Exclusive Interview: Rob Hill Discusses Replan It Documentary Series

From documentary filmmaker Rob Hill and CNN Hero Jock Brandis, REPLAN IT is a ground-breaking new documentary series that follows a team of inventors to underprivileged, remote villages to install sustainable solutions and help improve lives across the globe!



Scene: an isolated village completely off the grid. No electricity, no phones and very little contact with the outside world. In the event of an emergency, something as simple as a cell phone would be more valuable than gold! But how could you keep it charged?

WELCOME TO REPLAN IT. It’s MacGuyver meets Mythbusters! A fun, entertaining program that shows how basic science (and ingenuity) can teach and empower people around the world!

This pioneering documentary series features a group of rogue, low-tech engineers called the Full Belly Project, crossing the globe developing simple, sustainable solutions that change lives. Led by CNN Hero and Purpose Prize-winner Jock Brandis (one of the world’s leading authorities in the field of sustainable technology), REPLAN IT and the Full Belly Project will inspire audiences as they improve the lives of people around the world.

In each episode, Jock and the team visits a community in desperate need of resources like clean water, sanitation, and health care. Once there, they determine that specific community’s needs and create innovative but simple solutions that will bear the most impact.

But getting there isn’t easy and Jock and the team can’t do it alone! That’s why an IndieGogo crowdfunding campaign has been set up. By donating to the REPLAN IT IndieGogo campaign, your dollar will help to bring much needed support and resources to those in need across the globe.

To find out more about this very topical and very important TV series we spoke to Mr. Hill.


BGG AFTER DARK: You’re best known as a filmmaker, is RePlan It your first TV project?

ROB HILL: I have a long history working in television. Early on in my career I directed nightly news and then worked as a commercial producer. I've been lucky to have work in many different positions in television and film. However, this is the first series that I'm producing and directing.

BGG AFTER DARK: How did you get involved?

ROB HILL: Replan It began as a feature documentary about Jock Brandis and his groundbreaking work in appropriate technology. Jock invented a manual operated peanut sheller in 2002 for people in developing countries where they spend an enormous amount of time shelling nuts by hand to deliver them to market. I knew Jock from his work in the film industry, in 2006 Jock walk so I asked him if I could do documentary about him and his work. He agreed, and I began following him around the world. After about two years of traveling with Jock, the project hit a wall. I didn’t know how to end the story, and one of the greatest challenges of making a documentary is when to stop filming. I wanted this project to be about global sustainability. That progressed into the idea for a documentary series and we began pitching cable channels, distributors, networks and production companies. We've now partnered with KCET/Link TV, the counties largest public television broadcaster.

BGG AFTER DARK: Rob, do you think people are contributing to the IndieGoGo campaign because they want to see this show or because they think it’s a good cause? What do you think is motivating the donations?

ROB HILL: I hope it's both. Our best case scenario is for people to not only see the value in the technology we are delivering to underserved communities and the impact that can be caused when open source information is share with a worldwide audience. Right now I think our donations are a mix of people that have a real interest in sustainable development and people that want to help our series be successful. It's hard for people to understand how our broadcast will impact underserved communities abroad and domestically, it's uncharted territory.

BGG AFTER DARK: How important is the internet as a marketing tool for something like this?

ROB HILL: The internet is a key marketing tool, all social media platforms are allowing us to reach a wide audience. Not just for marketing, the internet also gives us a method to stimulate dialog with a worldwide our audience. If our series is successful will be able to share other sustainable solutions online, and seek out new and existing issues that plague underserved communities.

BGG AFTER DARK: I can’t help but think there’s a good ‘movie’ in this RePlan it story, or even that of Jock’s, would you agree?

ROB HILL: Absolutely! Jock has an amazing story. From his childhood in Canada, to his civil service in the Nigerian Civil war and his extraordinary career in the film industry. Any one aspect of his life would make a great feature film.

Check out his novel “The Ships Cat”. It's the fictionalised account of his time serving in CUSCO (a version of the Canadian) during the Nigerian Civil War in 1969.

BGG AFTER DARK: Can you tell us what’s next for you?

ROB HILL: The only project that have been working on for the last several years has been RePlan It. If our crowd-funding is successful our series will broadcast on KCET and LinkTV in the fall. Maybe after that I'll start working on a feature film...

VISIT THE REPLAN IT INDIEGOGO CAMPAIGN HERE: https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/replan-it--2