29. The Man who fell from the Sky with filmmaker Rich Bentley
06/20/21 • 55 min
In 2015, two young men called Carlito and Justin, hid inside the wheel well of a plane flying from Johannesburg in South Africa, to London. As the wheels of the plane were lowered for landing, Carlito fell from the sky, to his death on the roof of an office building in West London. Against all odds, his best friend Justin survived, and was found on the runway at Heathrow airport.
Today I speak to Rich Bentley, a filmmaker from London who spent five years looking for Justin and making a film about Justin and Carlito’s story called The Man who fell from The Sky. Rich’s film aims to show the human story behind making such a desperate and dangerous decision.
There have only been 128 people ever recorded to have attempted a journey like this... and only 24 of them have survived. This is not surprising because at every stage you are brought close to death. You can fall from the plane as it takes off, be crushed by the wheels as they retract back into the plane, or die from the temperate during the flight which reaches as low as -81 degrees. You will without a doubt at least lose consciousness in these conditions, which means you are then likely to fall from the plane as the wheels are lowered for landing.
In this episode Rich tells us about meeting a few miraculous survivors including Baswee - the first person to ever attempt doing this in 1946 when he was just 12 years old. He was fleeing Indonesia after the death of his parents. We also talk about when he met Osama, a 27-year-old palestinian from Gaza who hid beneath a plane from Kuala Lumpur to Singapore.
But for the most part we talk about Carlito and Justin, who attempted this feat just a few years ago. It feels close to home because they were heading for London, which is actually the most popular destination for wheel well stowaways, with 16 in the last 25 years.
Carlito was raised in an orphanage in Mozambique and Justin was from a township in Johannesburg, This is where the two of them met, became friends and lived in a tent together whilst trying to survive.
And that’s the common thread in all these stories right. Behind every headline about migrants trying to make it to the UK, lies an individual story of someone driven by the dream of a better life.
I hope you enjoy our conversation today. Not only do we cover this important story, but we also talk storytelling with social purpose, we talk bias, privilege and using Rich’s film as a journalistic tribute to all those in search of safety.
Watch Rich's film here: https://www.channel4.com/programmes/the-man-who-fell-from-the-sky
To support this podcast: https://www.patreon.com/theworldwidetribe
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
In 2015, two young men called Carlito and Justin, hid inside the wheel well of a plane flying from Johannesburg in South Africa, to London. As the wheels of the plane were lowered for landing, Carlito fell from the sky, to his death on the roof of an office building in West London. Against all odds, his best friend Justin survived, and was found on the runway at Heathrow airport.
Today I speak to Rich Bentley, a filmmaker from London who spent five years looking for Justin and making a film about Justin and Carlito’s story called The Man who fell from The Sky. Rich’s film aims to show the human story behind making such a desperate and dangerous decision.
There have only been 128 people ever recorded to have attempted a journey like this... and only 24 of them have survived. This is not surprising because at every stage you are brought close to death. You can fall from the plane as it takes off, be crushed by the wheels as they retract back into the plane, or die from the temperate during the flight which reaches as low as -81 degrees. You will without a doubt at least lose consciousness in these conditions, which means you are then likely to fall from the plane as the wheels are lowered for landing.
In this episode Rich tells us about meeting a few miraculous survivors including Baswee - the first person to ever attempt doing this in 1946 when he was just 12 years old. He was fleeing Indonesia after the death of his parents. We also talk about when he met Osama, a 27-year-old palestinian from Gaza who hid beneath a plane from Kuala Lumpur to Singapore.
But for the most part we talk about Carlito and Justin, who attempted this feat just a few years ago. It feels close to home because they were heading for London, which is actually the most popular destination for wheel well stowaways, with 16 in the last 25 years.
Carlito was raised in an orphanage in Mozambique and Justin was from a township in Johannesburg, This is where the two of them met, became friends and lived in a tent together whilst trying to survive.
And that’s the common thread in all these stories right. Behind every headline about migrants trying to make it to the UK, lies an individual story of someone driven by the dream of a better life.
I hope you enjoy our conversation today. Not only do we cover this important story, but we also talk storytelling with social purpose, we talk bias, privilege and using Rich’s film as a journalistic tribute to all those in search of safety.
Watch Rich's film here: https://www.channel4.com/programmes/the-man-who-fell-from-the-sky
To support this podcast: https://www.patreon.com/theworldwidetribe
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Previous Episode
28. SPECIAL EPISODE: Israel and Palestine - Everything you need to know with Yara Eid - a 20-year-old Palestinian from Gaza
I’m bringing you this special episode of The Worldwide Tribe in response to what has been happening in recent weeks in Israel and Palestine.
When I asked on social media what you wanted to hear about this topic , you said personal stories and also the history of the region so that’s what I’m bringing you.
My guest today is the amazing Yara Eid... a 20-year-old from Gaza. Yara left Gaza 5 years ago, after winning a scholarship to a boarding school in Wales. She now studies International relations at the University of Edinburgh and travels across the UK raising awareness about Palestine.
I first learnt about Yara after seeing a viral video of her on Instagram last week. It was a raw, heartbreaking moment of her crying after hearing the news that her neighbours house in Gaza had been bombed, and not knowing whether her own family had survived the attack. The video stuck with me through all the posts, noise and outrage about the most recent developments in the region, as it was such a personal account of the human impact of what is happening.
In this interview Yara brought me to tears about 8 times. The stories about her little brother, the death of her pet tortoise, what she witnessed at 14 years old, and the way she articulates her experience in her second language, just absolutely blew my mind.
I truly feel that Yara’s personal account, as a human being, regardless of politics, nationality or your beliefs, needs to be heard and I hope that recording this podcast is the beginning of a friendship between us because I think she’s amazing. I hope you enjoy our conversation.
To find out more, follow Yara at @eid_yara on Instagram.
To support this podcast: https://www.patreon.com/theworldwidetribe
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Next Episode
30. 'Leaving everything to volunteer in Greece changed my life forever,' with Holly Penalver, Founder of Indigo Volunteers
I LOVED recording this episode!
My guest this week is the most requested guest on this podcast ever - Holly Penalvar, founder of Indigo Volunteers.
Holly is an absolute ray of sunshine and known in this sector, not just for her amazing work coordinating thousands of volunteers, but for always doing so with a smile on her face so I think you guys probably knew that she would bring some joy and good vibes to the podcast.
Indigo volunteers is where I direct anyone wanting to volunteer within the refugee space. They directly connect volunteers with one of the 48 grassroots humanitarian projects and organisations that they partner with. They do so ethically, for free (unlike lots of other money making organisations that profit from placing volunteers), and they also carefully place people based on their skills and preferences.
On a personal level, Holly and I have always connected over our similar journeys working in this sector, from plunging head first into the grassroots response to the European refugee crisis back in 2016, and being on a steep learning curve ever since.
A recent headline about Holly in the metro read:
“I quit my job and ended my marriage to volunteer in greece with refugees. I helped thousands, met a new love and had a baby” - we talk about this journey that she’s been on today, from leaving everything behind in England, to 8 weeks ago, giving birth in Holland to baby Matteo with her Dutch partner Stijn who she met whilst volunteering in Thessaloniki.
To find out more about Indigo Volunteers:
https://www.indigovolunteers.org/
To support this podcast: https://www.patreon.com/theworldwidetribe
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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