Film
Guardian Record!
26/01/10 15:44
The great news is that Death of the NIle? has had nearly 11,000 viewings on the Guardian's web site, over double the usual number of views that any film normally gets!
The film is still up on the site and if you have not had a chance to view the film, please take a look by following this link.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/video/2010/jan/15/climate-change-nile
You can of course still view the film on our website here:
http://wilddogworld.com/Film/DON/DON.html
The film is still up on the site and if you have not had a chance to view the film, please take a look by following this link.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/video/2010/jan/15/climate-change-nile
You can of course still view the film on our website here:
http://wilddogworld.com/Film/DON/DON.html
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Nile film live on Guardian site.
16/01/10 14:54
The 16 minute cut of our new film Death of the Nile? is now live on the Guardian website!
Follow this link to view:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/video/2010/jan/15/climate-change-nile
Enjoy!
Follow this link to view:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/video/2010/jan/15/climate-change-nile
Enjoy!
Nile film distribution news...
15/12/09 11:34
We're very excited to announce that the short cut of our film Death of the Nile? has already been picked up for broadcast!
Thanks to our distribution deal with Journeyman Films
, the film has been picked up by NHK, Japan's national public broadcaster. This is a major coup and it means that the film will get exposure in one of the world's most significant TV markets.
The film is also slated to be screened in January 2010 on the environment pages of the Guardian's website.
We are still looking for a broadcast or funding partner interested in developing the project further to produce a 52 minute documentary. Journeyman are keen to get the final doc as soon as possible for distribution!
Thanks to our distribution deal with Journeyman Films
The film is also slated to be screened in January 2010 on the environment pages of the Guardian's website.
We are still looking for a broadcast or funding partner interested in developing the project further to produce a 52 minute documentary. Journeyman are keen to get the final doc as soon as possible for distribution!
Journeyman Pictures take DON cut!
07/12/09 17:57
We're pleased to announce that independent documentary film distributor Journeyman Pictures have accepted our short 15 minute cut of our new film project "Death of the Nile?"
We have been working with Journeyman for the past year and they have been a great help to us in developing the film project, so we are naturally really pleased that the film is now being distributed to their worldwide client base via their web site. So thanks to them.
Huge thanks also to Sally Ann Wilson at the Commonwealth Broadcasting Association. The CBA-DFID Broadcast Media scheme has funded this project.
There are a couple of tweaks needs to the voice over and to subtitles, but the film is now ready to be picked up by UK and international broadcasters.
You can view the film here:
The film is also available through the Journeyman site here:
http://www.journeyman.tv/
Follow the links to "Death of the Nile?"
We have been working with Journeyman for the past year and they have been a great help to us in developing the film project, so we are naturally really pleased that the film is now being distributed to their worldwide client base via their web site. So thanks to them.
Huge thanks also to Sally Ann Wilson at the Commonwealth Broadcasting Association. The CBA-DFID Broadcast Media scheme has funded this project.
There are a couple of tweaks needs to the voice over and to subtitles, but the film is now ready to be picked up by UK and international broadcasters.
You can view the film here:
Death of the Nile? (15 min cut) from Andy Johnstone on Vimeo.
The film is also available through the Journeyman site here:
http://www.journeyman.tv/
Follow the links to "Death of the Nile?"
Coffee, Bugs & Rust
17/11/09 18:21
Well, we're back from Uganda after an excellent week's shoot.
One of the key stories that we were looking to cover was about coffee. We met famers on Mt Elgon near the border with Kenya whose crop has been badly affected by pests that have chomped their way through the Arabica coffee crop which the community depends on. The increasing annual temperatures in the region have also meant that coffee has become susceptible to 'leaf rust".
Are there any solutions for the Ugandan farmers? According to Dr Declan Conway from UEA, in an interview that we have just shot in London, it is poorer communities, who rely mostly on agriculture for their livelihoods that are least able to adapt to the threats posed by climate change. Meanwhile, developed countries that are less reliant on agriculture and have more varied economies are better placed to cope with climate change. It is easier to relocate your service industry to an office higher up the hill as the river floods than it is to acquire new land.
Ironically, poorer countries, who have contributed the least to global greenhouse gas emissions, are the most likely to pay the price for the damage done to the planet. Something tells me that that is not right...
One of the key stories that we were looking to cover was about coffee. We met famers on Mt Elgon near the border with Kenya whose crop has been badly affected by pests that have chomped their way through the Arabica coffee crop which the community depends on. The increasing annual temperatures in the region have also meant that coffee has become susceptible to 'leaf rust".
Are there any solutions for the Ugandan farmers? According to Dr Declan Conway from UEA, in an interview that we have just shot in London, it is poorer communities, who rely mostly on agriculture for their livelihoods that are least able to adapt to the threats posed by climate change. Meanwhile, developed countries that are less reliant on agriculture and have more varied economies are better placed to cope with climate change. It is easier to relocate your service industry to an office higher up the hill as the river floods than it is to acquire new land.
