Ben Wilson, Chewing Gum Man – Hidden Worlds Beneath Your Feet

You see dirty, discarded, flattened blobs of gum – Ben sees a canvas!


Ben Wilson, Chewing Gum Man – Hidden Worlds Beneath Your Feet
 
I met Ben Wilson (aka, Chewing Gum Man) in October 2023, just a week away from over 600 of his tiny paintings (on London's Millennium Bridge) being destroyed forever!
 
I spoke to Ben and a few of the hundreds of passers by who stop, watch, chat and shake his hand – I asked them about the work and why it was so important to them, to London and people across the world…
 
Welcome to Ben's world and work.&nbsp;
Next time you're in London I guarantee you'll visit Millennium Bridge and you'll never be the same as a result...

Ben Wilson, Chewing Gum Man: Hidden Worlds Beneath Your Feet

A Tale of  Two Cameras is the story of how I discovered  to take photo's inspired by my Grandfather. I love to capture moments between people, nature and animals. Happy Snapping!

A Tale of Two Cameras

Charak Puja is a unique religious celebration that takes place in India, primarily in the regions of West Bengal and East Bengal (Bangladesh), to celebrate the New Year in the Bengali calendar. One of the most remarkable rituals of this festival is the practice of inserting hooks into the skin of the sanyasis, who are ascetics dedicated to their spirituality.
Shiva, pleased by this sacrifice, will bring prosperity to the sanyasis and the entire community.

Charak Puja is a unique religious celebration that takes place in India, primarily in the regions of West Bengal and East Bengal (Bangladesh), to celebrate the New Year in the Bengali calendar. One of the most remarkable rituals of this festival is the practice of inserting hooks into the skin of the sanyasis, who are ascetics dedicated to their spirituality. During this ritual, the sanyasis prepare themselves by purifying and mentally and physically preparing. The skin is massaged and prepared to allow for the insertion of the hooks. These hooks are then inserted into the back. Once the hooks are inserted, the sanyasis are attached to a rope that is then fastened to the Charak, on which a flail is attached that the assistants will spin, carrying the sanyasis with it. This rotation is considered an act of devotion and sacrifice. Shiva, pleased by this sacrifice, will bring prosperity to the sanyasis and the entire community.

Charak Puja, Extreme Devotion

Celebrating paddy. The vertical documentary captures the Gawai festival by the Salako Community 
in Pueh, Sarawak, Malaysia. 

Following the disruption of the global pandemic, the Salako Community could celebrate their harvest festival again in June 2024. Gawe ka padi documents the Salako traditions in the longhouse communities on Borneo Island. The end of the padi (rice) harvesting season is celebrated by the community coming together to share food and drinks as well as traditional music and dance. Those who no longer live in the remote parts of Sarawak travel back to the village to celebrate bringing the community together across all generations. Smartphone filmmaker Max Schleser was invited by co-producer Gus to join the Gawai festival in Pueh. As a Salako community member, Gus shares some insights and explains the ritual for us. The decision to produce a vertical video emerged during the filming when Max portrayed the traditional costume. The co-producers hope to support safeguarding the intangible cultural heritage and, through the vertical video format, inspire the next generation to use storytelling and technology in meaningful ways. Smartphone filmmaking operates in a non-intrusive manner, providing an opportunity to capture the experience of being part of the Gawai festival.

Gawe ka padi

Women all over the world are choosing to ditch the dye and embrace their grey hair. This documentary explores the reasons behind the trend through personal stories and expert opinions.

Ever since the pandemic (and even a bit before) there has been a growing trend of women choosing not to dye their hair. This documentary looks at women from all over the world and examines why they have decided to stop dyeing and why women feel compelled to dye in the first place.&nbsp;&nbsp;

Your Roots Are Showing 

In 2017 Edinburgh artist Andrew Crummy was diagnosed with throat cancer. He vowed, if he survived, to tell the story of cancer by bringing people together to create something bigger and more globally significant than his other great work, The Great Tapestry of Scotland.

In 2017 Edinburgh artist Andrew Crummy was diagnosed with throat cancer. He vowed, if he survived, to tell the story of cancer by bringing people together to create something bigger and more globally significant than his other great work, The Great Tapestry of Scotland.

Supported by Macmillan Cancer Support, this film chronicles the inception of the idea and what it means to those who have taken part so far... most of whom live with cancer or have someone very close to them who has.

A Good Thing To Do: Andrew Crummy's Cancer Tapestry


Halima is nursing her elderly father who is spending the last days of his life and taking care of their cow that is about to giving birth…

Halima is nursing her elderly father who is spending the last days of his life and taking care of their cow that is about to giving birth…

Time to Live

<blockquote style="text-align:start;">Filmed on Lutriwita (Tasmania) this documentary explores waste as a resource. Filmed at Leander Oakley's Earthship, he shares how he is living in a sustainable building made from tyres, cans, bottles. "This building is designed to go with nature, not against it".</blockquote>

Re-Tyre in an Earthship

A border separates what is allowed from what is forbidden. Scarleth is a 29-year-old
Brazilian, and mother of three. With her mother Margarete, Scarleth crosses the border
between Brazil and Argentina in search of a safe and legal abortion. The two women
encountered the courage of generations of Argentinian women defending democracy and
life.

