Projects in categories: Documentary

Synopsis

When the water company and local authorities fail the community, the wild swimmers of Bristol fight back through activism, swimming like a mermaid and getting married. Do humans have the right to nature? In this tender film, director Charlotte Sawyer tells a story of a community of wild swimmers in Bristol (UK) affected by raw sewage pollution of the river Avon. England is one of the only two countries in the world to have a fully privatised water and sewage disposal system, and with only 14% of English rivers in good ecological health, the mission to keep the rivers clean is not going well. In a series of moving, exciting and thought-provoking scenes, the swimmers create a stunning, light-hearted yet fascinating tapestry, probing how activism starts from the grassroots, and carries a profound universal lesson for all of us. There’s a wedding, drum’n’bass, an inflatable turd, and a whole lot of cheesecake in this poignant reflection on people’s innovative battles for the natural world they cherish.

Synopsis

An intimate portrait of Tony Hudgell; a charismatic, complex nine-year-old double amputee. Abused as a baby by his biological parents, Tony faces daily physical and emotional challenges, but his tenacity and character have made him something of a national treasure thanks to his incredible fundraising achievements.

Synopsis

A poetic film about the experience of living with and alongside disease and disability. Tracing loops, echoes and repetitions across the physical and spiritual realms, ‘The Treasury’ combines documentation of family home movie footage; somatic and religious rituals for death and life after death; abandoned urban architectures teeming with natural growth; celluloid film hand-processed in genetic material; and an analogue synthesizer soundtrack that mimics inheritance patterns of genetic disease. In essence, this is a film about a family – but, more than that, it is a film made from the everyday patterns we embody in order to live through and with one another. Official Selection BFI London Film Festival 2024

Synopsis

In the underground world of diffing, a community finds solace in their passion, as they navigate personal struggles and challenges both on and off the road. Official Selection PÖFF Shorts - Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival 2024 - Winner Best Film (New Talents Live-Action) Official Selection Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival 2025 Official Selection SXSW Film & TV Festival 2025

Synopsis

The story of a failed Hollywood epic considered one of the worst films ever made and the terrible consequences filming near an atomic test site had on the cast and crew not to mention the community.

Synopsis

2024 marks the 50th anniversary of ABBA’s iconic Eurovision victory, a milestone that calls for a celebratory cinematic tribute fitting for the ultimate pop band. ‘ABBA: Against the Odds’ unveils the epic journey of ABBA’s rise to global fame. Starting with the moment they won Eurovision, it tells the story of how they overcame critical backlash, societal attitudes and marital break-up to deliver their ground-breaking music and prove themselves as a live act. Under the direction of the award-winning James Rogan, known for his impactful documentary storytelling, the film weaves a rich narrative using a treasure trove of rare archive footage, bringing to life the love, struggle, and fame behind the unforgettable hits. While ABBA’s music has touched millions, ‘ABBA: Against the Odds’ presents their saga in a manner as compelling and personal as never before. Official selection CPH:DOX Film Festival 2024 Special Premieres Sound & Vision - World Premiere

Synopsis

This emotionally charged journey, filmed over seven years, follows the extraordinary story of Rudrani Chettri and her friends from baby blessings, red light districts and dazzling Hindu festivals to the glamorous world of photoshoots, designers, hair and make-up, lights and electrifying action. We discover the transgender trans - Hijra community of Delhi as they set about creating India’s first ever trans modelling agency and an extravagant, paradigm-shifting, catwalk event. Far from a bleak story of suffering and discrimination, this film explores the world of India’s ‘third gender’ (Hijra) in a positive way, full of laughter, drama, excitement, and pathos. We discover a complex world where traditional Hindu values clash with modern human rights. We immerse ourselves in unfamiliar places but find identifiable stories of love and loss, hope and poverty, beauty, glamour, and catwalk glory. Official selection BFI Flare: London LGBTQIA+ Film Festival 2024 - UK premiere

Synopsis

APOLLO THIRTEEN: SURVIVAL is a visceral archive-led, cinematic re-telling of an iconic space story. In April 1970, NASA faced the greatest crisis in its history; three astronauts halfway to the moon on a spacecraft that had suffered a catastrophic explosion. This iconic space story is brought to life with rare access to the complete recordings of the Apollo 13 mission, alongside archival interviews with the crew, their families and members of ground control. As the spacecraft haemorrhages critical power and oxygen supplies, our approach immerses the audience in the unfolding drama of the crisis; from inside the spaceship, at mission control and within the families' homes. What transpired was one of the great survival stories in human history. A triumph of ingenuity, teamwork and human resilience as the world watched. Waited. Held its collective breath. Official selection - CPH:DOX 2024 Special Premieres - World premiere

Synopsis

Epic forests of the Siberian Taiga and black lava landscapes of a Hawaiian volcano are woven through this quietly powerful film that opens outwards from a personal story about living with uncertainty. Rebecca E Marshall draws from footage she has shot over twenty years in an intimate address to her child in the future. She builds connections between Agafya Lykova, an elderly woman surviving alone in the Siberian forest who scares bears away by banging space-rocket debris, a crew simulating life isolated on Mars and her young child discovering the world minute by minute. This endlessly surprising journey offers up images that shake ideas of past, present and future to form a deeply tender vision of the timeless human connections that continue to weave through an increasingly divided world. Xylouris White (drummer Jim White, Dirty Three; lutist Giorgos Xylouris and Guy Picciotto, Fugazi) provide a haunting original score. Official Selection Thessaloniki Documentary Film Festival 2024 - World premiere

Synopsis

Following up on a questionable suicide, a reporter and her cameraman venture into an apartment complex looking for answers. Escorted by the building's concierge they begin to uncover the truth, and discover something terrifying roaming the hallways with them.

Synopsis

Against the backdrop of the Women, Life, Freedom protest movement in Iran, filmmaker Elahe Esmaili is helping her parents to pack up the family home. As the boxes stack up, discussions flare between the generations: Elahe does not wear the hijab, embodying the courage of her generation’s struggles. But can changing a society be as simple as moving house? Official Selection Visions du Réel 2024 - World premiere Official Selection Sheffield DocFest 2024 Official Selection Telluride Film Festival 2024 Official Selection Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival 2025

Synopsis

This XR piece brings us into to the world of Tim and Pam Fogg, rope access specialists and speleologists who see exploring caves akin to an archaeological dig that reveals geological and climate history. Set in Northern Ireland, this is a portrait of what drives two passionate individuals to discover new caves despite the dangers, darkness and the unknown that lays ahead. While following their descent, the entire cave system is revealed in stunning miniature detail capturing otherworldly formations and sounds. Plunged into darkness, experience the bottom of the cave in true scale and hear from Tim and Pam how vital it is to preserve these environments in the age of the Anthropocene. Official Selection SXSW Film Festival 2024 - XR Experience Spotlight - North American premiere