04 / About

David Alexander

Geneva, CH
David Alexander — on location
On location / Ouallam, Niger

Everything
is interesting.

My work sits at the intersection of journalism, documentary filmmaking, and strategic communications — shaped by over fifteen years working in complex international environments, usually with a camera close by. I create emotive, visually driven narratives that make complicated issues feel immediate, relatable, and real.

Location From Los Angeles, now live in Geneva where I live and work
Current Video Production Officer, UNHCR — since 2021
Education M.S., Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism, 2011
Teaching Guest lecturer, Sciences Po Paris — Impact & Documentary Production
01Index A.David Alexander 2010 — present

Creative Producer | International Media & Communications

02 / Case Studies

Featured Work

03 entries
The Fire Brigade — Mauritania
f.1 — 01 Creative Director & Filmmaker · The New Yorker · 2024

The Fire Brigade

By taking complex field data and stripping it down to its rawest human hook, we designed a high-impact narrative asset that achieved premier distribution while keeping the institutional brand authoritative and visually consistent.
Nansen Refugee Award
f.1 — 02 Experiential Director & Creative Producer · UNHCR · Geneva · 2025

Nansen Refugee Award Ceremony

An immersive, multi-screen environmental narrative designed for world leaders, monarchs, and high-stakes funders. By precisely pacing the cinematic timeline with physical stage transitions, lighting cues, and live speeches, we transformed a formal ceremony into a unified, high-impact physical and emotional experience.
Elton John AIDS Foundation
f.1 — 03 Creative Producer & Director · EJAF · 2015 – 2019

Elton John AIDS Foundation

A multi-country body of work humanising the fight against HIV — balancing cinematic ambition with strict brand trust parameters to deliver emotionally resonant, distribution-ready advocacy assets across South Africa, Lesotho, and beyond.
02b / Methods & Innovations

Process & Technology

03 features
Interactive Design
Designing Spatial Empathy

The Starkey VR Activation

A custom-built physical classroom installation integrated with 360° VR cinematic narratives. Designed to transport corporate stakeholders from a Las Vegas convention floor directly into a Kenyan classroom — proving how hardware-software integration and spatial cinema can bridge geographic divides to drive physical presence and empathy.

Technology Design
Frontiers of Synthetic Media

Global Displacement & Rapid Prototyping

Orchestrating the first public-facing integration of generative AI voiceover pipelines (ElevenLabs) within a global institution. A case study for scalable, rapid-prototyping audio workflow — proving how to safely deploy advanced synthetic tools to lock down film pacing and rhythm while strictly maintaining editorial integrity.

Conceptual Method
Material-Driven Conceptualization

The "Timeline-First" Scripting Process

By rejecting paper transcripts and scripting directly within the editing timeline, I treat raw footage as literal design material. This methodology allows camera texture, ambient micro-moments, and natural vocal cadences to dictate the final concept — ensuring the output always delivers unmanufactured emotion.

02c / Capabilities & Toolkit

What I Build With

Creative Direction
  • Brand Preservation
  • Multi-Screen Environmental Layouts
  • Scripting & Storyboarding
  • Narrative Architecture
Spatial & Interactive
  • 360° / VR Spatial Cinema
  • Live-Event Pacing & Integration
  • Live-Activation Narrative Design
  • Hardware-Software Installation
Emerging Tech Pipeline
  • Generative AI Prototyping — Midjourney, Runway, ElevenLabs
  • Responsive Web Prototyping — HTML / Claude
  • Motion Graphics — Gemini / Firefly
  • Synthetic Media Workflow Design
03 / Selected Works Index

Filmography

18 entries
f.3 — A UNHCR · United Nations
Wenyen Gabriel The Story of Wenyen Gabriel NBA player Wenyen Gabriel on his journey from refugee camp to professional basketball. UNHCR → Sudan One Year of War Sudan: One Year of War Op-doc with UN High Commissioner Filippo Grandi on the Sudan crisis. TIME Op-Doc → Global Displacement Data Global Displacement Data: These Are Not Just Numbers UNHCR's first public-facing integration of AI voiceover — produced using ElevenLabs for the Global Trends data report. UNHCR → Cash Assistance How Financial Assistance Works for Refugees in an Emergency Explaining UNHCR's emergency cash assistance programmes to global audiences. UNHCR → UNHCR Global Trends UNHCR Global Trends Report 110 million people forcibly displaced — visualising the scale of the global refugee crisis. UNHCR → Meheba Meheba: From Refuge to Resilience A refugee settlement becomes a hub of self-reliance. Zambia. UNHCR → Tales of Hope in Portugal Tales of Hope in Portugal Stories of refugee resilience and integration in Portugal. UNHCR → The Archives Memories of Displacement A journey through the UNHCR archives. UNHCR →
f.3 — B Foundations, Philanthropy & Editorial
2019 Elton John Meets LGBTQI Youth in South Africa Part of a larger body of work produced for the Elton John AIDS Foundation in South Africa. EJAF → 2019 A Mother's Moment: Ending HIV Transmission Documenting the fight to eliminate mother-to-child HIV transmission in Lesotho. EJAF → Charlize Theron Africa Outreach Starkey + Charlize Theron Africa Outreach Initiative Field film documenting hearing missions across Africa. CTAOI → Virgin Unite Starkey Virgin Unite + Starkey Hearing Foundation Documenting the partnership between Virgin Unite and Starkey Hearing Foundation. Virgin Unite → Dalai Lama Starkey Hearing Foundation Visits the Dalai Lama On the ground in Dharamsala as Starkey brings hearing aids to Tibetan refugees — and meets the Dalai Lama. Starkey → 2016 The Refugee Rapper A Syrian refugee finds his voice through hip-hop in Athens, Greece. The Atlantic → Digital Jobs Africa Digital Jobs Africa How digital employment is transforming livelihoods across the continent. Rockefeller → 2013 Chhouk: The Elephant with a Prosthetic Foot A young elephant's survival story in Cambodia's Cardamom Mountains. Wildlife Alliance →
f.3 — C Personal & Video Blogs
Where the Rhône Meets the Arve Where the Rhône Meets the Arve A strange natural phenomenon at the confluence of two Geneva rivers. Original music by David Alexander. Personal → 2021 Regular Guy Does Massive Cycle Riding a single speed around Lake Geneva. Original music by David Alexander. Personal → London Lockdown Day 1 London Lockdown Day 1 A video diary from the first day of lockdown in London. Original music by David Alexander. Personal → 2019 Aerial Athens Athens from above. Personal → Day in the Life of a Geezer London Tube 360 Day in the Life of a Geezer (London Tube 360) Experimenting with 360 camera technology on the London Underground. Personal → DIY Selfie Stick DIY Selfie "Stick" Building a DIY camera rig and taking it around London. Personal →
Published in
The New Yorker TIME Wall Street Journal The Atlantic ABC News The Economist ESPN Travel Channel Times of Israel Current TV Mashable
05 / Contact

Get in touch

Email daveisyourfriend@gmail.com
Phone +1 310-666-7885
Location Geneva, Switzerland