Members are doing great things; Dale Beaumont-Brown is crowdfunding to make a documentary on the medicinal use of cannabis. A topical issue which is very much in debate, and their reasons for making it are worth hearing, I think. Anyway, here’s Dale with the rest…

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/grassrootsdocu/grassroots-the-cannabis-revolution?ref=video

GrassRoots: The Cannabis Revolution, is a feature-length documentary exploring the medicinal use of cannabis, the patients involved & the campaign to change UK law. With unrestricted access to activists/medical cannabis patients, we lift the lid on the people within the UK movement. A subculture of politically driven people who feel they are forced to break the law getting access to the medication needed to treat their varying conditions.

Over the course of 3 years we explore their lives and why they campaign for change. As well as discussing the beneficial properties of cannabis, investigating the UK’s drug laws, and challenging cannabis stigma.

Protestors stage a smoke up outside Parliament

Whilst GrassRoots is a story of the cannabis campaign as a whole, it’s also a personal exploration into one particular activists life. Clark French is a 29 year old campaigner, struggling with multiple sclerosis, personal and familial demons and the battle to get safe access to his medicine; cannabis. He is also my cousin.

Clark French

This is what drove me to telling this story.  I was interested in making a film about cannabis, the illegality shrouding it and the struggle for patients/activists to get it legalised, but most of all I wanted to produce a character study about someone having to deal with life after being dealt a really cruddy hand.

Some challenges & perspectives on making a Cannabis documentary:

Budget-

Up to now, (we’re running a Kickstarter campaign – more info at bottom of post) it’s been entirely self-funded. Dozens of excursions, hotels, dodgy petrol-station sandwiches, crew, flights to San Francisco, Denver, Amsterdam (twice) & Barcelona (twice). It’s been an uphill battle. Luckily my day job running my media production company in Norwich, UK (Elixir Media Production) means I was able to fund the shooting of GrassRoots with the money accrued from other documentary/corporate shoots.

‘Patience’, not, ‘patients’ –

I’ve been making films & docs for 8 years but this is my first feature-length documentary. So, there’s a point when dealing with social issue docs like this, when you suddenly realise, “right this is going to take years to document, not months!” However, I never really found that a hindrance, more of a motivator.

As a documentary filmmaker one of the most difficult (and deciding of factors) to commit to something for such a long period is getting access to the subject you want to highlight, in this case, the relatively secretive world of cannabis and the activists within it. I stumbled into this completely by mistake.

The ‘Cannpaign’ – Hyde Park 19.04.2015

My cousin is a prominent and outspoken activist in the ‘canna’ community, having founded several national cannabis reform organisations. This got me into some places normal media were not ordinarily permitted and afforded me a lot of trust that maybe I didn’t deserve.

However at the same time, I was doing a ton of research and kept coming back to the fact that apart from the occasional article or news segment, there simply was not a feature-doc out there exploring the cannabis issue with the sort of access that I was getting. I was not going to squander this opportunity and embroiled myself in the UK’s cannabis movement.

No more war – Hyde Park b&w PNG 19.04.2015

There were also some great moments too that I’m looking forward to seeing on the big screen. I had unrestricted access to a medical marijuana facility in Denver, Colorado right around the time cannabis was going legal for recreational use.

GrassRoots Producer & Director Dale Beaumont-Brown filming at RiverRock Wellness Medical Marijuana Centre in Denver Colorado

– I had access to River Rock for two full days and filmed EVERYTHING; from seed, to weed.

– An interview amongst 2000 plants (some 12 foot high).

– The trim room, where they trimmed the crop was so large it was a converted bus depot.

– And the dispensary where the patients got access to some 75 ‘top-shelf’ strains, edibles and concentrates.

Dale interviewing Paul Tokin @ River Rock, Denver

I also fulfilled a bucket list item in the Bay Area by filming at the Golden Gate Bridge… and that’s all I’m going to say about that scene. It’s too epic to spoil!

Dale & Clark at Golden Gate Bridge’

GrassRoots is as much a film about socio-political injustices as it is passion and dedication. You will be introduced to people committed to fighting against the odds; whilst struggling with ill health & the threat of criminal conviction in the face of societal stigma. Despite this, they fight for something they believe in.