"a common woman" is a documentary about a story of abortion, but also about the courage of generations of anonymous women who have defied authoritarian political regimes. The motivation with this documentary was to offer a biography of this unknown familiarity that is abortion in Brazil. It's a film about a common event of a common Brazilian woman fleeing the punishment and stigma of abortion in her own country, interwoven with the past democratic struggle of Argentine women for rights, truth, and citizenship.

Women traveling across borders is a recent phenomenon in the history of abortion in Brazil. Abortion was legalized in Argentina in 2020, and little is known about this transit between countries. At a time of intense political transformations in Brazil and Argentina, the film locates Scarleth's story in a longer-lasting chapter of the democratic struggles for women's rights: the white scarves of the mothers and grandmothers of Plaza Mayo in the 1970s; and the green scarves of the girls, women and all the people of Maré Verde in the 2020s.

A Common Woman

A futile attempt to help an injured stray cat where the laws in place are  not in favour of street cats.

Kiri is a stray cat with an injury known as degloved tail. The movie is made with candid images I took while trying to help him to recover, the journey to recovery is far from easy due to the stray cat laws in Melbourne Australia. But determined to make my cat friends life better I adopt him but all my efforts become futile.&nbsp;&nbsp;

Tail of the twilight cat

‘DURANGEN’ means ‘grow’ or ‘growing’ in a number of dialects of the traditional Bundjalung language, and this documentary features six matriarchs speaking about their insider perspectives on plant art.

‘DURANGEN’ means ‘grow’ or ‘growing’ in a number of dialects of the traditional Bundjalung language, and this documentary features six matriarchs speaking about their insider perspectives on plant art.
Discussing our artworks in the film highlights the contribution of women’s work in growing culture, alongside some of the many native plant companions revered in daily living for us as Aboriginal people since time immemorial, but are now under threat from recent floods, fires, drought and pests. It is essential for us to have an archival record and be able to reshare this, especially as it involves the irreplaceable biological heritage of the plant queendom.
As senior artists and cultural practitioners of the matriarchy, we each represent different clan groups that make up some of the Bundjalung Nation and are featured in collaboration with cyberTribe: Euphemia Bostock (Munanjali), Faith Baisden (Kombumerri), Tania Marlowe (Nyanbul), Deidre Currie (Minjungbal), Jasmin Stanford (Githabul), and myself as Artist Curator Filmmaker, Jenny Fraser (Migunburri).
The artists interviewed for the DURANGEN documentary were also part of a world first Bundjalung plant art showcase in Japan, representing Australia at the 2023 JAALA Biennial held at the Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum. The self-funded group collection featured a range of weaving, textiles, ceramics, photography, film and text, all with a focus on a bio-regional approach to native plant uses.&nbsp;

DURANGEN

This film platforms seven young West Australians in recovery or recovered from chronic anorexia. It takes a deep dive into common misconceptions surrounding what is - in reality - a deadly and isolating illness. It explores body image, fat-phobia, medical instability, physical health complications, relationships, identity, personality, diet culture and more. It hopes to shift the way eating disorders are viewed and leave its audiences with a better understanding of what is a devastating illness.

Forget What You Think You Know

A look at how secondary progressive affects one of the 90 percent of people afflicted with MS who will get it. Part of a potential full-length documentary, this short gives viewers a raw and quick look into the life of a woman who has battled Multiple Sclerosis for over 40 years and was forced to face the reality that most of those afflicted will face—a reality where the disease wins.

In 2019, I created a personal film called "The Deepest Cut," which focused on my brother's life with Multiple Sclerosis, told from his perspective and those of his mother, father, and son.
Four years later, I completed another side of living with Multiple Sclerosis, but this time from the perspective of my mother. This look at the disease does not spare the viewer of its ruthlessness. The narration is honest and matter-of-fact, if not a bit stoic. But through this, we glimpse the underlying core of a drained and fragile spirit.

This is a story all viewers can empathize with, even if they aren't familiar with Mulitiple Sclerosis. We all must deal with the affects of declining physical and mental health on our family. We can all relate to the heartbreak of seeing our loved ones become a shadow of what they used to be, as they plod through each day as normally as they can.
This short documentary is a potential tease to a full-length piece about a family maneuvering through life's obstacles as best as they can, in the spirit of the everyman.

The Other 90%

The film is part of the Journalistic Category of the Community Digital Story Festival.

Zinzara are suffering from heavy sound pollution

Paramount Group

Brick kilns are increasing, agricultural land and people's lives are under threat.

Living in a plastic world

Slum, environment and life

Natural Gas used as fuel in urban areas

Khulna dwells in health hazard due to garbage

Reduce Reuse recycle

Capturing sustainability in action

Bus without Business 

Sucker fish plight: habitat loss

Water or Poison?

Bangladesh's Battle Against Air Pollution

Life of a Cleaner's

Local fish are losing due to water

The film is part of the Independent Category of the Community Digital Story Festival.

