I’m a producer, director, writer, executive producer and showrunner of one-off documentaries and entire series. I started out making oral history films. As I toured the country in search of old train drivers, truckers and boat builders I realised what I wanted to do with my working life. I’m charmed by the world, but I feel somehow detached from it. This is a useful perspective for a storyteller to have. I’m fascinated by the characters in the stories I tell, but I don’t necessarily see their story the same way they do.
Since then I’ve made analytical documentary essays, plenty more social history, political histories and biopics. I’ve made drama-docs and drama. After over 20 years of producing, writing and directing I’ve crossed a few genres. But all my work has something in common. It’s not the form, but the content. I’m drawn to stories that make us think about subjects in a new way. When we do this we begin to wonder more about the world in general and start to look at things differently, with a more open mind.
Another reason that I do what I do is because I enjoy it. I love the rhythm of filmmaking from the initial broad research to cracking open access to the thrill of the shoot and the intensity of the edit. Then when it’s all over, I sit back and relax for moment. But before long I can’t wait to start all over again.
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