Alongside all the shows in every season we programme, we invite a selection of thinkers, writers and academics to bring their expertise and ideas into direct discussions with our audience.
The Body of an American Gate Debate: Travis Beard and Sorious Samura
Thursday 6 February
Australian Travis Beard has worked globally as a photojournalist for twelve years. Visiting Afghanistan for the first time in 2001, working in refugee camps in Nimroz. He returned in 2006 to work as Chief Editor of Aina Photojournalism Agency.In 2007, he moved into video-journalism. Ultimately, he founded Argus Productions, which provides numerous media services in Afghanistan.With David Gill and Humayun Zadran, he created Combat Communications, an umbrella group for Afghan artists. In 2009, they organized the Wallords graffiti workshop in Kabul, the first of its kind in the country.He’s an Advisor for the Afghan women-focused organisation M2M (Mountain to Mountain). He was a co-founder of Skateistan, and is co-founder of the Kabul Knights Motorcycle Club. He organised the country’s first alternative arts festival; Sound Central hosted in 2011/12/13. He performs as guitarist for the first ex-pat rock band in Kabul: White City, who in 2014 were invited to SXSW festival in Austin Texas and they will do a US tour to promote their debut album; Landlocked. He is in the process of completing a feature length documentary about the music scene in Afghanistan called Martyrs of Metal.
Sorious Samura is an investigative journalist, who has produced, filmed and presented films from more than thirty countries. He is best known for the courage of his photographic journalism and the impact of his messages. Some of his films shot on the African continent have involved him personally experiencing the life of ordinary people in extraordinary situations, such as Living with Hunger and Living with Aids. He has won many international awards, including two Emmy’s, a BAFTA (British Academy of Film and Television Arts), Time Magazine European Heroes, Peabody, three Amnesty International Media Awards and three Overseas Press Club of America Awards. Sorious has also won the One World Media Award in 2006, Broadcast Journalist of the Year and the Rory Peck Trust. Columbia University's graduate school of journalism has honoured Sorious with a lifetime achievement award. Sorious served as a consultant in the Hollywood movie, Blood Diamond, which featured Leonardo DiCaprio. Blood Diamond was partly based on Sorious’ documentary, Cry Freetown. http://sorioussamurafoundation.org/
