Conference of the Birds Shoot

Conference of the Birds from Woven Multimedia on Vimeo.

I had the pleasure of filming the dance footage for this promo.  This dance will take place in San Jose in early September, its filled with beauty and color and culture so go support!

Thatcher in Bolinas

This is Thatcher Boomer, a musician I have the pleasure to play with on several occasions.  This photo was taken in Bolinas the morning after an amazing show.  After the show we went out to the beach and the water lit up with phosphorescence and the sand turned a neon green from the pressure of our footsteps.  We had spent the day before moving another musicians (Greg Ashley) equipment out of the Creamery studio as he was getting evicted.  It was a sad scene and a reminder of the world encroaching and the economics of the tech world squeezing out the artists.

My camera started malfunctioning before and after this photo but I managed to get this much of a shot.

Brand vs Ward faceoff

I filmed a few press activities for the fight coming up in Oakland, Ward vs Brand for fighthub.  Faceoffs are so interesting, every time I film one I go around to my friends and attempt faceoffs and its both an intimate and intimidating experience.  You size the person up while showing them your resolve by holding still and calm but strong.  Faceoffs kinda occur on the micro day to day.  Its totally psychological.

Face Off

I had a gig a couple of weeks ago to film a face off.  Basically two fighters come out, size each other up and give a real serious, "I'm gonna kick yo ass" look.  It was kinda fun.

While it was happening a "Black Lives Matter" protest popped up in the background.  I dipped away from the hordes of press and checked that out for a few minutes.  I found the protest more interesting then the face-off.  There is more fire, more urgency and more at stake with the protest.  On the other hand there is alot of money in the fight.  Cameras tend to follow money more closely then urgency.  There is a herd mentality in press pits.  Everyone seems a bit more cut throat.  The only thing that matters is the person to be filmed and everyone else is in the way.  A collective desperation gathers and peoples ability to think creatively is diminished as they all struggle to ground themselves on the one magical spot where they think they will get the best angle.

That said, I love a good fight and hopefully the next gig will actually be to film the fight.  That would be a challenge.

Pure Lung Went Viral!

Good News! My film “Pure Lung” went viral! It was watched by 85,000 people in about 5 days. Most of the viewers were from Honduras and it was so validating to read all of the comments they left behind.

Bad News - In response to the popularity, one of the sources in the film has been threatened by gangs and is in hiding.

The film was actually stolen from me by a blogger named Mr. Maya. I would have never known any of this had happened if the gangs had not threatened my source. Mr Maya stole the film and didn't tell me a damn thing about it. 

La Honduras que ocultan los medios. | EKF Productions
#Viral El vídeo que Televicentro y HCH no quieren que veas sobre la verdadera Honduras. | EKF Productions
Posted by Mr. Maya on Sunday, February 21, 2016

This has been a strange situation for me. I am really happy that the film actually had an impact and that so many people saw it. I feel horrible that my source is uprooted and in hiding because of that impact. I am pissed that someone stole a film that I made and published for free in the first place.

I waited to talk about this because I wanted the whole thing to blow over first. It seems the film had its moment and now it will fade back into oblivion.

A big reason the film went viral was due to the murder of Berta Cáceres. Berta Cáceres was an environmental activist who was speaking out against a hydro-electric dam being backed by European and Chinese funds.

Berta Cáceres was also a heavy critic of Hillary Clinton. In 2009 Clinton supported the coup that toppled Honduran President Manuel Zelaya, who had long been seen as a leftist threat to the interests of international corporations. In 2008, Zelaya blocked a series of hydroelectric dam projects, citing concerns raised by native Hondurans. Less than a year after he was deposed, the new government had already approved 40 dam contracts. When the current President Juan Orlando Hernández came to power in 2013, his slogan was “Honduras is open for business.”

Source - The intercept

https://www.facebook.com/MrMaya11101/videos/1076600499042140/