Shadowgraph

When a Camp Is Gone, Do Its Dreams Stay Behind?

In April 2024 we travelled to the West Bank.

We started filming in #Tulkarem refugee camp, but it didn't really go to plan.

Getting in was difficult. Israeli army raids came without warning, and drones would force us to leave. We would capture one interview, leave and then re-enter to capture another.

Finally, a #Palestinian fighter kicked us out. He didn't like that I was British. It was hard to prove my anti-colonial stance in the heat of the moment.

The footage sat on a hard drive for months: it seemed like a failed project. Our focus was now on making a documentary in another West Bank #refugee camp.

Then the news changed everything. Israel's genocidal army destroyed Tulkarem, Nur Shams, and #Jenin refugee camps. Whole communities were uprooted and made refugees.

What we filmed became evidence of a place that no longer exists.

So we got to work editing this forgotten footage. With our partners at The Real News Network we built a report that carries two threads: straight reporting from the ground, and the quieter, subconscious language we've been exploring here at Shadowgraph.

3 months ago | [YT] | 1

Shadowgraph

Making films with an independent, critical voice in our dystopian political landscape feels more important than ever.

We need to resist the dumbing down of narratives. Think of how much content from the TV/Netflix world is designed to numb rather than challenge.

Technology has made it easier than ever to make films, and in many ways, independent filmmaking is in a golden era.

So… are we actually living in the best possible time to make independent films on our own terms?

Or does the filmmaking still feel like it only exists for those who are in the 'industry'?

8 months ago | [YT] | 1

Shadowgraph

For over a year, we’ve been crafting films, recording podcasts, and building the Shadowgraph world.

Now it’s time for a breather.

We’ll be offline until April 26th to recharge. 

Behind the scenes: editing is in full swing. 

Our teams are cutting new films from Palestine, Lebanon and Syria, which we can’t wait to share with you. 

We’re expanding our Storytelling Academy, built quietly over the past few months.

We can’t wait to share what’s coming next.

With love, the Shadowgraph crew.

9 months ago | [YT] | 1

Shadowgraph

Let's open up a discussion on the subconscious and the creative process.

As a film language, we have been capturing people’s dreams on subway trains worldwide in times of political upheaval.

Through the dream world of commuters, the depths of their subconscious gave us an overwhelming amount of poetry in what seems like a cold, un-poetic space.

We want to take journalism in a new direction through the experience of the subconscious.

What’s the best way to tap into subconscious creativity for storytelling or art?

9 months ago | [YT] | 0

Shadowgraph

The story behind this video begins with a nightmare that became real.

As a filmmaker, I have a recurring dream. A monumental event is unfolding, but I can’t get my camera out in time. Or worse, the camera pieces won’t fit together, and the moment slips away forever.

This time, it wasn’t a dream. It was April 2024, during Shadowgraph’s trip to the West Bank, Palestine.

Our goal: To capture a documentary on memory as a form of resistance.

After endless obstacles, we finally gained access to the Nur Shams refugee camp and met Jafar, a fighter in the armed Palestinian resistance. In the tight, winding alleys, he sat before us - his face hidden behind a balaclava.

There were Israeli bomb drones overhead.

I clipped the microphone onto his T-shirt, my heart pounding. There was a sense of urgency. In places like this, you never know what’s around the corner.

Then my nightmare came alive: the microphone wasn’t working. Overthinking, the camera was melting away in front of my very eyes.

Jafar waited, calm.

I scrambled. Was the story slipping away right in front of me?

Too often, in life and creativity, we let urgency suffocate us, feeding it with our own insecurities. I was convinced he’d call off the interview any second.

But through our translator, he looked at me and said:

“Chill, brother. Take your time.”

I slowed down. Breathed. Fixed the problem.

A simple, powerful lesson: sometimes, all it takes to overcome fear is to pause and trust yourself.

