Torben

On behalf of May Day, I’d like to share my short documentary, released today, entitled ‘Scavenger.’

Living off the grid in a northeast Thailand slum, Wichan Chaona collects recyclables from public trash bins to earn money for his family of seven. Shot from his motorcycle side cart, ‘Scavenger’ poetically weaves Wichan’s daily routine with his observations about life and work, reminding us of the universal roots of human dignity and respect.

‘Scavenger’ premiered at the 2013 Big Sky Documentary Film Festival.

Please watch this beautiful short documentary by my new friend, Andrew Hinton. ‘Amar’ screened along with my documentary ‘Scavenger’ at the 10th Annual Big Sky Documentary Film Festival.

I was really struck by the powerful visual storytelling at play here. This film is a wonderful illustration of pulling back, as a filmmaker, and realizing the inherent depth of your material. 

Instead of contriving Amar’s circumstances with superimposed music or commentary, Hinton serves as an interpreter for a tale that is already impactful through its sheer fact of existing. I see filmmakers, in many instances, as mediums whose central role is to take what is already beautifully expressed in real life and channel it through the particular strengths of visual storytelling.

In other words, the central challenge for a documentary filmmaker is to cultivate deep listening to better understand what the material is longing to express in the first place.

I would also like to add that it was Andrew who provoked me to use my Tumblr again. Sometimes, all it takes is knowing that someone is on the other end.  

This is amazing. 

storyboard:

Muhammad Ali Goes to Mars: The Lost Interview

It was in the summer of 1966 when a star-struck 17-year-old set out to interview his idol: Muhammad Ali. Twenty miles from the South Side of Chicago, in Glencoe, Ill., Michael Aisner was calling repeatedly to the gym where the boxing champ was training. Finally, a man named Mr. Shabazz — Jeremiah Shabazz, perhaps? The man who introduced Ali to Islam? — picked up.

“Where are you from?” Shabazz asked the boy.

“I’m from WNTH, a high school radio station,” Aisner said.

“The champ doesn’t have time to talk,” he told him.

Aisner called back two days later. And then two days after that.

“Can I interview the champ?” he asked again.

Finally, Shabazz relented.

“Ok,” he said. “The champ will meet you.”

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