Patrick Wells

Excited to share my new project - MYOWN2HANDS.CO. We combine the greatest artisans with BAFTA and EMMY-winning filmmakers to produce the best craft courses on the web. Learning to do something with your hands is one of the best ways to stay sane. Please share!

@ollylambert @danreed1000 I was about to say that! I saw it at school

@danreed1000 (Dan if I had a third it would certainly be your film The Valley)

Doc filmakers, would love to know: what's the first film you watched that made you think 'I wanna do that'? Cos over 20 years on, I still think about Brian Hill's genius "Saturday Night", and the hidden gem "Just Enough Distance". They genuinely changed my life.

@ollylambert Lol

"I'll just leave this here" youtu.be/x1bX3F7uTrg

Excited to share my new project - MYOWN2HANDS.CO. We combine the greatest artisans with BAFTA and EMMY-winning filmmakers to produce the best craft courses on the web. Learning to do something with your hands is one of the best ways to stay sane. Please share!

@cjchivers Looks like a goat island skiff?

things that happen when winter slows down tom. #commercialfishingskills

@norahperkins 😁❤️😁❤️

Highly Commended in the @realstoriesdocs Best Current Affairs Documentary category is UNDERCOVER WITH THE CLERICS: IRAQ’S SECRET SEX TRADE @BBCNawal @pjbwells #GriersonAwards

Thrilled our film Iraq’s Secret Sex Trade is nominated for two @BBCNews Awards - Best Investigation and Best Original Journalism.. Well done to this awesome team, @MaisBayaa, @PJBWells, @garnsey_monica, @GARYBEELDERS & @christophersmtv.. and our incredible undercover reporter!

"Iraq’s Secret Sex Trade" won a second Emmy for Best Story in a Newsmagazine. Congratulations once again to @BBCNawal, @PJBWells & @BBCArabic! Watch the Emmy-winning doc: to.pbs.org/2RBmY1M

Delighted for @BBCNawal and @PJBWells on their @newsemmys win for "Iraq's Secret Sex Trade." Congratulations to our producing partners at @BBCArabic. Watch the doc here: to.pbs.org/2RBmY1M

@mdn61003151 @BBCNawal The filmmmake no negative generalisations about Shias, it just reports on what a small number of Shia clerics are doing. And features witness statements from victims that the practice is quite widespread.

@PJBWells @BBCNawal The report is insensitive and misleading. It holds strong anti-Shia bias - against a peaceful community who were widely persecuted due to such spread of misinformation. The entire Shia community of the UK are shocked and highly offended at such disrespect to the Holy mosques.

Our investigation filmed undercover in Baghdad and Karbala, some of Iraq's holiest shrines, exposes a secret world of sexual exploitation of children and young women by a religious elite... #IraqsSexTrade

@beitul9 @khalil_akeel @ShahTalks There are loads!!!

@PJBWells @khalil_akeel @ShahTalks I can't think of too many documentaries on child abuse, specifically in the West, other than Madeleine McCann 🤔 Of course All forms of abuse are important, especially where, G-old, O-il & D-rugs are concerned 🤔

#BoycottBBC “Iraq’s secret sex trade” was made on the basis of liars and actors.

@mdn61003151 @BBCNawal We clearly feature Ayatollah Al Sistani’s condemnation, which he issued after we approached him with our findings.

@PJBWells @BBCNawal Hi Patrick, thanks for your question. The Shia Muslim faith and the leading religious authority in Iraq, Grand Ayatollah Sistani have clearly condemned this and explained how it has no islamic basis but this report uses generalisations and broad terms that do not make this clear

@khalil_akeel @beitul9 @ShahTalks We contacted many clerics to try to get them to appear and review our evidence but they refused. Ayatollah Al Sistani’s office declined to be interviewed to all we could do was publish their statement

@PJBWells @beitul9 @ShahTalks No one is saying you shouldn’t show it. But it’s how you showed it is the problem. Do you honestly think that the majority of shia’s really do this kind off stuff. It’s absolutely disgusting what was happening. But why not show the genuine important clerics who are against it all

@hjafrii @aliyazaidi My pleasure and thanks for the feedback

@hjafrii @aliyazaidi Please get in touch later in the year and I will give you links to the unblocked versions

@hjafrii @aliyazaidi There will be a US version soon, and if you speak Arabic the Arabic language version is now on YouTube

@hjafrii @aliyazaidi The timing of the release of the film wasn’t intentional. We just so happened to finish it now, and with investigations it’s important to release them as soon as they are done.

@ShahTalks @beitul9 @khalil_akeel None of the clerics in the film are actors. And sadly this abuse is taking place near the holy shrines.

@PJBWells @beitul9 @khalil_akeel You’ve attributed our holy sites to utter filth and at a peak when all the shia from around the world will be gathering for the procession. You’ve disregarded safety for a “documentary” with actors. It’s like reporting child abuse story’s about a fake pope around xmas

@beitul9 @khalil_akeel @ShahTalks You think the fact that child abuse is happening elsewhere means we shouldn’t report on it in Iraq?

@PJBWells @khalil_akeel @ShahTalks In that case, it is important for the world to know about 'child marriage' (paedophilia) that takes place in America's Deep South, not forgetting human traffickng of millions of Eastern European females. I'll expect a documentary by Thanksgiving☝🏼