Short Form

One of a series of five shorts I produced and directed for the launch of BBC Knowledge in Asia. Beautifully shot by kiwi, Mark Lapwood, with Josh Talbot on sound and edited by Rob Tinworth, it follows archaeologists trying to unravel the mystery of what brought about the demise of Angkor Wat. And I got to go up in a helicopter!

Second in the series for BBC Knowledge and my personal favourite. Dr Cynthia Maung is a Nobel Prize Nominee and a refugee who only got as far as the border between her home country, Burma, and Thailand. She stopped there to found a clinic that treats Burmese migrants and refugees fleeing from the repressive regime in what is now called Myanmar. DOP Mark Lapwood, Josh Talbot on sound and Rob Tinworth editing.

Nano Technology in Singapore, one of the BBC Knowledge series I produced and directed. In the area of medical research, Singapore continues to punch above its weight. Nice work again by Director of Photography, Mark Lapwood, with sound by Patrick Chan.

Another in the BBC Knowledge series. After visiting the old port of Batavia in Jakarta. I was fascinated by the Phinisis – traditional wooden ships that still ply the route of the Indonesian Spice Trade, carrying timber into Jakarta and cement back the other way. Says a lot right there. I always wanted to do the documentary, but was told it could be dangerous as not all the timber is legal. My chance came to at least honour the traditions of the Phinisi when I heard about Silolona and her owner ,Patti Seery. Best Mates on this journey were DOP Dean Johnson with Patrick Chan on sound and Rob Tinworth editing.

Another favourite, not least because of the experience of working with the great communications team at Vestas, my friends Madhu and Maran. Again, a doco I wanted to make that morphed into a short for BBC. It was my first trip to India and how lucky was I to meet the people of Coimbatore and the surrounding villages? They were gracious hosts and so proud of the progress their region was making because of their access to 24 hour power. Chris Dickinson was the editor on this one, Mark Lapwood DOP.

This was my first foray into documentary style programming – a series of twenty short pieces on the history of Asian finance, broadcast on National Geographic Channel. I was based in Hong Kong for this series and met some great people who are still my best ever TV buddies. Thanks to Keiko of Bang Productions for bringing us all together. One of the best DOPs in Asia, Brad Dillon, shot the series with me in seven different countries, with Rob Tinworth and Lyra Garzon Stewart editing. After so many years, we still get to work together from time to time. I like that.