Abbas, Mumbai’s ultramarathon runner
Abbas had never run before. One day, he decided to give it a go. And he didn’t do it by half: he became an ultramarathon runner completing races of 50, 75 and 100 kilometres one after the next. Every morning at 5am, when Mumbai is still cool and calm, Abbas gets up to go running. […]
Yvette’s in her own little world
Hidden behind her nets above the courtyard her flat overlooks, nothing escapes Yvette’s attention. 95 years young, she was once caretaker of the block she’s called home for 64 years. You can’t move for clocks in the flat she lives in; a place she hasn’t left for a full 6 years. The caretaker’s instinct lives […]
When a hair salon in Tunis becomes an arena for political debate
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
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
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
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
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?
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
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 […]
“Tungrus”: in a compact Mumbai apartment, a tyrant rooster holds sway over a whole family.
When Mr Bharde brought home a new-born chick to his small apartment in Mumbai, it won the hearts of the whole family. But the chick grew up, became a rooster, and rained down terror in the confines of their home. What fate should await this cocky housemate? The Indian filmmaker Rishi Chandna settled on […]