We delve into the world of luxury with art historian Alastair Sooke, and ask what it is about luxury that inspires both desire and derision. Our journey starts with the oldest pearl in known existence at the Louvre Abu Dhabi’s 10,000 Years of Luxury exhibition. We explore how taste, place and power combined, to create surprising cultural trends throughout our history. We meet with curators, cultural ambassadors and lifestyle critics to ask them whether luxury is a personal indulgence or conspicuous consumption.Job: Luxury Through the AgesClient: BBC WorldWritten & Presented by: Alastair SookeDirector: Kat Mansoor-FrenchEditor: Adam LavisExecutive Producers: Hattie Bowering & Dalia PenzikDistribution: Broadcast

In the summer of 2018, on the Serpentine in London's Hyde Park, world-renowned artist Christo created his first public work of art in the UK. Inspired by ancient Mesopotamian tombs, the Mastaba is constructed from 7,506 painted oil barrels and weighs six hundred tonnes. It is the latest work in a career spanning half a century and stretching across the world. His work to date have included surrounding 11 islands off the Florida coast with pink polypropylene and wrapping Berlin's Reichstag and the Pont Neuf in Paris.This programme charts the creation of the Mastaba - from the first barrels being put on the water to its final unveiling - and paints a portrait of Christo as he looks back on a life spent making provocative works of art with his wife and partner Jeanne-Claude.Christo reveals how he funds his projects with a unique business model, and how the long, tortuous and often combative process of gaining permissions and winning people over is part of his artisticendeavour. He also talks about his escape from the communist east and his early work in 1960s Paris.A cast of friends, fellow artists, collectors and critics lend their voices to the documentary, including performance artist Marina Abramovic, New Yorker journalist and architectural critic Paul Goldberger, former New York major Michael Bloomberg, writer and art critic Marina Vaizey and architect Sir Norman Foster.

Artists from the Middle East is a series of short films for BBC World about artists living and working in the United Arab Emirates including eL Seed, Shaikha Al Mazrou and Ayman Zedani. The ongoing series is directed by Ted Beagles for Wild Media.

Art: Interrupted goes behind the scenes as India prepares to host its first contemporary art biennale in the historic port town of Fort Kochi, Kerala. From the frontline of art, the film follows a selection of big name Indian and international artists as they create new and ambitious works in beautiful but derelict colonial spaces. The process dominates with limited resources, lack of expertise, errant union labourers, no electricity, equatorial heat, swarms of mosquitoes and an amazing collective effort. The film presents a refreshing look at contemporary art with incredible access to the artists and the artistic process in an unregulated scenario that was both challenging and rewarding. It is a very entertaining film set in a a part of the world that is intriguing, relevant and down right spectacular and presents a picture of India and its cultural connections that everybody can respond.

PLAYTIME (2014), a seven-screen, high-definition video installation that features well-known actors James Franco, Maggie Cheung, and Mercedes Cabral, as well as Swiss auctioneer Simon de Pury. Set across three continents, the work follows a suite of characters—the Artist, the Hedge Fund Manager, the Auctioneer, the House Worker, the Art Dealer, and the Reporter—who each occupy distinct chapters. Introducing an episodic structure into the piece are Julien’s choice of locations—the cities of London, Reykjavik, and Dubai—which function allegorically; they were all selected because, it is argued, they are somehow uniquely defined by their relationship to capital.PLAYTIME operates much like an out-of-sync travelogue. It traces characters as they push and pull at the fragile building blocks that compose contemporary capitalist society. De Pury, playing himself, proffers the most captivating performance. He recounts, with a mixture of anguish and fervor, the adrenaline and subsequent depression that consumes him before and after an auction. Julien’s camera corners de Pury—so close that we can feel him sweat and pulse—and his figure splits across the large central screen at the same time that it is mirrored, his image becoming a doppelgänger of himself. Could this be an allusion to the dual personalities (Good and Evil) that one must hold in order to adapt to the freewheeling marketplace?Elsewhere, we are transported—whizzing speedily through endless corridors and past large-scale computer servers—before we are swept through the beaming metropoles of central London and Dubai, as well as through an unembellished house in Iceland. The mise-en-scène is often bare even when it is intended to be luxurious. Stark interiors create a sense of temporal impermanence—as if the characters can waltz and disappear across time zones, teleporting themselves to the next financial opportunity.

