Projects in categories: Documentary

Synopsis

This short Anidoc was in response to the Light Princess production in Autumn 2013. Bringing documentary and 2D animation styles together we decided to interview a group of young dancers and hear their thoughts on being a Princess. What would they do as a Princess? Would they listen to the King who would be their Father?
A gentle film with moments of humour. You may be surprised by the answers by some of these young girls.
In Association with the National Theatre.

Synopsis

A love letter to legendary Nouvelle vague film-maker Eric Rohmer and the world capital of cinema. The film begins with a chance encounter with Rohmer in 1994, while he was filming Rendez-vous in Paris on location in Montmartre. This accidental connection becomes the basis for a passionate exploration Rohmer’s lifelong relationship with the city and the many cinematic journeys he made through it. Innovatively combining biographical documentary, psychogeography, speculative fiction, and remix, the film provides a narrated tour of Rohmer’s works, of modern Paris, and of the pains and pleasures of cinephilia.

Synopsis

Bob Dylan described Gene Clark as one of the three best songwriters in the world. He was the original front man for one of the most iconic and influential bands of the 60s. After his abrupt departure from The Byrds, at the peak of their popularity, he made records that are still regarded as classics. He was one of the great pioneers of both folk rock and country rock. His songs have been covered by artists ranging from Tom Petty to Robert Plant. Yet, so far as the public is concerned, Gene Clark is largely unknown.
This documentary explores the mystery of why this richly talented but deeply enigmatic and often self-destructive man failed to enjoy the success his work deserved. Drawing on interviews with his family, friends and fellow musicians, a wealth of great music from the four decade span of his career and previously unseen archive material, it’s a story that’s both compelling and moving, veering between moments of magic and moments of madness.
The film was made by a father and sons team as a labour of love which took them right across America, in search of the people and places that were part of Gene Clark’s life.

Synopsis

An espionage tale from inside the CIA's long conflict against Al Qaeda, as revealed by the remarkable women and men whose secret war against Osama bin Laden started nearly a decade before most of us even knew his name.

Synopsis

When Marvin Hamlisch passed away in August 2012 the worlds of music, theatre and cinema lost a talent the likes of which we may never see again. Seemingly destined for greatness, Hamlisch was accepted into New York’s Juilliard School as a 6-year-old musical prodigy and rapidly developed into a phenomenon. With instantly classic hits ‘The Way We Were’ and ‘Nobody Does It Better’ and scores for Hollywood films such as The Swimmer, The Sting and Sophie’s Choice and the Broadway juggernaut A Chorus Line; Hamlisch became the go-to composer for film and Broadway producers and a prominent presence on the international Concert Hall circuit. His streak was staggering, vast, unprecedented and glorious, by the age of 31 Hamlisch had won 4 Grammys, an Emmy, 3 Oscars, a Tony and a Pulitzer prize: success that burned so bright, it proved impossible to match. With exclusive access to Hamlisch’s rich personal archive and interviews with his A-list collaborators and friends, Dori Berinstein’s film is a deeply personal portrait of an iconic artistic genius.

Synopsis

Filmmaker Mark Cousins goes to Albania for five days, and films what he sees. He discovers that the movie prints in the country's film archive are decaying. In investigating this, Cousins begins to encounter bigger questions about the history and memory of a place. Perhaps a country whose 20th Century, dominated by its authoritarian ruler Enver Hoxha, was so traumatic, should allow its film heritage to fade away? Perhaps a national forgetting should be welcomed? Influenced by the films of Chris Marker, Cousins' film broadens to consider the architecture of dictators and the great icon paintings of Onufri. In the past, when cartographers knew little about a country, they wrote on it Here be Dragons. Albania was, for decades, one of the least well know countries in the world. Cousins' road movie meditation takes the advice of Goethe: "If you would understand the poet, you must go to the poet's land."

Synopsis

The Do Gooders is a documentary that explores the impact of decades of foreign aid on Palestinians and asks whether the West's acts of altruism are in fact helping to maintain the injustices of the status quo.

Synopsis

Introduced by a Warhol-esque newsreader, Late at Night presents the voices of a number of Londoners - working class people, street gang members, beggars, bankers and others, most of them excluded from the area they live in, the newly gentrified London East End.
Their words build a network of responses to the hyper capitalist world we live in.
As George Orwell said: “If you want a picture of the future, imagine a boot stamping on a human face forever.”  
Focusing on Britain’s relentlessly mean streets and its dwellers, each fighting their ground in their own way, this film essay uses words, writing and images to construct an image of today’s Britain and leads us to question our future under the institutional madness of global capitalism.

Synopsis

As a child in the 1950s, Ron Cockroft drew a chalk line from his school in Oldham to his home in Chadderton. Chalk Trace commemorates and reanimates his graffiti journey through a now much-changed network of streets. The film was photographed in the original streets of Oldham as they stand today – over 60 years after Ron’s original graffiti.

Synopsis

To escape from the realities of bereavement, two friends travel across Yorkshire to look for David Hockney. Grief toys with their senses and heightens their need for adventure. The style references the work of Hockney.

Synopsis

This unique feature documentary follows two actors, Giles Terera and Dan Poole, as they travel the world to find out everything they can about tackling the greatest writer of them all. Together they have directed and produced an inspiring film that aims to demystify and illuminate Shakespeare’s work for everyone: from actors, directors and students of all disciplines, right through to the? man on the street?

Synopsis

Discovering the day-to-day lives of old women through auntie Ganga, about their struggle to blend in with the society in spite of cultural and language barriers.