GrassRoots is important because as a socially-conscious feature-documentary, in 25 years’ time people may look back on this and say, “Do you remember when weed was illegal?” Documentary has the power to be a social document and stand the test of time; it is a continually relevant art-form.

We are running a Kickstarter campaign to fund vital post-production costs so we can finish GrassRoots. It finishes this Wednesday 13th May @ 23:59pm (UK time).

Thank you; get in touch if you want to ask me anything.

Dale Beaumont-Brown

Twitter . Facebook . Website

This week (7th May), DocHouse are hosting a special DocHouse Thursday screening of Peter Anthony’s epic cold war ‘thriller’, The Man Who Saved The World.

 “Few people know of Stanislav Petrov… yet hundreds of millions of people are alive because of him.”

1983. The height of the Cold War. Stanislav Petrov is the man with his finger on the button when Russian radars intercept what appear to be five American nuclear missiles heading straight towards Russian soil. With alarm bells ringing and panic spreading, will Petrov fire back and start a nuclear world war, or break protocol and trust instead the gut instinct that tells him it’s a false alarm.

You may never have heard of Petrov, but his actions on 26 September 1983 saved us from World War III, sparing the lives of millions. Yet, decades later we find him a ruined man, forgotten and struggling, his life unravelling around him. When he is unexpectedly invited to New York to speak at the UN, Petrov embarks on a spectacular journey, finally receiving the recognition he deserves and starting to come to terms with the past.

The Man Who Saved The World (Starring non-other than; Walter Cronkite, Robert De Niro, Matt Damon and Kevin Costner) powerfully combines stunning reconstruction of the past and real-life filming today, expertly interweaving the two into a nerve-tingling cold war thriller and an extraordinary warning to avoid the mistakes of the past.  Director Peter Anthony will join after the screening for a Q&A via Skype.

“I’m not a hero. I was just in the right place at the right time.”– Stanislav Petrov

The Bertha DocHouse screen is the UK’s first cinema dedicated solely to documentary films and events. Housed at the newly renovated Curzon Bloomsbury (formally the Renoir) the 55-seat Bertha DocHouse screen offers a vibrant programme of international cross-genre documentaries, as well as frequent post-screening filmmaker Q&As, panel discussions and events, 7 days a week. DocHouse aim to celebrate the depth and breadth of the documentary form with films from the UK release calendar as well as titles without distribution, festival favourites and a strong range of themed seasons and retrospective screenings. Their flagship DocHouse Thursdays strand continues its special previews and premieres of a finely selected bunch of docs that stand out from the crowd.

We look forward to exploring the world of documentary on offer at London’s new centre for docs and we don’t think there is a film better suited to set you off on your journey.

Book your tickets now and see what else is coming up at Dochouse.

David Oyelowo judged Film of the Month back in April – it was a close call, but here are his top 3:

First place,

“This is a tender, imaginative and truthful take on the joys and challenges of caring for an impaired loved one. I was surprised and moved.” – David Oyelowo

Director – Mustapha Kseibati

“To have David Oyelowo watch and select Mohammed as film of the month is brilliant! Myself and the rest of the team would like to thank David and Shooting People for giving us a great platform to showcase the film, and hopefully get it seen by more people now”

Numero two…

“Beautifully performed and nicely shot, this film satisfyingly and impressively plumbs deep emotional depths in a very short time. ” – David Oyelowo

Director – Paul Murphy

“A sweet story about words that may have benefited from less words and a bit more onscreen chemistry.”– David Oyelowo

Director/Writer – Becky Matthews

“Double Word Score was a real labour of love, so it means a lot to have been in the running for Film of the Month, and to receive comments from someone as established as David Oyelowo is a rare opportunity for a first time filmmaker. The cast and crew are very pleased, thanks to everyone who has watched and supported our wee film.”

For the month of May, Drake Doremus, is here to stay! (as Film of the Month Judge)

Drake is a highly acclaimed Writer/Director who has premiered more films in Sundance than out of it; however, he is most well known for causing emotional heartbreak to large numbers of people who thought they were turning on a rom-com when they watched his 2011 Sundance Grand Jury Prize winner Like Crazy.

