Carlos Underwood
(He/Him)
Covers:
Organised crime; environmental crimes; migration; human rights; politics; money laundering; trafficking; conflict zones.
Doesn't Cover:
Open to different topics and coverage, but definitely no propaganda or advertising.
Investigative Journalist I Self-Shooting AP I BBC NI
@samarucprods @docuerosion
carlosunderwood.com/
nooneisillegalfilm.com/
Interview
What was your first job as a journalist?
Professionally as an editor at a newspaper in Michoacán, Mexico, in 2006, during very violent and complicated times.
Have you ever used a typewriter?
Yes.
How is social media changing news?
The way information is reported and reaches people has already changed. I think that, in a way, this affects large‑scale research projects. But we have to find a way to make that change positive.
Who's your favorite fictional journalist?
Rodolfo Walsh
What does it mean to be a journalist?
To me, being a journalist means a commitmentt to society, to truth, a way of seeing the world, of living, and a vocation. It is not a job, it is a privilege, a way of looking beyond what is shown to us. Moreover, for me, it is my passion.
What tools and software do you use to do your job?
Cameras, audio, lighting, computers, monitors, Adobe Premier, and many more tools.
Why did you become a journalist?
I have always been curious about what lies behind stories, behind what we see and what we are told is the truth. Questioning everything and searching for answers has always been an obsession of mine. That, combined with filming, documentaries, and current affairs programmes, has become my passion.
What story are you most proud of writing or working on?
The four-part miniseries commissioned by the BBC: Kinahan: The True Story Of Ireland’s Mafia. In this journalistic project, I worked as Shooting Assistant Producer and collaborated with the extraordinary journalists Tim Robinson and Stephen Dempster.
What's the best pitch you ever got?
About a documentary I directed in 2024: No one is illegal, every day is tomorrow.
It examines how the war in Ukraine has exposed the harsh double standards of European immigration policies, which are applied differently to women, children and men depending on their nationality, particularly to non-European migrants seeking international protection due to threats to their lives.
We portray how thousands of people die at sea, lacking safe routes, or face deadly border controls, such as in Melilla, where many have been killed by Moroccan and Spanish authorities.
When you're not at a computer, where are you most likely to be?
Recording somewhere, doing fieldwork.
What's the most common misperception about your beat?
Some people think that we’re always filming and travelling, and that it’s an exciting job all the time. But most of this work involves researching, managing sources, and building trust with many people. It’s a job that requires preparation, reading, studying, following hypotheses, talking to many people, and checking data. The last part is going out to film and do the exciting things. That said, the whole process is exciting for me!
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