Astronauts Vikings and Ghosts
Astronauts, Vikings and Ghosts is a 60 minute documentary produced and directed by me and edited and written by award winning editor Stuart de Jong.
In the 70s, as a 19 year old photography student in my hometown of Merthyr Tydfil, I photographed my family, my friends, and sometimes just total strangers, capturing what I thought were ordinary moments in the lives of ordinary people. I took hundreds of photographs, put them in a box and forgot about them. Forty years later I rediscovered the box. Suddenly the people in the photographs didn't seem so ordinary any more. Now everybody wanted to see the images. A book and an exhibition followed. Intrigued I decided to try and find the people I'd photographed. I wanted to find out what their lived had been like. Some hadn't had the chance to grow old, but others told me about the life they'd led, since that single moment I'd recorded all those years ago.
The film looks at how, over a period of forty years, life changed for the people of Merthyr. It is a remarkable portrait of a community - poetic and elegiac, funny and touching. It shows that, when looked at closely, no life is ordinary.
"The people I’d photographed came back to me like ghosts from the past…"
You can view the full documentary here https://vimeo.com/21013390
Reviews
“From the coal town of Wales, Merthyr Tydfil, this beautifully shot documentary reminds those who watch it how beautiful life is and how much we should cherish every day. The photographs are stunning and this is a truly accomplished and powerful piece of work.”
NEWPORT INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL
“Wonderful and lovely, such great stories and very rich content and style”
DEBORAH MOGGACH SCREENWRITER/NOVELIST "THE BEST EXOTIC MARIGOLD HOTEL"
“I saw your documentary “Astronauts, Vikings and Ghosts” last night on Arte in France. It is an astonishing piece of film, utterly enthralling, beautiful and overflowing with love.
Congratulations.”
Congratulations.”
LUCY DREW
Newport International Film Festival
"Astronauts, Vikings and Ghosts" won the Best Documentary prize.
"A touching documentary about a photographer who revisits his past, by visiting the town and the people he photographed in the 1970's. From the coal town of Wales, Merthyr Tydfil, this beautifully shot documentary reminds those who watch it how beautiful life is and how much we should cherish every day. The photographs are stunning and this is a truly accomplished and powerful piece of work"
ARTE
Astronauts, Vikings and Ghosts was broadcast by ZDF/Arte on television in both France, Germany and throughout Europe on February 13th 2012, Febuary 21st and March 1st on it's prestigeous La Lucarne slot.
LA LUCARNE
An open window for documentary creativity, La Lucarne (the skylight) is that rare place on television that welcomes idiosyncratic non-fiction works. Disseminated by Arte / France, its shows are made available to viewers in France, Germany, Belgium, and Austria. La Lucarne de ARTE recently celebrated its first decade, during which it showcased work by established filmmakers (Chris Marker, Alain Cavalier, Naomi Kawase, Alexandre Sokourov, Lech Kowalski) as well as programs by emerging documentarians.
FIFA
Astronauts, Vikings and Ghosts was selected for the 30th International Festival of Films on Art (FIFA) in Montreal March 15-25 2012. It is the world's largest festival of films on art. It was screened on March 17th at Montreal's Museum of Contemporary Art.
Taskovski Films
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7 Granard Business Centre
Bunns Lane
London NW7 2DQ
sales@taskovskifilms.com