15-02-26 / FLICKERFEST & AUSTRALIA
The Sun burped another CME towards Earth and created auroras everywhere. Naturally, the UK was under a blanket of thick cloud from top to bottom while friends in France and Germany enjoyed incredible scenes. The next day I flew out to Australia for a screening of Notes From Planet Three at FlickerFest, courtesy of a travel grant from the British Council. The flights went via the USA and passed over Greenland and Arctic Canada in a perpetual post-sunset glow, so my fingers and nuts were crossed for aurora above the clouds. Alas, there was only a baby crescent moon to stare at for hours, like a toddler.
Despite the first journey being 10 hours, I was determined to save sleep for the second flight, which would be 14 hours and arriving in Sydney early morning. Sadly, that part was much busier and far less comfortable, complete with an instant-recliner sitting in front of me. You know the sort - the plane levels, seat belt lights switch off, and before you can even think about what film to watch it’s game over because the screen kisses your eyeballs. The guy wasn’t even sleeping, switching on his reading light and creating a booming glow off his woolly WHITE hat like a middle-finger to all. I got the impression from the chat between him and flight attendants after landing that he was some kind of local celebrity.
When I got to Bondi I still couldn't sleep, so went for a stroll and quickly noticed a familiar looking bridge. Sure enough, it was the location of the viral gun massacre one month before. In the roaring sunshine it was surreal and disturbing to imagine. A few days later I would see two dipshits on this same bridge amuse themselves with a quick re-enactment of the shooter, howling with laughter and high-fiving.
Attended the festival opening reception and al fresco screening, then finally got some kip, despite some great news about a US premiere for Notes From Planet Three threatening to keep me awake with all sorts of gratitude.
Woke on Saturday and strolled the 90 minute Bondi-to-Bronte coast walk. What a stunning part of the world this is, man. Turns out four shark attacks over 48 hours in Sydney waters hadn't deterred the surfers here. Also, everyone appears to be jacked, it’s really weird. Sculpted bodies in all directions.
In the afternoon it was the first international competition screening, which I really enjoyed. Had to skip the next show to find food and watch surfers, then went to two national programmes in the evening.
Loads of years ago, someone asked me if I was carrying a rifle in my tripod shoulder bag. That always stayed with me. Here, I found myself leaving the tripod in my room to avoid unnerving anyone. One less thing to lug around in the heat anyway. Sunday was a scorching 38 degrees and I got burned despite sunscreen while out filming.
Notes From Planet Three screened at 4pm but, being a sweltering Sunday afternoon, attendance wasn't quite as generous as it had been at other screenings. I was first in the show, which is always a shame as the audience haven't really settled into a vibe yet. A guy found me after the show to say it should have been in the evening slot, outdoors and beneath the stars, noting that Jupiter was above last night’s opening show. A fellow nerd!
Did the federation cliff walk on Monday, heading north toward Watson's Bay. It was cloudy, so a welcome relief from the harsh sun. A surprise surcharge on a cup of coffee taught me that it was ‘Australia day’. I think it’s the shops passing on the extra they have to pay their staff to the customer. Back in Bondi I found a sheltered corner of the beach to record some sound, and wound up filming a crapload of comedy crabs.
Tuesday was all change. But first, back to the beach corner to see my crab pals, this time bathed in Eastern morning sunshine. While there I received a message from UK colleagues saying they were at a sold out London Short Film Festival screening for Notes From Planet Three.
Then in the afternoon a flight north to visit with my nephew Connor in Evans Head. I wanted to take the 12 hour train but arranging it became more complicated than it should be and, as usual with trains, it was too expensive. On this part of the trip I hoped to see some southern hemisphere night sky, despite cloudy forecasts and a bright moon for my whole stay. As (bad) luck would have it, there was no moon while I was in Sydney, but plenty of light pollution. Now I get away from the lights, the moon dumps on proceedings.
Evans Head was a different world. More stunning beaches and nature, but super quiet with hardly any people . Before dark we checked out some potential shooting locations. I saw my first kangaroos (!) and dolphins surfacing in the local bay. Too cloudy for stars.
The next day I popped to a super-Australian mangrove swamp and crept about trying not to spook the fiddler crabs, then I an unidentified bug attached itself to my arm and I leapt about whapping the air with my hat, scaring every crab away.
Stayed out all night on a private farm owned by a mate of Connor’s. The moon and patchy clouds killed any chance of spectacular skies but I was just happy to be out, stoking a fire and shooting with a mix of cameras, including a 360 and medium format film. The end of moonset was special to watch just before 5am, and an hour later the arrival of pre-sunrise Australian magpies caught me off guard. Their call is insane! On the way back home, singing to stay awake at the wheel, we stopped somewhere rumoured to have koalas in the trees. I couldn't see faces but filmed some arse-scratching action.