At age 19, Doremus was the youngest fellow ever accepted at the American Film Institute. This made him part of an elite group of alumni that include Darren Aronofksy, David Lynch, and Terrence Malick. His second feature ‘Spooner’ was met with critical acclaim at Slamdance, and his past three films (Douchebag, Like Crazy, and Breathe In) have been part of the official selection of the Sundance Film Festival. Next up for Doremus is Equals, a futuristic love story, starring Kristen Stewart and Nicholas Hoult, which he filmed in Japan and Singapore this past year.

Drake has made a name for himself with his stunningly beautiful, emotionally gut wrenching films packed full of tremendous performances (Felicity Jones anyone!). We don’t need a witty sentence to encourage entries.

Entries are open to all Shooting People members until the May 20th. Hurry up and send them in.

Once you have, feel free to catch up on Doremus’ Sundance winning ‘rom-com’. Disclaimer:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r-ZV-bwZmBw

Disclaimer: SP assumes no responsibilities for the feels to follow.

Shooting People and Open City Docs Fest are joining forces to help you get your documentary project off the ground. Doc Labs will give you the opportunity to work with successful crowdfunded documentarians and digital experts to tackle the planning, execution and promotion of the perfect crowdfunding campaign for your project.

We’re looking for both short and feature length non-fiction projects to participate in the first edition of Doc Labs during this year’s Open City Docs Fest (15-21 June). Selected teams will go on to complete the workshop and receive ongoing consultation and support as they develop their project.

Submit a short project proposal together with a brief biography of the filmmaking team and full contact details to doclabs@shootingpeople.org  by midnight on 31st May 2015. Proposals should be no longer than 2 pages.

We look forward to hearing your ideas!

BAFTA winning writer Jack Thorne (This is England ’86 ’88 ’90, The Scouting Guide Book for Boys, Skins) came on as Film of the Month judge back in February. His first short was actually crewed through Shooting People, and went to Sundance.

FOTM was definitely feeling the love in February, all top 3 films were romantic(ish)- weaving in quite nicely with Valentines Day..

Jack had some great things to say and members were thrilled with his comments

Taking the lead, was this little Gem:

“A great short that really uses everything at it’s disposal. I loved the use of sound and music to take us into other worlds. Maybe I’m bias as an ex-McDonald’s employee but I found it really touching too – the first of a new genre of fast food romances perhaps. Exceptional lead performance by Thea Beyleveld too – full of intensity and longing, she’s got a real Anne-Marie Duff quality to her.” – Jack

“Winning Film Of The Month was a fantastic feeling.. To know that someone (other than my mum) loved the film was brilliant. His feedback really showed that he got what Luke and I were going for. Shorts are calling cards and to have Jack Thorne give it his stamp of approval will be a massive help getting my work out there.”

Writer – Luke Barnes

“The reason we make any art is to help revaluate our experience of being human. I feel very privileged to have our film chosen and I’m very pleased that our story about the human condition, that we did in a way that we enjoy, is being recognised by someone of Jacks calibre. Thank you”

Actress – Thea Beyleveld

“This little film, for me, is the gift that keeps on giving. I have Sophie Davies, our wonderful casting director to thank for bringing me on board, and of course Jon and Luke. It was my first short and from the moment I read Luke’s wonderful script I knew it was special. Jack has written some of the work that inspired and drove me to become an actor, the sort of work I hope to make. So to have my work recognised by him with such lovely comments is just the best feeling. Chuffed to bits! Thank you for the platform Shooting People.”

Secondly, Jamie Sim‘s Bus stop:

“A hymn in praise of Woking. Nicely written and shot with a real efficiency. A sort of Before Sunrise for the home counties- and it even allowed itself a happy ending, which I think is quite rare in shorts. Oh, and I now really want to see the War of the Worlds tripod in Woking.” – Jack

“I thought this had a lovely tone and sense of place and admired it’s silence, it really had a confidence in what it was trying to say and do.” – Jack

Head of Documentaries at The Guardian, Charlie Phillips, has come on board to tell you about their new initiative to commission short documentaries for The Guardian online. Anyway, we’ll let Charlie tell you more…

Documentaries have become very cool recently, have you noticed? A lot of people are writing a lot about this being the Golden Age of Documentaries, and whilst labelling moments like that feels unnecessary to me, it’s certainly true that more people are making brilliant documentaries at the moment than ever before. More importantly, more filmmakers are thinking themselves as documentary-makers.

