide to do it, my producer decided I should do it. I have a producer, who is also a filmmaker and a jack of many trades, who basically twisted my arm into making this. I was his idea.

facebook.com

I had done, just before the Olympics, technology was changing and cameras were coming out that were small enough and cheap enough that I could afford them. And I thought oh let me play around with them so I did a series of five videos for a newspaper on the Olympics and one of them I brought Zanta and Yang Qing to a field hockey game. They’d of course never heard of field hockey, hadn’t heard of any of the countries that were playing or anything but I swear they were the happiest people in the entire audience. Yang Qing wore a western suit, Zanta put on her best Tibetan clothes and they had a wonderful time.

So he saw this video and a bunch of old street journal colleagues watched it and said ‘my god, this in 3mins encapsulates so much more than you could ever say in print. You must do a documentary’.

So, I said ‘no, I have no idea how to go about doing it’ and I considered myself a professional so I wasn’t going to do something I didn’t know how to do and my producer said, ‘oh I’ll give you everything, a cameraman, you don’t have to raise money’ and I was like, well how can I turn that down. Of course, then he got busy and the money ran out and I had to do all these things I didn’t intend to but essentially he got the ball rolling.

facebook.com

Q: So you had to do the filming in the village, but the filming in Beijing, you had a cameraman?

On two or three of those occasions I had one but most of it I actually ended up doing myself, as you can probably tell. I had no training. The cameraman was supposed to go with me to her village and I was off in Acha (China) doing a story on the tsunami anniversary, and I got this phone call saying, ‘sorry, I have a paying job, I can’t go with you. You’re on your own’. So I arrived back in Beijing in the morning, picked up a camera I didn’t know how to use, asked, ‘what could possibly go wrong’ and headed off. And yes, the camera did stop working while I was there but we managed, I had a backup.

Q: Thanks it was really great. Can you give us some examples of reactions you’ve seen so far, both on the Tibetan side and Chinese side? How has it been received?

I’ve had both but I must say I’m very pleased that I’ve had more positive reactions than negative, on both sides. A lot of Han Chinese are totally shocked because the media says ‘we treat Tibetans so well, we give them all this money, what are they complaining about?’, there really is a lot of Han Chinese that do not understand where this animosity comes from. ‘Why don’t they appreciate what we do?’ – I consider this very media driven. So when they see the film, they have to come to grips with the difference between what they thought before and what they see here. Because Zanta is amazingly frank, she’s incredible, and because they don’t see this as a propaganda film. 

facebook.com

So, a lot of times I’ve been really pleased with the younger, especially the high school kids, the Han Chinese high school kids in Beijing. A lot have said, ‘Well gosh, we see there’s a problem, what do we do about it? Who should be responsible, is this something the government can fix? Can I as an individual do anything?’ I’ve had an outpouring of people actually volunteering to help Yang Qing with his studies, or help Zanta with her jewelry sales and I must say I’ve had more volunteers among Han Chinese than any other group, if you’re going to talk about that, whether it be Westerners or Tibetans. So, I’m encouraged by that.

I had the privilege of doing a screening one day in the same afternoon, both for the Chinese academy for social science ethnologists, some of them who are advising the government, and then the high school kids. The ethnologists, some would come up and say, ‘oh you must have missed our policy that we send all migrant children to school’ or something like this and I was like, ‘no, what happens on paper doesn’t really happen like that in reality’. So I had some comments that ran along for 5-10 minutes, from Tibetans and Han Chinese where they’re not quite sure what they’re trying to say but I get the feeling they’re very uncomfortable. And sometimes it’s like ‘our policy is not like this’. On the Tibetan side I’ve had young Tibetan, men have come up to me and said, ‘thank you so much for making this film’ and one said it reflects his mother’s experience but she’s not in a position to talk about it or have it heard. And some have said, ‘you can’t make this film because you’re supporting the Beijing government’s propaganda that we’re less developed, that we’re a backwards society’ or ‘you’re distracting attention from what is really important to us, or to those people who are making these comments which are the bigger political issues’. 

And after long conversations with people who disagree often times I find that they often rethink things so, if that’s helpful…

Q: did you have to get permission to show this in Beijing, and the reason I ask is thinking of the theme there, of two warring clans, that is often the propaganda you get from the Chinese government about  why they invaded Tibet otherwise they would have destroyed themselves  through civil war. In some sense that theme comes back.

