Projects in categories: Documentary

Synopsis

Set to the verses of W.H. Auden's 1939 poem 'Refugee Blues', the film charts a day in 'the jungle', the refugee camp outside Calais. More intimate and unlike much of what has been seen in the mass media, this documentary poem counterpoints the camp’s harsh reality of frequent clashes with the French riot police with its inhabitants’ longing for a better future. Official Selection Berlinale 2016 - Generation 14plus - World premiere

Synopsis

Saar is a gay man from a religious family in Israel. After being kicked out of his conservative kibbutz because of his sexual orientation, Saar flees to London where he enjoys a gay lifestyle denied to him in Israel. He lives the dream, but wakes up to a nightmare when he discovers that he has contracted HIV. When he breaks the news to his family, they struggle with fears and prejudices. With the support and warmth of Saar's surrogate brothers - the London Gay Men’s Chorus - he begins a reconciliation process with his biological family in Israel. Saar finds himself torn between the two worlds and must make a decision: should he return to Israel and embrace his family once more, or stay in London and live in exile forever. Saar and the rest of the London Gay Men's Chorus provide a glorious soundtrack for this tender, honest and intimate film by acclaimed directors Barak Heymann and Tomer Heymann ('Mr. Gaga', 'Paper Dolls' and 'I Shot My Love'). Shot over several years, this documentary is about the power of forgiveness and the power that home has, no matter how far we go. Official Selection BFI London Film Festival 2016 - Journey Strand

Synopsis

A photograph circulates, showing five men staring out of a window. Actually, four look out; the last man breaks protocol and looks at the camera. The stage is a bombed out building. All five men wear military fatigues. The colour must have been olive green. The photograph, snapped by a Magnum freelancer, is a glowing artefact. Alongside it is a blurry newspaper photograph showing the Dhaka funeral of two men at the national Baitul Mokarram mosque: fighters for Palestine. The two photographs are evidence of the presence of Bangladeshi guerrillas in Lebanon in the 1970s, joining and fighting for the PLO in its struggle first for domination, then only survival. Official Selection Berlinale 2016 - Forum Expanded

Synopsis

A beautiful, inspiring and bittersweet story about language and childhood in Africa. Steward, Elizabeth and M’barak are three first time school pupils in rural Zambia who struggle to make sense of an educational system where the language they speak at home is different from the language used in the classroom. Moments of perplexed incomprehension, both comedic and tragic ensue, as the children slowly come to terms with the fact that their tongue is no longer their own. At a time when nearly 40% of the world’s population lack access to education in their own language, this documentary offers an intimate and moving insight into a global phenomenon from the unique perspective of three innocent children.

Synopsis

No one on the planet has drawn more than Laurie Lipton. Armed with only a pencil, her haunting images seek answers to the most uncomfortable themes in our culture. But what compels her to live a life of isolation drawing is neither black nor white.

Synopsis

Filmed over the course of a year, David Robinson walks the fields he has farmed for all of his life, sharing his experiences, memories and knowledge of the land, the animals and the people he has worked with.

Synopsis

A ground-breaking documentary, containing newly digitised archive footage available to the public for the first time, on the Deaf community's fight for civil rights and principally, the right to be heard. Combining social history and archive film with contemporary interviews the film explores the secret history and heritage of the Deaf community in the UK.

Synopsis

Six everyday scenarios play out in modern London summoning ideas of representation, spectacle and human behaviour.

Synopsis

Reda’s dreams of escaping the Palestinian refugee camp of Ain El-Helweh ended after being deported from Greece. He returned with a heroin addiction. The camp was being torn apart by internal strife. Against all odds he decides to marry his childhood sweetheart. A love story, as bittersweet as the camp itself. Official Selection Berlinale 2016 - Berlinale Shorts

Synopsis

10 hours of paint drying on a wall.

Synopsis

When Howard Brookner lost his life to AIDS in 1989, the 35-year-old director had completed two feature documentaries and was in post-production on his narrative debut, 'Bloodhounds of Broadway'. Twenty-five years later, his nephew, Aaron, sets out on a quest to find the lost negative of 'Burroughs: The Movie', his uncle's critically-acclaimed portrait of legendary author William S. Burroughs. When Aaron uncovers Howard's extensive archive in Burroughs’ bunker, it not only revives the film for a new generation, but also opens a vibrant window on New York City’s creative culture from the 1970s and ‘80s, and inspires a wide-ranging exploration of his beloved uncle's legacy. Sundance Film Festival 2016 - World premiere

Synopsis

Many of us know the freedom of our twenties—unfettered by responsibilities or mortality, inventing ourselves in the rush of the moment. 'All These Sleepless Nights' viscerally summons that feeling, chronicling life across two Warsaw summers when students Kris and Michal resolve to experience life to the limit. After Kris, our sensitive yet perpetually inquisitive hero, breaks up with his long-time girlfriend, anything seems possible. He and Michal, handsome and wide-eyed, roam the metropolis at night, floating from encounter to encounter, with only instinct and desire as their captain. As they chain-smoke, drink, and party with abandon, big ideas are as palpable as the romance and sex in the air. In a profound and compelling celebration of cinema, filmmaker Michal Marczak captures the very heart and soul of a generation awake enough to dance to their dreams. Official Selection Sundance 2016 - World premiere