Needing a place where I could shoot both east and south, I drove an hour to Black Rocks beach on suspension-busting roads, dodging erratic wallabies and negotiating with a stubborn lizard who refused to move out of the road. Arrived at the coast with enough time to set up for the fleeting half-hour of pre-moon dark sky. A lovely place, requiring another visit. All kinds of unidentifiable beasties moved in an out of my headlights on the drive back.
The following afternoon I went walking to Goanna headland and found Seven Mile beach beyond it. Deserted golden sands as far as the eye can see. I decided to swim but got battered by thrashing waves so gave up. On the trail back to the car I stumbled upon kangaroos with lively ears. When evening came I returned to Black Rocks for what would now be 1 hour of dark sky before the moon. Just an amazing time.
While down on the beach retrieving the 360 camera, having had the world to myself since arriving (clickable pics below), I heard a male voice shout “Oiiiiiiiiii!”. It was so weird and unexpected. Time to leave. On the drive back, a big spider lowered itself from the trees in front of my full beams and hit the bumper with an audible thud. When I got out 30 minutes later I got snagged on its extra-grip silk, which seemed to have wrapped around the car.
Another day and another headland walk, dodging man-trap spider webs strewn across trails. Then, a final clear night. With the moon rising half an hour later each evening, there would be 90 minutes of darkness this time. Connor accompanied me this time and we kept it local, going down to Chinamans beach with a huge broken mirror to further test an idea for a new film. Did a rotation shot featuring ye olde Milky Way and some 360. Also snagged some bonus night kangaroos back at the car park while packing down. The nightly routine of backing up media to external drives meant another too-short sleep of 4 hours, which was beginning to take its toll.
Left Evans Head the next morning with amazing memories, heading back to Sydney for the final day. After checking in to my Airbnb I squeezed in a walk before dark, taking a ferry across the harbour to Taronga Zoo, then walking the peninsula path to Chowders Bay via Bradley's Head. It took a few hours because I kept stopping to film bloody lizards. Having rearranged my bag contents for flying back to Sydney, I was gutted to find I had two camera bodies in my backpack instead of one body and a zoom lens. So, limited to the little 50mm pancake lens (which I was lucky enough to have tucked in there) I shot what I could. On the bus back I was so tempted to hop off and sample the Saturday night city buzz, but the sensible eighth of my brain insisted on the decent night's sleep I wouldn’t get on the flight home.
09-01-26 / ‘NOTES FROM PLANET THREE’ JANUARY SCREENINGS
It's a right jammy January to be screening at Minimalen Short Film Festival (Norway), Flickerfest International Short Film Festival (Australia), London Short Film Festival (UK), Stuttgart Filmwinter (Germany) and British Shorts (Germany) ✨
17-11-25 / PÖFF SHORTS IN TALLINN
PÖFF Shorts. Films were watched, friends were made, drinks were drunk and a blast was had. Previous trips to this Estonian festival were scuppered so it was great to finally make it over, and it didn't disappoint. There's so much to see in terms of screenings, and if you're like me you can even dash out of the rain into the wrong alleyway and pull the coded gate closed behind you to jail yourself from the world for 30 minutes.
Thanks to @britisharts and @BFINetwork for the travel grant to attend with Notes From Planet Three.
10-11-25 / PARIS-DUISBURG-LONDON / AWARD IN PRAGUE
After a night in Paris filming a Panchiko gig, I took a very sunny train journey to Germany for a screening of Notes From Planet Three at Doxs (the partner festival of Duisburger Filmwoche that focuses on children and youth). The Q&A with an audience of 12 year-olds wasn’t short of enquiries, and one practical young chap asked if I did other work apart from filmmaking to make a living. I have zero doubt that he will earn a far better living than me.
Then there was another Panchiko gig to film in London on the Saturday night, where I smashed one eardrum (despite earplugs) by perching a bit too close to an amp. On that same night, Notes From Planet Three won a prize at the first edition of Boo Film Festival in Prague :) The jury statement began with “The film Notes from Planet Three contains extremely impressive authentic footage of the night sky, planets, and stars…” and I appreciated the inclusion of “authentic footage” since seeing references online to the film being “realistically animated”.
06-11-25 / MORE NOVEMBER SCREENINGS
Some more November festivals for Notes From Planet Three at Braunschweig International Film Festival (Germany), Boo Film Festival (Czech Republic), PÖFF Shorts (Estonia) and Exground Film Festival (Germany) 🌍
Here's another unused shot of a toenail moon getting its moment to shine in a trailer.