As a foreign correspondent we don’t need to get permission. So, if you think this could really get permission from the state apparatus I’d be, I’d love to know your connections. I know that on Chinese producer, after seeing the film was so excited he actually went to the state TV, CCTV, much to my surprise and they said well, if I’d been a Chinese person getting involved it would be a great film, but I’m not so no thank you. They saw it as Western propaganda. I find when I speak with people who have a  political stance, often times the Americans will say, ‘oh my gosh the Chinese are going to use this as propaganda’ and the Chinese will say, ‘oh my gosh the Americans are going to use this as propaganda’ so I feel like I’ve probably got it about right.

Q: Thank you very much, your film was very different from other documentaries that have been made about Tibet, which was really interesting. A couple of things, when Zanta was first talking she said there were 1000 Tibetans in Beijing and I don’t know if you’re still there but I was wondering if there’s a bigger influx now and how the racial the aspect is changing, if at all, within the city?

contented.cc

And just in regard to all the self-immolation that’s been happening, whether there’s a kind of stir within the city, and within the Tibetan community within Beijing?

Well I’m hoping that by showing the film and talking about racism and prejudice and by bringing in documentary films from other countries that deal with these issues, that we can raise the issue. Because unfortunately I must say I haven’t noticed any awareness, racism and prejudice are things that happen in the United States, not there. People I show it to in China say, ‘oh no, it doesn’t happen here’. They’re just unaware. There are about 100 [Tibetans] from her [Zanta’s] community. Basically, after the Olympics, almost everybody, all young people came out. And some of them have now gone to other cities to sell at trade fairs and stuff like that, but there are very few people left, young people, left in their village.

They, to the best of my knowledge, the self-immolations are not foremost in their minds. I think that surviving, and economic survival is at this point, what’s of most concern to most of the people in her community.

facebook.com

Q: I was curious. It says her husband was from a neighboring village, but then you see in the film that it’s actually a long way away. I just wondered how they’d met.

Yeh, it says next door, in their context that’s not that far. Actually they were picking the grass worms used for Chinese medicine in Qinghai, I believe when they met. So they were in yet another location. She left, when she first left to do this, she was about 14 and they got chased across the plains by the locals in Qinghai, the local Tibetans and she was quite afraid for her life because they had guns and they had two days til they could get to a town. So she’s had quite a lot of drama in her life.

Q: Thank you I thought it was an absolutely fantastic film. You said at the beginning, you were very candid through the whole film, that you didn’t know what you were getting yourself into and it became very clear as things were going on that circumstances were changing and consequences were unknown. I was originally going to ask the question…the story so far seems to have had a happy ending, would you have, if you went back to the beginning, would you still go ahead with the film? I suspect you might say yes to that. So, my question is more, were someone in a similar circumstance to you when Zanta first approached you, would you advise them to follow the same path, would you advise them to get involved and if so, what advice would you give them, about exercising caution, about how to interact?

facebook.com

So Yang Qing is not the first child I’ve sent to school, I think I have sucker written on my forehead somewhere. I guess that many of you have worked in the field and been approached by people like this and personally have decided that, if I’m capable, if it’s within my means to help somebody and it doesn’t cause me too much disruption then I would do it. Now, this caused much more disruption than I was up for but I think, I’d still do that, if someone is in need and they approach me. I mean I’m not going to go out , I’m not an NGO, I’m not a bank, despite what some people may think, but if it’s something I can help somebody figure out. I mean they also have to invest in it.

