Projects in categories: Documentary

Synopsis

Singing from the Heart is a documentary programme that takes a look at the history and men that make up one of the world's most famous male voice choirs.

Formed in 1883 in a hometown pub in the Rhondda Valleys, South Wales, the voices of Treorchy Male Choir have performed in front of kings, queens, presidents and prime ministers. Now, for the first time you too can enjoy a private audience with the voices of the valleys in this hour-long documentary.

Synopsis

Selected for Cannes 2005, festival favourite Kim Longinotto's latest work (co-directed with Florence Ayisi) is a totally fascinating - often hilarious - look at the work of one small courthouse in south-west Cameroon.

The two women at the heart of the documentary wouldn't be out of place in an Alexander McCall Smith bestseller. As the State Counsel and Court President, they dispense wisdom, wisecracks and justice in fair measure. The victims of crime - an abused child, a woman daring to accuse a man of rape, and another trying to end a brutal marriage in a society where divorce is taboo - are handled with fierce compassion. You'll feel like cheering when justice is served. (Sydney Film Festival)

Synopsis

In Tarzan of Bounds Green, Eric Bromberger remembers the day he watched Johnny Weissmuller dive at his local pool, in a special one-off performance.

Today, the pool is a garden centre.

Who, among those buying their pot plants and compost, would imagine that Tarzan had been here?

Synopsis

A feature documentary in which Vicki, a single mother struggling with addiction, and her young son move from a homeless shelter into a council house, which brings different problems. The story shifts to the relationship between Vicki and the film-maker, neither of whom will give up their quest for a happy ending without a fight.

Synopsis

The Brittany Job is a documentary feature about two 'toshers' decorating a house in France. Deliberately twisting the makeover show format, the film explores their ambivalent and often comic relationship, unusual painting techniques, the creative process, and above all, colour.

Synopsis

A fireman turned film-maker makes three features in five years, premieres twice at Cannes. This feature documentary give the inside story to the problems he faced and his desire to achieve critical and commercial success.

Synopsis

The story of English medieval King Richard III from cradle to death, seen from a psychodynamic and mythological perspective.

Synopsis

Based around an underground London location known as 'The Tardis', this mini documentary follows the lives of three young Asians who break the mould.

The audience is invited into the recesses of this amazing subterranean complex which plays host to gangster and celebrity parties alike, and all under the ever-watchful eye of Jesus the resident parrot!

Synopsis

As the camera looks out through a barred window and the clock strikes four in a Swiss city, the death of Yasser Arafat provides the starting point for a journey back in time. Throwing Stones is the third video in the Hotel Diaries series, a collection of late-night recordings made in foreign hotel rooms which relate personal experiences to contemporary world events.

Other works in the series currently include Frozen War (Ireland, October 8th 2001) and Museum Piece (Germany, October 14th 2004).

Synopsis

Tree Fellers is the story of the 900 Belizean lumberjacks who in 1942 left the tropical rainforests of British Honduras to help Britain fight fascism by felling trees in Scotland. Sam (93), Eric (87) and Amos (86) were among those who stayed on after the war to make new lives in a country where, for better or worse, the colour of their skin marked them out. Newly discovered archive, long-cherished memories and a last reunion are intertwined in this lyrical and moving documentary testament.

Synopsis

A film about people with cancer.

'Using photography, interviews, film and music my work at the Royal Marsdey Cancer Hospital in London has tried to explore the lives of people with cancer. Within a theme of humility and a struggle for meaning, I would meet with patients and film them. Together we would find a narrative that, for them, said something of their experience.'
This film is a result of this work.
 

Synopsis

Across the Waters is a poetic, reflective journey between two cultures. Fifty years ago, a young girl arrived on the island of Lewis from a village in Pakistan. Now, her granddaughter is going to leave the island. Three generations of Pakistani women and a Gaelic islander give a personal perspective on the island's history, and the sense of belonging and exile that has defined their existence.