Projects in categories: Documentary

Synopsis

An unfiltered and authentic comedy of errors, revealing the lives of people with intellectual disabilities in a house on the edge of a beautiful forest just north of Paris. If there are rules to break, they will be broken. If there is a truth to be told, they will tell it. Like countless others Philippe, Michel, Andre and Patrick were rejected as ‘idiots’ and locked away in violent asylums until the sixties when philosopher Jean Vanier secured their release, set up home with them, and came to realise that they knew something the rest of us are forgetting: what it is that makes us truly happy. Haunting memories upset Michel but he relishes his freedom on long walks in the forest with friends. Still optimistic Andre, approaching seventy, hopes to learn to drive and read, so he can take the woman he loves to a restaurant and choose from the menu without embarrassment. Beautifully shot for the cinema with full orchestra, The Idiots reveals the mutual benefits of making friends with people very different from ourselves - how vulnerable people help us forget our egos, forgive our enemies, and makes us wonder who the real idiots actually are.

Synopsis

Close observations around Southend-on-Sea, a small English town along the Thames estuary, reveal not only everyday streets, everyday birds, unflagging tides, mud and sky, but also prize-winning Indian curries, an encyclopedic universe of hats and a nearly lost world of proto-punk music. Official Selection Sundance Film Festival 2017 - New Frontier

Synopsis

A video piece exploring the connections between thinking and drawing. Filmed with Mina Pegourie, the cleaner of an artist in residence programme that Ana Mendes attended in France in 2014. Since she is unable to read or to write, Mina uses drawing as a tool for everyday life.

Synopsis

This film offers some insight into A -T ( Ataxia Telangiectasia ) a rare, genetic, neurodegenerative disease. The experience is not told by the medical profession, but those living with the condition on a daily basis. Filmed during an activity weekend in 2015.

Synopsis

PullTagKnot. At a young age I grew a dislike for my hair, morning nightmare of tangles and despair. It was not only the hassle but the scrutiny by the other schools kids and their curiosity. This led me towards a black woman's dream. a chemical altering tub of white cream...

Synopsis

January, 2013. A secretive transfer deal transported two Muslim players into the heart of Israel and the Jewish oriented Beitar Jerusalem F.C., leading to the most racist campaign in Israeli sport. One season and one football team in crisis, as power, money and politics fuel a club spiralling out of control. Official Selection Toronto International Film Festival 2016 - TIFF Docs

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An observational documentary following the first ever Deaf and disabled performance at the National Theatre in the heart of London's West End.

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The story of what happened to an English town during World War One with almost all of its men fighting abroad and its women and children left behind. The North East was in the front line, thanks to its shipyards and munitions factories. Using archive and contemporary footage and audio, this film collages the stories of people from Tyneside and Wearside to uncover just what life was like on the home front, with bombs falling on Britain for the first time, conscientious objectors sentenced to death, and women working as doctors, tram conductors and footballers. The narrative moves from an Edwardian golden era, in which sport grew in popularity and aircraft and cars pointed to a bright new future, to a war that horrifically reversed this progress. In the Battle of the Somme, British, French and German armies fought one of the most traumatic battles in military history. Over the course of just four months, more than one million soldiers were captured, wounded or killed in a confrontation of unimaginable horror.

Synopsis

Following the collaborative process of the band Mumford & Sons with an esteemed collection of musical partners during their 2016 tour of South Africa. Inspired by their first trek through the territory, and the unprecedented excitement from their South African fans, the band was moved to record five new songs with artists Baaba Maal, Mamadou Sarr, The Very Best, and Beatenberg. The blending of ideas and musical styles from Senegal, Sweden, Malawi, Cape Town, and London resulted in their acclaimed Johannesburg mini-album, recorded in just two days and released globally in June 2016.

Synopsis

Acclaimed graphic novelist Robert Valley’s first animated short is the tale of a charismatic but self-destructive friend living on the edge. The brutally honest story of Robert's turbulent relationship with a friend from childhood, who cries out for help from a military hospital in China and sets Rob on a wild ride to get him home to Vancouver. Official Selection BFI London Film Festival 2016 - Sonic Strand

Synopsis

Jasun Watkins brings his pink, brash and very camp Elvis impersonation act to Porthcawl in the biggest Elvis tribute festival in Europe. This documentary joins him in the days leading up to the competition, as he recalls how his troubled family life and childhood suffering fed his desire for fame.

Synopsis

A hard-hitting drama based on the true story of a young woman who must deal with the devastating effects of having a murderer for a brother. Anne Marie O’Donnell pieces together the harrowing events that lead to the murders by her brother Brendan in the forest of East Clare, Ireland, of a young mother, her son and the curate, Father Joe Walsh. Piece by piece, as her story unfolds Anne Marie reveals the neglect by the state, the brutal physical beatings that her brother suffered as a child at home and the sexual abuse and rape inflicted by his nightmarish parish Priest whilst in his care. Ultimately, mistakes and lost opportunities all lead to tragic consequences.