I mean when I first found him a school I first suggested to Zanta that she call an NGO and see if they could provide something. Well, she did that and they said sorry we can’t do anything for you. And then, I said ‘is there a migrant school in your neighborhood’. She said yes and she went, and this was on a Sunday and the next morning at about 7am she called me and said ‘I’m at the school, it’s fine, let’s enroll’. So by noon the child was enrolled and I asked her to pay 100, or 200 Renminbi (about £20) for the semester, just to make sure that she was invested in it. So, the approach that I’ve taken is…

Q: It was more, certain actions you took to try and help, it didn’t seem at all certain that it would have helped, I mean it did in the end for example, taking the legal document to Aba, did you not think that could have gone horribly wrong or even going along with Zanta to police stations and to her village, did you ever think my involvement in this situation could have… I suppose my question is, if people find themselves in this situation, wanting to help, wanting to do something, wanting to get involved but are scared of entering this alien environment, would you advise them to proceed with that and if so, what advice would you give?

facebook.com

Yes I’d rather not be asked for advice but I must say that even today, I don’t know if what we have done, or what we’re doing here or even my very words, could have a negative impact. I consider her a risk-taker. She offered to give her child to a complete stranger, I mean how risky, how much riskier can you get? And I consider myself a calculated risk-taker. So we try to be informed and I’ve asked her on many occasions, you know, my involvement has also created a lot of jealousy in her community and given her a lot of grief. Is it worth it to you? 

I mean on many steps along the way I tell her what I think the stakes are and I tell her I don’t now what the impact will be. And she’s always decided to go forward. 

Having said that, she is planning to leave – she just arrived in her village because they had this special religious ceremony, but she’s planning to leave tomorrow – and she doesn’t know if she’s going back. And I don’t really know what’s happening as we speak. She did tell me she wasn’t going to take photographs because a woman shouldn’t be seen holding a camera in her village. I don’t know what other pressures she may be under and I know that she won’t tell me as long as she’s there. So, I’ll just have to wait until tomorrow or a few days from now and hope that she can, she will tell me.

Q: How did they respond to you and how did the respond to the camera? You had some amazing shots and I just wonder what their initial reaction was.

facebook.com

Zanta to me is exactly the same on and off camera, it doesn’t seem to impact her at all. But when she came back and she translated things, sometimes they would say ‘oh Jocelyn’s ready now, ohhh Jocelyn’s running the camera now, we’re in the kitchen you better look your best’ or something like that. So in general I thought there was not really much of a reaction and I think that because they grew up in an era without mass media and are not necessarily aware of the power of story and the power of film, it was very difficult for me to try to explain to them what was happening- because Zanta would always say – or what I thought the impact of the story might be.

facebook.com

But Zanta would always say, ‘who’d be interested in me, no-one’s ever paid any interest in me whatsoever, they’ve just walked all over me’ I mean she has no status, so for years she would say that. And now I think she’s finally beginning to understand because she’s seen the reaction and she’s come to a few Q&As and she’s seen that people like to buy her jewelry a lot. So it’s been a long process in trying to explain that.

Q: My question is about the filming, I mean you just went there with the camera, not exactly Hollywood stuff, and I think you had just a one time chance to be in the village. Did you feel yourself afterwards, missing something from the record, or did you just record everything?

So I’m a glutton for information, I tend to over-record. Gigi [editor] will tell you. I asked her so many times how many hours of footage, she still hasn’t told me.

Gigi: Too many!

Too many, that’s the answer. Was anything missing?

Gigi: Quite a lot of good stuff but the essence was all there, you can’t have everything in the film.

Yeh I mean it’s a lot. I could make several other films, I have enough material for several other films. Gigi may be moving onto bigger and better things. I’m planning on making small clips, not large, long films but maybe if I could do a curriculum or an online – for either a Chinese audience or international audiences – put together issue-based footage. I could do three minute or five minute clips, that could really get into some of the issues and then have some text to go along with it I think that would be a great thing to do, if I can find people who’re interested.

I have raised the possibility of doing ‘tolerance, anti-racism training’ shall we say, in China, for teachers, for other people who might be interested. I have a couple of people, anthropologists who are interested in collaborating on something. We have yet to figure this out. But I think if I could do that then some of the material might be re-worked and useful in that context.

facebook.com

Q: When I was there, which was before the uprising in 2008, Tibet was incredibly fashionable amongst educated Beijing-ers. They were all going either to become Buddhist or to go to nightclubs. I’m just wondering when you showed this film to people in Beijing, for some of the more philosophical aspects… because so many people in Beijing are challenging some of the materialism, there’s such a huge growth in religion and all sorts. Do people actually engage with it at that level?

In one way or another. The first screening I did for a Chinese audience, people who I didn’t know. What seemed to upset some of them most, they didn’t tell me, I had a Chinese friend come with me to help with the screening. They all came down to her and said, ‘oh my god, that is so untrue’, they felt incredibly hurt by the comment that Han Chinese seemed to respect all the wealth and not respect the poor, that really disturbed them.

