Long Form

This brilliant train journey, the Eastern and Oriental Express, no longer runs the full distance from Bangkok to Singapore, as Singapore recently closed down their line to the Malaysian border. So once again, lucky me for getting to direct this. It was one in a series made for Discovery Channel, going behind the scenes of five star luxury travel experiences, with Australian journalist Angus Fontaine

James Sun, runner up on the American version of The Apprentice, fronts this eight part series that applies the principles of Sun Tzu’s “Art of War” to business. We found business owners across Asia and Australia, examined their business practices and taught them to think like a warrior. I directed episodes in China, Singapore and Australia – this was one of the best, again mostly thanks to a great team with Simon Nicholls shooting, Joel Valerie on sound and the sterling Ade Djajamihardja leading the way. Back in Singapore, Amaran Thevarajah did a fantastic job keeping up with all the editing.

This is one in a series of three documentaries I researched, wrote and directed for the History Channel, with Simon Nicholls as DOP and John Moore editing. The subjects are stories not often told – The Sook Ching Massacres in Singapore, the Rani of Jhansi women’s regiment of the Indian National Army and this one, about the Philippino resistance to Japanese occupation. In 1942, the Japanese military juggernaut forced General MacArthur to abandon his base in the Philippines, with the promise, “I shall return”. We all know he did return, spectacularly, but what is less well known is the part Philippinos themselves played, in both the timing and manner of his victory. Thousands of Philippino guerillas harassed the Japanese, ultimately staging one of the biggest intelligence coups of WW2, the discovery of the Koga Papers. These top secret documents contained Admiral Koga’s naval and air force plans for the Pacific. They were successfully smuggled out to MacArthur in Australia and turned the tide of the war in Asia. The Philippino veterans were so grateful to see their story told and for me, that’s what documentary making is all about.

It’s a common sight in Tehran: Men living out nightly football fantasies under the dim street-lights, their minds playing out the moves of their favorite stars in the fields of their imagination. It’s a fantasy land unseen by women in Iran, or at least, most women. Since the fall of the Shah, the Western media have generally portrayed Iranian women as oppressed and down-trodden. The reality is more subtle. Women are free to follow a wide range of social and sporting activities – it’s simply that Islamic law prohibits them from doing it in the view of men. In a remarkable turnaround, considering the highly conservative administration elected in 2005, and the resurgence of fundamentalist Islamic values in Iran, women have now been permitted to form a national football team. This is their story, my baby, which I authored and researched, with production carried out by Oak Three Films.

Now, this one was fun. In a carefully constructed, Swiss kind of way. My good friend and Director of Photography, Rolf Schwark, introduced me to concept car designer Frank Rinderknecht while I was living in Germany. It didn’t take long to find out that Frank sort of fancies himself as James Bond and his next new car would be something straight from his dreams. I pitched the story to National Geographic Channel, got Jonathan Schutz on board to direct and we all got to hang out at the Geneva Car Show together. Twice. Doesn’t get much better than that.

With one of the most stunning restaurant locations in Asia, Ku De Ta launched in 2010 atop the Marina Bay Sands Hotel in Singapore. This one hour reality style doco follows Executive Chef Dan Segal as he races through the final weeks of preparation for the grand opening. My co-director was John Moore, with camera work by Chris Dickinson. The food was superb too.

This lovely documentary was the result of years of hard campaigning by director Libby Halliday. I had a ball field producing at the sanctuary, with Dean Johnson shooting and Patrick Chan recording sound despite putting his headset through the washing machine along with his smalls. Animal Action Asia have done an incredible job setting this place up. It’s a permanent home for Moon Bears abused by the practice of bile farming in China and it’s a delicate dance to keep it all going while negotiating a tricky relationship with the Chinese government. Jill is one of the most dedicated people I have ever met but the main characters are of course, the bears. It was a rare privilege to be able to help get their message across. Do you recognise the voice over talent?

Scientists estimate that 75% of the world’s population will live in cities by the middle of this century. If we continue using present day technologies, the pollution those cities create will make them unlivable. I wrote and directed the Australian and Asian segments for this six part series, produced by Darlow Smithson, London, for Discovery Science. They combed the worlds of science and technology for green solutions to problems facing cities of the future. On a personal note, my father died during the shooting of one of the Australian episodes and without the support of DOP Brian MacDiarmant and PM, Su Mae Khoo, I wouldn’t have been able to deliver. This segment, about the humble lettuce, was a happier memory.