AssetID: 54611414
Headline: 'I Was Born With Down Syndrome And Doctors Feared I Might Never Speak. Now I’m A Filmmaker Working With My Wildlife TV Hero.'
Caption: **MARCH 21 IS GLOBAL DOWN SYNDROME AWARENESS DAY** WORDS BYLINE: Seamus Duff March 21 is Global Down Syndrome Awareness Day When Oliver Hellowell was born and diagnosed with Down Syndrome, doctors discovered he had three cardiac defects which critically endangered his life. At three months old, he was admitted for emergency heart surgery. His mother, Wendy, never left the hospital building for the whole ten days Oliver was there, terrified she could lose her newborn son. Even after the successful procedure, various professionals diagnosed Oliver with further conditions and warned that he was unlikely to ever be able to play sports, or even speak. Now nearly 29 years later, the accomplished photographer is proving the experts wrong. Not only has he defied the odds, but he’s now sharing his unique vision of the world with his film directing debut in a nature documentary, titled Ollie’s Secret Life of Bryan Adams, Birds, Bacon Butties, Cake… and Bond. “I wanted a big camera like my dad’s when I was little,' says the 28-year-old who lives on the border of Somerset and Devon. “We don’t take the same pictures—he says I have my own style.” A self-confessed bird lover, Oliver grew up watching documentaries by Sir David Attenborough, Steve Backshall, Iolo Williams, and the Michaela Strachan-fronted children’s series The Really Wild Show. With these nature-loving presenters to look up to, Oliver found himself capturing striking nature images of his own – creating captivating photographs of swans nestling their beaks among the feathers of their wings, hawks preparing to take flight, and mallards gently bobbing in the surface of a pond. His photography drew the attention of a TV producer who then encouraged him to spread his wings and reach for the skies – by trying his hand at directing. “Simon Weitzman is my producer,” he says. “He has made little films about me before for The One Show and a couple of other things. I like Simon. We were talking and he said he thought I could do my own film and I could be a director, so that’s how that started.” Together, along with the help of mum Wendy, Oliver began planning his charming documentary which sees him interviewing those close to him, including his dad, Mike O’Carroll, and teaming up with BBC Springwatch presenter Iolo Williams – who sets out to help Oliver track down one of his favourite birds: the endangered black grouse. “My Mum organised for me to be on Autumnwatch Unsprung when they were in Gloucestershire in 2011,” Oliver recalls, explaining the origins of his friendship with Iolo. “I went to see Chris Packham and Michaela Strachan – and that’s where I met Iolo and I really liked him straight away and we both love birds. My mum managed to keep in contact with him and he even wrote the foreword for my bird book Oliver’s Birds.” With Iolo on board, Oliver set out to achieve his biggest ambition: to create a documentary film with his TV star friend. Shot across 2023 and 2024, the half-hour film allowed Oliver to draw on his background as a photographer as he meticulously prepared the series of shots that would be filmed, considering how they would look, where his human subjects would stand, and how best to capture the rare birds he set out to find. The process came with some challenges as Oliver wanted to be as prepared as possible before the cameras started rolling. “Remembering what I wanted to say was difficult and learning how to say it properly,” he recalls. “I know what I want to say but sometimes I can’t remember it. Directing was difficult to manage but I wanted to do it.” Wendy and Mike were with Oliver every step of the way and proved to be a key aid for ensuring all the shots were captured just as Oliver envisioned. “Oliver and I would sit down together and for each day of filming, I would write down everything he said he wanted to do, scenes he wanted to film, and particular things he wanted to say,” Wendy reveals. “Then on each day of filming, we had a list he could refer to, and discuss with Simon.” The project saw Oliver travel up and down the UK – with scenes filmed at the Loch Lomond Bird of Prey Centre in Scotland, in woods and waterways near his home in Somerset and Devonshire, and over in Wales with Iolo where the pair woke before dawn to track down the elusive black grouse. Armed with his camera and Simon and Mike filming, Oliver was able to capture all the highlights of his journey as well as his feathered subjects. “Spending time with Iolo was my best bit, and it was exciting being in Wales, hoping the black grouse would be there,” the documentarian explains and recalling how they travelled excitedly across the Berwyn Mountains, hoping to see the black grouse displaying themselves to attract a mate. “And I really liked learning about looking after the birds with Kevin [Robertson, head falconer] at the Loch Lomond Bird of Prey Centre. I wanted to do that and I wanted it to be in my film,” he adds. March 21 marks Global Down Syndrome Awareness Day, and Oliver has explained that he has never been held back by his condition. During the course of his film, he turns the camera on himself and is asked if he is ever bothered by Down’s Syndrome, to which he replies, “Never. I am who I am. I’m happy. I’ve got an amazing life ahead of me.” When it came to the editing process, Oliver worked with filmmaker Chris Kenward – whose brother David is also a nature photographer with Down Syndrome. "Chris was the perfect choice to be Ollie's editor for this film," producer Simon Weitzman explains. "We needed someone who understood the beauty of Oliver's world, the nature of his character and his sense of humour. Chris’s work has played a huge part in why this film looks and feels the way it does.” Speaking ahead of the release of his documentary, which he hopes to enter into film festivals later this year, Oliver shared his hope to find other kinds of wildlife that he can capture on film. “My dream is to see Orca or wolves,” he says – with Wendy sharing that they are considering tentative plans for a trip to track down killer whales. Oliver also shared his top advice to those who have always harboured dreams of their own – as well as some top tips for any aspiring photographers. “For your dream – Just go for it. Just get out there, and do it,” he said. “If you want to take pictures, then make sure you hold your camera properly and make sure to get your images correctly and get your distance right and zoom in and get closer images. Get down low that’s very important. Crouch down and take your picture.”
Keywords: feature,photo feature,photo story,Oliver Hellowell,Down Syndrome
PersonInImage: Oliver Hellowell