Projects in categories: Documentary

Synopsis

Against the backdrop of sunbaked parking lots, deserted courthouses, and empty suburban homes - the familiar spaces of true crime, stripped of all action and spectacle - a filmmaker describes his abandoned Zodiac Killer documentary and probes the inner workings of a genre at saturation point. The true crime genre’s ubiquity is driven by people’s endless fascination, disgust, and - bizarrely -search for comfort in genre conventions that still have the ability to generate complex emotions despite their predictability and familiarity. In this wholly original, self-aware cinematic work, filmmaker and multimedia artist Charlie Shackleton dissects the true crime genre by recreating it. Using Bay Area landscapes, archival material, reenactments, film and TV clips, and voice-over to walk the viewer through what his film would have been like and why, this film is a captivating and entertaining experience that will forever change how you watch your next murder programme. Official Selection Sundance Film Festival 2025 - World premiere Official Selection True/False Film Fest 2025 Official Selection SXSW Film & TV Festival 2025 - Best of the Fests Official Selection First Look 2025 (New York, Museum of the Moving Image) Official Selection CPH:DOX 2025 Official Selection Edinburgh International Film Festival 2025

Synopsis

KING OF THE APOCALYPSE takes us into the heart of the American militia movement with Dakota Adams, the de-radicalized son of Stewart Rhodes – founder of the Oath Keepers who is now serving 18 years in prison for his role in the January 6 United States Capitol attack in 2021. With exclusive access to Rhodes, and framed by the unique perspective of his estranged family, we tell the story of the enigmatic militant leader’s origins, his turbulent family life, and his descent into paranoia and extremism. With Rhodes in prison, even more radical militia leaders are emerging, such as Mike Dunn of the Boogaloo Bois, who believes that January 6 was just a dress rehearsal for the real civil war that's coming. Mike is the antithesis of gentle Dakota. While one young American claws his way out from extremism, we watch the other being sucked deeper in. As we immerse ourselves in their ideas and beliefs, we reveal the underpinnings of political violence and gain essential insight into where America could be heading.

Synopsis

When Helen David first founded her fashion label, English Eccentrics, in the early 80s, she was living in a Brixton Squat and selling her designs from a market stall in Camden. By the mid-90s, she was dressing stars including Mick Jagger, Paul McCartney, Prince, Helen Mirren and Helena Bonham-Carter. Then, at the turn of the millennium and during the height of her success, her brand unexpectedly collapsed. Twenty years later, her son – filmmaker Oliver David – investigates what happened. Looking through her life’s work, he traces her creative journey, through meteoric success and devastating failure, and discovers how she reinvented herself after losing everything.

Synopsis

The personal story of three exceptional astronauts who came together in America’s race for the Moon - Gus Grissom, Ed White and Roger Chaffee. The events that followed shook the US space program to the core, and has left a lasting impact on their families and on all space flights since. With exceptional access granted to the production team along with a rich ingredient of unseen personal archive, it's a story of jeopardy, adventure, tragedy and recovery, as told by those closest to the crew. Ultimately, it’s an inspiring story of the human spirit, as we continue our quest towards new horizons in space and look to the new generation of Artemis astronauts prepared to face the risks in doing so.

Synopsis

Mark Gwynne Jones tells the story of his family's terrifying 1980's encounter with a celestial entity in Matlock, Derbyshire.

Synopsis

Greg Cruttwell’s documentary enters the fascinatingly controversial world of greyhound racing, a sport for the working classes, which for much of the 20th century was the second most popular in the UK. The film takes an in-depth look at its history, how it works, the people working within it, the issues surrounding it and whether it has a future in the modern world.

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