And yet you see it in Chinese media or Chinese online discussions all the time. So I think that has hit a chord with some.  Is that sort of what you mean?

Q: After 2008, that whole fascist Buddhism crash…so hang on a minute this Buddhism is really rather a sham because they believe in violence and so that whole interest in Buddhism was fundamentally shaken. Not that people thought that the alternative materialism was fantastic, but there was significant change in the amount of interest.

Actually, that’s not been my experience at all and it’s been quite the opposite. I was recently in a small village and I asked a young kid where he would like to travel most, he probably was a junior college graduate or something, and he said Tibet. I mean Tibet among young people is incredibly hot, I would say today. It’s exoticised and people are looking for the spiritual. So I mean it’s not been my experience but then I only know anecdotal tales.

It was large, an amount of business people who had invested a lot in Buddhism, in going there and building relationships…
I’m not aware of that level, but I am aware that a lot of the people who are trying to help Zanta with her business, also have an interest in Buddhism but I don’t have numbers.

tibetaninbeijing.com

Remember to check out the Frontline Club Screenings here: http://www.frontlineclub.com/

Blackfish

blackfishmovie.com

‘Blackfish’ successfully made a wildlife documentary into a thriller. Experts psychoanalyzing, witnesses testifying, video evidence... all pointing to one deranged killer, protected by a 1.4 billion dollar corporation - the 5.6 ton killer whale, Tilikum, owned by SeaWorld Entertainment.

hommage-orca.skyrock.com

The film follows Tilikum from his capture in 1983 when he was just 2 years old. Orcas share a similar lifespan to humans and at just 2yrs old he was already 13feet long. His first new home was a tiny cement tank in Hafnarfjörður Marine Zoo, near Reykjavík, Iceland. He was then transferred to Sealand, a 100x50ft pool where he regularly endured painful attacks from two female orcas, not helped by the fact that trainers were withholding food. At night he was forced into a tiny metal shack with the two vicious females and emerged with bloody wounds and scratches.

Dawn & Tili - greenglobaltravel.com

He was transferred to SeaWorld, after the death of trainer Keltie Byrne, in 1991 after she fallen into the whale pool. Although I’m not convinced the attack from the whales was malicious, I know for sure that it would not have happened at all, had the whales not been in captivity in the first place. In 2010, Dawn Brancheau, an experienced trainer, was dragged from the poolside and held underwater. Her bones were broken, her head scalped and her skin mauled. This time, it was the whale that came to the trainer, not the other way around. We cannot argue that THIS time, the attack was not malicious. However we wish to frame orca captivity and convince ourselves that it has been researched and facilities are sufficient, every human can see that a tiny pool in the US can never match up to the world’s ocean. It’s cruel, however we wish to change that image for our moral conscience and however much we convince ourselves that it’s ok because it’s in the name of entertainment.

examiner.com

I felt on edge every time we watched footage of trainers interacting with the whales. I was waiting for them to pounce, waiting for them to drag the next victim to the bottom of the pool as 'Kasatka' did with Ken Peters, who miraculously managed to stay calm and save his breath. It was like watching a tiger play with its food and all I could think of was the Jaws theme tune as my heart rate raced to match.

It's not often that I watch documentaries about animals, mainly because I don't believe that any nature observing documentary can beat Planet Earth, but 'Blackfish' is different. It explores one of our largest mammals almost as a human. It analyses his behavior, it points the finger towards all those times that SeaWorld SHOULD have stopped trainers getting into the water with the orcas, before the worst happened. But they didn't. They had all the warning signs but money meant more to them than the lives of all their orcas and their trainers.

seaworldofhurt.com

There was an incredible amount of footage from personal video cameras, showing some of the most intimate, and scary episodes of the Tilikum story. Yes, the film is edited so that sometimes, other whales are shown in Tilikum's stead, whilst the narrator is still talking about him. But they identify that the audience is intelligent enough to tell a bent fin from a straight one. It’s a remarkable amount of archive, and I’d like to know more about its sourcing. As much as the film may be bias against SeaWorld, there is no doubt that Tilikum’s years in captivity, whether he is representative of all orcas or just himself, has left his behaviour unpredictable and therefore dangerous.

