The global premier of his first factual film titled Denied – This Bit of Truth took place at The London School of Economics in October 2007 and was quickly followed by a premier at Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government in November 2007. The factual film has also been featured on BBC World Service's Outlook. He created an environmental initiative in association with United Nations Environment Programme for which he cycled for 4800 kilometres from Kanyakumari, the southernmost tip of India to Kashmir – India's northernmost state. Along his journey, he gathered pledges for planting trees to spread environmental awareness about offsetting the effects of global warming.
|
|
In 2012, Rao produced and directed 7 Notes to Infinity, a musical factual film which pays tribute to Indian Classical Music. It tries to explore the universality of music through infinite musical compositions created from 7 Notes to the scale – Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Da Ni. Legendary musicians, the likes of "Chevalier of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres" – Dr M. Balamuralikrishna, Padma Bhushan, T.V.Gopalakrishnan, Prince of the Royal family of Travancore, Aswathi Thirunal Rama Varma, the direct descendant of the great king Maharaja Swathi Thirunal and Sanjay Subrahmanyan feature prominently in the film. The film was produced and launched on the World Music day in Kerala, in association with Saptaparani and State Bank of Travancore. He produced and directed The Monsoon Oracle, a factual film which presents a shocking insight into extraordinary ritualistic practices that are performed every year in Hyderabad to predict the Monsoons and keep infectious diseases at bay.
|
|
In 1993, the hospital was used in the BBC television series Takin' Over the Asylum starring David Tennant and Ken Stott where its distinctive French Renaissance style architecture served as the exterior of the fictional St. Jude's Hospital. In 2005 a film Gartloch Hospital was released which gave an account of the history of the hospital. It was the winner in the Best Factual Film at the Scottish Mental Health Art and Film Festival, 2007.
|
|
After many years in feature film, Dirk recently focuses on factual film. He holds classes on film direction and production, writes articles and is appointed to juries of several film festivals. Since 2010, Dirk channeled his international experience into establishing OutreMer Film, first together with seasoned German producer Herbert Gehr, then from 2014 with Henrik Sauer (BVK), his long time director of photography. "OutreMer" is an ancient word for things that are beyond - figuratively and literally.
|
|
This epic journey was made into a six-part Television series titled TreeCycle with Shrenik Rao which has been licensed to Gaiam TV in the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico. Snippets of his journey were broadcast on NDTV. The series also features celebrated authors, environmentalists and other prominent personalities such as Maneka Gandhi, Shashi Tharoor, Gurcharan Das, Daggubati Purandeswari and Sunita Narain. His factual film titled Mugabe's Zimbabwe, charts three decades of Robert Mugabe's rule as the President of Zimbabwe.
|
|
As his graduation film Ahmed made Tanju Miah, a National Lottery-funded short which won Best Factual Film at the Royal Television Society Student Television Awards 2007, Best Cinematography at the Kodak Student Commercial Awards 2006. as well as being runner-up in the best newcomer category at the Grierson Awards 2006, TCM classic shorts, Satyajit Ray award, amongst others. The film appeared at the Sundance Film Festival and Toronto International Film Festival. In 2007, Ahmed later directed a western called The Last Thakur.
|
|
The challenge consists of a cross-country run followed by an assault course. The organizers claim that running the course involves risking barbed wire, cuts, scrapes, burns, dehydration, hypothermia, acrophobia, claustrophobia, electric shocks, sprains, twists, joint dislocation and broken bones Tough Guy 453 proved a success, winning best factual film 2010 at several events such as Ffresh 2010, and was one of three films nominated by the Royal Television Society at their 2010 awards ceremony at The Barbican Centre in London. Following the success of Tough Guy 453, Film Tank became involved in a follow up film for CBBC entitled Tough Kids. It involved boys aged 11–12 competing on the Tough Guy assault course.
|
|
Due to its release shortly after the end of the Korean War, the Men of the Fighting Lady was well received by the general public as well as by critics as a mainly factual account of aerial combat. Bosley Crowther of The New York Times gave the film a very favorable review: "'Men of the Fighting Lady,' which came yesterday to the Globe, bearing a title that echoes a dandy factual film of World War II, turns out to be an apt successor to that saga of the aircraft carriers, translating now a stirring story of carrier planes and men in the Korean war."Crowther, Bosley. Movie Review: 'Men of the Fighting Lady' (1954); The screen in review; 'Men of the Fighting Lady' at the Globe.
|
|