Projects in categories: Documentary

Synopsis

During the conflict in Northern Ireland a practice developed that saw actors hired to dub those associated with the IRA on broadcast media. Via unseen archive footage and interviews with key figures, THE BAN reflects on the British government’s use of the threat of ‘terrorism’ to justify censorship. Official Selection International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam (IDFA) 2024 - International premiere Official Selection CPH:DOX 2025

Synopsis

A writer, a filmmaker and a January 6th insurrectionist embark on a road trip from Washington DC to Idaho after the insurrectionist has been sentenced to two and a half years in prison for her part in the storming of The Capitol. En route they visit friends of the insurrectionist and hear about their respective journeys of “awakening”. The insurrectionist takes the writer and filmmaker on an intense journey into her labyrinth of conspiracy, but is disappointed when, by the end of the trip, she has not succeeded in her mission to elevate them out of their 3D world and help them to see the truth.

Synopsis

On a bright January morning in 2020, 38 year old Clemmie suffered a catastrophic brain haemorrhage. Just a few hours earlier, she’d been a star on the rise - acclaimed broadcaster, writer and musician. Against the odds she emerged from a 17 day coma but, unable to speak or walk, she was now faced with having to rebuild her life. With compelling recordings of her early attempts to speak and walk, we follow Clemmie as she tries to return to work, to finish the book she’d started before her brain injury, and to play her beloved violin again with her son. The film interweaves verité filming with touching home movies and lyrical sequences of Clemmie struggling amidst the cacophony of New York’s streets. Counterpointed throughout are majestic pieces of music from her book. She’s defiant and refuses self-pity, but is haunted by the knowledge that her brain could bleed again at any moment. A film about resilience, rediscovery and identity.

Synopsis

Craving their own version of the American dream, a trio of Michael Jackson tribute artists drive to Hollywood to find fame and fortune, but as the allegations against their idol mount up, can their friendship survive?

Synopsis

In this personal and intimate film writer-director Elizabeth Sankey uses her own story of being admitted to a psychiatric ward after the birth of her son to explore the unexpected yet compelling connections between perinatal mental health illness and the history and portrayal of witches in western society. Using clips of cinematic witches to illustrate her own experience and those of fellow sufferers, alongside interviews with medical professionals and academics, Sankey creates her own spell book for all to use. Official Selection Tribeca Film Festival 2024 - World premiere Official Selection BFI London Film Festival 2024 - Documentary Competition

Synopsis

Documenting the annual round up of wild Carneddau mountain ponies in Wales - organised by local farmers, it's the only intervention in the ponies' lives, who otherwise graze undisturbed whilst conserving their mountain habitat. The film follows the event, becoming increasingly engulfed in complex dynamics of capture and care. Official Selection International Short Film Festival Oberhausen 2024 - World premiere

Synopsis

A fly on the wall mini doc on the daily activities of engineers in London fixing elevators - showing a day with the teams out on various sites and showing the works that are undertaken by the site teams.

Synopsis

After enduring decades of embarrassment, the filmmaker admits that possessing the most common name in the English-speaking world has had a profound impact on his psyche. Peppered with disparate fragments of autobiography, BEING JOHN SMITH takes us on a confessional journey that reveals just how important a name can be.

Synopsis

Tony Klinger's amazing and emotional journey to celebrate the 50th anniversary (+Covid) of his late father's (Michael Klinger) great film production, GET CARTER. The documentary traces all the elements that went into the iconic film including interviews with Michael Caine, the late director Mike Hodges, and Britt Ekland, and harvests information from experts, historians, film social media academics, and the huge family of people who simply rates it as the greatest British gangster film ever! We take the journey with Tony and share his immense joys, deep sadness and enlightening discoveries.

Synopsis

Throw away all common sense and tap into your madness as you follow Dr. Nelly Ben Hayoun-Stépanian - a London-based artist and educator of Armenian and Algerian descent - on a fascinating journey to build a new civilization on the moon. Along with her doppelgängers, Myriam and Lucia, Nelly challenges us to defy power structures and reject planetary exploitation by letting go of the constraints of borders, gender, and religion to embrace what diversity could be in the vast landscape of our imaginations. Prior to their mission, Nelly and her parallel version of self speak with a wide-ranging collection of experts. There’s an LGBTQ+ rights activist, an astronomer, a political scientist, an archaeologist who also makes wine, a theoretical physicist, an environmental designer, a horror filmmaker, and a mathematical economist. They are all crucial to their quest to uncover the key to a queer, eco-feminist future devoid of generational trauma, colonization, and imperialism. However, as the analog space mission takes unexpected turns, the future remains as uncertain as the condition of Schrödinger’s Cat. Featuring the music of Pussy Riot and Colin Self. Official Selection SXSW Film Festival 2024 - World premiere Official Selection Munich Film Festival 2024 - European premiere

Synopsis

Gori, Georgia, the birthplace of Joseph Stalin, becomes the backdrop for the intertwined stories of two women from different generations: die-hard Stalinist Nasi and anti-Stalinist Zhana. Both women, scarred by the loss of their fathers to war, grapple with their contradictory interpretations of history. Their contrasting views expose the absurdities within historical legacies, while the dialectical tensions lead Zhana to confront her adoptive grandmother, Nasi, over her vigorous defiance of the dictator’s memory. It paints a picture of a town in conflict with its own past, holding onto a bygone era, and questioning the very foundations of the cult of Joseph Stalin. As reality erodes, it exposes the illusory worlds we create for comfort amidst challenging realities. Official Selection Hot Docs International Documentary Festival 2024 - World premiere

Synopsis

Filmed during five years of economic, social and political turmoil in the UK, we meet an extraordinary mix of people living in the county of Somerset: travellers, punk rock anarchists, fossil fuel-free communities living in the woods...They live on the edge of society, but as the UK becomes increasingly unstable, their alternative lifestyles start making more sense.