melissasmith.hubpages.com

In the wild, orcas can travel up to 100 miles a day, which of course, no pool in any location can ever match up to. No pool is sufficient enough to hold these mammals, and to make them perform, is probably the only freedom they get. But is it right? Did we not learn anything from Free Willy? (I'm joking – although you should read this article about how the film casted it the same year as Keltie’s death: http://edition.cnn.com/2013/10/26/world/americas/orca-trainer-tilikum-keiko/ ). The argument of the film is not that orcas, or even Tilikum, are inherently bad, no, in fact it's clear to see that many of the orcas have real bonds with their trainers. It is that man-made captivity frustrates them, and pressures them into the unpredictable. Wouldn't you get a little bit angry being dragged from your family and put in a tiny pool when you are used to the freedom of the ocean. Will it ever really be safe for trainers to swim side by side with whales in captivity?

outsideonline.com

The film does a great job of pulling together the facts of SeaWorld’s neglect, through some emotionally driven interviews with those who knew the whales and the victims. There is a particularly moving account from the mourning fiance of Alexis Martinez, a trainer murder by a SeaWorld killer whale, at Loro Parque, renowned for its poor facilities and lax training requirements. She reveals that she was told Alexis was fine, before stepping into the morgue and seeing his body, with his chest completely deflated from the attack of orca Keto. I cannot imagine what that must have been like.

(in red) Tilikum's enclosure after Dawn's death

There are well-researched extracts from the courtroom transcript, personal video recordings, an interview with a whaler, images of the enclosures, SeaWorld advertisements AND the revelation that after multiple opportunities to comment, SeaWorld declined the offer to have any involvement with the film. They say actions speak louder than words – and the effects of this film, carry that message quite profoundly.

thewire.com

It’s not as clear cut as the internet suggests. It seems that everyone has a vested interest in either liking or disliking the film. Many people have challenged ‘Blackfish’ for inaccuracies and accused it of exploiting and sensationalising tragedy- of which I do agree on the premise of Keltie’s death but not on a wider scale. I also disagree with the stance taken on Taku as he 'tries to crush' SeaWorld trainer, Sam Davis in 2005. there is no evidence that it was done out of malice... how is  a 5 tonne whale supposed to know that splashing about with a human might crush him to death? Similarly, people have slated SeaWorld and accused it of concealing tragedy without truly understanding the facts. We know that SeaWorld has since, taken action. Michael Scarpuzzi, the vice president for zoological operations and trainer for SeaWorld San Diego said in 2013, 

‘"We have altered how we care for, display and train these extraordinary animals. We have changed the facilities, equipment and procedures at our killer whale habitats. The care and educational presentation of these animals at SeaWorld has been made safer than ever’.  

So there are faults and misconceptions on both sides of the argument.

huffingtonpost.com

My opinion still stands that as a film, ‘Blackfish’ was brilliant. It may not have been directed brilliantly, due to it mainly being made up of contributor response and archive, but it was well put together. I find it hard to deny that you will ever be more moved or opposed to animal captivity than after this film. You end up loving and hating the killer at the same time and despite internet comments stating that it is an insult to Dawn’s death, I came away with a  remarkable respect for the trainers that work with these animals and with an awareness that perhaps what we sacrifice in the name of entertainment, may not be as magical as we'd like to believe. In my view it’s a ‘must-watch’ regardless of which side of the fence you sit on.

More on 'Blackfish':

Here's SeaWorld’s reaction to the film: http://blackfishmovie.com/news/blackfish_seaworld_bites_back/15297?seaworld_reacts_button

Here's a blogpost about how the film is misleading: http://melissaasmith.hubpages.com/hub/blackfish-film

Read more about Tilikum’s Story here: http://www.seaworldofhurt.com/features/30-years-three-deaths-tilikums-tragic-story/

Here’s a report on Tilikum’s Treatment: http://bc.ctvnews.ca/new-video-unearthed-of-unacceptable-killer-whale-treatment-1.1962379

Here’s some information on the death of Alexis Martinez: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/tim-zimmermann/death-at-loro-parque-the-_b_902863.html

And finally, here's a much more extensive review of the film 'Blackfish': http://www.rellimzone.com/2013/12/movie-review-blackfish-2013/ 

'Sweatshop: Deadly Fashion'

'Sweatshop' is a Norwegian Format, created by Norway's largest newspaper Aftenposten, that sends young clothes lovers to experience life for sweatshop workers in Cambodia and although it may have thrown out mixed opinions online, I absolutely loved it. It's not our usual, pack your naughty teens off to a third world country and let them see how lucky they really are, it's a wake up call to all of us and I think it has the potential to branch out to other issues too.

