Tag: Maya Vision

21
Dec

HAPPY HOLIDAYS

Fresh snow sparkle in the sun. Snow background.

Thanks to all our friends and colleagues for a great year!

Hope 2017 is fantastic for everyone – The Story of China airs in the US next year!

And to steal a line from our good friend and partner Leo Eaton:

‘May your ratings be huge, your commissioners intelligent, your critics kind and, if you are using platform-agnostic distribution, your ‘play’ and ‘finish’ numbers astronomical’

 

Save

Save

28
Nov

Pembroke College Oxford, Lecture

Michael Wood talk on the 'Excitement of history' at Pembroke College

Michael Wood talk on the ‘Excitement of history’ at Pembroke College

Michael Wood on The Excitement of History at Pembroke College, Oxford.

At this Pembroke College lecture Michael Wood will speak on ‘The Excitement of History: Making History Programmes on TV’.

With clips from over thirty years of making history documentaries, historian and film maker Michael Wood talks about some of the different ways of looking at history for popular audiences, including New World, Chinese and Indian history.

This event will begin at 5pm, and will be followed by your questions and a drinks reception.

This event is free and open to all. Registration is required. Please register via Eventbrite.

For more details, see here

18
Mar

Fun filming Sappho on Lesbos!

Now in post-production for our new programme Sappho. Look out for it in BBC Four’s ‘Age of Heroes’ in April 2015.

More updates closer to the time, but for now here are some photos of our crew filming in beautiful Greece with the knowledgeable Margaret Mountford.

Filming on the beach in Lesbos with Margaret Mountford

Filming on the beach in Lesbos with Margaret Mountford

Attack of the drone!!!

Attack of the drone!!!

It's a Sapphie not a Selfie!

It’s a Sapphie not a Selfie!

 

09
Mar

Michael Wood on the Book of Rochester: Leafing through the Library

If I had to save one historical document from the whole of English history, it would not be Magna Carta – or even Domesday Book- but Textus Roffensis.’ Michael Wood, historian and broadcaster.

Michael Wood with the Textus Roffensis

Michael Wood with the Textus Roffensis

Michael Wood’s exploration of the famous Textus Roffensis (‘Book of Rochester’) comes as the first installment of Rochester Cathedral’s new initiative, Leafing through the Library, masterminded by Dr Jayne Wackett, MEMS, University of Kent. The cathedral’s manuscripts and early printed books will be shared and investigated online bi-monthly. Digital images from Rochester cathedral’s library will be accompanied by articles examining the content, context and significance of a wide variety of books including, amongst others, Henry VIII’s Great Bible, one of only thirty-five copies of the 1662 Sealed Book of Common Prayer, a 1744 navigation atlas and Isaac Newton’s observations.

Read Michael’s article here:

http://rochestercathedral.org/news/categories/cathedral-news/293-foundations-of-magna-carta

 

 

06
Aug
30
Jul

Recent Work

Du Fu: China’s Greatest Poet

Sir Ian McKellen reads the poetry, Michael Wood traces the journey on the ground. Together they conjure up the extraordinary life, times and words of China’s greatest poet, Du Fu.

From the Yellow River to the Yangtze Gorges, and down to the forested hills of Hunan, Michael Wood travels in the footsteps of China’s most-loved poet. Born in 712, the age of Beowulf in Britain, Du Fu lived through the violent fall of China’s brilliant Tang dynasty. As rebel armies sacked the capital, and floods and famine wrecked the country, he was forced to flee, taking his family on the roads as refugees.

But out of these events he produced what Harvard’s Stephen Owen calls ‘the greatest poems in the Chinese language’, words that ever since have been seen as an expression of what it means to be Chinese. ‘There is Dante, there’s Shakespeare, and there’s Du Fu,’ says Owen. ‘These poets create the very standard by which great poetry is judged.’ But though in the east Du Fu is an immortal, in the west, even today, few have even heard of him.

In this film, the first to ever be made about Du Fu in the west, Michael follows his tracks by road, train and riverboat. Along the way, he meets ordinary people, dancers and musicians, who help to tell the amazing story of a poet whose words have resonated through the centuries, describing the experiences of ordinary people caught up in war, corruption, famine and natural disasters. ‘I am one of the privileged. If my life is so bitter, then how much worse is the life of the common people?’

In China, poets have always been seen as the trusted chroniclers of the people’s hearts and the nation’s history. And for the Chinese, Du Fu is ‘more than a poet,’ says Wood. ‘For generations he has been the guardian of the moral conscience of the nation.’

BBC page with clips

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About Us

For over 35 years from the Amazon to Afghanistan, Mexico to Mongolia, Lesbos to Lebanon, Maya Vision International has made films to entertain, educate and inspire global audiences.

Our diverse range of documentaries bring history alive, celebrate great art and artists and explain a complex world for each new generation of viewers.  Whether unearthing a people’s history of Britian, telling the story of China or following modern pilgrims on their sacred journeys, Maya Vision International is an industry leader and winner some of television’s top awards, many of which are with the acclaimed historian and broadcaster, Michael Wood.

Collegial and committed to great storytelling, we work with the best crews around the world both behind and on screen and we’re proud of having nurtured young talent to successful careers through our productions.

Across all media platforms, from broadcast television to theatrical to corporate and the web Maya Vision International’s programs are trusted and celebrated internationally.