Zed Nelson

Award-winning photographer Zed Nelson will introduce his documentary film Shelter in Place (48 mins). Following the screening, he’ll be discussing the making of the film, the issues behind it, and being hounded across Texas by the FBI, corporate security and state police.

Zed made this film in the wake of a magazine assignment, where he spent months investigating the social and environmental policies of America’s wealthiest state. In Texas, oil refineries routinely release millions of tons of toxic pollutants into the air each year – as well as thousands more ‘accidental’ releases. When these incidents happen, local residents are advised to shelter in their homes and tape up their windows and doors. Shelter In Place is a portrait of a community living in the shadow of the mighty Texan petro-chemical industry. A disturbing, burningly relevant story about civil rights, environmental pollution and a battle against unstoppable corporate power. The film was nominated for the 2010 Grierson ‘Best Newcomer’ award.

Zed has won numerous international photography awards and published two books; Gun Nation, a disturbing reflection on America’s deadly love-affair with the gun, and Love Me, about the globalisation of a Western beauty ideal, and our desperate need to be loved. His photographs are in the V&A’s permanent collection and have been exhibited at the National Portrait Gallery, the ICA, and Tate Britain.

“Beautifully shot… an emotionally engaging portrait of people without a voice”
– The International Film Guide

“Shelter in Place is a poignant and often enraging look at Port Arthur’s poorest residents, who see few benefits from the oil-based economy while suffering almost all of its consequences”
– Dob Clinchy, slackerwood.com

www.zednelson.com
Watch the film trailer