In the hours before the first round of the French elections, as the voices of European reason and liberalism anguished and then sighed with relief, we took to the streets of Paris: from its edge to its core, the French capital exudes fear and resentment. For so many, the election is distant, irrelevant, unable to change a life for which there is little to celebrate.
By Ross & Antonis
'As France braces itself for the April 22 election, we visit the Parisian suburb of Saint-Denis to talk with the locals there: to get a sense of their fears and hopes for what lies ahead.'
Glare at your TV screen, flick through your feeds, blink at your flashing updates and you will soon immerse yourself in what is meant to be an election like no other, an election that is supposed to determine the future of France and even Europe as we’ve known it so far.
Keep it at that, and you could easily believe the election is fought at the TV studios, between the four gladiators fighting for the soul of the Republic. But out in the city things are, as always, more complicated. In the days leading up to, and following the election, we ask urbanites about their fears and their hopes. As the country grips itself for the mother of all battles, we delve into the city’s streets and its metro carriages to brush out its psyche.
Ross Domoney & Antonis Vradis.
With the help of Daniel Murphy & Eric Amalraj
Pleased to announce I have got some of my cinematic footage of political unrest from Washington DC to Athens in Paul Mason's new play which will be performed at the Young Vic this week and broadcast on BBC.
The play is based on Paul's book 'Why it's kicking off everywhere'.
"The world premiere of a play about revolution.
This is the story of the networked generation. How did we get from the optimism of the Arab Spring and the Occupy Movement to Trump’s election and the dislocation of the present day?
Journalist Paul Mason teams up with Young Vic artistic director David Lan for this powerful and challenging new show based on Paul’s acclaimed book.
Performed by Paul Mason, Khalid Abdalla, Lara Sawalha and Sirine Saba in promenade with stunning video designs, the audience will interact with the company throughout the show.
The show will be filmed and broadcast at a later date by BBC Television as part of Performance Live."
The first episode of a series I filmed, directed and edited for the Guardian as part a project launched simultaneously with Der Spiegel, Le Monde and El País. The project looks at how refugees and asylum seekers are getting on in Europe and how the continents various governments are treating them.
'More than 1.2 million people sought asylum in Europe last year. How are they adapting to their new lives? What do they miss? What’s it like to swap Homs for Hamburg, Kabul for Croydon, or Mosul for the Mosel? Which European countries are best at helping refugees settle? In this series, the Guardian teams up with Der Spiegel, Le Monde and El País to get inside newly arrived communities in western Europe to assess whether promises are being kept, whether European society is changing the new arrivals – and vice versa.'
Some of my footage from Athens made it into this experimental short about the monsters that are in power. Scary times.
The new president of the United States is sworn into power as small outbreaks of violence occur in Washington, D.C. Americans argue on the streets as anger, celebration and confusion meet together in one of the most divided US elections in recent history.
Ross Domoney all rights reserved.