Blog Feed - JAMES BUCK

Juarez - City of Dreams

Wed, 13 Feb 2019 12:38:00 GMT

Here are a few stills from my trip to Mexican Border town of Juarez - one of the largest border towns on earth which is situated across the Rio Grande from the US city of El Paso. I was there to film a documentary about life on both sides of the border but especially to film what life is like for those living in one of Mexico's most violent and unstable areas. Juarez is the most dangerous city in the Americas and probably the world - already this year (2008) 1300 people have been killed on it's streets mainly due to the Mexican narco cartels fighting for the plazas or corridors of narcotics flowing into the US.

Juarez, formally called El Paso del Norte - The Northern Pass - is a smuggling route as old as the border. According to the DEA in its heyday the Juarez cartel was the biggest drug trafficker in the world, shifting more than 50 percent of all narcotics consumed in the U.S.

Juarez was always a city of transit and became infamous for the mass murder, after torture and violation, of 400 young women in the Nineties. Julian Cardona author of 'Juarez - Laboratory of our Future' says 'There are allot of world class businesses here and these worlds entwine. Young families come north, the girls get a job in the maquiladora (factory) and the man are economically impotent but sexually potent. If the man has no income he can earn working for them (cartel). And if he has a habit, which he probably has, he tuns to crime and drug dealing to maintain it'.

The Forgotten Children of Congo

Wed, 13 Feb 2019 12:11:00 GMT

I travelled to Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) with friend and colleague Alex Tweedle to make a documentary 'Forgotten Children of Congo'. This was a self funded project to go to one of the most troubled countries in the world to see and film for ourselves the impact decades of war, dictatorship and colonialism had on this country. We were particularly interested in the country's children - many of whom have become conscripts in an army. Others, believed to be witches, have been thrown out of the family home to join an estimated 25 thousand street children who live in the capital city of Kinshasa.

Congo is the size of western Europe and is one of richest countries in the world in terms of its mineral wealth i.e; gold, copper , diamonds, coltan and uranium and yet its people remain one of the poorest. Congo is still fighting the largest war since WW2 - an estimated 5 million people have died through war, disease and famine since 1998.

One of the more recent phenomenas of the country, and one indeed that is sweeping Africa, is that of 'child witches'. The label 'witch' is given to the child usually by the local pastor, who will ask the family for what little money they have to exorcise the demon from the child.

Such is the hysteria about this phenomenon that in most cases the family agree to try and rid the child from being a witch though the pastor's exorcism. This ceremony can take from hours through to days and, from our experience, includes the child being drugged and made to confess - failure to do so only increases the amount of suffering the child will go through. Ultimately if the child does not confess, or the family cannot pay the pastor, the child will be thrown out of the home for fear of attacks from villagers who believe the child will curse the rest of the village. In our experience we found many children who had been brutally maimed or killed for such a reason.

Surviving Burkitts

Wed, 13 Feb 2019 11:36:00 GMT

"Well, Surviving Burkitts is such a powerful and quite extraordinary document and documentary. Prof Elizabeth Molyneux comes over as a remarkable doctor and human being. The humanity just pours out of her. It feels like such a fitting tribute to Scott and I hope that it is seen by tons of people. It certainly deserves to. It is informative, poetic and profoundly moving. It will stay with me for a long time".

Ruth Caleb O.B.E
Executive Producer for BBC Television
Acting Head of BBC Drama Group 1996
Head of BBC Drama 1992 - 1995

Some 50 years ago the Irish surgeon Denis Burkitt, described a tumour prevalent in children living at low altitude areas in Equatorial Africa (a belt lying 15 degrees either side of the Equator, the so called 'Great Lakes Region' of Africa). Since then much has been written about the tumour - the fastest growing malignancy known to man. It still exists and and is now known as Burkitt’s Lymphoma.

"Thanks so much for sending the copy of your truly wonderful documentary: Surviving Burkitts. The way you use a camera is so exciting; you are a true visual artist and in this case, you chose two remarkable woman to be your focus. There were no talking heads in this brief masterpiece".
Pat Silver-Lasky (Mrs. Jesse L. Lasky, Jr)
Author, Script Consultant and lecturer. Writers Guild of Great Britain, Writers Guild of America, American Society of Authors & BAFTA

“Surviving Burkitts is a vitally important, moving and thoroughly unsentimental documentary. We meet the key characters, get to know them and how much they care, the passion that drives the doctor and nursing staff, the plight of the people. It must get the widest possible television audience.....and soon”.
Graham Benson
Chairman, Blue Heaven Productions
Chairman, Screen South
Executive Producer, BBC

"Just an unsolicited message of congratulations (to you all). I thought that Surviving Burkitts was brilliant in every respect, and very moving. It deserves the widest possible exposure".
Anthony Butterworth
AE Butterworth, BA, MA, MB, BChir, PhD, FRS
Honorary Professor, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine
Honorary Professor, College of Medicine, University of Malawi

"Well done for producng such a sympathetic and visually inspiring film. I have given several copies to people who have spoken very enthusiastically about it. Very many congratulations".
Elizabeth Molyneux OBE, FRCP, FRCPCH, FRCPCH (Hons), FCEM
Professor of Paediatrics - Queen Elizabeth College of Medicine, Malawi

"Surviving Bukitts is a credit to all the people who have died, fell ill or are suffering from Burkitt's cancer. At times it made me happy, sometimes sad and at one point I wanted to cry. I think this film shouldn't just be shown in the country it was filmed, or just Africa. This program is good enough to be shown internationally and would definitely be enjoyed in Europe and the UK".
Charlie Killick
The Citizen Herald

Iceland

Tue, 04 Apr 2017 12:14:00 GMT

Superyachts

Wed, 29 Apr 2015 11:41:00 GMT

Over the last six years I've filmed some of the world most expensive yachts both on board and from the air. Please go to my archive page or get in touch if you would like to see more examples.

Aston Martin in the Alps

Sat, 04 Apr 2015 15:46:00 GMT

A couple of stills from a recent trip to the French Alps for Aston Martin. The films tracks the lineage of the DB range through from the classic DB5 to the current DB9 in four films entitled: Design, Engineering, History and Future. The films are to be shown on Aston Martin's website and dealerships around the world.

Honour Me

Thu, 01 Nov 2012 11:18:00 GMT

Selected for the Cannes Short Film Corner and Raindajnce Film Festival.

This film follows Sameem Ali, a Manchester Councillor and author of the best selling book of her life entitled ‘Belonging’.

Sameem spent six and a half years growing up in a children's home. When she was told that her family wanted to take her back she couldn't wait to start her new life with them. Instead, she returned to a dirty house where she was subjected to endless chores. Her mother began to beat her and her unhappiness drove her to self-harm.

Sameem was excited when she boarded a plane with her mother to visit Pakistan for the first time. It was only after they arrived in her family's village that she realised she wasn't there on holiday. Aged just thirteen, Sameem was forced to marry a complete stranger.

When pregnant, two months later, she was made to return to the UK where she suffered further abuse from her family. After finding true love, Sameem fled the violence at home and escaped to Manchester with her young son. She believed she had put her horrific experiences behind her, but was unprepared for the consequences of violating her family's honour...