I leave my tube sailing London tomorrow to head home to sunny/unpredictable Melbourne. I spent most of my day in Shoreditch, East London. Shoreditch is a nice place to stroll around and absorb, it has a certain character to it, I can see why people like it. I then went and got a tattoo from the fine folk at The Family Business in Exmount Market... perfect thing to do before a 24hr flight... I've enjoyed my stay in UK and Germany, they have both been so kind to me.
Camden Town
I've just started my first stint in London and I'm pretty sure I like it. It seemed pretty nice out and around the Camden Markets... its pretty fast paced, people just walk straight through eachother, it's funny to watch. Anyways first day in London, no sleep but in spirits.
Sehr Erfreut Berlin
I have been in Berlin for two days (leaving tomorrow) and it is really hard not to love this place. It's been really nice Germany, but back to Manchester we go. See you soon.
Day trip in Shover
Location scouting in Sholver Housing Estate for my new project with my brother Charlie Bosco. So lovely.
Coming Soon...
Happy 5 year anniversary
Happy 5 year wedding anniversary to my beautiful wife! She encourages me every day to do what I love.
Antonio Gramentieri (Sacri Cuori)
Sacri Cuori are fast becoming one of my favourite bands. I saw them perform three times whilst they were out here and I was lucky enough to film them recording their new record at Southpaw Studios in Fitzroy. This video is only a snippet of what I captured on the day... more to come.
5 days later
After a pretty severe asthma scare last Wednesday morning, I'm finally out of hospital today. This confronting reality has in turn lead me to put my life into a new perspective. Sitting alone in a hospital bed, really afforded me the time to think about what is meaningful and how treasured existence really is. I'd like to send a warm thanks to everyone who came into visit, called me or sent kind messages of concern, it's really nice to know I have an abundance of good friends. I'm feeling a whole lot better now and I'm slowly on the road to being 100% again.
Be back soon
Apologies for my lack of posts, I'm on a short holiday at St Vincent Hospital. I'm OK though man.
A film about Depression, Anxiety & Panic Disorder
As you may or may not know I (and many of my friends) suffer from depression, anxiety and panic disorder. These disorders have contributed to many dark and horrific moments in my life. Those that have either of these disorders, know how severely crippling they can be and at times it's very hard to direct towards a positive future. To offset some of my own personal symptoms/phobias, I decided to start a project to help raise awareness and money for charities who understand our pain and suffering and look towards positive measures of management.
Now, the idea is still in it’s infancy and I’m sure I could tighten it up a little, but the overall concept is pretty solid.
THE IDEA
The idea is to create a short film that features 10 prominent people whom suffer from one or all of these mental diseases. My objective is to dig deep into the subject and expose each of their stories, vulnerabilities and most importantly how the disorder directly affects their daily lives. I aim to make the film very raw and extremely personal, no censorship.
I want to find people who hold great standing in the creative industries (music, art etc). People who are very well known to the general public or within their culture/subculture.
So far I have locked in 6 people, who are down to participate.
WHY WILL THIS HELP?
The hope for the film is to encourage people to feel comfortable in talking about these disorders and to know that they are not alone in their turmoil. If people in notable positions are willing to be vulnerable, then it should create a butterfly effect.
HOW TO RAISE MONEY
At this stage I am not sure which charity to donate to, maybe you guys can help with that. I want to look at a few options, before I make my final decision. Either way here are some ways to raise money (feel free to add any ideas).
1. The film will be available online and people will be asked to make a donation (small or large) in order to view it. This should raise the most funds. 2. Packages or offerings donated by the chosen artists within the film. 3. Film screening or launch event. All profits generated, will be donated to the charity.
THE ONGOING PROCESS
I would like to set up a youtube account and or website, where people can share their own stories and experiences, with the view of building an online support group.
HOW YOU CAN HELP
I'm well versed on my own personal experiences with the disorders/illnesses, but I am interested in learning more about others too. I would love to talk to/interview others that go through the same thing. Maybe we could build a support group of some sort.
Thanks to everyone that has supported so far, you mean the world to me.
Any private correspondence can be sent to 10percenters@johnnybrixton.com
New Film - Steve Cross (Muted)
I'm really happy to announce the release of my new film with my good friend Steve Cross. I really hope it connects with you. View it here
Steve Cross Film Announcement
After a humbling response for my collaboration film with JJ Peters, I am proud to announce the release date of my new film with renowned painter and tattooist Steve Cross. The film will be released at 9am (EST) 14th October.
My Friend Luxy
This post is a dedication to my close friend Luxy... Luxy was the first person to inspire me to pick up a camera. I first met Luxy a few years ago through mutual friends and something clicked between us from the kick off. I used to work the door at a laneway bar called Sister Bella in Melbournes CBD and not one week went past where Luxy wouldn't visit and kick it for a few hours, this is when our friendship first sparked. We'd both share many life stories (both good and bad) over a longneck or ten and through this he encouraged me to pick up a camera and start documenting life the way I see it. I had no idea what I was doing, but he took the time to teach me through the basics and I still see him as my key creative mentor. Luxy is one of the most important people in my life and is an extremely talented photographer, take some time to view his work, you wont regret it www.danielluxford.com.
Yep... I'm doing it
This still is from the first time I pressed the record button on my camera. The still is of my father in a rehabilitation clinic, it's one of many humbling moments that inspired me to make films. The little glimpses I take from life are the ones that stay with me and I'm thankful that I can create something valuable with them. My friends and viewers have given me a crazy amount of support over the past while and I truly feel their energy is one of my key drivers. I've been feeling really inspired lately and I've decided to make my first 10 minute short film both as a self accomplishment and to submit to various film festivals. It's a daunting feeling, as each time I release a film I feel like I'm running naked in front of the world haha. Thank you for your support and thank you for watching, listening and sharing my work.
New film
Caught up with my friend Steve Cross from Korpus Tattoo today, as usual a short catchup turned into a 3 hour conversation about life and perspective. I showed him the final edit of our new film too, he likes it. I'll be announcing the release date in the next week or so.
My little existence
Being an independent filmmaker is a pretty nerve-racking existence for someone like me. I am quite new to the art form and sometimes I feel like I'm a small fish in a pond full of amazing artists. Too be honest most of the time I feel like I don't know what I am doing and my expertise in the field is quite limited. But when I really think about it, none of the hype or false sense of quality control matters. I don't thrive off how many views/likes my films garner or the expected impressive technical skill, I really dig the idea of the true personal relation I have with each of my viewers, each person as a single human being. In a world of disposable information I like to think that I nurture a charactor message in all of my films. Most of my film work is quite deep and confronting, but to me that is what is real and it's critical that I hold dearly to that purpose. But I don't think I ever picked up a camera to be the next big hype in the world of film... to me it's about being in the moment, connecting with people and knowing how important that is. Film making has awarded me the most humbling situations with some of the brilliant people in my life and it's pretty rad that I can make an art out of that.
Listening to this today
Some Other Way (Film by Eliot Rausch)
Eliot Rausch is a magnificent film maker from Los Angeles, California. I feel that he captures true to life emotion and perspective like no other. He inspired me to find peoples inners truths and try to capture them in film the way I see it in my head. This is one of his more recent films.
Fuck Politics
We all have the power to stand up for what we believe in and I will exercise this right for the rest of my days. Solute the oppressed and look down on the oppressors, no more no less.
Thank you
I just want to express my sincere gratitude to everyone that took the time to watch my collaboration film with JJ Peters. Both of us have received so many kind words from friends and valued acquaintances. Much respect to JJ for being so transparent and honest, it took an abundance of courage.