Projects in categories: Documentary

Synopsis

"A polyphonic meditation on time and urban space" (Sukhdev Sandhu, BFI 2012). "If you let it, a street will grow" says a voice in this film-poem which offers a lyrical, painterly defence of the everyday and a celebration of multiculturalism, even as it poses questions about the process of regeneration. Shot on location in the London Borough of Hackney, the film interweaves rarely seen archive, super 16mm and super 8mm photography. Slow, still shots of streets, parks, cemeteries and markets are juxtaposed with the East London paintings of Leon Kossoff, Jock McFadyen and James MacKinnon. With a script based on poet, Michael Rosen's play for voices, a heightened soundscape mixes documentary with poetry, music, song and location recordings. As we slip between past and present, real and imagined, famous and unknown "the world comes to Hackney": From Shakespeare in Shoreditch, to a Jamaican builder, from an 18th Century feminist abolitionist to a Turkish barber, from Anna Sewell's "Black Beauty" to the Jewish 43 Group taking on Oswald Mosley in Dalston, the audience is invited to apprehend the city as fragmentary and multi-layered, "past in the present, present in the past."

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A tribute to the late German choreographer, Pina Bausch, as her dancers perform her most famous creations.

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In a small apartment in Buenos Aires, an old woman eagerly awaits the birth of her grandchild and all the joys of becoming a grandmother. However, horrific circumstances means she will be forced to wait over 30 years. Using real-life testimonials this animated-documentary raises issues of memory, repression and loss.

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Synopsis

A film about people, preconceptions and 1960’s concrete. Hi High Rise is the first short film by photographic partnership TAPE and is shot entirely on a digital SLR. This documentary aims to challenge preconceptions associated with tower block living in the UK and celebrates the successful community of Hornchurch Court.

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Ever since Noah was a child he’s wanted to work with his father building canoes in Maine's north woods. But because of a well hidden secret this dream has always eluded him. This is the story of Noah’s transformation as he uncovers the truth that has kept him from his lifelong ambition.

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A euphoric blend of drama and documentary, Tempest is both a celebration of contemporary urban youth culture, and a 21st Century re-imagining of Shakespeare's last great play. 17 young actors from South London struggle to put on a production. Their story unfolds alongside Prospero's as The Oval is transformed into Shakespeare’s magical island and the outcast Duke casts his magic spells.

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A documentary about the Central Post-Office and its employees in Kinshasa, DR Congo. This relic of the colonial past has trapped its employees in a frozen timewarp from which they are planning their escape. From past to present, through the cracks in the walls, we glimpse present-day Congo.

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Spanning Ayrton Senna's years as a Formula One racing driver from 1984 to his untimely death a decade later, the film will explore the life and work of the triple world champion, his physical and spiritual achievements on the track, his quest for perfection and the mythical status he has since attained.

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A Dollar and A Dream follows British political activist Malcolm Clark on the campaign trail in the American state of Ohio for the 2008 Democratic ticket. Malcolm's journey raises questions about campaigning, global democracy, the promise of social change, and the power of the individual. What inspired Malcolm to become directly involved in another country's electoral process, especially one in which he couldn't cast a vote? Was it something more than the allure of Barack Obama?

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Body of War reflects how a man becomes a soldier through relentless repetition of acts of violence. The psyche of a human as he learns to integrate the willingness to kill. The Normandy Landing setting, testimonies of former soldiers. Body of War shows human intimacy and the brutality of war.

Synopsis

Four lives that coalesce around the Buriganga River in Bangladesh.