Suffering is relative. In reality, the creative struggle to tell a story might pale in comparison to the story we hope to tell. So, we must take chances and hold the camera with steadfastness. It is only by doing so that important stories live on.

The next day Jafar was killed by the Israeli Army, but his legend lives on.

Rest in Power.

10 months ago | [YT] | 0

Shadowgraph

On Monday, it was three years since the full-scale #Russian invasion of #Ukraine.

We reflect on the brave and resilient people we met whilst #filming Shadowgraph's first production.

You can watch 'Ukraine Dreams' here:

youtube.com/watch?v=Ncc4Y...

We value our growing community here on our YouTube channel.

Here’s a glimpse into our newsletter—a deep dive into the filmmaking process behind this production.

If you want to receive more free information about the creative struggles of filmmaking, sign up here:

www.shadowgraph.co/

Dream trains - Following Tunnels into New Worlds.

It was 2 a.m. As I was wrapped up in the so-called safety of my sleeping bag, I had a revelation.

I was in Kyiv’s central train station. The lights were off, and there was an immense feeling of solidarity as families huddled together. This space was both cozy and utterly terrifying. Streaks of light from soldiers’ torches scanned for Russian saboteurs.

It was March 2022, just one month after the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine. There was an army curfew. We were not allowed to leave the station until 7 am. #Kyiv was under a semi-siege at the time, as the Russians attacked the city’s outer suburbs.

My friend Antonis Vradis and I were waiting to leave the station to film in the capital’s underbelly: its complex Soviet metro system.

Our mission was to ask train commuters:

What do you dream about in your sleep?

Through this delicate language of dreams, everyday citizens open up and reveal their deeply personal feelings about the state of the world and how they see themselves in it.

This language, which is part of reality, takes us into an otherworldly experience of #politics and #conflict.

While in my sleeping bag, my revelation led me to discover that this risky journey of dream-catching was part of something much bigger. It was part of a new media landscape, which would soon become known as Shadowgraph.

I built this media platform around the concept for this video series, ‘Dream Trains’. Its surreal, otherworldly quality opens up a fascinating new language within journalism. This pilot episode from Ukraine is the first in a three-part series. We are currently editing the second episode, The American Dream, which explores the subconscious civil war of the U.S. during its populist meltdown.

Returning to Kyiv Central Station, 7 a.m. finally arrived. After a hard night’s sleep, I packed up my sleeping bag, and we stepped outside.

We searched for the deep underground passages of the metro system. Kyiv, a ghost city full of dreams, lay before us. We kept our heads down and worked with the subconscious, asking train commuters about their dreams.

After a few air raid sirens and a deafening Ukrainian counter-missile strike, we were arrested in the subway. Accused by a branch of Kyiv’s police of being spies, we were taken even deeper into the metro — into a bunker.

They soon realised that we were pretty useless spies. In fact, they thought we were plain weird in our quest to capture dreams. Their hardened anger melted into pity as they spoiled us with cigarettes and jars of their mother’s pickles.

We left Kyiv by night train. The train’s lights were turned off so it could creep quietly through the darkness, undetected. I had never felt cosier, tucked into a sleeper train, exhausted with memory cards full of footage. Fragments of images, lights, and thoughts passed through my mind as I gazed out the window.

And I thought about shadows.

Two years later, I launched Shadowgraph, dreaming of creating worlds inspired by reality but not entirely part of it.

Written by Ross Domoney.

10 months ago | [YT] | 1

Shadowgraph

We’ve just released the second episode of our Dream-Train series. This time, the journey takes us to #America—a nation where populism rages amidst an empire in decline. At Shadowgraph, we uncover the #unseen realities shaping today’s #politics.

For this episode, we boarded trains across America and asked one simple question: What do you dream about in your sleep? Through the lens of dreams, we dive into what it feels like to live in the shadow of political uncertainty.

Catch the latest episode here: here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TWR-N...

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11 months ago | [YT] | 2