Watch the 5 x 10mins episodes here: http://www.aftenposten.no/webtv/SWEATSHOP-ep-1---How-many-will-die-here-every-year-7800843.html?mostSeen=true

Spending the night with Oudum - khmertimeskh.com

What makes it even more brilliant is the fact that it exists in 10min episodes online - I think Norwegians are grasping the future of television quicker than the rest of us perhaps (even if it's not intended as such). We watch everything online now, and don't want to dedicate hours of our dwindling spare time, watching a depressing programme about how life is unfair. But in 10min stints, we find ourselves wanting to watch on, wanting to click through to the next link. And I don't think it's a format that couldn't just as easily return in Norway, but also work here in the UK. It would work to pack normal everyday people off to other cultures to learn, not what amazing sights the countries have to offer (this isn't another Joanna Lumley special) but to see what life has to offer for those whom live there. Ordinary people, meet ordinary people and create some rather spectacular television.

Not only was the platform great, the content was too. It had reasonable production value although, as contributor Ludwig shares, it was difficult trying to get any sweatshop to allow them to film. With conditions exploiting a lack of toilet facilities, lack of good food and with employees earning just $3 a day and working long hours - I wonder why!

sobadsogood.com

But the team succeeded and what came out of that, was a glimpse at what life might be like for the average working class Cambodian. We follow our three young protagonists, Frida, Ludvig and Anniken as they stand surrounded by overcrowded trucks delivering hundreds of workers to factories to earn their living. With them, we meet Oudum who earns $130 a month and pays $30 of that for a small room in Phnom Penh and with water & electricity, it often reaches up $50 a month. That's 17 days work and she works 7 days a week for between 11 & 13hours a day, except Sundays when she works for 8 hours. Oudum is incredibly blunt about her situation, she does not cry, she does not falter. She is perhaps, the strongest woman our teens have ever met.

dressedandstripped.nl

Ludvig is from Oslo, he seems like a normal laid back kind of guy, who enjoys looking good. He is moved often by the struggle of those he meets in Cambodia and seems more sympathetic to their plight than the girls. He is a character with whom the viewer can really identify and he’s very likeable.

During their stay, the three Norwegians see protests for a fair wage and are moved by the determination of the Cambodians to get up each morning and go to work. Their main plight is just for their minimum wage to increase from just £60 to £100 ($160) a month to feed their families. Ludvig was moved by this so much that he decided to tattoo this sticker used in the worker's protests, on his ankle...

Ludvig: His passion to their cause really impressed me.

so-trendy.fr

Frida is young and naïve but you can see she genuinely cares about the lack of worker’s rights and is particularly moved by a lady who tells her that her mother died of starvation when she was young. Although she is moved by the situation of those she meets, she does not seem like the type of person to act upon it. 

The teens come out with some pretty strong opinions off the back of this day spent listen to the woes of activists and garment workers:

rifeoffame.com

Frida: I had to hold her hand to show how grateful I was to hear her story.

Anniken: When you begin talking to a person you see she is just as valuable as you are… She is just 19 and she tells me that her mother died of starvation. What kind of life is that? How must it be yo begin life like that? Her mother did not die because of illness or because she was killed. She starved to death because they did not have money for food.

Ludvig: I don’t have words for it. It’s just so extremely unfair. And the truth is that we are rich because they are poor

Frida: I am just put out by all this. I never imagined these things were real.

