Projects in categories: Documentary

Synopsis

In a small Tehran courtroom, the stories of three strong-willed women unfold as they use reason, charm, pleas for sympathy, anger, even a disarming wit to win what they each need - a divorce. Divorce Iranian Style is a unique window into the impassioned but very practical business of divorce - and marriage - in three Iranian women's lives. Jamileh, whose son saved her from the hand of her abusive husband; Ziba, an outspoken 16-year-old who proudly stands up to her 38 year-old husband and his family; and Maryam, remarried and desperate to regain custody of her two daughters. Stirring and poignant, this fly-on-the-wall look into the real circumstances of Iranian women's lives shatters the stereotype of women as passive victims in the Muslim world. (Edinburgh Film Festival Review)

Synopsis

Midway between the supernatural shenanigans of Halloween and the official pomp of Remembrance Day, 5th November is Bonfire Night in Britain. People go down to their local park to watch the fireworks and the burning of Guy Fawkes, executed for treason 400 years ago. Fire Festival takes a municipal Bonfire Night in Brixton, South London, as focus for a film about autumn, death and the spectacle of sacrifice.

Synopsis

Omar Sharif, the one Arab above all others who has bridged the cultural divide between the Middle East and the West, presents this independent television programme about the transformation of the United Arab Emirates from rags to riches. Judicious use of archive library material highlights the changes that have occurred in the society of the UAE over the 25 years of the federation. Local people, the Arab in the street, tell their own stories and give the programme a strong human interest.

Synopsis

Behind every face lies a story. Bobby, Sumi and TJ draw people's portraits in Leicester Square. What do they think about while they sit and wait for customers all day in this busy place? Where did they come from? Why are they there? The filmmaker explores themes of migration, memory and loss by drawing her own portrait of their lives.

Synopsis

A Rave is on. We follow a DJ from 'Insanity Sound System' as he breaks into a warehouse and rigs his equipment. He explains why and how he organises illegal raves. We meet two ravers, one who calls himself a 'techno-tourist' since he travels all over Europe to party and a girl who goes to raves every weekend and enjoys taking drugs.

Synopsis

From Nashville, Washington and New York, to Dunkeld, Butterstone and the Isle of Lewis, this film tells the story of how the hugely successful American female country singer Kathy Mattea fell in love with the songs of the charismatic Scottish singer-songwriter Dougie Maclean, and how they influenced the development of each others' music.

Synopsis

The Manhattan Brothers wrote and sang 'Township Jazz' music during 1940s and 50s in South Africa. With over 150 hits, they sold millions of records, but their record company, Gallo Records, paid them using petty cash vouchers and hardly anything in royalties. Exiled from South Africa for almost thirty years, Joe Mogotsi now returns to find out if, in the 'new' South Africa, past injustices will be redressed.

Synopsis

A story of humour, energy and friendship, Spindrift chronicles a day in the life of two Soho drifters who work as rent boys. Combining documentary style material with expressionistic sequences, the film builds up a series of snapshots which encapsulate the boys' desire for freedom and love.

Synopsis

If you have ever had a tenner on the winner of the Grand National then you may have experienced the gambling buzz. But if you've put your last £40,000 on Ajax to win the UEFA Cup, you've Stood For This Massive. This is a film about Harry Findlay, one of Britain's most notorious sports gamblers.

Synopsis

This documentary follows a group of dance music DJ's called Desert Storm who have a long history of raising money for Workers Aid for Bosnia by asking for donations at illegal 'free parties' that they organise in Britain. In the past they have driven trucks full of aid to Bosnia but in January of 1996 they wanted to take their mobile sound system with them to celebrate the signing of the Dayton peace accord.

Synopsis

Taboo Momento Mori, a half-hour, l6mm docu-mentary film, directed by Christophe Gachet, follows the last days of an old lady to and through her natural death by old age. We see Mrs. Dupont's daily life in a home for the aged, from morning to bed-time as her life seeps to a peaceful end.

Synopsis

Gypsies and Travellers: happy people in painted wagons, touring the rural lanes of Britain. Or are they? The Road explores perceptions of traditional travelling life versus the reality of being a Gypsy in Britain today, using a montage of images and voices to create a picture of a close and closed society.