I want to support that. There’s no shame in it, stand proud and declare yourself someone who wants to make great doc stories and get them seen.

It’s not always easy though. The number of documentary-makers and documentaries made has shot up, but the number of outlets for them hasn’t kept pace, especially if we’re talking curated mass audience platforms. Platforms are restricted to one territory or one thematic focus, or they’ve got tiny (albeit dedicated) audiences, or they’re not focused very well on documentaries, or they don’t give you a sense that someone behind the wheel really want to help you tell your stories, or you don’t feel they’re reaching that mass documentary audience that lives online. You just want to get your docs seen and feel like the platform showcasing it is collaborating with you, and reaching a big audience.

‘Muslim Drag Queens: The clubs are busier than ever – commissioned by The Guardian

To try and address that, we’ve recently launched our new documentary initiative here at The Guardian, and I want to invite you all to pitch your ideas to us. We want contemporary documentary stories that are told well, told at a pace that online audiences recognise and won’t get distracted from, and we want to support short films that The Guardian audience and a wider online audience will want to click on, watch and share. Our online docs are available in all countries, and it’s a big audience – The Guardian website has millions of visitors every day, and it’s the second most-visited English language newspaper website in the world. We’re open to all your ideas as long as:

-They’re fast in the speed of the telling, and not too repetitive or ponderous

-They’re contemporary not historical

-They’ll feature brilliant storytelling and characters that really pulls you along and leaves you feeling transformed and better informed in 15minutes or less

-They’re relevant globally

-They feel original, untold and rather surprising

-They’ll be led by actuality/action rather than interviews/talking heads

‘Pretty Radical’ -A young woman’s journey into Poland’s far right -commissioned by The Guardian

We want documentary ideas that will work online and pull in an audience hungry for brilliant stories they can click on that tell them something new. Think honestly about what you and the  people you know click on when they’re on social media and what pulls you and them in and why. We don’t want documentaries that are going to only play to a few – we’re looking to build an online doc platform that acts as a beacon with a call for an online audience hungry for information and story.

Don’t think in terms of traditional journalism and don’t think “What’s Guardiany?”. Think “What do all online audience members (i.e. almost everyone in the world!) need to see and know and what will they do after they see it? Who will they share it with?”

To see the kinds of docs I’m talking about check the 11 very varied short docs up on our site right now – some are original short commissions, some are cut downs of longer documentaries, some are work-in-progress or parallel versions of documentaries that will become longer in the future. They represent lots of different parts of the world and a real social mix. But we want more!

Watch them, get inspired, think about what we’re missing, and then pitch me with a one-page proposal and some visual material by email to charlie.phillips@theguardian.com, or if you’re going to Sheffield Doc/Fest, enter yourself into our pitch opportunity.

Looking forward to hearing from you and collaborating on making a very special online documentary platform for the whole world.

Investigative documentary filmmaking can impose real challenges and risks, especially if you’re taking on one of the biggest oil exploration companies in the world.

Director of the Oscar-nominated documentary Virunga and long-time Shooter, Orlando von Einsiedel, opens up about making a film that really takes a stand. Touching on Netflix distribution, teaming up with Leonardo DiCaprio and his career in filmmaking.

Orlando started off shooting snowboarding videos before delving into documentary filmmaking, tracking down incredibly varied stories across Africa, Asia, the Americas and the Arctic, from skateboarders in Afghanistan to pirates in West Africa.

https://vimeo.com/124812843

Serious part over, because this was so brilliant – here’s a little anecdote that you might want to refer to if you ever work with gorillas.

https://vimeo.com/124816144

The great track accompanying this series is ‘Stranger on the Corner’ by ‘The Plastic Dots‘ – check them out on Soundcloud.

Fresh from portraying Martin Luther King Jr in Academy Award-winning Selma, acclaimed English actor David Oyelowo has come on board as April’s Film of the Month Patron.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pakI8K-AcmM

The presence of Clerks creator Kevin Smith as March’s patron has stirred up some fiery and fierce competition in Film of the Month. SP’s social media has been going wild with filmmakers promoting their films on the leader board – which is exactly what it’s all about.

Not only is there the opportunity to win stuff, but entrants can get that wonderful thing called ‘feedback’ from leading industry figures and other filmmakers. Helping with the improving and bettering work as creatives – awesome stuff.

