‘I can’t remember what it’s like to not work with a best friend.’
Since they began repairing hot-air balloons together some 25 years ago, Chris Dunkley, who handles the burners, and John Yarrow, who handles the balloons and baskets, have built joyful, peaceful lives centred around their craft and lasting friendship. The charming short film Baskets and Burners finds the duo in their workshop in the Chiltern Hills in England discussing how having unusual jobs outside the rat race has allowed them to keep flexible schedules – no waking up early, no working on Mondays – and maintain a sustainable happiness.
Director: Diego Vivanco
Producer: Ian Clark
videoLove and friendship
What does it mean to say goodbye to a creature that doesn’t know you’re leaving?
13 minutes
videoDemography and migration
In California’s farmlands, immigrant workers share their stories of toil and hope
17 minutes
videoHome
Life moves slowly in a Romanian mountain village, shaped by care and the seasons
13 minutes
videoFamily life
A mother and child bond in an unusual prison visitation space in this poignant portrait
11 minutes
videoChildhood and adolescence
‘Do worms cry?’ – and other questions collected from the mind of a curious child
4 minutes
videoGender
A catchy tune explains the world’s ‘isms’ – according to your mum doing the laundry
5 minutes
videoHuman rights and justice
Surreal, dazzling visuals form an Iranian expat’s tribute to defiance back home
10 minutes
videoMeaning and the good life
Why Orwell urged his readers to celebrate the spring, cynics be damned
11 minutes
videoMeaning and the good life
Leading 1950s thinkers on the search for happiness in trying times
29 minutes