Anniken: We will influence people to care. That is our work now.

fr-fr.facebook.com

However, I wondered for 17yr old fashion blogger Anniken, will this change anything about her career in clothes? Will it truly be her work now? She went to Cambodia having run one of the most successful blogs in Norway, with 10,000 readers a day, and hadn't paid for any clothing for a year as it was sent to her free. She was moved to tears in the programme and came to some profound conclusions about their role in motivating change, but I wondered if it would change the way she approached her blog... and indeed, her 81,000 Instagram followers - why not read her blog for yourself and see just how much of an impact it really had: http://annijor.blogg.no/

 

The programme, if it didn’t necessarily have an impact on the lives of our Norwegian teens, it certainly changed their opinion from, ‘it’s always been like this so they’re used to it’ to ‘it’s not acceptable’ and at least Anniken is standing up for the values she gained from her trip. http://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/2015/01/29/what-three-fashion-bloggers-learned-after-month-cambodian-sweatshop

And it made an impact on me. I, like so many others have an eye for a bargain, and now again it does cross our mind that people work long hours on no pay to make them for us. But you just don’t think that because you buy an item of clothing for £5, that people die of starvation because they cannot afford food. It most certainly made me think more about my love for bargains. I’d be interested to see Frida, Ludvig and Anniken a year from now and see what differences the experience really inspired in them too. 

Oudum & Anniken

The production was one of unexpected quality from my point of view with some well-chosen, and well-timed changes in tone throughout with a suitable soundtrack. Overall, I think I'm really going to look into taking a similar format on myself. It has so much potential, not only to work well as a format but also to act as aid to leverage change. Definitely can't wait to start brainstorming this one.

Make sure you watch the series yourself, go on, it's only 5 x 10mins of your life and might just change just a little part of it!

WATCH IT HERE:

http://www.aftenposten.no/webtv/SWEATSHOP-ep-1---How-many-will-die-here-every-year-7800843.html?mostSeen=true

Here's what others said about it: http://www.reddit.com/r/Documentaries/comments/2tedx5/sweatshop_deadly_fashion_2014_norwegian_fashion/ 

20,000 Days on Earth

‘20,000 days on Earth’ and Nick Cave has ceased to be human. He’s just one of those guys with his head in the clouds, swimming along nicely with his lyrical tide. But this film, shows another side to Nick Cave. A side of values and of honesty and of being human, despite his best efforts.

nickcave.com

smh.com.au

 The film masterfully merges reality and some inventive staged reality in a collage of performance archive, some very cinematic re-constructions, some extraordinarily sinister discussions in a car and a rather open interview with Cave. It seems that this in itself, is a statement about the kind of person Nick Cave is, he is his past, he is his music career, he is, who is he is – and that’s it.

 

sweetarchiveblog.com

The most beautiful moment for me is when Cave admits his deepest fears.

‘What do you fear?’

‘Losing my memory’

And when asked why, his simple answer is ‘memory is what we are’…and he’s right. I don’t think anyone’s ever got it so right.

theguardian.com

Throughout the film we are treated to a world of Cave’s memory. We hear about his relationship with his father, the kind of illusive yet doting parent you seem to find in any dance film or x-factor back-story only this time it is genuinely heart-wrenching to hear. We visit what seems like our film-makers archive, filled with Nick’s past, where he takes us through performances of the Bad Seeds and points out a particularly vivid memory of a German man urinating on the guitarist. If Nick’s greatest fear is losing his memory, he need only visit here to catch the tide back to his life in Brighton.

nypost.com

He is not a man of particular emotion, at least not visually but there's clearly a hell of a lot going on upstairs. He never seems fully present in any conversation. It’s almost like he is formulating lyrics in his head at the very same time that the moments before him become the memories he so adores. We see his persona spring to life at seeing and sharing the stories of his past, vividly recreated for us through archived images and film and yet simultaneously, Cave lives every one of his days in existential crisis, but manages by getting his head down, shutting out the world and writing something beautiful with it. 

blogs.indiewire.com

He is, on reflection, more human than we thought. He’s made mistakes, he’s grown up, he’s fallen in and out of love and ultimately he quite happily loses himself in a world where memories of all of this cease to be memories at all, they are turned into lyrics, put to music and actually begin to feel real again. The great thing about a seemingly candid interview with a star is that you see things you never knew, you find out that actually, beneath all of those well-known anthems, is a person and ’20,000 Days on Earth’ succeeds in saying something quite profound about the art of songwriting, as well as celebrating Cave for the oddball genius of a great that he is. 

collider.com