When a hair salon in Tunis becomes an arena for political debate.

Ain't no time for women | 99.media

Tunis, November 2019. On the eve of the presidential election, the customers at Saïda’s hair salon are in the throes of debate. Which candidate to go for? Who will win votes? Everyone has their own opinion. Speak up, or you won’t be heard over the hum of hairdryers, the hiss of shower heads. The older […]

While filming her parents and sister, Carol explores her family ties

No Crying at the Dinner Table | 99.media

The dinner table brings families together. To eat, drink coffee, debate, open up or to share what kind of day they’ve had. To pull up a chair often means playing by the rules. Depending on the family, you have to sit up straight, keep elbows off the table, or not talk whilst eating. But in […]

The daily life of a “forensic cleaner” in Mexico City

Donovan | 99.media

Sealed from head to toe in a white ‘hazmat’ suit, hands gloved to the elbows, a respirator covering his entire face; Donovan is at work. “Forensic cleaning means removal of blood, bone fragments, skin, maggots, flies – everything that a dead body leaves behind. Everything has to disappear by the time I leave”, he explains. […]

Tuvsho dreams of “shining ever brighter” as a major sumo champion

Tuvsho | 99.media

In Mongolia, sumo holds great status in sporting circles. Over the last thirty years, wrestlers from the “Land of the Eternal Blue Sky” have made a winning impression in Japan. From the start of the century, five Mongolians have been awarded the supreme title of yokozuna – the very highest rung of the sumo ‘ladder’ […]

“Life in Miniature”: Welcome to Kath Holden’s little world

Life in Miniature | 99.media

A teeny-tiny hospital bed, an undersized ironing board, dinky steaks, plastic-wrapped, just a few centimetres long… Welcome to Kath Holden’s little world. Her job? Making miniatures. But don’t count on Kath to craft dolls’ houses or toy soldiers. No, her ‘thing’ is the world that surrounds her; those everyday things back home in Bradford, Yorkshire. […]

What do we dream of as we dig for a diamond?

The Diamond | 99.media

https://vimeo.com/807537389 Who has not dreamt of finding a diamond? Of finding it, right there, sparkling in the palm of their hand? In Arkansas, there’s a ‘free-for-all’ mine – the only one of its kind – where everyone’s welcome to dream. $13 is all it takes for the Crater of Diamonds to be yours for the […]

Pitting his life against deadly falls, Kirill scales Moscow’s skyscrapers

The Hanging | 99.media

https://vimeo.com/787501482 “On the rooftops, you have such a feeling of complete freedom”, Kirill tells us, suspended by one arm, his body dangling into thin air. The young 19-year-old from Moscow abandoned his studies and is fleeing the shadow of military service. He climbs to the top of the city skyscrapers, makes videos, and posts photos […]

“Wild Lilly”: How to adapt to city life when you grew up in the forest?

Wild Lilly | 99.media

Lilly lives in a commune in the middle of the forest. She lights fires, saws wood, hammers nails and plays in the mud, along with her two brothers. But circumstances prise Lily and her folks away from their home into a brick-built townhouse, far from nature. Will she put down new roots, this little nine-year-old? […]

“Samsung Galaxy”: My life in the land of Samsung

Samsung Galaxy | 99.media

https://vimeo.com/747921304 Koreans can be born on a Samsung maternity ward, study at Samsung University, support the Samsung Lions baseball team at Samsung Stadium, have fun at the Samsung amusement park with a Samsung phone in their pocket… In South Korea, Samsung is a state within a state. The small-scale, import-export company founded in 1938 by […]