CoolConsolationKcSaranga

Green tabletales

The Promiseland

Acrimony

The film is part of the DIU Best Story Category of the Community Digital Story Festival.

Save the river, save the country

Urban

River erosion, faridpur

Bangladesh Air pollution

The film is part of the DIU Best Story Category of the Community Digital Story Festival

Towns with greenery 

The Tale Of Garbage

The film is part of DIU Best Story Category at the Community Digital Storytelling Festival. 

Life of a Bottle

On December 31st, New Year's Eve of 2020, the Plaza de la Dignidad was the place of celebration.

Despite authorities prohibiting mass gatherings, thousands of people from Santiago and their families gathered in the newly renamed Plaza de la Dignidad to celebrate the arrival of the year 2020, symbolizing the awakening of Chile. The festive atmosphere was filled with food, songs, and fireworks.

On December 31st, New Year's Eve of 2020, the Plaza de la Dignidad was the place of celebration.
Despite authorities prohibiting mass gatherings, thousands of people from Santiago and their families gathered in the newly renamed Plaza de la Dignidad to celebrate the arrival of the year 2020, symbolizing the awakening of Chile. The festive atmosphere was filled with food, songs, and fireworks.

Esto no Prendio

Chile woke up on October 18th, 2019. The streets were flooded with people claiming "Until 
dignity becomes a habit". "The right of delirium" by Eduardo Galeano transports us through 
the atmosphere of the struggle for what we would call an Utopia.

Award-wining film by Marcelo Lagreze

Chile woke up on October 18th, 2019.
The streets are flooded with people demanding to be heard, united by the slogan "until dignity becomes customary.” While some people peacefully demonstrate, others, known as the "front line", confront the police to ensure the safety of the demonstrators. This entire situation is metaphorically and poetically depicted through the voice of Eduardo Galeano as he reads his poem "El derecho al delirio" (The Right to Delirium).

<h2>Credits:</h2>
Direction - Camera - Editing
<ul>
<li>Marcelo Lagreze</li>
</ul>
Text and Voice
<ul>
<li>Eduardo Galeano</li>
</ul>
Free Adaptation
<ul>
<li>Poetry excerpt "EL DER DERIRIO AL DERIRIO" by Eduardo Galeano</li>
</ul>
Sound Postproduction
<ul>
<li>Alejandra Oyarce</li>
</ul>
Music / Voiceover
<ul>
<li>Interview with Eduardo Galeano</li>
<li>Program: "SINGULARS" - TV3 - CCMA</li>
</ul>
Subtitles
<ul>
<li>Leticia Esparza</li>
</ul>
Technical support
<ul>
<li>Jorge Diaz / Solucionesmac</li>
</ul>
Images recorded during the social outburst
Recorded with iPhone 7
Santiago de Chile, July 2020

Utopia of the outraged

The city was quiet and hauntingly beautiful. Peace flooded the places that, before, had 
noisy crowds. We were experiencing the peak of the Covid-19 pandemic, and the 
environment on the subway was not different. A place that used to be flooded with 
people became an empty place that invited us to a parenthesis, a PAUSE to think and 
reflect...

<h3>Director's Statement:</h3>
It was a special moment for all. Almost without realizing it, our life changed. “A new way of living,” they said. Forced to leave confinement to receive medical treatment due to an accident. I traveled by subway to different stations in the city. Being there, I couldn't help the strange feeling of being almost by myself in a place that used to be synonymous with crowding.
At that moment, I decided to capture images of the lonely people in the subway. These images and the voices in the film invite us to rethink and reflect on important aspects of living. Which, unfortunately, under normal circumstances, we forget or overlook.
<h3>Credits:</h3>
<ul>
<li>Direction: Marcelo Ignacio Lagreze</li>
<li>Producer: Marcelo Ignacio Lagreze</li>
<li>Camera: Marcelo Ignacio Lagreze</li>
<li>Editing: Marcelo Ignacio Lagreze</li>
<li>Sound Postproduction: Alejandra Oyarce</li>
<li>Music: Maxence Cyrin - Where is My Mind - The Pixies Piano cover</li>
<li>Voices: Alejandra Oyarce, Marcelo Lagrez</li>
<li>Writer: Marcelo Lagreze</li>
<li>Graphic Design: Oannes Federico Lagreze</li>
<li>Technical Support Jorge Diaz</li>
</ul>
Shot with iPhone Xr
Santiago de Chile, July 2021

Pause

Minyip ‘home of the flying doctors’, or affectionately known by fans as Coopers Crossing base, is a small rural town in the Wimmera region of Victoria, Australia. 
Award-winning documentary film by Max Schleser

Minyip ‘home of the flying doctors’, or affectionately known by fans as Coopers Crossing base, is a small rural town in the Wimmera region of Victoria, Australia. Famous for being the backdrop in the highly popular television series ‘The Flying Doctors’, was not only a success in Australia but also received international recognition and is still currently on air overseas. Because of this success, Minyip has become a tourist destination for fans of The Flying Doctors from all over the world and has been used as a location for other Australian films, such as The Dressmaker and earlier this year The Dry was filmed in this classic Australian township.

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