Set up a partnership between Google Arts & Culture and Kochi Muziris Biennale for the documentation of the inaugural biennale on Google Art Project. This was the first biennale documented by Google. About Kochi-Muziris BiennaleThe Kochi-Muziris Biennale is an international exhibition of contemporary art being held in Kochi, Kerala every two years. The first edition of the Kochi-Muziris Biennale began on 12/12/12 and was set in spaces across Kochi, Muziris and surrounding islands. There were shows in existing galleries and site-specific installations in public spaces, heritage buildings and disused warehouse structures. Indian and international artists were invited to exhibit artworks across a variety of mediums including film, installation, painting, sculpture, new media and performance art.Through the celebration of contemporary art from around the world, The Kochi-Muziris Biennale seeks to invoke the historic cosmopolitan legacy of the modern metropolis of Kochi, and its mythical predecessor, the ancient port of Muziris. Alongside the exhibition the Biennale offered a rich programme of talks, seminars, screenings, music performances, workshops and educational activities for school children and visitors of all ages. In cooperation with the Muziris Heritage Project, The Kochi–Muziris Biennale seeks to link the past with the modern day present.

This documentary, presented by Noel Fielding, provides a first look at the retrospective set to open in the Tate by renowned British artist Damien Hirst. By examining the making of, reactions of the public and reasons behind several key artworks, we get to understood the phenomenon that is Damien Hirst.

Take 14 brilliantly creative people from around the world, all celebrated cultural figures, pair them up and invite them to collaborate. Collaboration Culture is an experiment in creativity. What happens when you bring two fashion designers from different parts of the world to work together? Or when a leading Bollywood dancer is paired with an Arab-American classical composer. What can you expect when a British artist works with a Ghanaian coffin sculptor? Collaboration Culture travels the globe, pairing people together to create one-of-a-kind global cultural collaborations.

The history of the books since the scroll until the e-book and how the digital revolution is reshaping the traditional book, the publishing market, the authors and their readers. Contributors include Gary Shteyngart, Ed Victor, Julian Barnes, Gail Rebuck and Douglas Coupland.

The programme tells the story of this 20th-century art form from its beginnings in the industrial revolution to its more volatile status in the modern age. From Bauhaus and a dogmatic Swiss bloke called Le Corbusier, Braun and a "young idealist" called Dieter Rams, Charles and Ray Eames, right up to Apple and personalised computing. It treads where you would expect; and fair enough. But what really lifts it beyond the ordinary is the writing, which has a wonderful feel for the contradictions of design history.

Witness actor / comedian / activist Russell Brand on his journey from addict, self-proclaimed narcissist and Hollywood star living in the fast-lane to his "second coming" as political disruptor & newfound hero to the underserved. Acclaimed director Ondi Timoner takes us behind the scenes of this wildly complex man for an intimate look at what drives Russell Brand as he takes on the world and calls for revolution.

In April 2008, the most extraordinary competition took place in Angola in South-West Africa. 'Miss Landmine' was a beauty pageant for female victims of the 27 year civil war. This series of films follows four of the women involved in the contest.

Art critic Robert Hughes investigates how the world’s most iconic painting, the Mona Lisa, has influenced the world of art in this Emmy and Grierson Award winning documentary. He explores the radical change in museums, art production and perception over the past fifty years, describing the rise of modern art and reflecting over a lifetime of writing and speaking about the art that he admires and detests.This award winning polemic narrates the story of the revolution in the art market, which started in the 1960s and spread across the world. It explains of how art superstars came about, why art’s monetary value skyrocketed, and the effect of these phenomena in the way we relate to art now.

In the course of our 170 year relationship, photography has delighted us, served us, moved us, outraged us and occasionally disappointed us. But mainly, it has intrigued us by showing the secret strangeness that lies beneath the world of appearances. And that is photography's true genius.Follow the story of photography in BBC Four's six-part series 'The Genius of Photography'. See some of the most famous photographs ever taken and find out more about what made them so very special.1. Fixing the ShadowsTracks the first attempts to make images permanent and the mass appeal that the invention of Kodak created.2. Documents for ArtistsAfter World War One the potential of photography attracted the attention of artists and governments alike.3. Right Time, Right PlaceExamines the photographs of D-Day, the Holocaust and Hiroshima raising questions about history as seen through the viewfinder.4. Paper MoviesCharts the golden age of 'photographic journeys' and how the use of colour slowly became a credible medium for 'serious' photographers.5. We Are FamilyHaving conquered the street and the road, photographers approached the final frontier: the home, the self, and private life.6. Snap JudgementsShows how photography has become part of the art world where a single image can cost $2.9m and, in the digital world, where all images are possible.

As you’d expect, the truth about Surrealism is full of paradoxes and contradictions. It’s the most successful and least successful of all avant-garde art movements—its insights and attitudes have become so dominant that most non-artists take them for granted (the surreal language of advertising, movies, the internet, comedy). Most contemporary artists, schooled to see through conceptual eyes, regard it as embarrassingly unsophisticated.To make the case for Surrealism in the 21st Century you have to fend off what Andre Breton called "the contempt for the marvellous", while resisting the visual numbness that our image-saturated world induces. It’s no longer possible to find beauty in the "chance encounter of a sewing machine and an umbrella on a dissecting table", but there are contemporary equivalents of this shop-worn juxtaposition which do reassert "the omnipotence of the dream".With contributions from some of today’s most innovative creative minds, such as Grayson Perry, Marcel Dzama and Michel Gondry, Imagine… takes a dreamlike journey into today’s surreal unknown.

