Projects in categories: Fiction

Synopsis

Psychologist Dr Howard Hall, travels from Ohio to Baghdad to visit a School of Sufis to assess their claims to possess a paranormal ability to heal the wounds inflicted on themselves during religious ceremonies. Impressed, Dr Hall invites a Sufi to visit Cleveland, to pierce himself under controlled medical conditions.

Synopsis

A young girl arrives in a gallery to copy a painting by Degas. While there, she becomes irritated by the footsteps of the gallery attendant. Her nervous anxiety reaches such a point, that she accidentally flicks some red paint onto the original Degas.

Synopsis

The times are changing, even for an old bogeyman, as his apprentice demonstrates. His drinking pals - a squeamish vampire, a tooth fairy who has seen better days and a redundant ghost - have some problems of their own.

Synopsis

Bearing many similarities to Albert Camus' 1946 existentialist text L'Etranger (The Outsider), The Darkest Hour is a powerful portrait of contemporary urban angst, isolation and unrequited love. Pat leads an apparently ordinary life as an attendant in a notorious public toilet where the majority of the clientele are either involved in drug deals or cottaging. The only light in his otherwise solitary life is Kim, a girl he is infatuated with, who works in a local cafe he frequents. When he is 'provoked' into committing an act of extreme violence, Pat's subsequent unorthodox reaction to his crime leads inevitably to his life changing forever.

Synopsis

When Roderick Usher is found guilty for the brutal murder of his wife, he is immediately branded insane and sent to the county lunatic asylum. Once inside the padded cell, he finds himself at the mercy of Dr Calahari, whose mind-blowing shock treatment gives rise to a series of bizarre and nightmarish adventures. As Roderick undergoes mind bending therapy, Dr Calahari and the beautiful but strange Nurse Smith, gradually unravel the horrible truth behind the Louse of Usher. The director of Tommy and Women In Love returns in full force to inject his special brand of outlandish humour into this classic Edgar Allan Poe tale.

Synopsis

A veteran game show host discovers he is dying and commissions a poverty stricken novelist to pen a celebration of his life. The writer gets sucked into the vicious feud between the corrupt old man and his aggressive young rival. Pitted against each other in a race for a lucrative American format deal, the battle between the two light entertainment heavyweights spirals out of control - and the writer starts to unravel the dark secrets at the heart of their hatred.

Synopsis

Set in Britain and the war-torn Sudan in 1884. To his lifelong friends, Harry appeared to have it all. He was a young Lieutenant in the world's most powerful army, engaged to a beautiful woman, and the son of a celebrated General - until the day his regiment was called up for battle in Northern Africa, and he abruptly resigned. In this moment of fear, he lost everything - except four feathers of shame given to him by his friends. The only way to redeem himself is to assume a new identity, travel across a continent, face a danger he cannot escape and find the man he was meant to be.

Synopsis

When Cassie, a young American backpacker travelling through an English village is involved in a car accident, she gladly accepts help from the driver and her family and becomes drawn into their troubled lives. A First Century church is unearthed nearby and within it a rare mural - an eyewitness record of the Crucifixion. The mural is remarkable in its perspective, as rather than featuring the figure of Christ, it shows the sinister faces of those who gathered to watch. In the aftermath of the accident, Cassie begins to hallucinate and believes malign strangers are following her. Concussion or second sight? Is it her imagination or is she being pursued by the mural's ghoulish and immortal inhabitants, readying themselves to bear witness to yet another human disaster?

Synopsis

Coll is stuck in a dead end job serving tea in a lay-by. Escaping is just a dream until she meets the mysterious old Tam Morton.

Synopsis

The Guru is a mishap-laden, cross-cultural tale about the search for the American dream. A young Indian dance teacher Ramu Gupta embarks for New York City, in pursuit of fame and fortune only to find himself working as a waiter in an Indian restaurant. Through an encounter with Sharonna, a beautiful adult-film star, the shy, inexperienced Ramu is mistaken for a spiritual healer - the Guru of Sex - and becomes an overnight celebrity. Fame comes at a price, however, and Ramu must choose between his newfound notoriety and his growing love for the beautiful Sharonna.

Synopsis

Harry Gillespie, bookeeper for gangsters, pimps and drug barons, hides out on a Scottish island after he has escaped his former life by taking money from his 'employer'. Harry escapes with his girlfriend, Ebony, who discovers it is only a matter of time before Harry is found and dealt with by a series of killers who come to make amends. Harry is more than they bargained for and he even surprises himself when he makes sure that none of his pursuers return to the mainland.

Synopsis

In 1890s England, Algy Moncrieff and his friend Jack Worthing are a spirited pair of London dandies who are keen to win the hands of the women they love. And their chosen brides, the pre-Raphaelite Cecily and the distinguished Gwendolen are their perfect women - except that they appear to have a pathological aversion to any name - other than Earnest. But of course, adopting this unusual name is the least of their troubles when the imposing Lady Bracknell arrives to guard her beloved daughter's reputation and investigate her suitors. Quizzing Jack over his social pedigree, Lady Bracknell is utterly dismayed to discover that he has only the spurious claim to being parented by a 'handbag'. She presents him with an ultimatum: unless he can prove his suitable origin within the week, the marriage will be off. Galloping between London and the country, this farcical comedy of mistaken identities, and undiscovered liaisons gathers speed as the rakish pair try desperately to conceal their duplicity and prevent the discovery of some astonishing truths. Oliver Parker's imaginative adaptation combines Wilde's inimitable wit with an engaging romantic tale and a sparkling comedy of social manners.