Ironically, poorer countries, who have contributed the least to global greenhouse gas emissions, are the most likely to pay the price for the damage done to the planet. Something tells me that that is not right...
Carbon Neutral?
16/11/09 11:27
Our new film project "Death of the Nile?" looks at the effects of climate change on the Nile Basin.
While its important to highlight the issues surrounding climate change, its hard not to become part of the problem when shooting a film that involves a lot of international air travel. To make this film, we've had to fly from Europe out to the Nile Basin, so to try to help neutralise our carbon footprint, when I got home, I planted an "Umbrella Pine", a "Cyprus Pine" 3 huge Catalpa trees in our garden.
According to Channel 4's Landshare website:
Find out more here:
http://landshare.channel4.com/blog/146
While its important to highlight the issues surrounding climate change, its hard not to become part of the problem when shooting a film that involves a lot of international air travel. To make this film, we've had to fly from Europe out to the Nile Basin, so to try to help neutralise our carbon footprint, when I got home, I planted an "Umbrella Pine", a "Cyprus Pine" 3 huge Catalpa trees in our garden.
According to Channel 4's Landshare website:
According to the UK Government, the average person in the UK has an annual carbon footprint of 10.92 tonnes of CO2 - which is equivalent to the carbon captured by 7 trees in their lifetime.
Find out more here:
http://landshare.channel4.com/blog/146
Yes, we may soon have no bananas
11/11/09 05:54
Farmers on Mt Elgon, which rises over 2000m above Mbale in Eastern Uganda have seen the effects of climate change first hand and 'banana wilt' is now a feature that they have to contend with. We visited Wamimbi Weasa, a retired diplomat, who now farms a small holding in the foothills of Mt Elgon. Weasa is also Chairman of the Mt Elgon Tree Farmers Association.
Here’s a brief clip from the filming where local journalist William Odinga goes to meet Weasa to find out more.
Here’s a brief clip from the filming where local journalist William Odinga goes to meet Weasa to find out more.
Banana Wilt from Andy Johnstone on Vimeo.
Elliott's River
08/11/09 18:36
When we were in Uganda in 2008, working on our previous Nile film project, we met and filmed a short sequence with a guy called Elliot who lived in a small squatters village below the hydro-electric dam at Jinja.
We were keen to try and catch up with Elliot for this new film and find out more about his life. Elliot and all the families in his community are completely dependent on the Nile. The fish that Elliot catches in his boat (which he was fixing when we found him) feeds his family and any excess catch is sold for a few shillings.
Click on the photo to enlarge it.
Click on the photo to enlarge it.
Flowers
07/11/09 05:54
Nile Basin countries like Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania have developed strong flower and vegetable export businesses, generating millions of dollars in foreign revenues for the local economies. In Uganda, the flower business has developed near Lake Victoria and is worth $40 million to the Ugandan economy.
We visited the Fiduga flower farm about 45 minutes outside Kampala which employs over 400 staff. Here is a brief edit from some of the stuff we shot.
We’re moving up to Mbale tomorrow to shoot a story about coffee.
More later.
We visited the Fiduga flower farm about 45 minutes outside Kampala which employs over 400 staff. Here is a brief edit from some of the stuff we shot.
Flowers from Andy Johnstone on Vimeo.
We’re moving up to Mbale tomorrow to shoot a story about coffee.
More later.
On the Road...
03/11/09 19:08
Well, we're just about ready to hit the road for Uganda and as usual the preparations have been dominated by trying to shoehorn the film and photo kit into the smallest number of bags possible to avoid excess baggage fees and all the rest of it.
Thanks to our brilliant fixer William Odinga in Kampala, we have a pretty busy schedule for the 10 days trip, including shoots with various environmentalists and a trip to Mbale to cover a story about coffee. Coffee is the main cash crop in Uganda and coffee growers are suffering from the changing climate which unpredictable storms and rainfall which threatens the crop and the industry.
Flood or drought? Expert opinion is somewhat divided on the Nile Basin's future, but all are agreed that climate change will have a major impact.
Next post from Kampala.
Thanks to our brilliant fixer William Odinga in Kampala, we have a pretty busy schedule for the 10 days trip, including shoots with various environmentalists and a trip to Mbale to cover a story about coffee. Coffee is the main cash crop in Uganda and coffee growers are suffering from the changing climate which unpredictable storms and rainfall which threatens the crop and the industry.
Flood or drought? Expert opinion is somewhat divided on the Nile Basin's future, but all are agreed that climate change will have a major impact.
Next post from Kampala.
Off and running...
21/10/09 18:12
Well, we are off and running on our new Nile film project!
Our first assignment was to go and interview Dr Henry Lamb at Aberystwyth University in Wales. Lamb has been leading a project to look into lake levels in Lake Tana, Ethiopia. Lamb's team have shown how Lake Tana, the main source of the Blue Nile in Ethiopia dried up 16,000 years. Other research has shown that Lake Victoria and Lake Albert, key sources of the White Nile dried up at the same time.
