Maldivians on Mountains

HulheviMEDIA has just released a preview of its latest film Maldivians on Mountains, now in post production, on YouTube. The film, shot on HD, follows Olympic swimmer Ahmed Imthiyaz (Freddy) and our own resident producer and director Ahmed Shafeeu (Narcu) as they trek in the foothills of the Nepal Himalaya to Mount Everest.

Interesting bits to watch out for:

1:08: First view of Mount Everest, half covered in the blanket of cloud, shot in Tengboche (3,700m)

1:13: Halfway up Kala Pattar (5,600m), where the Nepali cabinet held its famous meeting a week after we summited. The black peak in the background is Mount Everest.

1:16: Ahmed crossing the snowbound Cho La mountain pass (5,300m).

1:18: Narcu heaves himself up the final boulder to summit Kala Pattar. 

1:22 Ahmed summitting Gokyo Peak (5400m), the turquoise Second and Third Lakes and the famed Ngozumpa Glacier, the longest in the Himalaya, below him.

1:33 Three of the world's 14 eight thousand metre peaks behind Ahmed: (left to right) Everest, Lhotse, and Makalu, respectively world's highest, 4th and 5th highest mountains.

Beynun Viyas premieres nationwide today

The first HulheviMEDIA release Beynun Viyas Vaakah Nethey (The Desire That Cannot Be Realised), a music video for Hiyani (Band) will be aired today on all the Maldivian networks. We uploaded a one-minute trailer on YouTube a few days ago. Now you can watch the full song.

The Hiyani (Band) trio, Amir, Loreef and Marco had a very specific look in mind for the video when they met Narcu and Al nearly two weeks ago to discuss its production. We hope we have achieved their requirement for them.

The first cut was previewed in full HD glory, but the video has now been downcoverted for broadcast here in the Maldives. For the people who saw the original version, the broadcast version will be a considerable letdown. The good news is we can still preserve the video in HD quality.

Meanwhile good news also on Avahaara Ganduvaru; a private broadcaster has commissioned us to produce 13 episodes and all contractual formalities will be finalised shortly.

Beynun Viyas music video

HulheviMEDIA have just produced a brand new music video for the Maldivian Hiyani (Band), to be released on 3rd July 2009. The song has Ahmed Amir of MAARStudio performing with newcomers Loreef and Marco. 

Beynun Viyas will be our first production to be broadcast since we changed from Club Hulhevi to HulheviMEDIA. 

Our collaborations with Ahmed Amir include Heyva Heyva, Aadheys, and Vehey Iru. 

A sneak preview of Beynun Viyas can be found on YouTube, as well as other music videos.

Meanwhile, our comedy show Avahaara Ganduvaru is awaiting the green signal from a private broadcaster.

Avahaara Ganduvaru is born

Maldivian independent TV producer HulheviMEDIA has just completed a 20-minute pilot of its planned comedy series Avahaara Ganduvaru. The show will draw on Maldivian comic traditions, particularly "hajoo jehun", to satirise contemporary politics and society. 

But in terms of language and what is shown onscreen, Avahaara Ganduvaru will push the boundaries of TV production. First time audiences, therefore, are likely to get a culture shock, but we hope the show will lead the way to a more open and independent media in the country.

We're currently negotiating with a broadcaster and seeking sponsors to fund and sustain the series.

Avahaara Ganduvaru introduces incredibly talented first time performers, young men and women, who have formed their own Facebook group, avahaara ganduvaru.

Preview audiences in general have liked the show and the screening has lead to a lively discussion about Maldivian comedy and the state of broadcasting in this country. 

Here are the links for two trailers of the show on YouTube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lCKgYXf79VQ

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PJKA2g64gN4&feature=channel

Call for auditions

This is a newspaper ad we ran in Haveeru. 

Hulhevi Media are auditioning presenters and performers for a brand new series of cutting edge TV shows, including comedy and chat shows.

If you're interested to know more, please contact us.

hulhevimedia@gmail.com

Introducing Hulhevi Media

This is an image-grab from You Don't Know Me, a short film that the independent media organisation Club Hulhevi made for UNICEF in 2004. Its story was crafted from anecdotal studies on child sexual abuse in the Maldives, the only research available at the time, and the film went on to provoke debate and discussion on this important issue that continues to plague the Maldives today. 

Club Hulhevi has in the last eight years or so produced some of the most outstanding documentaries ever made in this country, including Unbelievable Realities, a film that lifts the lid on violence against women, and Himalayan Dreams, a story about a Maldivian who treks to Mount Everest in search of his dreams. Both films got official selection at international film festivals and rave reviews by audiences at the screenings.

Today, Al and Narcu of Club Hulhevi are embarking on a different direction. We've registered Hulhevi Media to produce edgy and exciting TV shows, including comedy and chat shows with a twist. We're currently in the process of developing sample shows for TV stations and we've formed a Facebook group Hulhevi Media to recruit presenters and performers.

This is the official blog of Hulhevi Media through which we hope to reach people who are interested in the work we're undertaking. 

We also hope to create discussion in the Maldives blogsphere, in the days to come, on issues such as censorship, copyright, and ethics. 

We're very excited about what lies ahead and we hope like-minded creative people out there will be part of our future work. 

Please check us out on Facebook.

You can also contact us by email: hulhevimedia@gmail.com