The scandal of good news stories not told, and a filmmaker’s quest for ‘humble heroes’ in Asia
- Frederique Bedos’ NGO, Le Projet Imagine – The Humble Heroes, has made more than 30 films about people who’ve made a difference around the world
- She hopes to find inspirational stories in Hong Kong and China to counter the global media’s narrative of despair, as she sees it
French journalist and filmmaker Frederique Bedos is sitting in the “bunker” at Hong Kong’s Foreign Correspondents’ Club. It’s day two of her three-day visit to the city to raise awareness about her NGO, Le Projet Imagine – The Humble Heroes, and to identify unsung heroes in the region.
The television screen above us is playing coverage of the Christchurch attacks in a frenzied loop. Glancing up at mass murderer Brenton Tarrant, she sighs. The blanket coverage is making the man who live-streamed his savage attacks on two mosques into something of a star, and the twisted ideology that fuelled the shootings is now being widely circulated.
“I’m not trying to point an accusing finger at the media. It’s a tool, so we just ask ourselves how we can use this tool in the most beneficial way,” Bedos says.
The 48-year-old – she celebrated her birthday in Hong Kong – quit her glamorous television and radio career in 2008 and founded Le Projet Imagine. It stands apart from the other 10 million NGOs in the world because it is the sole NGO of information.
“We are the only NGO to make the real link between the media and the consequences on the ground,” she says. Bedos is among that special breed of people who radiate positive energy. Spend an afternoon with her and you’ll leave with a bounce in your step. Her big made-for-TV smile isn’t just turned on for the cameras – it’s there for everyone she meets and does not waver, even in the face of adversity.