So here’s a little bit more about the finalists and their films:

1. Thus – Joseph Steele

If Ben were better at it he’d still be performing puppet shows with his grandmother, instead he now makes movie-films and dreams of the day he can make his glorious return to marionette theatre. His shorts have played at Sundance, BFI LFF, Fantastic Fest and the nicer parts of the internet. He shot He Took His Skin Off For Me in his house and set up a Kickstarter backed one-time SFX workshop in an abandoned retirement-home down the road to make it happen.

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3. Nobblycarrot7 – Ben Mills

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Nobblycarrot7 is a 15 minute film written and directed by Josh Allot and starring Verity Mullan-Wilkinson (Best Actress – British Independent Film Festival) as Ruby, a young girl who’s learnt the ways of the world through Youtube tutorials and spends her days hiding behind her computer screen. When she falls for online DJ Vinyl Lionel (Laurence Williams) she has to shut her laptop and go meet him for real.

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4. Glasshole – Jonathan Brooks

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Jonathan has written and directed a number of successful short comedy films. First Press (co-directed with Mat Laroche) was shortlisted for the Virgin Media Shorts in 2011. The Devil’s Apricot won Judges Commendation at the Reed Short Film Awards 2012 and both the Picturehouse Picks Award and Runner Up Best Short Film at the Cofilmic Film Festival 2012.

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Glasshole is about technophobe Andrew who, reluctantly, tests out a pair of Goggle Glasses with friends at his local pub. His curiosity soon returns sinister results as he is visited by a strange paranormal entity called Steve. This short horror comedy addresses the potential supernatural dangers of wearable technology.

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5. Cupid Dot Com Dating – Michael James Dean 

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Michael James Dean is a young filmmaker who has worked on several short films both in front and behind the camera. He founded Posh Dinosaur Productions and Cupid – Dot Com Dating is the second film of Michael’s that has reached the final round of Film of the Month.

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Cupid is the first episode of an Original Series from Posh Dinosaur Productions currently available via their YouTube channel. Funny, awkward, loveable and exciting Cupid is a heartwarmingly funny comedy that will keep you coming back for more.

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6. Breathe – Toby Meakins

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Toby is a multi-award winning director who makes commercials, brand films and viral content but loves to make ghost stories whenever he can.

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Breathe is the story of a ghost you can only see when you hold your breath.   It was shot in London across a couple of very cold January days by a lovely cast and crew and has travelled to film festivals all over the world.  It was made a Vimeo Staff Pick and a Short of the Week.

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7. Howl – Jamie Sims

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Howl is a short psychological thriller about a Primary school teacher struggling to protect a new pupil from a strange man who lingers at the playground fence. The film hopes to regenerate interest in the horror/monster genre through combining metaphorical parallels between a common evil within society (child abusers/paedophilia) and a traditional creature of nightmares. Using this, the film explores both adult and child fears.

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8. Darjeeling – Jamie Montgomery

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Darjeeling is a thriller that encourages the audience to look beneath the surface and question the importance of our decisions in life and how precious our time really is.

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Two men share an evening together over a pot of Darjeeling tea. Having not seen each other for some time they discuss family, travel and share old memories, but underneath every conversation lies a truth, one rarely seen. Is time running out?

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9. One Final Question – Corry Raymond

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One Final Question is about a 20 something girl working at a call centre by chance cold calls her estranged father; realising this, the girl is confronted with the pain of his abandonment and the need to understand. Under the bizarre circumstances they are reunited, the girl attempts to probe into her father’s life and to ask a question which could potentially heal both their pain. The short is on an exclusive showreel, selected by Blackmagic Design, to showcase outstanding creative work shot on their Cinema Cameras.

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10. Order of the Ram – Jamie Montgomery

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Order of the Ram follows Mary, a young, well-spoken college girl who is well liked within the small town she resides. Suddenly her life is turned upside down when she awakes, bound within a dense wood, to find herself staring into the eyes of “Mother”. On the surface Order of the Ram is a throwback horror movie paying homage to cult horror from the 1970’s, but underneath the film explores the idea of blind belief within religion, the extremes one will go in the name of god and the horrifying effects extreme belief can have on the innocent who encounter such people.

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