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The future will be different – Moscow, fashion and disability
Traditionally, people with disabilities have been all but invisible on Russia’s streets. But that’s beginning to change. This is a one minute trailer for a forthcoming documentary, made for UN Television. A beautiful future from francismead@airpost.net on Vimeo.
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will-power, video, oil booms and blind metro rides
It seems to me that each filming trip is essentially an act of will. Where no thing existed before, you will something into existence – in this case short documentaries filmed in Azerbaijan and Moscow. The whole thing requires utter doggedness and persistence, in the full knowledge that unless YOU do this, no one else […]
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Banana rats and the man who worked for Bin Laden
At one time Khalid Al-Jhani made bombs for Osama Bin Laden – but now he’s a free man. How could that be? Al Jhani has led an extraordinary life – he set off as an idealistic young man to protect Muslims, ended up working for Al Qaeda in Afghanistan, met Osama Bin Laden several times, […]
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Gaza – birth amid death
A short film about a courageous midwife in Gaza. And here are my personal reflections on filming in Gaza, in particular the extraordinary story of Gazan cameraman Khalid – that’s me on the left, Khalid on the right. Khalid is a smallish, wiry man with a lot of energy. I’ve been […]
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In Riyadh, Saudi Arabia – the man who knew Bin Laden
Filming a piece on the man who went from being a high-school student, to an Al-Qaeda trainer in Afghanistan. Khalid was an electronics expert, and knew how to wire bombs. He ended up in Guantanamo for 4.5 years. Now he’s a free man, married with kids. We’re making a film for the UN about how […]
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Abducted, displaced and bereaved – Sri Lanka’s legacy of war
Every community in Sri Lanka has been affected by Sri Lanka’s civil war – especially children. I filmed there in 2007. The official end of war came in 2009 – but that doesn’t mean that the scars have healed. Children and War from francismead@airpost.net on Vimeo.
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The Algerian terrorist who came home – rare video
Take a look at this video about a terrorist who gave up the struggle and returned to society after fighting in the hills for four years. The under-reported story of how and why people give up terrorism.
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Poisoned Chalice: The UN in Iraq
Poisoned Chalice: The UN in Iraq. On 19 August 2003 Francis Mead was working as a freelance journalist in Baghdad, reporting on the humanitarian situation with the help of the UN. He was sitting in the UN’s Baghdad headquarters when a suicide truck bomb smashed into the building. He survived unhurt, but 22 others, including […]
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The amazing campaign to wipe out polio
Some video stuff I did for UNICEF – includes a piece narrated by the legendary photographer Sebastiao Salgado – the worldwide campaign against polio is one of the most amazing and unsung achievements of the human race.