Projects in categories: Fiction

Synopsis

Will lies in bed, depressed, listening to voice notes from his older brother, Miles. Eventually he finds the motivation to get up and meet him at a party. On arrival, the house is completely deserted. Will nervously explores the run-down house, in search for his brother. Upstairs, he finds a grand room crammed with people, hypnotically listening to Miles play a piano. Relieved, Will pushes his way through, but before he can reach his brother, the crowd erupts into chaos, submerging them both under a pile of bodies. Will desperately fights to save Miles, but is paralysed by the weight above him. He is eventually forced through the floorboards and into a dark void, where an unimaginable horror awaits him. Official Selection, BFI London Film Festival 2026 Official Selection, Newport Beach Film Festival 2026

Synopsis

Sylvie is a 15-year old teenager passionate about photography. When she meets a photographer, Michael (36), taking portraits on the street, she hands her his camera and invites her to his studio. While Sylvie imagines he wants to help her, Riz, her best friend, warns that if a guy is talking to her, he’s only interested in one thing. Despite Riz’s remarks, Sylvie can’t help wondering what it might feel like to be seen through his lens. At the studio, Michael and Sylvie connect. She picks things up quickly, taking photos of him, then he takes one of her. Hesitant at first, she leans into it and starts to pose. When he turns away, seemingly uninterested, Sylvie removes her trousers. His light-touch manipulation has worked: she feels self-possessed, and in control. She leaves walking on air, already imagining the photo he took of her for his upcoming exhibition. She can’t wait to tell Riz. But at the exhibition opening, reality hits: an anonymous photo of her blood-stained knickers hangs on the wall instead. When Sylvie returns and sees Michael, she pretends everything’s Okay. And as the music swells, she seduces him and marks him with her menstrual blood.

Synopsis

A man desperate to regain his lost edge becomes convinced that a grotesque new deodorant is the key to confidence, power, and success... but the solution might be worse than the problem.

Synopsis

Soft-spoken transmasc driver, Toni, is used to dealing with an array of strange customers in their day-to-day work transporting locals and tourists through the economically divided City of Cape Town in their late father’s vintage Daimler. But when Claudia, a German digital nomad with blonde dreadlocks, offloads a traumatic story on a short ride across town, Toni’s car becomes dangerously possessed with Claudia’s invisible trauma demon. Inside Out Film Festival 2026 Wicked Queer: Boston's LGBTQ+ Film Festival 2026

Synopsis

In 1991, having just given birth, Farida struggles to cope without knowing if her family in Iraq is dead or alive after the gulf war breaks out. Though physically in Newport, her mind is at war... far away.

Synopsis

It’s 2006. In a small town in North Wales, 16-year-old Morgan stands on the edge of his future, guiding us through haunts, hangouts and nights that linger long after the last bus leaves. The year is 2006, Tony Blair is Prime Minister, Twitter has just been launched, and young people are quickly getting used to a world where social media and technology are beginning to take hold. 16-year-old Morgan, voiced by Callum Scott Howells (It’s a Sin), is searching to understand where he belongs, his journey set against the backdrop of a community in Llanberis – a small town at the foot of Snowdon in Wales. Featuring music by Welsh artists including Super Furry Animals, John Cale and High Contrast.

Synopsis

Following Zahra Ahmed, a 26-year-old British-Sudanese woman working the night shift at a rundown East London off licence with her colleague Danny, an aging aspiring DJ. Despite her strict Muslim faith forbidding gambling, Zahra impulsively buys a lottery ticket after recalling an embarrassing encounter with Khaled, a man from her past whose arranged marriage to her was called off. To their shock, Zahra's ticket wins the £184 million Euro Millions jackpot. While Danny celebrates wildly, Zahra panics about the religious implications and how to explain her sudden wealth to her traditional family. As Zahra navigates the complex challenge of claiming her prize while maintaining her elaborate cover story to her parents, she must confront the tension between her desires for a better life and her deeply held beliefs. This film explores themes of faith versus temptation, family expectations, cultural identity, and the age-old question of whether good fortune can ever truly be separated from consequence. Official Selection Sydney Film Festival 2026

Synopsis

In present-day Taipei, Tao develops unexplainable affectionate feelings for Shin, an indifferent guy. Desperate to create lasting memories, she sends people to beat him up, using pain as a twisted form of connection. Meanwhile, Melih, having left Istanbul for Taipei, owns a noodle shop. One night, he receives an unexpected flower from the perpetually drunk Ping. Melih begins to stare into the flower from time to time, experiencing the tale of Tao and Shin and revealing his own unspoken desire and failed attempts to connect with Ping. As Melih digs deeper into the tale, he confronts his struggles to form meaningful relationships. His struggle gradually mirrors Tao’s struggle with Shin. As Tao grows closer to Shin, Shin vanishes, leaving Tao to realize that these recollections, retained only by her, might be mere figments of imagination. Tao’s tale then makes Melih question if it’s better to forget everything, as he contemplates whether letting go of solitary memories might finally bring him peace. Official selection CPH:DOX Copenhagen International Documentary Festival 2026 - Next:Wave Competition (World Premiere)

Synopsis

Set in the summer of 2000, 14 year old Lucian explores his sexuality through fantasy in a pre-internet world. Lucian is a 14 year closeted gay kid going through puberty. He doesn’t know how to communicate in a world that doesn’t speak his language so he lives in isolation, observing the world as an outsider. With the fear of ever exposing who he really is, Lucian seeks comfort in fantasy and lives his life in a daydream.

Synopsis

Ryan is destined to dance, but has to put his passion aside to tend to his duties at his family’s nail salon.

Synopsis

Caught between a mother who can provide everything except closeness, a father who gives love but not stability, and an older brother forced to choose between his own youth and becoming a parent too soon, a young Black boy’s future hangs in the balance. In this interactive custody battle, a single choice shapes a childhood - and fractures a family.

Synopsis

A musical set amid the wild beauty of the Scottish Hebrides and the fierce joy of a wedding cèilidh. A moving story of queer joy and self-acceptance - a man returns to his hometown, where he faces the forces that drove him away. Official Selection BFI Flare London LGBTQIA+ Film Festival 2026 - World premiere Official Selection Tribeca Film Festival 2026 - International premiere