[vimeo 268233557 w=500 h=275]

Trump is a horse in a hospital from Rich Porter on Vimeo.

[vimeo 207163783 w=500 h=270]

Life Inside Islamic State from Scott Coello on Vimeo.

In January 2014 a brutal new Jihadist group swept through Syria and set up its capital in Raqqa in the east of the country.

In the two years since, so-called Islamic State has evolved into the most notorious extremist group in the world.

For the past three months, BBC Radio 4’s Today programme correspondent, Mike Thomson, has been in sporadic contact with an activist based in Raqqa from a group called Al-Sharqiya 24. This short documentary depicts the activist’s diary of what life is like under Islamic State.

Full accounts from the diarist can be found here: amzn.to/2lT3KGB

Credits
BBC Radio 4 team:
Today Correspondent: Mike Thomson
Today Producer: John Neal
Arabic Service Producer: Nader Ibrahim
Digital Editor: Rhian Roberts
Digital Producer: Greg Smith
Voice actor: Faisal Irshaid
Production team:
Animation: Ross Plaskow, Scott Coello
Music: Dan Pollard
Sound Design: Dan Pugsley
Director: Scott Coello

festivals/screenings/nominations
BBC News Victoria Derbyshire
BBC Radio 4
Open City Docs, England
FAFF (Factual Animation Film Fuss), England – SPECIAL MENTION AWARD
British Animation Film Festival, England
Two Cliffs Film Festival, England
XpoNorth, Scotland
Human Rights Film Festival, Spain
KLIK! Animation Festival, Amsterdam
Anibar Animation Festival, Kosovo
CutOut Fest, Mexico
Rabbitfest, Italy
Cartoon Club, Italy

[vimeo 208607181 w=500 h=281]

Ministry of Trump Facts & Information from MarkFiore on Vimeo.

Keep an eye on my work behind-the-scenes here: patreon.com/markfiore
Everything is coming up Russia these days. Besides the hacking, influence and other shadiness, there is a distinctly Soviet propaganda tone to the Trump Administration. (Don’t worry, I’m not beating the war drums for a fight with Russia, just making an observation or three.)

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BgwpqaNa_Eg?feature=oembed&enablejsapi=1&origin=http://safe.txmblr.com&wmode=opaque&w=500&h=281]

[vimeo 114033533 w=500 h=281]

1500 WORDS from Andrew Chaplin on Vimeo.

When Stanley Franks is told he has 1500 words left to live, he faces a battle to keep both his marriage and himself alive using the fewest words possible.

SCREENINGS:
London Independent Film Festival – WINNER
New York Independent Film Festival – WINNER
International Filmmaker Festival of Milan – WINNER
Los Angeles International Short Film Festival
Portland Film Festival
Austin Shortsfest
Laughter Comedy Fest
Film Crash
The Monthly Film Festival – WINNER
UnderGround Film Fest – WINNER

[vimeo 157031580 w=500 h=281]

BadCompany from Simon Sharp on Vimeo.

Producer/Director: Simon Sharp
Associate Editor: Poul Madsen (Bombay Flying Club)

Bad Company is a story shot in the brick factories of Kathmandu, Nepal. Factories in which scores of children as young as 5 are sent to work, often as labourers and as donkey boys (shepherds) in order to pay off gambling debts borne by drunk uncles and fathers or to earn money for the very basics of life, food and water.

Once there they become bonded and institutionalised for years to come. The kilns envelop them physically and emotionally as bodies are broken and dreams dashed.

It is here they will grow into men. However, what kind of men is moot as nuture in the kilns is one of a lawless, peerless underworld in which children not only witness but also feel the wrongs done to their elders as the psychology and the pain inflicted on others is passed down the line to them, weak and defenceless as they are. In turn they learn how to inflict pain on to a body even less powerful, the animals themselves.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2PCb9mnrU1g?feature=oembed&enablejsapi=1&origin=http://safe.txmblr.com&wmode=opaque&w=500&h=281]

Martin Shkreli on Drug Price Hikes and Playing the World’s Villain

I’ve been skeptical of his villainy because of its quick and unanimous acceptance by the media, and because the evil in question is baked into the system that he is a part of. It is more likely that he is a decoy for the real/greater evil.