02-11-25 / SCREENINGS FOR ‘NOTES FROM PLANET THREE’ NEXT WEEK
A fistful of fests next week for Notes From Planet Three at Kuki Short Film Festival (Germany), Izmir International Short Film Festival (Turkey), Doxs! (Germany), and Aesthetica Short Film Festival (UK)✨
These trailers are a fun way to showcase bits and pieces that didn't make it into the film, like this moonset at the River Bure in Norfolk.
16-10-25 / CYPRUS
Notes From Planet Three screened in competition at the International Short Film Festival of Cyprus and I was lucky enough to travel to Limassol for it. Super friendly festival team and a good theatre with a decent screen, lots of sunshine, lots of cats, lot of pigeons, and somehow no visible slayings between the last two.
I took some basic camera gear in the hope of capturing some night sky at this new latitude, but light pollution was too aggressive. Lucky for me I met a guy called Leo who generously gave up a whole evening of his time to drive to the much darker Pissouri beach for a two-hour shot of the stars forming a shallow arch across the southern sky.
More general observations from the trip were crazy colourful car parks, an egg hotel - complete with hanging egg chairs on its balconies - and the strange harmony between pigeons and cats. It's baffling to me why so many pigeons would risk their lives holidaying beside an abundance of predators, yet I didn't see a single dead bird. The cats are obviously ninjas, feasting efficiently at night and leaving no traces. Another guest filmed a cat scarpering up the beach with a fish after swiping it right out of the sea, and that can only be a ninja hiding in plain sight.
10-10-25 / INDIECORK FILM FESTIVAL
Sadly this was the final edition of Ireland’s IndieCork Film Festival. Mick Hannigan and Úna Langlois have been huge supporters of my films pretty much since the beginning and this year I was lucky to receive a special focus programme featuring eight of my films and a handful of music videos. Separately, Notes From Planet Three screened in competition, and I was tickled to see that the festival team’s passes featured a still from Stew & Punch.
Despite the trip’s brevity, this was an emotional one for me after some history with Cork and a long time since visiting. No doubt it was all kinds of tough for the festival staff as the festival closed out (I had to leave mid-week), but they should be proud of all that they achieved.
03-10-25 / OCTOBER SCREENINGS OF ‘NOTES FROM PLANET THREE’
Festival selections coming up for Notes From Planet Three this month include IndieCork (Ireland), International Short Film Festival of Cyprus, Cinekid (Netherlands), EKOFILM (Czech Republic), and another that I apparently can’t mention yet.
29-09-25 / AWARD FOR ‘NOTES FROM PLANET THREE’
A lovely return for Encounters Film Festival in Bristol after a one-year hiatus. Notes From Planet Three was in the Documentary competition and the Children’s competition where, I’m honoured to report, it won the Children’s Jury Award :) It was a surprise to hear such young viewers responding to the film’s text elements, but the balance of reactions to different parts between kids and their parents was the most gratifying.
Highlight films I hadn’t seen, despite some being well-travelled already, were Linda Lô’s We Had Fun (France), Lin Jianjie’s Hippopotami (China), Levi Stoop's Drijf (Belgium), Mohamed Bourouissa's Genealogy of Violence (France), Lea Favre’s Hunting (Switzerland), and Bill Morrison’s Incident (USA).
24-09-25 / MORE ‘NOTES FROM PLANET THREE’ SCREENINGS
Some September & October screenings for Notes From Planet Three at Encounters Film Festival (UK), International Short Film Festival of Cyprus, Cinekid (Netherlands) and Ekofilm (Czech Republic).
The main shot here is Santa Elena Canyon on the USA-Mexico border. There was no moon and it was insanely dark to the naked eye. The general edginess of unknown territory in the dead of night became something else entirely when an almighty SPLOOSH erupted in the Rio Grande somewhere in front of me. The tiny red light on my star tracker never felt so bright as I held my breath and tried to be invisible to man-eating aquatic megasnakes.
The voices belong to brother and sister Eben Harris-Wilby and Mala Harris-Wilby, 9.5 and 2.5 years old at the time of recording.
11-08-25 / DOKUFEST, KOSOVO
My third time in Kosovo for Dokufest where Notes From Planet Three was screening in competition and, as ever, I felt like I barely dipped my toe into the pool of goodness going on. This is one of those festivals where a core group return every year without fail, such is the experience. Of the winners I particularly liked Christopher Radcliff’s We Were The Scenery (USA), which pipped John Smith’s Being John Smith to the post, although I imagine it was a close call.
