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Max Duncan

Max Duncan is a filmmaker based in Beijing.

January 2020

  • As the Earth continues to break new heat records, the UN is warning of a 'climate apartheid' between those who can afford to keep themselves cool and  those who must live, work, suffer – and sometimes die – in the heat

    Divided cities
    'I had no idea hot summers could kill': how 'climate apartheid' divides Delhi – video

    As the Earth continues to break new heat records, the UN is warning of a 'climate apartheid' between those who can afford to keep themselves cool and  those who must live, work, suffer – and sometimes die – in the heat

    Video9:36

November 2019

  • For 45 years a wall has cut Nicosia in half. But now some young Cypriots are risking prison – and the wrath of their elders – by refusing to take up arms against each other

    Divided cities
    The last divided capital in Europe: 'Do they want us to believe we should be separated?' - video

    For 45 years a wall has cut Nicosia in half. But now some young Cypriots are risking prison – and the wrath of their elders – by refusing to take up arms against each other

    Video14:08
  • In the 'food deserts' of Memphis, Tennessee, locals lack what seems a basic human right in the richer half of the city: a supermarket. Are they doomed to die younger than their neighbours – or can they fight for their right to nutrition?

    Divided cities
    'There’s food… it’s just not real food’: inside America's hunger capital - video

    In the 'food deserts' of Memphis, Tennessee, locals lack what seems a basic human right in the richer half of the city: a supermarket. Are they doomed to die younger than their neighbours – or can they fight for their right to nutrition?

    Live

    • Divided cities
      'It's not fair': why Havana's taxi drivers vastly out-earn doctors – video

      Video11:32

    • Divided cities
      Divided Cities: five cities split by global divisions - series trailer

      Video1:00

    • Divided cities
      ‘Make Spain great again’: does Melilla really need a Trump-style wall? – video

      Live

July 2018

  • On 3 June, Volcán de Fuego in Guatemala erupted, killing at least 113 people and leaving 332 missing

    Life in the shadow of Guatemala's Volcano of Fire - video

    On 3 June, Volcán de Fuego in Guatemala erupted, killing at least 113 people and leaving 332 missing

    Video13:58

February 2018

  • Ahmad and Mati served the US military as interpreters during the war in Afghanistan, but like many others who did so they haven’t been granted visas to emigrate to the US. With their lives threatened by the Taliban, they joined migrants heading for western Europe only to find themselves trapped in Serbia on the wrong side of impenetrable borders

    Frozen out: the US interpreters abandoned on Europe’s border

    Ahmad and Mati served the US military as interpreters during the war in Afghanistan, but like many others who did so they haven’t been granted visas to emigrate to the US. With their lives threatened by the Taliban, they joined migrants heading for western Europe only to find themselves trapped in Serbia on the wrong side of impenetrable borders

    Video10:31

November 2017

  • Award-winning photographer David Levene has revealed an unparalleled cross-section of the urban 21st century over more than a decade documenting how people live and work in 70 cities

    City: the remarkable urban photographs of David Levene - video

    Award-winning photographer David Levene has revealed an unparalleled cross-section of the urban 21st century over more than a decade documenting how people live and work in 70 cities

    Video9:51

October 2017

  • The second of our video series looks at the perspective of Barcelona-born filmmaker Isabel Coixet, who sees flags dividing the Catalonian people and families being broken apart because of the debate on independence. 

    I am Catalan
    I am Catalan: 'Families are broken, people have fallen out' - video

    The second of our video series looks at the perspective of Barcelona-born filmmaker Isabel Coixet, who sees flags dividing the Catalonian people and families being broken apart because of the debate on independence. 

    Video2:38

June 2017

  • Hong Kong umbrella demonstration

    After the rain: what is happening to Hong Kong's democracy? - video

  • Lakshmi drinking water

    One girl's mission: can Lakshmi find clean water in Bangalore? – video

November 2015

  • Cambodian fishermen set out at dawn on the Mekong river.

    Keep it in the ground
    The Mekong river: stories from the heart of the climate crisis

    The fate of 70 million people rests on the Mekong river. With crucial UN climate talks in Paris next week, John Vidal journeys down south-east Asia’s vast waterway and meets people affected by climate change, dams, deforestation and urbanisation

September 2015

  • 140x84 trailpic for Ai Weiwei Beijing

    The artist and their city
    Ai Weiwei on Beijing: 'It's a prison for freedom of speech' - video

    A Guardian Cities / Tate special series Chinese artist Ai Weiwei was born in Beijing but spent the first 18 years of his life in exile with his family. He now lives and works in the capital, far from the centre but under constant surveillance. In the first of this new series of short films, he offers a unique insight into the artists’ community he helped build in Caochangdi – and reveals his playful techniques for carving out a space in ‘a city that doesn’t really belong to its residents’
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