Tom Cordell - filmmaker, writer, and occasional maker of things.
Over the years I’ve made music videos, commercials, documentaries, and written and occasionally lectured on cities, architecture, and planning.
I’ve done work for BBC, Virgin Music, Universal Music, Five, World Health Organisation, Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations, United Nations Economic Commission for Africa, the National Trust, Tribune, Byline Times, the Architectural Review, and more corporate clients than I can list.
A lot of what I’ve been up to recently can be read here: www.docomomo.org.uk including some my current work exploring planning, transport, and the built environment through a series of guidebooks and walks - ideas I will soon expand into something filmic. This website is a snapshot of a few projects I’ve done on themes that interest me at the moment, rather than a collection of all the work I’ve ever done.
telegram contact: @punchcardpictures
Utopia London
Punchcard Pictures 83 mins
Film by Tom Cordell, Co-producer Niamh Walsh
Feature documentary about London’s post WW2 reconstruction. For more information see the film’s website www.utopialondon.com
Mutualism, massive and the city to come: Jungle pirate radio in 1990s London
Soundings Journal
Article written by Tom Cordell and Malcolm James
1990s London was in a grim state - in the depths of recession, with the fabric of the city filthy and decaying . But radio waves were appearing that carried fragments of the future: weekend broadcasts of a new kind of music - Jungle - were being illegally beamed across the city from the rooftops of tower blocks, appropriating them as the locus of an alternative cultural infrastructure.
We could all blossom
Basic income UK
Film by Tom Cordell, Produced by Barb Jacobson
What could an unconditional basic income do for you? Imagine being able to walk away from a crappy job and survive without working until you found what you wanted out of life. For a start, employers would have to make work a lot more appealing if they wanted anyone to work for them.
All for Equity
World Health Organisation
Film by Tom Cordell
A 15 minute film for the World Health Organization about creating a world where we all live longer, healthier lives.
Retrospective: Peter Barber
Architectural Review
Article by Tom Cordell
The story of architect Peter Barber’s career to date, placed within the broader history of British council housing since the early 20th century.
Londoners need to worry about what the Mayor’s planners are up to
Byline Times
Article by Tom Cordell
What the London Plan means for the Capital’s citizens.
Councils selling off housing to fund public services
Byline Times
Article by Tom Cordell
London councils have been selling off their housing land to keep cash flowing for public services. But this means they intensify the affordability crisis in housing. When will it ever end?
Can Barcelona provide the answers to Britain’s housing crisis?
Byline Times
Article by Tom Cordell
How in Catalonia local campaigners have taken over city government to radically improve peoples’ living conditions.
Why do land values matter?
Byline Times
Article by Tom Cordell
A look at how land values shape housing provision in the UK.
The housing crisis is a political creation
Byline Times
Article by Tom Cordell
The first in a series of short pieces for Byline Times about housing in Britain.
Macintosh Court
Punchcard
Film by Tom Cordell
Short film made to campaign to stop Lambeth Council’s illegal and shoddy work to Macintosh Court, a listed 1970s housing scheme for older people, designed by Kate Macintosh. Three years on, Lambeth have finally agreed to replace the building’s leaking roofs. Pity the vulnerable residents who had to endure the wait. And will Lambeth honour their promise? Past performance suggests not.
I’d love to shoot an ending for this film that gave it a happy ending.
Digital Launderette
Nominet
Directed by Tom Cordell, Produced by Christina Burnett
Producer Christina Burnett had worked in the Digital Launderette training a range of local people to use the internet, to life changing effect. A tiny film that was a joy to make.