Jane Stockdale

0:12Hey guys does it work yeah cool that's Chevy I feel better holding this is okay yeah cool so I'm going to talk to you yesterday about the gospel olympic-themed it's a project that I really love and I've been working on it for like let's say four years right now. And I'm just going to basically introduce to you the cost for olympic team and why I'm really excited for them this year is going to be what sorry Bagheera costs books the first time in history that they're allowed to compete at the Olympic Games and if I'm nervous. That's like nothing based on I mean imagine competing at the Olympics and how nervous you'd be before you you're right to peak and I'm really inspired by the the cost for olympic team and like I'm sorry I'm a photographer. And I work a lot on different photography projects I do a lot of like documentary projects that are like behind the scenes where I'm not so interested in like the big heroic moments you see somebody winning a gold medal whatever I'm always interested in all the hard graft that goes on behind the scenes and all the athletes are working really hard I've done quite a lot of documentary projects or of documented different athletes and I did a shoot a while ago with a team gb's printer and he just really impressed me with his philosophy and his attitude and I was just as really inspired meeting him.

1:37And I did a project two years ago now at the world cup where. I wasn't so interested in the football or in the matches or in who won I was really interested in all the crowds so I did I did this project called watch the world cup where I documented different people all around Brazil in hospital waiting rooms on a farm in an old folks home or coming together to watch the world cup. And I guess what really inspires me about about the world cup and about these sporting events that quite simply it just brings people together. And it's just a really special and root for everybody so this is other the moments have never hugged so many crime people my whole life as the world cup final on Copacabana beach all the Argentineans were born and raised AI was reset and and so I should just start off by saying that.

2:26This is a team project my friends at the back they're all recognized this bridge because my fridge and this in the center there.

2:31This is this is my pool at my fridge scotland's of Polaroids on it. And this is the cost for olympic team so gaff he's currently in portland sees rdp Ian and Joe they're on the fridge to drop in Edinburgh and bhasin Hasani he's the head of the cost for Olympic Committee but and this is this is part of the crew working on the project there's a lot of other people involved on this.

2:53So that's us filming in Kosovo so to give you a bit of background to gospel in case you don't know about the country it's a really small country there. There is geographically it's 16 of the size of Scotland so it's tiny and it's about the same size as Jamaica and it's got population of 2 million people and also seventy-five percent of the population are under 35 years old so it's really on country it's a real small country and it's a really new country because after the war with them with Serbia in 1998-99 they had 10 years of un occupation.

3:32And then they finally declared independence in 2008 so they're really small really young bring you and and they're really well the real excited spew of competing the Olympics finally and I got involved in this project kind of accident because I was in cost Varner on a school trip and I was at a barbecue and I happened to meet a guy called the scene and we ended up having it equipped like a chat basically and at the time everybody was like really excited about London Olympics which was amazing and danny boyle absolutely smashed it I I don't know who watch the opening ceremony like everybody it was amazing wasn't it it was my boy I was so I'm so impressed and there but yes so I sports a perceiver by and he was a bit Bob a bit sad really because costs for work lads can pee and their top athletes had to walk compete for Albania and he just basically told me about it standing by a fire and I was really impressed by him.

4:32And I was really impressed by I was really inspired by him too because he just spoke about it with such passion and he told me about how he was trying to make it possible for the athletes to be able to compete a real and sort of as a joke but I wasn't jerking but I just said to him after I finished four beers like to see you if of course forget chance occur period love to come back and make a documentary we shook on it.

4:57And then well he thought I was joking but I wasn't and so basically followed Kosovo and a surface was really following them in the knees and seeing when they would get when they would finally be allowed to compete as an Olympic nation.

5:12And so this is per seems office in pretty in a pristine in Kosovo and so basically in September 2014 they got the nod that cost was on the Olympic agenda and then it was official in December 2014 so then the next year being some friends were on a road trip around gospel because we were just really curious to go and meet the athletes who were representing costco and find out who they are and what it's going to feel like for them to be able to compete for their country it's like a huge moment for them.

5:43So I'm going to introduce you to a few of the assets and first of all say a role for the scene he became president of the cost for Olympic Committee in 1996 so this has really been his life's work trying to get costs for the chance to compete and the amount of bureaucracy involves crazy so take a pee as an Olympic nation need to fulfill three criteria and number one is you need to be a independent country number two you need to be recognized by a majority of the international community and number three you need to have five sports recognized international level so you set up the course of ping pong Federation costs for weightlifting Federation for gymnastics federation. And this is just a little slice of the bureaucracy involved in that process which is which is huge so this project happen really organically and every time we've got two met and actually I'm just always really inspired impressed by them.

6:40And this is one of the things that the perfume told me you know they tried to take it all the way for us to return basements the gems bedrooms into classrooms and fuels and two pitches and before before the war with Serbia they weren't really allowed to have like sporting competitions so it's a really big deal for them now to be able to compete the Olympic Games so I'm going to introduce you to the team and just most important of all. And this guy here is hazard and he is absolutely lovely guy and his year is Kosovo's top Archer and he well I really hope he makes it too real we're not quite sure yet who will make it through to compete in Rio yet because they need to reach the Olympic norm but yeah I've really got my fingers crossed for him so he doesn't really have anywhere to train so he can he's training basically right now here on which is like a football pitch and so the first thing I watch them train was amazing because we had to wait until the football players from the local football club had finished their match and then we listened to the prayer call from the local mosque and then he brought out his big archery practice target and had to go and he's just a really inspiring guide and this is his really impressive fancy bow but the first bowie ever shot with this one this mum button and he competed the world championships with this book and he did quite well.

