Projects in categories: Documentary

Synopsis

On 3 June 1991, a deadly cloud of hot gas and rock spewed out of Japan’s Mount Unzen. Among the 43 people consumed by it were scientist-filmmakers Maurice and Katia Krafft. They left behind over 200 hours of footage from their decades of work, which Herzog draws on for this stunning eulogy. From 1977’s La Soufrière through to 2016’s Into the Inferno, Herzog has long been fascinated by these violent natural events and his deeply personal voiceover is a fitting memorial to two people who gave their lives in the pursuit of both science and the pure cinematic image. Official Selection Sheffield DocFest 2022 - Memories - World premiere

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The UK’s Jay Jay Revlon, father of the House of Revlon, and Gorgeous Jayce Gucci, of Barcelona’s Ballroom scene, talk compassion, beauty and truth.

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Exploring our economic, historical and emotional entanglement with oil by looking at the conflicting imperatives around North Sea oil. This invisible machine at the core of our economy and society now faces an uncertain future as activists and investors demand change. Is this the end of oil? By highlighting the complexities of how oil is embedded in our society - from high finance to cheap consumer goods – The Oil Machine brings together a wide range of voices from oil company executives, economists, young activists, pension fund managers and considers how this machine can be tamed, dismantled, or repurposed. We have five to ten years to control our oil addiction, and yet the licensing of new oil fields continues in direct contradiction with the Paris Climate Agreement. This documentary looks at how the drama of global climate action is playing out in the fight over North Sea oil. Official Selection Sheffield DocFest 2022 - Debates - World premiere

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The untold story of how Extinction Rebellion rallied the largest civil disobedience of a generation, holding the centre of London for 10 days, forcing the government to meet and discuss their three demands to avert the climate crisis.

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DO CHILDREN HAVE RIGHTS? is documentary film produced by Monty Lord, that will blow the lid on the world of children’s rights in the UK. The purpose of the documentary is to raise awareness of children’s rights.

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ELEVEN DAYS IN MAY is a portrait to remember the children killed in Gaza last year during the bombings in May 2021.

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A film which attempts to navigate bereavement following suicide. Through animation, archival footage, and sound, director Miranda Peyton Jones guides us to the heart of her grief, love and loss. The voices of her family and her father’s music underscore this deeply personal, powerful, and poignant film. Royal Television Society Awards 2022 - Winner - Best Documentary Official Selection British Documentary Film Festival 2023 Official Selection British Animation Awards 2024

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Winning a war is not easy. LANCASTER tells the story of the iconic WW2 bomber, through the words of the last surviving veterans. Starting with 'The Blitz' we follow our 38 contributors as they join-up, learn to fly and go to war. With the enemy strong and RAF Bomber Command badly equipped, losses were high. But eventually, the tide turned with the introduction of the 'Lanc'. Designed to take the war to the enemy - and to win it – the Lancaster was both loved and feared. From the firestorms of Hamburg, through the famous Dambuster raids and the still-controversial bombing of Dresden, emotional testimonies tell of courage, fear, friendship and moral ambiguity. For there was a deadly price to be paid in the lethal night skies over Germany - 55,000 aircrew and 600,000 civilians were killed. Such was the cost of defeating the Nazis and restoring peace to Europe.

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Walton, North Liverpool. An area severely effected by austerity and home to the safest Labour seat in the country. Filmed over three-years by filmmakers who hail from the area, MANIFESTO is a first-hand account of grass-root community activism, depicting the work and effort that goes into party politics away from Westminster. National topics - the NHS, education, the environment, worker’s rights, Brexit, internal selections and the 2019 General Election - monumental issues across society, are discussed and debated as Walton Constituency Labour Party campaign for change through Labour’s ‘For The Many’ manifesto.

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The unlikely story of a Glaswegian visual artist, Stephen Skrynka, and his dangerous life-long obsession with riding the ‘Wall of Death’. Stephen dreams of transforming the traditional fairground motorbike attraction into an art form, but underestimates the difficulties of combing his artistic vision with the commercial instincts of his collaborators. Alone, with no finance and a pandemic raging, Stephen rashly decides to hand-build his own Wall out of recycled wood. Facing a crisis of money and self-belief, salvation arrives in the shape of unexpected comradeship, anonymous donations and the kindness of strangers. Stephen builds his Wall. But can he ride it?

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Will, a frustrated animator, records a message to his mother. He explains “confessionally” that the film he was trying to make with his collaborator, Ainslie Henderson, failed. It was a film that they were making about her, after she contracted mouth cancer 5 years ago. He explains the purpose of him talking to her now, in a candid way about it, might just be the final closure his Mum and family need. Why did he invent an imaginary cat called DOM who exists only on his computer and begins to get in the way? Needing to move on, the film they shot and animated will now explain what they were trying to do. The film plays out from Will’s perspective today, a composition of thoughts, images and scenes - reflecting and editing together a letter to his mother. A self-reflective and self-referential film that blurs the lines between fiction and nonfiction. This video message or ‘letter’ to her is a device that guides the film’s narrative. As if being ‘live edited’ the film has a playful urgency, enabling the viewer to authentically experience the journey with Will and the other characters.

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GAZZA is a deeply personal portrait of Paul Gascoigne, one football's most famous tragic heroes. It is also an insight into 20 years of modern British history as it charts the creation media's lust for celebrity gossip. Told solely with contemporary archive, GAZZA gives a startling new perspective on the profoundly immoral and illegal lengths the tabloid press went to in order to gain access to Paul's private-life and manipulate it for their own gain.