I came to filmmaking through politics, and to politics through a stint at UNESCO in the mid-1990s, where I worked as a researcher on a project examining the (largely negative) impact of development on non-Western cultures.
From Paris, I moved to Cairo in 1997, where I spent three years working for a local newspaper, travelling to India during my vacations to volunteer as a farm labourer in the trans- Himalayan province of Ladakh. It was my frustration at not being able to convey in words the precise texture of what I saw and heard during my travels that led me to buy a MiniDV camera.
I returned to Europe in 2000, settling in Brussels. There I began making no-budget documentary films in collaboration with activist and grassroots groups, doing all the technical work myself as part of an extended apprenticeship process. I also used the opportunity to catch up on my film education -- not only the documentary tradition, but also silent movies and experimental cinema.
In 2003, I quit my day job to take up a commission from Newcastle University for a film about water access problems in the Occupied Territories. This film was shot and edited in collaboration with the Palestinian filmmaker Rima Essa during 2003 and 2004, and a final cut is currently being agreed with our funders.
Meanwhile, I continue to work as a freelance print journalist, and have just completed an EU training course for crisis management experts, specialising in media development.
