“No Other Way To Say It”, A Comedy About Advertising
Director Tim Mason pulls the curtain back on the glamorous world of advertising in this short comedy about a voiceover actor trying to nail the right tone for a pair of indecisive ad creatives selling a fictitious children’s ice cream brand.
The Many Lives Of Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah”
Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah” has been covered by more than 300 other artists in virtually every genre. It’s an impressive feat by any standard, but even more so when you consider that “Hallelujah” was originally stuck on side two of an album that Cohen’s record label deemed unfit for release.
The Twitter Electorate Isn’t The Real Electorate
For anyone interested in politics, Twitter is the closest thing to a global community center, or a small-ads section—the virtual room where it happens. All of this gives the social network outsize power to shape the political conversation. However, social media is distorting our sense of mainstream opinion.
Online Streaming: Television’s Looming Car Crash
As the distribution model for entertainment is remade, a revolutionary ardour has seized the industry: the choice is to win the streaming battle against the likes of Netflix, or face commercial oblivion. The immediate result has been clear: more television than ever before. There were 496 scripted TV shows made in the US last year, more than double the 216 series released in 2010.
How IKEA Became Sweden’s National Brand
In 1950, Ingvar Kamprad began selling furniture. Seeing the logistical difficulty of shipping large items far away, Ingvar decided to flat-pack the furniture, which also reduced the chance of damage during transport. The company created a catalog that customers could browse through and order with from afar.
Building Egypt’s $58BN New City In The Sand
Following a period of political instability that affected the progression of infrastructure projects, the country’s government took the decision to construct an entirely new capital in 2015. Located 45 kilometers east of the original Cairo, the as-yet-unnamed city has been under construction ever since.
The Man Who Drove McDonald’s Out Of Iceland
Tómas Tómasson’s all-American burger joint is so legendary in Iceland, it ousted McDonald’s from the country. It all began back in 1981 when the good folk of Reykjavík, Iceland still thought fish and chips was exotic foreign food. Along came Tommi and taught them to worship a new kind of sustenance: the mighty burger.
‘It Was One Problem After Another’: How Woodstock 50 Fell Apart
Woodstock 50 had nearly every resource a festival could ask for: a storied brand name, financial backing from a multinational communications company, and agents eager to sign up their artists for sizable paychecks. But it turned into a slow-moving train wreck. Where did it all go wrong?
Why Utah Drops Fish Out Of Airplanes Into Their Mountain Lakes
Utah Division of Wildlife Resources drops hundreds of thousands of fish out of airplanes into their mountain lakes every summer to restock them for fishing and hiking season. Without these aerial fish dumps, the state’s high-altitude southern and central lakes would be fishless.
Alcohol vs Drugs: Which Is More Dangerous?
The social drug of choice in Western culture is alcohol. Yet drinking is estimated to kill 100,000 a year in the UK alone. Should we wean ourselves off alcohol or even ban it, and instead promote other less harmful but currently illegal alternatives?
Aogashima, Tokyo’s Secret Island Paradise
Aogashima Island is famous for having a volcano inside a volcano surrounded by dense jungle. It’s also considered the smallest town in Japan and the hardest place in Japan to get to. There is no direct transportation to Aogashima.
Minimum Wage: A Life Full Of Difficult Choices
Despite Ontario’s recent minimum wage increase, workers are still struggling to make ends meet. Even for those who have full-time jobs, earning minimum wage means they have to make a lot of difficult choices.
“Campesinos”, The Lives Of Patagonian Cowboys
Campesinos explores the lives of Patagonian Cowboys (Gauchos) living in Chile, at the end of the world in isolation. It is a portrait of sacrifice, tradition and endurance in extreme conditions, identifying what it truly means to be alone.
The Violent Eviction That Transformed San Francisco
In 1968, a group of predominantly Filipino elders in San Francisco launched a battle to protect their home from eviction. Their fight for their neighborhood would evolve into a nearly decade-long protest with thousands of supporters and become a symbol of the campaign for affordable housing for decades to come.
“The Shivering Truth”, A 6 Episode Dark Comedy
The omnibus of painfully riotous emotional parables dripping from the deepest caverns of your unconscious are lovingly animated in stop-motion. In other words, it is the Truth.
How Facebook Works For Trump
During the 2016 election cycle, Trump’s team ran 5.9 million ads on Facebook, spending $44 million from June to November alone. He won the presidency by using the social network’s advertising machinery in exactly the way the company wanted. He’s poised to do it again.
Science Fiction Short Film: Others Will Follow
The lone survivor of the first mission to Mars uses his last moments to pass the torch of inspiration. Others Will Follow was inspired by a speech written for President Nixon to deliver in the event that the Apollo 11 astronauts were stranded on the moon.
The Time When Zambia Tried To Go To Mars
Edward Makuka Nkoloso of Zambia had dreams to land Zambians on moon and mars beating the US and USSR in the Space race. He did everything he could with his limited resources to make his dream a reality but could he fulfill his dreams?
“Whiteout”, Single Take Thriller Short Film by Lance Edmands
Whiteout from writer/director Lance Edmands is a tense, well-crafted single-take short film. When a young couple encounters a strange old man wandering in a snowstorm, they must decide if he needs help, or if he has more sinister intentions.
Why Socialism Failed in Africa
Considering capitalism to be equal to colonialism, Africa’s founding fathers rejected it and adopted marxist-socialism in the 1960s. Foreign companies were nationalised, state-owned enterprises were created and all sorts of controls on rents, prices, imports and foreign exchange.
How The Views Of A Few Can Determine A Country’s Fate
Some of the latest research shows us that one reason for the polarisation we see today comes down to a few, incredibly influential minorities. For better or worse, small but incredibly influential groups can change the course of political debate. But is this leading us to hold more polarised views?