Glimpses of Florida

Documentary about the photo session for the photobook "Castella", filmed in Portugal.

In this FitzPatrick's Traveltalk short, a trip to Haiti serves as a portal into its history, mainly under 19th century ruler Henri Christophe.

As the Cold War bristles with menace in the 60s, the youth at Kielder Workman’s Club celebrate free time with an American dance called the ‘Twist’. But it’s the Faustian pact with industry this brilliant travelogue focuses on first as it maps the path of the River Tyne. The sounds of heavy machinery and graft pitch us into Newcastle’s shipyards and collieries, whilst drugs spin off a machine called Bliss in Winthrop Laboratories’ production-slick war against pain.

A woman narrates the thoughts of a world traveler, meditations on time and memory expressed in words and images from places as far-flung as Japan, Guinea-Bissau, Iceland, and San Francisco.

It’s the 2014 midterms and residents of a South Florida retirement community feel the weight of democracy on their shoulders. In one of the most influential counties of America’s largest swing state, these political kingmakers trade their golf clubs for clipboards and hit the pavement to get out the vote. A GREATER SOCIETY is a feature documentary to inspire voter turnout. Inside the gates of Wynmoor Village are three miles of manicured lawns lined with palm trees, a golf course, and carefully maintained condominiums. At first glance, it’s just another retirement community where elders go to enjoy their golden years relaxing by the pool and taking ceramics classes; but look further and you’ll see that the people who live in this community share something unique: the power to have a real impact on national politics.

Join the crew of the Gold Hound as it leaves the dock at Captain Hiram's in Sebastian Florida. For more than 17 years, Greg Bounds has made a living scouring the ocean off the Brevard County shoreline finding trinkets and treasures left by ships that sailed hundreds of years ago. Dozen's of ships bound for Spain with treasures from Mexico and South America sank chests of jewelry, coins, ceramic pottery and cannons remain unaccounted for. Among the riches sought by Captain Greg are 36 boxes of church gold and 64 pounds of emeralds worth $1 billion. In 2007, he found $12.9 million worth of gold chains, pearls, coins, swords and other artifacts from the 400-year-old Santa Margarita site in the Keys. Last year, it was the top-grossing boat in the 1715 fleet.

The Kingdom of Survival explores modern skepticism in America, challenges the status quo and uncovers provocative links between survivalist philosophy, ecumenical spirituality, radical political theory, and outlaw culture. The audience is invited into a thoughtful conversation with the likes of Prof. Noam Chomsky, Dr. Mark Mirabello, Ramsey Kanaan, and the riveting final interview with beloved author, Joe Bageant. These unique thought leaders cast a rare shadow of doubt over our most blindly accepted American traditions.

Coach passengers give their reasons for preferring that type of transport. A group of ramblers visit the Welsh mountains; an angler and his family spend a peaceful day by a country river; a family goes to the seaside; some students visit Oxford during a music festival.

In June of 2012, LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh and the Miami Heat made good on a promise to deliver a championship to the basketball fans of South Florida. It seemed unlikely that they would ever be able to match the drama and the intensity of that title run in an encore performance. But this was no ordinary basketball team. From the opening night of the 2012-13 NBA season, the Heat were determined to prove that not only were they up for the daunting challenge to repeat as champs but they were also destined to become one of the most successful and celebrated teams in history. No one could have anticipated the breathtaking 27 game winning streak that would catapult the Miami Heat into one of the biggest stories of the year. And after sweeping the Milwaukee Bucks, dispatching the Chicago Bulls and outlasting the Indiana Pacers, Miami would take home their second consecutive title after an epic seven game series with the San Antonio Spurs.

THE RECORD MAN is a uniquely American story of how a group of musical underdogs with raw talent and diverse backgrounds, led by the indefatigable determination of one man, Henry Stone, exported the music of Miami to the world. Before there was a “music business” there was Henry Stone, “The Record Man”. From distributing records out of his '48 Packard to establishing TK Records as the largest independent label of the 1970s, Henry had an ear for hits. His funky eight-track studio and chart topping family of artists including KC and the Sunshine Band, led to the original Miami Sound and birth of Disco. When his empire collapsed on a baseball field in Chicago in 1979, Henry didn’t miss a beat launching Miami Freestyle. Turning personal tragedy into an opportunity to empower others, through Henry Stone we witness the dramatic arc of the record business from inception through the digital age. With photographs unearthed after 40 years, THE RECORD MAN captures a forgotten musical history.

Haunting colour travelogue taking in Ulster, Lewis, Lincoln and Cardiff's Tiger Bay.

This Traveltalk series short visits some of the important cities and sites of Minnesota.

Soon Come Back is a poetic documentary about migration’s effect on Nande's relationships to “home” in Jamaica and the US, and her feelings of alienation being a child of the diaspora.

Bruce Brown's The Endless Summer is one of the first and most influential surf movies of all time. The film documents American surfers Mike Hynson and Robert August as they travel the world during California’s winter (which, back in 1965 was off-season for surfing) in search of the perfect wave and ultimately, an endless summer.

First film of Burnham Beeches, the famous beauty spot and ultimate film location.

Florida is home to beaches, coral reefs, pine forests and the famous Everglades wetland, but a growing human population and abandoned exotic pets like pythons are threatening this wild paradise. Can Florida’s ecosystems continue to weather the storm?

This travelogue of Canada's Jasper National Park starts with a visit to the totem pole in the town, then to Lac Beauvert and the park's lodge and bungalows, where more than 600 guests enjoy golf, swimming and scenery. Within the park are the Canadian Rockies' highest summit, largest glaciers, greatest ice fields, and deepest canyons. After a lesson about feeding bears, we tour the vast park: Pyramid Lake and Pyramid Mountain, Mount Edith Cavell and Angel Glacier, a horse trail overlooking the Athabasca River, Athabasca Falls, the Great Colombia Ice Field, Athabasca Glacier and the special cars that bring tourists, and finally Maligne Lake, a fisherman's paradise.

This FitzPatrick's Traveltalks series short takes the viewer to various sites around California that resemble the geography, architecture, and culture of other places around the globe.

We start in Rio de Janeiro, with the statue of Cristo Redentor on Mount Corcovado, the avenue along the beach, the beauty of an historic city, and the landmark, Sugarloaf. Brazil's 47 million people celebrate racial diversity. From the Copacabana, we travel 40 miles to a resort, Quitandinha, where President Truman spoke. Then it's on to Sao Paulo, a modern, industrial city, and finally to the spectacular waterfalls of Iguazu on the border between Brazil and Argentina.

This Traveltalk series short begins with a look at Michigan's major educational institutions, which started as agricultural schools. We then visit the fish hatcheries at Grayling, which are used to keep the state's numerous lakes and rivers well stocked. After a short look at Detroit, the car capital of the world, we spend several minutes at Greenfield Village, founded in 1929 by automobile magnate Henry Ford. Included in the tour are churches, a clock tower, and the homes of several famous persons in American history. Although some of the structures are reproductions, many of them are the actual buildings they lived in.