The Crew
Shelley Lee Davies
Shelley is a first-time feature filmmaker. She got into the world of journalism whilst studying English at Oxford University, becoming Editor of the University’s oldest magazine. After a stint as a runner at the BBC, she joined a small video production house in London to pursue her passion for telling stories. Realising it would take years in the industry to be able to start directing her own films, Shelley decided to quit her job and with co-director Or Shlomi started making PLANEAT independently, with no funding.
Growing up with a British father and Chinese mother led Shelley to have a large appetite for meat: plates piled high with whole pigeons, crispy duck skin wrapped in pancakes, Sunday roast beef and greasy spoon sausages. But a chance encounter with Chef Sarno’s cooking, led her to question her lack of knowledge around plant-based diets. Discovering the work of Dr. Campbell, and his landmark study on diet and disease in her ancestral home of China, she began to rethink the value of the heavily animal-based diet she had been brought up with, and wanted to share her ensuing investigations into the subject with the world.
Or Shlomi
Or is a first-time filmmaker. He learned how to make videos during his military service in Israel. After working for several years in Israel’s broadcast industry, he came to London and joined the same production house as codirector Shelley Lee Davies. After many arguments over what to eat for lunch, he decided to quit his job and embark on making PLANEAT independently, with no funding.
Or became a militant vegetarian as a teenager. Predictably hummous and falafels featured heavily in his diet, but his favourite thing was dairy, which he would try and eat at every meal: smelly blue cheese, pizza with extra cheese, cheesecakes (all kosher of course!). Hearing about the research of Dr. Campbell, Or found the findings hard to believe, especially as he had long believed his dairy-fuelled vegetarian diet was morally superior. But never one to shy away from controversy, and after his beloved father died of a heart attack, Or wanted to make PLANEAT in the belief it can change the world for the better.
Christo Hird
Christopher Hird is one of the UK’s most experienced producers of feature documentaries.He has executive produced three Sundance Film Festival selections: Black Gold (2006),The End of the Line (2009) and The Flaw (2011), the first two of which were sold totelevision stations all over the world. His other screen credits include The Battle for Barking(More 4, 2010), directed by Laura Fairrie, which won the Youth Jury Award at the SheffieldInternational Documentary Festival, John Pilger’s The War You Don’t See (2010), whichwas released simultaneously in cinemas, on TV and DVD and Mario and Nini (2008,Sky1).
He got involved with PLANEAT when Shelley Lee Davies approached him at a film screeningand asked him to look at a rough cut. He agreed, saw a film which had a lot of promise, andneeded a lot of work, but which was made by two directors with talent and passion - thekey ingredients to make a documentary. He was hooked and has struggled ever since toreduce his meat consumption.
Written, Filmed, Edited and Directed by: SHELLEY LEE DAVIES, OR SHLOMI
Executive Producer: CHRISTOPHER HIRD
Original Music: ERNIE WOOD
Sound Post-production: SOUNDNODE, SAE INSTITUTE LONDON, DANIEL JARAMILLO G, DANIEL VASQUEZ V, MARTIN SCHULZ, MARCO TOCA RAMIREZRICH HILL
Illustration: LILLI ENGLISH
Graphics and Animation: YAYA HALAWANI, NICO ARGAST, PIXECO
Additional Photography: AMIRAM BUKOWSKI
Head of Campaigns and Media: HANNAH GALLAGHER
Media and Campaigns Officer: REBECCA CLARKE, SOPHIE GORE BROWNE
Special Thanks To
THE ESHELS, THE ESSELSTYNS, CHAD SARNO, T COLIN CAMPBELL FOUNDATION, WORKING FILMS, YVONNE O’GRADY, GUY KATSAV, SUKHY HULLAIT, AMIR SHALOM YAN, BABYCAKES BAKERY, BOGGY CREEK FARM, HAWTHORNE VALLEY FARM, CHERRY GROVE FARM, PURE FOOD AND WINE, SAF, WHOLE FOODS MARKET
Thanks To
THE LEE DAVIES’, THE SHLOMIS, JAMES PERKINS, THE O'HALLORANS, SHIRA TAVOR