8:01So I really hope he makes it too real and his father sadly died in the war and fighting for the cost for liberation army so it's a really really big deal for him.

8:13And it would mean a lot to him to be able to compete in the games so fingers crossed for his ear this is Armand he's a boxer he's absolutely love the guy as well. And I think what's really struck me about meeting the team is just that they're all so humble and hardworking and I just find the brains brain so this is a zero so this is our men's the boxer this is his coach it's also been really interesting to me all of their coaches to and find out stories of the coaches now Kosovo was a tiny country like I said it's only got two million people.

8:45But they've got the world number one judo champion mylinda cow mandi who is amazing she's so impressive and it was really interesting ticks when we first went to cross her we didn't even get to meet milan deck shoes away completely I think in china but we met all of her mates and we were just really impressed meeting your mates because they were all really inspired by her and they really there's a lot of love from my Linda in Cosmo she's basically like David Beckham of possible and she's a national hero she's amazing and what's really cool about that is that they train in total silence it's really mesmerizing to watch so this is there a gym in their pea with a train which is incredible and sometimes you feel a bit like you're in the Swiss Alps because it's a really beautiful location and yeah they're they're incredible and my Linda's colleague she won a bronze at Baku and it was the first time that Kosovo had like won a medal and in a in a giant thought tournament so it's really really exciting for the country and di hope Melinda does very well let's see but yeah hope she does very well I think she will and then.

9:57This is a Kendra he's like the cyclists he's also super love it everybody in Kosovo is so lovely and friendly so I should just add that and kissing guess but and and basically but when I first met kendra and he was sweating because he just been cycling for a hundred and twenty k and he does that every single day which is amazing and he just cycles through his local time it's really cool to watch him cycle because everybody like waves at him everybody knows him he wanna he want a prize of like the bath athlete athlete in the village so like all but local kids chase him like the girls waving it's really he's a lovely guy and this is the Sun this is the coach's son as well he trains with him and he actually hadn't accidentally broke his pelvis he was out for about four months but he's back on his bike now cycling again so but yeah we hope he'll make it suitable and then.

10:46This is cosper his rightful champion she's absolutely lovely as well and the thing. That's great about her is that she's also a primary school teacher so as well as being rightful champion she teaches the primary ones but she's so sweet and then and also her and her cousin her cousins Kosovo's champion of shooting pistol with one arm with one hand so it's amazing watching them compete tea and their coach used to be Yugoslavia and rifle champion I think you've won four times in a row he's really cool guys well. And then.

11:18This is Rita and and wasn't sure if auspicious notebook sorry REITs are very kind of gave me your t-shirt which is really sweet I just started sure it's either I was really tough that she gave this to me yeah I got thumbs up from loads of people walking around petrol stations in Kosovo I was really chuffed and terrible swimmer but and but Rita is amazing as well because when she first she's been out for about four years.

11:50And so it should she be doing every rep for about nine years and when she first started swimming there wasn't really any good swing pools in Kosovo so she would have to get the bus every day it's a macedonia and so she would spend four hours per day on the bus just the train and in the end like her and all her teammates I mean if you it's it's crazy in the end her dad actually quit his job and built a swimming pool in the basement so that they could all trained together. And now there's a lot of athletes a lot of swimmers your trading there every single day and I mean I just think she's real inspiring and then let the whole team are inspiring I can't show you the whole team because we'd have enough time.

12:30But I am really really happy for them hoping to make it.

12:32And then the last tip the last guys going to show you is this is the athletics coach Denny he's a lovely guy he also doesn't really have anywhere for his athletes to train so he built them a training facility in the mountains and this is the pull-up bar that he he's fitness this guy's butt and actually gab rdp he was able to do a few but I'm not strong enough unfortunately but I'm but yes so the athletes will train there in the mountains and every day they do like you know different track starts and stuffing and he also built like a summer camp as well where they can train and there it's just like a heart in the mountains with a bloody train it's been like a month there and here's some shots of them and yes this.

13:19This is the cost for Olympic team and right.

13:22Now well so just give another bit of background to it.

13:25So basically I did a an exhibition about this project last year as part of the independent photography festival and and we did that at Peckham springs and that was just a really really good laugh and I neighbors to introduce the team and then also Freytag Anderson.

13:41So I should go back they designed the logo for us to support the team and and the more we work on this project and the more we meet the athletes the more were kind of inspired by them and the more we want to help them.

13:55So the best way really to tell their story is through making a film.

13:58So this is what we're working on right now.

14:01And we've been I've been out there with them at my pal said who I showed you the start at Jordan Ian's aware we're basically shooting a film about the cost of Olympic team right now. And it's called google kosovo and so yeah I hope they all well I can't share it with you just yet but I'll share with you when it's ready but we're going to get we're going to do several trips back to kosovo to go and and record the team at this big time in history for them and one thing I just say I guess the finishes that the seam told me you know these athletes when they can period they're going to compete with a in their mind and they're going to make history.

14:42So I hope when they step on some big stadium your children as much as I wrong and there's journey started in on that side and this is cause for independence be the car whistling laps around the car park so we jumped on for a laugh so yeah cheers thank you you