Today is the final day of Easter, but I feel little peace. The Iranian hospital in Dubai was shut down this month due to the Iran war. This is for the first time since it opened in 1972. My aunt was asked to work there and eventually became the hospital’s director until her retirement. ThereContinue reading
We approach Halloween, a festival for commemorating the departed. So this post will follow a brief history of attempts to bring order to the chaos of human existence. As for the question that ended the previous post, is this such a surprise when humans kill their own species over six times more than mammals onContinue reading
Protests against asylum seekers have erupted across the UK. With some counter-protests. It’s starting to feel as if the film Children of Men (2016) depicting 2027, may become prophetic. I must be an optimist, as the New Statesmen published an article last year titled: Are we really living in Children of Men? A distant friendContinue reading
This month has been a shock to the system with the attempted assassination of Donald Trump and the new UK government assigning prisons emergency measures. Prime Minister and ex-human rights lawyer Keir Starmer, has appointed James Timpson, CEO of the key-cutting chain that employs ex-criminals, as Minister of Prisons. Timpson complains: ‘we are addicted toContinue reading
This Christmas I was so sad to see Bethlehem, the birthplace of Jesus, a ghost town due to the Israel-Gaza conflict. With the UN High Commissioner for Refugees warning of the ‘world’s current extreme disorder’, it came as no surprise when I came across the book End Times (2023) by Peter Turchin. Turchin, a professorContinue reading
Following recent upheaval, I was pleased to find Weekend University lecture by Dr Steve Taylor PhD and Big Issue interview with actor Gabriel Byrne about his new film Death of a Ladies Man, communicating that there is hope or growth in situations of insurmountable challenge, even facing death. According to Dr Taylor this is oneContinue reading
I was inspired to make my short film FREE from my knowledge of human rights issues in the mental health system. The UK government is attempting to address some of these issues this year via its reform of the Mental Health Act. Coincidentally, shortly after I wrote the script, publicity surrounding the #FreeBritney movement appeared in theContinue reading
I was able to see my films Letitia and Free on the big screen at the Genesis Cinema, as part of the Raindance Film Festival, which was exciting and a learning experience. I also finally produced a trailer for my very first film Raw Vision, its filming was interrupted by the first coronavirus lockdown, causingContinue reading
This week I sat on my first ever panel discussion for a film festival, arranged by the Awareness Film Festival - they officially selected my film Letitia for 2021. The panel was titled: It's a Global Thing. The festival usually only screens in Los Angeles, but due to COVID, this year was a hybrid event,Continue reading
I was lucky enough to film a short documentary just before the UK plunged into its third national lockdown. Titled Letitia, Letitia had also been cast as the spiritualist woman in my short fictional film Raw Vision. Due to the first coronavirus lockdown, that part had to be scrapped. The documentary is investigative style, exploringContinue reading