#65 | Ollie Walker | Documentaries Between Continents

Camera operator and filmmaker Ollie Walker on life between Shanghai, Bali and LA, and documentaries that spotlight lesser-known corners of society. Ollie Walker is a multi-talented creative, working as a camera operator, photographer and editor basing himself between Shanghai, Bali and Los Angeles. Ollie is focusing on making independent documentaries that spotlight lesser-known niches in society, promoting cross-cultural learning and diversification of ideas. He is committed to using storytelling to bring our rapidly globalizing world closer by exposing what it means to be human. To learn more about Ollie: https://olliewalkerent.portfoliobox.net/videographer Chapters 0:00 Welcome Ollie Walker and an AI phone call 2:37 The scam industry in Southeast Asia 5:12 Leaving China weeks before Covid 7:46 Hard stories from the lockdowns 10:16 Freedom of speech and the right to protest 12:51 A neighbour emptying out his house 15:24 China first and its economic drawbacks 17:56 Growing up between cultures 20:27 Held for 12 hours at a factory 23:03 The chicken man 25:37 Once the safest city in the world 28:08 Getting an 800cc bike on the road 30:38 Life at an international school 33:10 Fentanyl and the free market 35:46 Douyin and controlling what people see 38:19 Trips to remote villages in Yunnan 40:53 Churches in China 43:25 Different ideas of privacy and safety 45:57 China in the 1960s to the 1990s 48:31 Russia's middle ground 51:02 Propaganda in every country 53:34 Espionage and extracting information 56:11 Davos, China and Africa 58:41 How the West tells its own story 1:01:13 The history of the slave trade 1:03:51 Cold War politics 1:06:24 Pig farms 1:09:00 Change through global pressure 1:11:34 Nationalism and political support 1:14:09 How he got into storytelling 1:16:46 China in 2014 versus 2024 1:19:21 Regional and cultural identity 1:21:51 The US and Canada defence pact 1:24:24 $2 beers and Anthony Bourdain 1:26:59 Producing and directing behind the camera 1:29:36 Not letting other people's opinions get to you 1:32:06 From India's chaos to China's open roads 1:34:42 Motorbike experiences 1:37:20 Independence in the age of social media 1:39:51 Owning your story 1:42:24 Defining where he wants his career to be 1:44:55 Heading north to the less touristy areas 1:47:27 Live for the story 1:49:57 Asking yourself what am I doing here The Ryan Pyle Podcast is ad-free by choice. If you enjoy these conversations, you can buy me a coffee: https://buymeacoffee.com/ryanpyle Ryan's TV series are streaming around the world. Follow the Podcast X: https://x.com/RyanPylePodcast Facebook: https://facebook.com/ryanpylepodcast Follow Ryan Pyle YouTube: https://youtube.com/@ryanjpyle Instagram: https://instagram.com/ryanpyle X: https://x.com/RyanPyle Facebook: https://facebook.com/ryanpyle https://www.ryanpyle.com