Emily James – Project Director
Director Emily James studied documentary directing at the National Film and Television School, where already her student films were winning International awards. Her first broadcast commission, The Luckiest Nut in the World (Channel 4, 2002), led the Guardian to assert “Emily James is a genius…and will in time be revered as a television innovator” The die was cast, and a string of inventive and experimental television productions and films have followed, including her highly subversive series starring a cast of hand puppets (Don’t Worry, Channel 4, 2004) and her involvement as Executive Producer on films such as The Age of Stupid (2009) and What Would Jesus Drive? (2006)
“I first began this project because I saw that the story of the activists whom I was lucky enough to know was not being captured in a way that would give them their proper place in history. Capturing their story was my way of amplifying their message and to take it to a wider audience, and in more depth than news media. It has been no small challenge to convince people, even those I knew well, to consent to be filmed planning and executing essentially illegal activities. But I’m convinced that the effort has been well worth it, and I can’t wait to see how the material unfolds into a film.”
Lauren Simpson – Producer
Lauren has extensive experience in broadcast and documentary production. She has delivered to the BBC, ITV, Sky1, Al Jazeera as well as a stint for Universal Films on Ridley Scott’s Robin Hood. Lauren co-directed 2009′s SEE: The Brighton Documentary Film Festival. A committed and passionate environmentalist, Lauren is now striving to match her career with her personal beliefs and thus came on board in the early stages of Just Do It whilst involved in Climate Camp TV.
“This project brings together everything I love about documentary; opinions, humour, important stories and people – and we’re doing it without compromise or financial incentives to boot.”
James – Editor
James is an artist activist who has been making solo and collaborative works since 2003. His practice exists in many different contexts from traditional art spaces to involvement in broad social and environmental movements. Under the name the vacuum cleaner his work has been presented at galleries and festivals including: Tate Modern, ICA, Artsadmin, Fierce Festival and the Centre for Contemporary Art. James has edited short films that have been broadcast on Channel 4 and BBC2 as well as in numerous film and art festivals internationally.
“It’s often the personal that inspires me to be Political, that’s what drew me to this project. Taking the time to craft peoples stories, so that they can inspire others to create climate justice”
Kurt Engfehr – Supervising Editor
Kurt is an editor extraordinaire whose vast list of credits include: Michael Moore’s Bowling for Columbine (for which he won the American Cinemas Editor award for best documentary editing!), Fahrenheit 9/11, and Taking Liberties, the film that won director Chris Atkins a BAFTA nomination. We can’t wait to have the editing guru onboard, we really think he’s going to whip the film into shape.
Kurt joins us as Supervising Editor through the mentorship programme, part of the NFTS Bertha Foundation grant we have recently been awarded.
David Vannen – Assistant Editor
David “makes digital stuff”, and is a passionate triathlete and activist. Not all at the same time though. Recently he’s been involved in designing pervasive games, writing erotic science fiction for arachnids, and purveying immersive surveilled environments to the terminally paranoid.
“Just Do It is a political action in itself, from top to bottom. Often what interests me about activism is the complex human story that unfolds behind the scenes. That’s the stuff that doesn’t hit the news, that’s what we’ll see in this film, it’s what makes it special.”
Michelle Tsen – Assistant Editor
Michelle is a filmmaker, photographer and a traveler with great passion for human-interest stories. She has worked in factual programming in Canada and has filmed on educational documentaries around the world. She takes interest in music and has a fascination with notes and letters that she finds littered on London’s sidewalks.
“I decided to join Just Do It because it’s my way of being an activist.”
A few years back Laura met a group of filmmakers in Paris, shared an orangina with them and ended up producing their film. Since then she has worked in research, production and exhibition across film festivals, short films, and documentaries. She co-runs Kino London, the open-mic short film night.
“Just Do It instantly grabbed me as a documentary with a difference. It’s paving the way for a whole new world of independent filmmaking, turning the commercial side of the industry on its head and refusing to compromise.”
