October • 2022
Thomas was great at communicating along the way, instilling confidence and asking good questions. He delivered exactly what we needed -- and represented us well.
Thomas F.
Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo
1 review$550 - $750 / Day
About
Years ago, Thomas received from his Grand-Pa the Hasselblad that he had kept through out his photographer career, stretching back to the early 50’s. Was it this Hasselblad, more than his diploma in social media, that convinced Thomas he had to live from, or rather through, photo-documentary and portray? Or was it the inspiring exchanges amongst the award-winning Belgian collective “Out-of-Focus” he had put together with his former schoolmates? Most probably Thomas doesn’t know himself, and he keep seeking the answer in those side-topics he covers with a disturbing curiosity. Those real life stories he gathered from Carpathian suburbs or Haitian sacred graves, to the post-industrial Belgian wastes or the ever-spinning Brooklyn nights, all shared a point in common. Those are the stories of men and women. Those are stories that can be sketched with words but that only well-pictured face expressions may tell with precision.
Top Services
- Documentary DP
- 1 review
- Corporate Videographer
- 1 review
- Drone Operator
Clients
Top Reviews
Top Projects
Produced for UNHCR
Sister Angelique, the hand of god
In 2013, Sister Angelique Namaika was awarded the Nansen refugee prize by the UNHCR. It was in recognition of her extensive work with more than 2,000 women in DRC. Many of these women are survivors of rape and abuse by fighters of the Lord’s Resistance Army. The prize came with an award $100,00, allowing her to expand her Centre for Reintegration and Development in Dungu. ''Even though I can’t end poverty, everyone does what they can. Even if you save one life, it’s still a life'', says Sister Angelique. First, she opened a bakery that now provides employment to 50 women who earn an income baking and selling bread. In 2015 she started a primary school, for children of whose families couldn’t afford education fees. The centre has now expanded to include a kindergarten and a secondary school with over 1,500 children enrolled in total. The Centre for Reintegration and Development also includes a pediatric clinic where more than 14,000 patients have received treatment since it opened in October 2014. The centre houses an orphanage that currently cares for 57 children. ''The world is made of ups and downs. Somewhere as someone cries, someone else dances. It’s life in this world'', she says. To date, she has helped to transform the lives of more than 22,500 people.
- Documentary DP
- Drone Operator
Produced for United Nations
Music that heals
One of the oldest and most atrocious weapons of war is rape, but now the courage of survivors is creating a new transformation marked by healing, justice and peace. Ten years ago, Tatiana Mukanire survived a horrifically brutal crime – and today she proves that nothing is stronger than the human spirit. “I got my smile back when I understood that the world needed me. The world needed me to give a little more strength to other people,” she says in this documentary, which traces her use of the healing power of music to recover and help others. As founder of the Movement of Survivors of Sexual Violence in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Tatiana works alongside Nobel Peace Laureate Dr. Denis Mukwege, the gynaecologist who personally saved her life. At his Panzi Hospital, Dr. Mukwege leads the global fight to provide holistic support for survivors of sexual violence. He has taken this cause to the United Nations Security Council, along with fellow Nobel Peace Laureate Nadia Murad, successfully advocating for the adoption of resolution 2467 calling on all countries to adopt measures to fight sexual violence as a weapon of war. The Congolese Movement has now reached 3,000 members and they have joined the Global Network of Victims and Survivors to End Wartime Sexual Violence, SEMA, which has members in 21 countries. Together, they travel the world. Thanks to a strong push from Dr. Mukwege, Tatiana and their allies, the UN has officially launched a Global Fund for Survivors. Tatiana credits her remarkable recovery to Dr. Mukwege, and to her sense of mission to serve society. “It's not that the smile is there and that I have it all the time, but I try to keep it in me because that's what makes me live, actually. This is what makes me even stronger,” she says.
- Documentary DP
- Drone Operator
- Production Coordinator / Crewing
Produced for UNHCR
Top of his class and hungry for more, a young refugee battles the odds
Gift found himself alone when he fled fighting in South Sudan. He joined primary school and has excelled in the 6th grade (scoring high in a spelling contest) but his hopes of continuing to high school may be dashed because there aren't enough slots for refugees. UNHCR has started a programme to promote enrolment for secondary education which could mean children like Gift have a better chance advancing their learning.
- Documentary DP
- Drone Operator
Produced for CGIAR
Congo flux
Yangambi, in the Democratic Republic of Congo, is home to the first eddy covariance tower in the Congo Basin since October 2020: Congoflux, a scientific structure that measures exchanges of greenhouse gases, such as carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide, between the atmosphere and the forest. The data produced by Congoflux is essential to understand the contribution of the Congo Basin forest to climate change mitigation and thereby it will inform decision-making on forest conservation.
- Documentary DP
- Drone Operator
5.0 Produced for BCL
Need a videographer in DRC
- Documentary DP
- Corporate Videographer
Produced for UNHCR
Congo’s internally displaced find strength in each other
Video assignment for the UNHCR on the Internally Displaced People in the Masisi area, DRC
- News Shooter / Video Journalist
- Drone Operator
Equipment
Video
- DSLR or equivalent
- GoPro or equivalent
- Drone
Video
Audio
- Wireless lavalier mic
- Shotgun mic
Audio
All Services
Production Support
- News Shooter / Video Journalist
- Documentary DP
- Drone Operator
- Field Producer
- Production Assistant
- Editorial Photographer / Photojournalist
- Commercial DP
- Corporate Videographer
Production Support
Miscellaneous
- Fixer
- Translator
- Production Coordinator / Crewing
- Creative Director
Miscellaneous