Projects in categories: Fiction

Synopsis

A box made of whale bone, entangled in a fisherman’s net was washed up on a remote beach in the Outer Hebrides. Once touched the box can change lives.
The box was given to Iain Sinclair almost thirty years ago by Steve Dilworth, a sculptor based on the Island of Harris. It was always intended to be an active thing, kill or cure. An animal battery. And part of the power of the crafted box comes from its lack of signature. At best this object has the anonymity and moral authority of tribal art, of a fetish, a relic or an accidental survivor. It is dangerous. What is inside might produce good magic or it might produce bad magic but like the box that contained Schrödinger’s Cat it must never to be opened.
In 2018 the box was taken on an 800 mile reverse pilgrimage from London back to the Isle of Harris, in the company of the filmmaker Andrew Kötting, the photographer Anonymous Bosch and the writer Iain Sinclair. There was unwellness on the island and they hoped that the box might help, however little did they know the delirium that they would unleash.
And all the while Eden Kötting narrates the story, working as both muse and soothsayer. She tries to make sense of the journey as it unfolds, sometimes awake and sometimes in deep sleep. Ultimately the whalebone box is finally buried in the sand on the very beach from which it came all those ever-so-many years ago BUT something happens at the very end of the film after the credits have finished rolling, something extraordinary and miraculous….
Official Selection FID Marseilles 2019 - World premiere

Synopsis

Taking place over one night in Tokyo, Leo, a down-on-his-luck young boxer meets his 'first love', Monica, a call girl and an addict but who is still an innocent. Monica unwittingly gets caught up in a drug-smuggling scheme, and the two are pursued through the night by a corrupt cop, a yakuza, Leo’s nemesis and a female assassin sent by the Chinese Triads.
Official Selection Cannes Film Festival 2019 - Directors' Fortnight - World premiere
Official Selection Toronto International Film Festival 2019 - Midnight Madness
Official Selection BFI London Film Festival 2019 - Special Presentation
Official Selection International Film Festival Rotterdam 2020

Synopsis

The story of Elton John's life, from his years as a prodigy at the Royal Academy of Music through his influential and enduring musical partnership with Bernie Taupin.
Much like the man himself, 'Rocketman' is a larger-than-life movie musical spectacle that tells the story of Elton John - a child prodigy turned music legend.
Official Selection Cannes Film Festival 2019 - Out of Competition - World premiere

Synopsis

Olla has answered to an ad on a dating website for eastern women. She moves in with Pierre, who lives with his old mother. But nothing goes as expected.
Official Selection Cannes Film Festival 2019 - Directors Fortnight - World premiere
Official Selection BFI London Film Festival 2019 - Dare Strand
Official Selection Sundance Film Festival 2020 - Shorts Programme - Nominated, Short Film Grand Jury Prize

Synopsis

A tapestry of stories set in L.A. in the summer of 1969, at the height of hippy Hollywood.
Rick Dalton, former star of a Western TV series, and his longtime stunt double Cliff Booth are both struggling to make it in a Hollywood they don’t recognize anymore. But Rick has a very famous next-door neighbour, Sharon Tate.
Official Selection Cannes Film Festival 2019 - Competition - World premiere

Synopsis

Living in war-torn Eastern Ukraine Anna is an ageing single mother who is desperate for a change. Lured by a radio advertisement, she goes to a party with a group of American men who are touring the country, searching for love.
Official Selection Cannes Film Festival 2019 - Short Film Competition - World premiere

Synopsis

Alice, a single mother, is a dedicated senior plant breeder at a corporation engaged in developing new species. She has engineered a very special crimson flower, remarkable not only for its beauty but also for its therapeutic value: if kept at the ideal temperature, fed properly and spoken to regularly, this plant makes its owner happy. Against company policy, Alice takes one home as a gift for her teenage son, Joe. They christen it ‘Little Joe’ but as it grows, so too does Alice’s suspicion that her new creations may not be as harmless as their nickname suggests.
Official Selection Cannes Film Festival 2019 - Competition - World premiere
Official Selection BFI London Film Festival 2019 - Dare Strand

Synopsis

Ricky, Abby and their two children live in Newcastle. They are a strong family who care for each other. Ricky has skipped from one labouring job to another while Abby, who loves her work, cares for old people. Despite working longer and harder they realise they will never have independence or their own home. It's now or never; the app revolution offers Ricky a golden opportunity. He and Abby make a bet. She sells her car so Ricky can buy a shiny new van and become a freelance driver, with his own business at last. The modern world impinges on these four souls in the privacy of their kitchen; the future beckons.
Official Selection Cannes Film Festival 2019 - Competition - World premiere
Official Selection Toronto International Film Festival 2019 - Masters

Synopsis

A professional cellist has an encounter with a stranger on the subway which has unexpected and far-reaching ramifications on his life.
Official Selection Locarno Film Festival 2019 - Out of Competition Shorts - World premiere
Official Selection BFI London Film Festival 2019
Official Selection International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR) 2020 - Deep Focus

Synopsis

Yesterday, everyone knew The Beatles. Today, only Jack remembers their songs. He’s about to become a very big deal.
Jack Malik is a struggling singer-songwriter in a tiny English seaside town whose dreams of fame are rapidly fading, despite the fierce devotion and support of his childhood best friend, Ellie. Then, after a freak bus accident during a mysterious global blackout, Jack wakes up to discover that The Beatles have never existed… and he finds himself with a very complicated problem indeed.
Performing songs by the greatest band in history to a world that has never heard them, and with a little help from his steel-hearted American agent, Debra, Jack’s fame explodes. But as his star rises, he risks losing Ellie - the one person who always believed in him. With the door between his old life and his new closing, Jack will need to get back to where he once belonged and prove that all you need is love.
A rock-n-roll comedy about music, dreams, friendship, and the long and winding road that leads to the love of your life.
Official Selection Tribeca Film Festival 2019 - Closing Night Gala - World premiere

Synopsis

Exploring the formative years of the orphaned author J.R.R. Tolkien as he finds friendship, love and artistic inspiration among a fellow group of outcasts at school. This takes him into the outbreak of World War I, which threatens to tear the “fellowship” apart. All of these experiences would inspire Tolkien to write his famous Middle-earth novels.

Synopsis

Looking at Africa in the future: In 2064 population growth and climate pressures have pushed the continent to the brink. Most animals are wiped out, and a federation of African states institutes of an annual cull of men to restore the balance.