This week’s guest is  Fellipe Lopes, he is 34 years old, an immigrant from Brazil, based in Sligo, Ireland for the last 8 years. He is a Filmmaker and Photographer who has created documentaries as a way to engage with social projects and to shine a light on the many issues facing us globally. 

I came across Fellipe through a photoshoot by previous guest Eddie Lee of him in his Forge. We had a fascinating chat about his work that he is so passionate about his documentary work. He shares why he moved to Sligo and his journey to becoming a Blacksmith. 

Here is some more information that Fellipe shared with me before the show too . . . 

I have worked for global organisations such as WWF, SOS Amazon, Forest Foundation, Irish Environment Network, World Vision, Wildlife Works and many other NGO's striving to protect our futures.

The following document outlines my professional experience, and the projects I have had the opportunity to be involved with.

In February of 2020, I directed ‘‘TEXTILE MOUNTAIN - The hidden burden of our fashion waste’’ for Fashion Revolution Week 2020 and EcoWeek 2020. TEXTILE MOUNTAIN exposes the social and environmental cost of the second-hand clothing trade, tracing the path of our unwanted garments from recycling bins in Europe to landfills and waterways in the Global South. Shot in Kenya, Ireland and Belgium, the film was financed by the ‘‘Europe Sustainable for All’’ project funded by the European Union and was made in partnership with the Irish Environmental Network.

In December 2019 I travelled to Lesvos, Greece, to create a photo report in Moria Refugee Camp with activist Caoimhe Butterly. The report focussed on a Syrian family looking for asylum in Europe and was published in The Irish Examiner, Midia Ninja and Cassandra Voices. Following this, I was invited by Frank Armstrong, The Editor of Cassandra Voices to contribute to their third issue book, “Displacement”. The featured article captured the lives and stories of some of the 20,000 people seeking refuge on the island.

Since 2017 I have been engaged with various arts and cultural organisations such as Lay of the Land and Street Feast. These organisations strive to create more inclusion and access to arts and culture within underserved communities. I have also been covering climate change protests (Fridays For Future, Extinction Rebellion) and the situation of homeless people in Dublin for Cassandra Voices independent media on an ongoing basis since 2018.

I filmed activist and marathonist Marcio Villar as he ran the Camino Santiago de Compostella in aid of Projeto Juquinha, an NGO who support young people living with a disability. The documentary was commissioned by Globo, Latin America’s largest TV channel in 2017.

Back in Brazil in 2016-2017, I was involved with independent media including Midia Ninja, reporting on bike-activist centred protests in Sao Paulo. This led to the development of an exhibition, Centro Pixo, in 2018 that highlighted street art within the backdrop of a city struggling with a homelessness crisis.

In 2015 I worked with WWF, SOS AMAZON and Forest Foundation to create a series of documentaries for COP21, documenting indigenous tribes living under the threat in the Amazon as well as local community-led social and ecological projects throughout Brazil. Following this I produced short documentaries in the State of Acre showcasing how social housing projects help families living in poverty.

Alongside my documentary practice, I facilitate workshops in educational institutions, such as Graphic Studio Dublin and Dublin Business School. In these courses, I speak about documentary photography, social engagement and ethics at work as a photojournalist. Also, I have been participating in interviews and discussion panels on social issues, and recently I was interviewed by the Stand Project,