This period of drought was a result of the collapse of the North American ice sheets which warmed the North Atlantic and caused the monsoon rains to fail. The net result was that the Nile ran dry. Lamb's team have calculated from the core samples drilled in Lake Tana, that the river did not start to flow properly again for 1,300 years.
Now, with global warming again causing the Arctic ice sheets to melt, the prospects for dramatic climate change is again threatening the Nile Basin.
Here's one clip from the interview we shot yesterday.
Our first assignment was to go and interview Dr Henry Lamb at Aberystwyth University in Wales. Lamb has been leading a project to look into lake levels in Lake Tana, Ethiopia. Lamb's team have shown how Lake Tana, the main source of the Blue Nile in Ethiopia dried up 16,000 years. Other research has shown that Lake Victoria and Lake Albert, key sources of the White Nile dried up at the same time.
This period of drought was a result of the collapse of the North American ice sheets which warmed the North Atlantic and caused the monsoon rains to fail. The net result was that the Nile ran dry. Lamb's team have calculated from the core samples drilled in Lake Tana, that the river did not start to flow properly again for 1,300 years.
Now, with global warming again causing the Arctic ice sheets to melt, the prospects for dramatic climate change is again threatening the Nile Basin.
Here's one clip from the interview we shot yesterday.
Nile Film from Andy Johnstone on Vimeo.
CBA Funding for WD film
11/10/09 20:04
We're very pleased to announce that our Producer/Director Andy Johnstone has been awared a development grant by the Commonwealth Brodcasting Assocation CBA, as part of the DIFD funded CBA Media Development Scheme for our "Death of the NIle?" documentary film project. The CBA DFID funding is aimed at journalists and filmmakers develop projects and programming focusing on development issues in Commonwealth countries and in these tough econmic times, with TV and media budgets being cut, the scheme is more important than ever in helping to produce films that raise awareness on develpoment issues. You can read more about the CBA Media Development Scheme here:
http://www.cba.org.uk/CBA-DFID/index.php
The funding grant has enabled us to do some further research and development work on the film project and also fund a trip to Uganda for several days shooting for the film, focusing on the effect of climate change on the Nile Basin. We'll also be shooting several key interviews in the UK.
We plan to post regular updates on this blog about the film project and the forth coming trips.
More later!
http://www.cba.org.uk/CBA-DFID/index.php
The funding grant has enabled us to do some further research and development work on the film project and also fund a trip to Uganda for several days shooting for the film, focusing on the effect of climate change on the Nile Basin. We'll also be shooting several key interviews in the UK.
We plan to post regular updates on this blog about the film project and the forth coming trips.
More later!
WD films on The Water Channel
14/04/09 11:58
We’ve just had full length versions of three of our previous films added to the Water Channel.
Follow these links to the following films:
The Nile, our river (Development and civil society in the Nile Basin)
Money into Water, Water into Money (Access to water for the poor in Ethiopia)
SecureWater (Water and sanitation for the poor in Kenya, Sri Lanka and India)
The films are all presented as flash videos so they are viewable on most computer systems. Please take a look and if you like please regster with the Water Channel, log in and rate the films!
Enjoy!
The fourth Sector - Documentary film funding
10/04/09 12:13
We’re now working on a new film about the Nile, focusing on the effects of climate change on the river.
We're hoping to start shooting in May/June, though raising the funding for this project in these tough economic times is proving a real challenge! Although all the networks seem to suggest that they are still looking for new commissions in reality, with advertising revenues dropping and staff being fired left right and centre (see this in the Guardian), it is hard to see how TV networks have the cash for new programming right now.
Of course we've approached various TV networks and we've had some positive responses with Teachers TV and Danish Radio both offering to view rough cuts of the film already. The best news so far is that Journeyman Films have said they will distribute the film worldwide, which we are really pleased about. We have also been invited to screen the film at the Copenhagen Climate Exchange in Denmark in December, an event that runs alongside the UN Climate Conference. Another little coup -but we are still chasing down some cash!
There are a couple of good grants available for documentaries and Britdoc foundation have made a big deal about filmmakers courting what they call the "Third Sector"(charities, development and aid agencies) for funding. Wild Dog has shot several projects commissioned directly for such agencies before and although we've always believed in the projects we've produced, it is hard to retain a clean editorial line on a film when it is funded in this way.
All this leaves me wondering more and more if there is not a "Fourth sector" out there. Just as many features films seem to get funded privately these days, I'm wondering if it is not possible to raise funding direct from the public for certain documentary projects. With so many people passionate about environment and development, I’m hoping that people might be interested in helping us get our new Nile film made.
So if you are interested in helping us produce a film which we think can help make a difference, please get in touch and we'll let you know more about the project and explain how you can get involved.