Projects in categories: Documentary

Synopsis

The South African cleric Desmond Tutu was more than just an archbishop, he was a moral compass, a fearless champion of justice and a global beacon of hope for a more peaceful future. TUTU reveals the man behind the icon through previously unpublished archive footage and first-hand accounts from those who walked beside him. The film traces Tutu’s rise as the unwavering voice of the oppressed. In the face of brutality, he stood resolute, guided by faith, fuelled by hope and driven by an unshakable belief in the humanity of all people. At its heart, this is a story of the transformative power of forgiveness, a message from which Tutu never wavered. Official Selection Berlin International Film Festival 2026 - Berlinale Special Presentation - World premiere

Synopsis

In the remote Siberian Arctic, an Indigenous Sakha scientist descends into the depths of the melting permafrost. Searching for an ancient creature, he makes his way through the dangerous, claustrophobic caves to the mythical realm of the Underworld. Official Selection Berlin International Film Festival 2026 - Berlinale Shorts - World premiere

Synopsis

Drawing on a location test filmed in Uganda and an email exchange with the scout, this short film captures cinema’s ties to land and its entanglement with colonial imaginaries, binding the fiction of filmmaking with state-building. Official Selection Berlin International Film Festival 2026 - Forum Expanded - World premiere

Synopsis

A radical Black Queer photographer and archivist challenges respectability politics through his intimate portraits, reclaiming the right to represent Black desire, pleasure and memory on his own terms.

Synopsis

Set in the rolling landscapes of the Cotswolds, a documentary exploring the lives, challenges, and traditions of the farmers who shape this iconic countryside. Through intimate conversations with a new generation and those who have worked the land for decades, the film reveals how farming families are navigating change - from shifting economics and environmental pressures to evolving ideas about land stewardship and community. Rooted in place and guided by the voices of those who live it every day, the documentary offers a rare, personal portrait of modern rural Britain and the people working to sustain both land and livelihood for the future.

Synopsis

Under the skin of Douglas Gordon, probing what it means to be an artist. Capturing the chaotic energy of a working studio and blurring the lines between art, performance, and reality. The filmmaker's presence challenges the authenticity of the process, exposing the tensions, collaboration, and unpredictability of documenting a boundary-pushing artist. Official Selection Berlin International Film Festival 2026 - Panorama Dokumente - World premiere

Synopsis

Structured as a psychogeographic voyage, the film explores place, memory, and sensation through the inner life of a poet whose sense of self gradually dissolves into cinematic reflection. Departing from conventional documentary forms, EVERY MOON IS ATROCIOUS invites audiences into a layered sensory environment where image, sound, and language operate associatively. At its core lies the poetry of the late Niall McDevitt (1967-2022), whose work forms the conceptual and emotional spine of the film, shaping a trance-like rhythm that mirrors the protagonist’s journey towards death and the unknown. Yvonne McDevitt’s filmmaking resists separating form from feeling. Dreamlike visuals, intense durational shots, and richly layered sound design prioritise emotional resonance over linear narrative. Fragmented imagery and superimpositions draw viewers into a meditative mode, presenting the film as a cinematic drift that charts inner terrains as much as physical ones. Movement through cities and coastlines becomes inseparable from movement through memory, grief, and desire. Official Selection Dublin International Film Festival 2026 - World premiere

Synopsis

At the crossroads of art, activism, and the ocean lies the extraordinary story of Paolo Fanciuli, a humble Italian fisherman with a revolutionary vision. Known as Paolo the Fisherman, he has waged a quiet but fierce war against illegal bottom trawling - one of the most destructive fishing practices threatening marine ecosystems. Driven by years of witnessing the ocean's decline, Paolo devised a radical and poetic solution: the creation of an underwater museum—a surreal seabed installation of massive marble sculptures. These works of art serve a dual purpose: they physically block trawling nets from destroying the seafloor, and they symbolically stand as monuments to resistance and hope. HOUSE OF FISH is a conservation documentary that blends Paolo’s intimate, personal journey with a natural history perspective on the fragility of our oceans... a cinematic ode to the sea and to those who dare to protect it through creativity and courage. By spotlighting Paolo’s efforts and the power of artistic activism, the film aims to awaken a deep emotional connection to our oceans - and inspire urgent action to save them.

Synopsis

Unveiling the untold story of Joe Dilworth, the photographer who captured the pulse of London and Berlin’s music underground. Through his lens, time stands still - raw, electric, and unfiltered. As he reflects on his craft, his city, and his legacy, this intimate documentary reveals how a single frame can echo across generations. The documentary is an intimate exploration of the life and photographs of Joe Dilworth, whose black-and-white photography immortalized the energy of the music scene in London and Berlin. Set against the evocative backdrop of Berlin, this documentary follows Dilworth as he reflects on his decades-long career, revisits iconic moments in his photographic journey, and shares insights into his process and philosophy. Weaving together interviews, archival photographs, and atmospheric sequences of Berlin, the film paints a portrait of a city and an artist united by their resilience, creativity, and layered histories. From the solitude of his darkroom to the social vitality of his photo bookshop and studio, viewers witness the symbiotic relationship between a photographer and his vision, uncovering how the art of still photography can transcend time and place.

Synopsis

This archival documentary traces the rise and fall of Richard Nixon and the death of the American dream, from the presidential primaries of 1968 through the Watergate break-in of June 1972 and Nixon’s resignation two years later, killing trust in the political process and the American presidency in the wake of the Vietnam War. Narrated by Harry Shearer (THIS IS SPINAL TAP), the film tells the untold story of the Watergate burglars, based on director Shane O’Sullivan’s book on the subject, and explores representations of the Nixon years in popular culture, using the music, commercials, and cinema of the era to evoke the fevered political landscape and the culture wars between Nixon’s silent majority and the radical anti-war left. How MEDIUM COOL, LION’S LOVE and SHAMPOO reflect on the political events of 1968; and how paranoid thrillers like THE CONVERSATION, TAXI DRIVER and ALL THE PRESIDENT’S MEN can be read in the context of the Watergate break-in and investigation which followed.

Synopsis

[We Are] A small Asian hair salon in Cambridge. A Chinese-Malaysian immigrant hairdresser, a grandmother, runs her business quietly, happily, and peacefully. [Still Dreaming of Hope] The iconic Middle East photograph featured in the film is a staged image. The two boys in the photograph are not an Israeli and a Palestinian, but two Israeli Jewish children.

Synopsis

For 14 years, Syrian filmmakers Hasan Kattan and Fadi Al-Halabi have journeyed together through war and storytelling. Their bond was forged on the frontlines of revolution where their cameras recorded terror and hope, laughter and heartbreak – moments that defined a generation. Years later, their story takes an unexpected turn. Confined inside a UK asylum hotel, Hasan and Fadi document a new chapter shaped not by bombs, but by waiting, bureaucracy, and exile. Amid rising anti-refugee hostility, they turn the camera inward exploring friendship and displacement and how filming itself becomes an act of survival when the future is so uncertain. Official Selection International Film Festival Rotterdam 2026 - World premiere