Projects in categories: Documentary

Synopsis

A haunting exploration of familial bonds, intergenerational memory, and the enduring impact of shared narratives. Filmmaker Kamila Kuc steps into the emotional stream of inherited family history as the lines between documentary, testimony, and fiction blur.

Synopsis

The 1960s era in Japan was a time of profound social change, political unrest and student protests. The turbulent times of the postwar era inspired an artistic explosion in Japan, with the emergence of a revolutionary scene of avant-garde artists who pioneered many disciplines: experimental and erotic photography, 'Angura' theatre and underground street performances, apocalyptic Butoh dance, surreal illustrations and seminal graphic design. A new aesthetic of photography was born: 'Are, Bure, Boke' (rough, dark and out of focus), pioneered by Moriyama Daid and the Provoke magazine photographers. Araki beautified bondage and Hosoe Eikoh sublimated the male body. Ishiuchi Miyako captured her experience of American military bases. Kawada Kikuji’s era-defining photobook 'The Map' captured the poignancy of Hiroshima’s trauma. Master of underground theatre Terayama Shji produced countless magical, surreal and vividly colourful films, plays and photobooks, Yokoo Tadanori and Awazu Kioshi revolutionised graphic design with their incandescent theatre posters, Tanaami Keiichi, Japan’s answer to Andy Warhol, developed his unique kaleidoscopic vision of Pop-Art, and Butoh founders Hijikata Tatsumi and Ohno Kazuo impacted modern dance forever with their dance of darkness and light.

Synopsis

Five lives, one city, the fate of a nation at war. A civil servant, a tea lady, a motorbike medic and two street boys, five stories weave together in search of freedom through dreams, revolution, and civil war from the metropolis of Khartoum Sudan to escape in East Africa. In 2022 four Sudanese filmmakers, in collaboration with a British director/writer, began documenting the lives and dreams of five citizens in Khartoum. After a military coup brought down the civilian government, a war broke out between the army and the RSF militia that displaced over ten million people. Filmmakers and subjects escaped to East Africa and determined to continue the film another way. This film is a lyrical and cinematic window for global audiences to emotionally connect into the lives and dreams of the everyday people of Khartoum at a pivotal moment in African history. Official Selection Sundance Film Festival 2025 - World premiere Official Selection Berlin Film Festival 2025 - European premiere Berlin Film Festival 2025 - Berlin Film Festival 2025 - Winner - Peace Film Prize Official Selection BFI London Film Festival 2025

Synopsis

As Marlon looks back over home movie footage of his relationship with his first childhood friend, Murry, he is forced to reflect on the moments that shaped them. Raw, intimate and honest, MUREWA is a tender coming-of-age story of friendship and a quest to understand what happened along the way. Official Selection SXSW Film & TV Festival 2025 - World premiere Official Selection DOC NYC 2025 Official Selection Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival 2026

Synopsis

Filmmaker Mark Forbes exams classism that has plagued the UK film and TV industry for decades, and through the lens of individuals from working-class backgrounds as we observe the challenges they encounter when attempting to enter the field. Official Selection Galway 37th Film Fleadh 2025 - World premiere

Synopsis

Follow the stories of guests and staff over a summer season like no other at Kuyalnik Sanatorium in Odessa, where people come in droves for their Soviet-style wellness treatments, particularly the mysterious mud believed to cure myriad health problems. Official Selection CPH:DOX 2025 - World premiere Official Selection Visions du Réel International Film Festival Nyon 2025 Official Selection Edinburgh International Film Festival 2025

Synopsis

A 16mm sound and image experimental portrait of d/Deaf DJ Simon Eilbeck and the Queer, Trans, alternative and non-binary communities who gather at his monthly disco Hot Mess.

Synopsis

This personal documentary invites viewers into the life of 76-year-old Romani grandmother Margaret Smith, a former nomadic potato picker who travelled each summer to a small coastal village in south Wales. Filmmaker Lisa Smith, Margaret’s granddaughter, delves into the Romani collective cultural memory, uncovering the deeper significance of the potato harvest and its connection to an undocumented network of stopping places for her family.

Synopsis

Following electronics teacher and father Cam Cameron as he attempts to survive 60 days on Rockall, the UK’s most remote and dangerous island. Driven by a need to reconnect with his family, Cam’s quest is a test of endurance and a deeply personal challenge. Having already lost his father and two brothers, Cam is his mother’s only surviving son - a burden that weighs on him as he prepares to break the world record. Only five people in history have spent more than one night on Rockall - a statistic lower than those who’ve been to the moon. Facing brutal conditions and isolation, Cam’s journey raises questions: What drives a man to risk his life? And what toll does it take on those who love him? The documentary explores the true meaning of adventure and the sacrifices made in the pursuit of legacy, keeping viewers on edge of their seats.

Synopsis

Centred on sphagnum moss, TRANSLOCATIONS highlights the mutual aid and reciprocal exchange that exists between species in the restoration of a lowland peatbog. Featuring the voice of botanist and author Robin Wall Kimmerer, and a tactile soundtrack score, the film documents the human and more-than-human life, energies and actions that are transforming an intensively farmed and damaged terrestrial environment back into a flourishing wetland habitat. The film is structured around volunteers moving ('translocating') gathered balls of sphagnum moss from replete to deplete areas of the bog, enabling a keystone species in peat formation and carbon sequestration to thrive and rejuvenate a vital part of the biosphere. Exploring the luminous and vivid characteristics of this rewilded, transitional terrain, the film depicts the abundance of re-introduced sphagnum moss and the dynamic mosaic of co-dependent species that are now thriving both above and below the surface of the bog, from flowering cotton grasses and carnivorous sundews to dragonflies and silk-moths.

Synopsis

Aa'La'Ma'Ni means worldly in Arabic. It's a significant term in the Middle East, where secularism is controversial. SECULAR | Aa'La'Ma'Ni a documentary based on academic research, explores the depiction of secularism in Middle Eastern cinema and TV channels. Filmmakers and producers from the region, openly discuss religion, sectarianism, authorities, minorities, and industry challenges.

Synopsis

An experimental film that recreates the experiences of dementia through spoken word, documentary, dramatic reconstruction, and never-before-seen deteriorated archival footage: 16mm films from the 1930s to the 1960s, featuring major historical events and world travel. THE MEMORY BOOM is framed from inside the mind of Pops, a hospitalised grandfather with severe dementia. The decayed footage serves as a visual exploration of Pops' memories. Pops' grandson narrates from his bedside, attempting to preserve Pops' memories while struggling to comprehend memory loss. Pops' confused thoughts rise to the surface, and he shares them with his grandson as if it were 'storytime' leading him down rivulets of muddled tales and garbled memories spanning his lifetime. Pops' Filipina nurse supports the grandson, sharing her inability to care for her own dementia-affected father in the Philippines. The film charts the trio's journeys through emotional turmoil, leading to a deeper understanding of the nuances of memory. THE MEMORY BOOM was created with documentary participants from community groups across rural England and features anonymously donated archival materials, courtesy of Exeter Phoenix. The film was made in memory of the filmmakers’ relatives who lived with dementia, and explores memory preservation and photographic consent. Official Selection PÖFF - Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival 2024 - World premiere