The journey to and from this festival always seems to be a bit challenging but the destination more than makes up for it. Shout out to Samir Karahoda, Eroll Shporta, Eroll Bilibani, Veton Nurkollari and the rest of the festival team.
28-07-25 / ‘NOTES FROM PLANET THREE’ AT DOKUFEST
NOTES FROM PLANET THREE will be screening at the mighty Dokufest next week and my chuffeth runneth over. Meaning I’m pleased.
Because you’re obviously dying to know, the water in this shot is really just a large puddle by a desert road. I got twitchy leaving the camera unattended while simultaneously shooting something else 20 minutes away, and I regret not capturing the sound of burping frogs, but my audio recorder was busy listening to cranky crickets at the other location. You can't have everything.
To underscore the rubbish reality of not being able to have everything, a third camera was filming at yet another location, but with all my dashing around between places and trying to do too much I failed to set it properly. When I retrieved it a couple of hours later it had taken a solitary photograph.
10-07-25 / ‘NOTES FROM PLANET THREE’ IN MEXICO & KOSOVO
Notes From Planet Three will be screening at Guanajuato International Film Festival in Mexico later this month 😀
Seeing as you asked, the main shot in this trailer below is Jupiter beaming over a smashing rock formation in Nevada. Despite the small potential for encounters with mountain lions I didn't meet any, but I did manage a comedy step backwards into a stream.
27-06-25 / PANCHIKO ‘LIFESTYLE TRAINERS’ MUSIC VIDEO
Another music video for Panchiko, using an idea I’d been mulling on for a long time.
11-06-25 / HAMBURG
Just back from Hamburg Short Film Festival with Notes From Planet Three, which had an amazing five screenings between the international competition and the concurrent Mo&Friese Children’s Film festival, plus a last-minute inclusion in the rowdy and excellent Short Film Slam.
The Q&A’s at the children’s screenings included queries like “Do you believe in aliens and if so why?”, “Is the Earth flat?” and, amazingly “Do you consider Pluto a planet?”. I honestly thought it was only us oldies who lived through Pluto being declassified who cared and, given that Pluto isn’t even mentioned in the film, this impressed me no end.
As if five screenings weren’t enough, there was also a really special sixth for my previous film The Terminator. A film about the moon, projected outdoors with the real moon in attendance. It slipped out of the clouds just in time for the show, literally as the projector was being set up. Respect to the A Wall Is A Screen team for pulling that one off!
Big shout to a couple of animated films that I loved. While billionaires are feverishly eating the world and things look bleak, fun films feel more vital than ever. Anything that has the power to distract me from the horrors for even a few minutes gets all my respect, so big love to Nils Hedinger’s Storytelling (Switzerland) and Saki Muramoto’s A Night At The Rest Area (Japan). And it would be remiss of me not to mention pal John Smith’s mighty short Being John Smith, which scooped TWO main prizes.
It was sad to leave the bubble, return home and reconnect with world events. Multiple global conflicts aren’t getting any better. The lows get lower, the nadir repeatedly surpassed. Masks are off and the warnings were real. Hyperbole be damned, fascism is on our doorstep with a smile and a pamphlet reading fuck you. Be mindful who you vote for x
02-06-25 / ‘NOTES FROM PLANET THREE’ PREMIERE IN HAMBURG
Notes From Planet Three plays this month at Hamburg Short Film Festival and Mo & Friese Children’s Short Film Festival. Turbo-chuffed to be a part of these summer legends 🙌🏻
31-05-25 / ‘NOTES FROM PLANET THREE’ TRAILER
My new short Notes From Planet Three is the result of many night sky adventures in recent years. It has been a long time coming so here’s hoping some festivals take it. Tested already in truncated form as The Terminator, I now feel kind of lost without its daily demands. I’m feeling pretty honoured that it’s in competition at both Hamburg International Short Film Festival AND it’s sister event Mo & Friese Children’s Short Film Festival Hamburg in June.
04-04-25 / PANCHIKO ‘CHAPEL OF SALT’ MUSIC VIDEO
This one was fiddly, time-consuming fun. the final single from Panchiko’s new album Ginkgo, released today.
14-03-25 / PANCHIKO ‘MAC’S OMELETTE’ MUSIC VIDEO
While I’ve been putting the finishing touches to the new short film, I did another music video for the fourth single from Panchiko’s imminent new album, featuring additional tour footage shot by the band.
03-01-25 / PANCHIKO ‘SHANDY IN THE GRAVEYARD’ MUSIC VIDEO
My video for Panchiko's new single SHANDY IN THE GRAVEYARD. Bees versus butterflies, filmed over a few mad days when there were 20+ Red Admirals in the garden at once.