Projects in categories: Documentary

Synopsis

An exploratory documentary centred on an historic nonconformist chapel located at the edge of the Pennine moors in Northern England.

Synopsis

During the winter of 1969, young boys started to disappear from the streets of Belfast, never to be seen again. By 1974, as the Troubles were reaching a bloody and vicious peak, five boys in total had vanished within a five-mile radius. Fifty years later, as the disappearances remain unsolved and families continue to search for answers, filmmaker Des Henderson (How to Defuse a Bomb) reopens these largely forgotten cold-cases, unearthing disturbing revelations in secret state documents to tell an extraordinary tale of abuse, trauma and potential cover-up.
Official selection Belfast International Film Festival and Irish Film Institute Documentary Festival 2023 - World premiere

Synopsis

A quietly poignant domestic film made of images gathered around the house and its surroundings over a two-year period. The title might seem self-explanatory, we do see pillows, bowls, roses, trees – but also curtains, tablecloths, saucers, other trees and flowers (in the garden and arranged on vases). We sense the changing seasons and we sense a lived-in space – one that is shared as the pillow arrangements suggest. Working with a Bolex camera involves a tension between the technology and the world surrounding the filmmaker, the maximum shot length is limited to around 20 seconds because of the windup spring motor. (Open City Documentary Festival programme).
Official Selection Open City Documentary Festival 2023

Synopsis

Stumbling across the perfect wave, two surfers start a chain reaction of unintended consequences. Perfection comes at a cost. Changed forever by the discovery of a ‘perfect wave’ in the 1970’s, POINT OF CHANGE chronicles the first surfers to ‘discover' this point at Nias island, Indonesia, and the unintended dramatic consequences that followed.
When two young surfers from Australia want to escape the political climate of their home in the 1970s, they set off in search of their idea of ’santosha’; a perfect location with a perfect wave. Their dream came true and they found their holy grail when they stumbled across Lagundi Bay, on the remote island of Nias in Indonesia. Unwittingly Kevin Lovett and John Giesel were the new colonials wearing different hats, walking into an entirely different culture and community, completely unaware of the dramatic consequences and the devastating social and ecological repercussions for the people and place that followed. A contemporary, cautionary tale of paradise lost.
Official Selection Santa Barbara International Film Festival 2024 - US Premiere

Synopsis

A Magic Realist Documentary.
The film weaves together real and mythical events to create connections between the history of the Crystal Palace in London and the sculpture called Psyche Abandoned. The story reveals how a moment in the life of a young woman called Psyche was captured in marble and travelled through time and space to sit in the same park overlooking South London for the last 170 years, while world wars, fires, explosions, royalty, music events, funfairs and circuses have rushed past her in endless succession.
This ‘moment’ is the only constant in a story of splendour and spectacle, and like all the best stories, if only half of it is true it is still an incredible tale.

Synopsis

David Cornwell, aka spy novelist John le Carré, opens up to Oscar-winning documentarian Errol Morris in what was to be the author’s final and most personal interview. Spanning six decades, from a stormy Cold War backdrop extending into the present day, the film is punctuated with rare archival footage and dramatic anecdotes, including reflections on the influences Cornwell/ le Carré took from his father’s life as a con man.
Official Selection Telluride Film Festival 2023 - World premiere
Official Selection Toronto International Film Festival
Official Selection BFI London Film Festival - European premiere

Synopsis

Emotional repair through wool. VISIBLE MENDING reclaims the role knitting plays in many people's lives; helping them face adversity, calm anxiety, and make crucial social connections. A group of stop motion knitted objects tell stories about how they have used knitting to mend themselves, even if the repair is temporary.
BAFTA Film Awards 2024 - Nomination - Best British Short Animation

Synopsis

A documentary about life off-grid in Devon and much more.
Maverick soul mates Ged and Dave are on a mission through the winding lanes and hidden tracks of North Devon, to record the lives and experiences of people living without mains electricity. Filming for ten years they capture not only the beauty of this often harsh environment but also the spirit of the wonderful off-grid characters who inhabit it. A diverse collection of people whose stories at first appear meandering tributaries but quickly swell to become an intricate weave of philosophies and vibrant wit, uniting around our common search for happiness.
This rich tapestry of personalities, stunning landscapes and the musical accompaniment of Cosmo Sheldrake combine to deliver the film’s unique and extraordinary soul. Electrically charged with a seductive power not supplied by the National Grid.
A perfect antidote to the intensity of life in the modern world.
Official selection Cinecity Brighton Film Festival 2023 - UK premiere

Synopsis

SHADOWTIME is an immersive VR work. "You are in two worlds at the same time. Your body is in the other world, but your heart is in this one."
To exist in the virtual world is to have two bodies, four hands, two hearts. Alma, a mysterious guide to this double world, leads you through questions around the climate crisis, irreconcilable realities, and the virtual as a place to take shelter.
Official Selection Venice Film Festival 2023 - World premiere

Synopsis

Documentary about the Leith-born 'Trainspotting' author Irvine Welsh. Welsh relays his own story and philosophy with characteristic wit, while a roll call admirers share their passion for the books.
Official Selection Edinburgh International Film Festival 2023 - World premiere

Synopsis

A meditation on time, justice and the afterlives of French nuclear toxicity in the Algerian Sahara.

Synopsis

The story of the extraordinary friendship between Scottish film maker Bill Douglas and his lifelong companion and collaborator Peter Jewell.
Bill Douglas was Scotland’s finest director, celebrated by the likes of Lynne Ramsay, Lenny Abrahamson, Satajit Ray and Yuliya Solntseva. In his short career he made four films: an autobiographical trilogy about his appalling childhood – MY CHILDHOOD, MY AIN FOLK, THE WAY HOME - and COMRADES, an epic about a momentous moment in English history. Every shot in these films is an art work and every sequence a poem. Bills life was turned around in the Egyptian desert when he met the man who would become his lifelong friend, Peter Jewell. The two men had very different backgrounds but they formed a unique bond that channelled a tremendous creative energy. In this film Peter reminisces about the life he shared with Bill in their tiny Soho flat filled with cinema memorabilia. Their shared love of the movies led them to start experimenting with an 8mm camera. Peter’s memories and musings about the legacy Bill left behind are illustrated with these never-before-seen short films.
Official Selection Venice International Film Festival 2023 - Venice Classics - World premiere