Modern art used to be a standing joke in Britain - remember the brouhaha over Carl Andre's bricks at the Tate? It certainly isn't anymore. Domestic sales of contemporary art are worth more than £500m annually, commanding more than half of all European art sales. And this year, for the first time ever, sales are expected to exceed those of Old Masters. We increasingly desire art that speaks of and for our times. So what has turned us from a nation of cynics into a nation of collectors?'Imagine: How To Get On In The Art World' sees Alan Yentob immerse himself in this vibrant world during the week of the 5th Frieze Art Fair in October, the centre of the British contemporary art calendar. He sees past the kisses and handshakes to crack the sophisticated codes that govern the way the contemporary art market operates. He discovers the ascendant position that London has acquired as the hub of the global market in recent years, a market that is worth $22bn a year. And while the conventional wisdom decrees that this buoyancy must be a 'boom' or 'bubble', fuelled by the appetite of emerging economic superpowers such as China and Russia, it becomes apparent that this could be only the early stages of a much bigger economic explosion.Centring on the mad bustle and excitement of Frieze Art Fair in Regents Park, the film examines the love-hate dynamic in the art world between art and money, how it frequently feeds the creation of art and asks why owning it has become the de rigeur status symbol for the rich. It used to be Gainsborough or Reynolds; now the expensive London home is more likely to sport a Damien Hirst or Gary Hume. Alan Yentob looks at why our artistic focus has shifted and the implications it has for everyone involved.

Professor Robert Winston presents a definitive three-part documentary series on the history of humanity’s search to understand the nature of God.God’s story is an epic journey across continents, cultures and eras exploring religious beliefs of his early incarnations, through the development of the major religions of the world and the state of religious faith in a scientific age.The series examines the roots of religious beliefs in prehistoric societies and the different ways in which the sense of humanity of the divine developed. It looks at the divergence between the religions that worship a range of deities and those that represent strict monotheism.The series begins with Professor Winston examine the many religions that believe in different gods and explores why mankind started to believe in God.The answer to that question, says Professor Winston, can be found in the caves where our ancestors came to their gods and where in the fields where people still ask for help, in the cities where our ancestors have been honored temples and the gods are appeased with sacrifices.“But above all the answer,” says Professor Winston, “lies in the human desire to be united with something bigger than ourselves.”

The idea for the project started during rehearsal breaks for Lin Manuel Miranda's first Broadway musical, In the Heights.[3] During shows, the performers rap and beatbox, backed by keyboards.[4] Unlike traditional, scripted musicals, the audience is intended to be engaged and participate in the show, providing suggestions and occasionally even being brought on stage.[2][5] Before being performed on Broadway, there were performances at Ars Nova in 2004, 2006 Melbourne International Comedy Festival, Montreal Just for Laughs Festival and the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in 2005,[1][3][6] as well as many other performances including Joe's Pub, Google Zeitgeist, Greenwich House Theater, Mo Pitkin's, and others.

This film tells the true story of how a bunch of writers, artists, set designers and back room technicians pooled their talents in order to outwit the German High Command and fool Hitler. Espionage, counter espionage, decoy airfields, inflatable tanks, guns and soldiers are all deployed in the run up to D Day to create a massive diversion and the strongest possible indication that the landings will be in Calais rather than Normandy. A whole invisible army is conjured up: FUSAG the First US Army Group. General Patton is placed in charge of this army, such is its importance he is detained in Britain for several weeks after the Normandy landing in order to (successfully) convince Hitler that a second and larger set of landings will be staged in Calais. A true story

In 1985, two young climbers, Joe Simpson (Brendan Mackey) and Simon Yates (Nicholas Aaron), set out to be the first to reach the summit of the Siula Grande in the Peruvian Andes. They succeed, and the two embark on the treacherous descent down the mountain -- only to meet with disaster when Simpson breaks his leg in a fall, leaving Yates to lower him the rest of the way with ropes. When a storm threatens both their lives, Yates must decide whether to cut the rope and risk Simpson's likely death.

Organised extensive, residential producer training courses in association with PACT, BAFTA and other media groups.

Worked with producer Finola Dwyer and director Sandra Goldbacher on the feature film, Me Without You starring Michelle Williams, Anna Friel, Kyle Maclachlan and Trudie Styler.Filming in Isle of Man, London and Brighton.Me Without You is a 2001 British film starring Anna Friel, Michelle Williams, and Oliver Milburn, and written and directed by Sandra Goldbacher.The film follows the troubled relationship between two girls as they grow up. Stephen Holden of The New York Times called it "psychologically savvy ... story of a toxic friendship, established in early childhood, whose poisons continue to circulate and infect both well into their adult lives.

Worked alongside director, Steve Rogers on commercials and ran the office.