Author, journalist and documentary-maker Holly Morris's most recent film, Exposure, follows 11 women from the Arab world and the West as they ski to the North Pole in a powerful story of resilience and global citizenry. The American is touring the film here this month in association with the recent Doc Edge film festival.
You fill your life with adventure, telling stories from Cuba, Chernobyl and Iran. What were your early influences?
My parents were both sportscasters. Mum was also very active politically and Dad had been an NFL footballer player, so I grew up with an appreciation of the outdoors and an awareness of the power of media. We lived on a quasi-farm outside Chicago, in Illinois, so it was a sort of suburban, regular, middle-class American childhood where we also rode horses and ran around barefoot.
Were there hints back then that you'd grow up to become a globe-trotting film-maker?
The most notable thing we did was when I was in third grade. It was 1972 and my parents pulled me and my three siblings out of school for a year. I was about seven, and my older brother was 17. We toured east and western Europe and the then Soviet Union in an old Ford Econoline van we called the Blue Beast. I didn't think it was a big deal at the time, but I see it now as a ballsy move. Our parents weren't hippies, either, but that presumably set certain things in motion. It definitely taught me to look at the world fearlessly, which is not a given in an American childhood.
How direct was your path to making films?
This story is from the {{IssueName}} edition of {{MagazineName}}.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the {{IssueName}} edition of {{MagazineName}}.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
First-world problem
Harrowing tales of migrants attempting to enter the US highlight the political failure to fully tackle the problem.
Applying intelligence to AI
I call it the 'Terminator Effect', based on the premise that thinking machines took over the world.
Nazism rears its head
Smirky Höcke, with his penchant for waving with a suspiciously straight elbow and an open palm, won't get to be boss of either state.
Staying ahead of the game
Will the brave new world of bipartisanship that seems to be on offer with an Infrastructure Commission come to fruition?
Grasping the nettle
Broccoli is horrible. It smells, when being cooked, like cat pee.
Hangry? Eat breakfast
People who don't break their fast first thing in the morning report the least life satisfaction.
Chemical reaction
Nitrates in processed meats are well known to cause harm, but consumed from plant sources, their effect is quite different.
Me and my guitar
Australian guitarist Karin Schaupp sticks to the familiar for her Dunedin concerts.
Time is on my side
Age does not weary some of our much-loved musicians but what keeps them on the road?
The kids are not alright
Nuanced account details how China's blessed generation has been replaced by one consumed by fear and hopelessness.
