Projects in categories: Documentary

Synopsis

THE EARTH ASLEEP discovers hidden truths and forgotten histories about the 2011 Great East Thoku earthquake and tsunami, the most powerful disaster ever recorded in Japan. The documentary includes invaluable archive research, testimonies, ceremonial rites, spiritual beliefs, bringing a sensitive understanding of loss and trauma. Image, poetry and music intertwine in an evocative rhythmic montage of archive and original visual elements, with a score beautifully rendered and inspired by Japanese instruments, and a poem on-screen highlighting the role of the metaphor, to mark the 10th year commemoration of the lost and missing people.

The Earth Asleep is commissioned by HOME, Arts Council England and The Great Britain Sasakawa Foundation. Supported by University of Salford.

Synopsis

A personal, visual essay about gender transition - focusing on the social context and exploring how the world is different living as female compared to being perceived as male. Jack tells his story by using and reframing gender focused tropes and imagery from popular culture, mythology, history and art.

Synopsis

At the edge of the Moroccan Sahara a man contemplates his nomadic past and the turn his life has taken, whilst scientists in a German lab analyse deep-sea mud cores to unravel the Earth’s history.

Synopsis

From its DIY collaborative origins in London council estates and pirate radio, via its intricate musical influences, to a complicated emergence into the mainstream, this immersive and exciting documentary tracks the evolution of Grime music. With extraordinary access to the key originators, producers and musicians from the subculture, as well as behind the scenes footage and a wealth of archive, the film combines a nuanced overview of the genre with a vivid sense of its socio-political context and impact across three decades of rocky UK history and reactionary politics.
Official Selection BFI London Film Festival 2021 - Create - World premiere

Synopsis

Guided by his grandmother’s haunting Sumerian lament, we follow 9-year-old mute Ali as he takes his favourite sheep for sacrifice. Over this perilous journey they bear witness to the beauty and unravel the ills of Iraq but can they cure them with a sacrifice? A lyrical coming-of-age story.
Official Selection Sheffield Doc Fest 2021 - UK Competition - World premiere

Synopsis

The film investigates the 20 December 1995 tragic loss of American Airlines flight 965 from Miami to Cali, Colombia. The plane crashed whilst on approach, killing 159 people onboard. Only four passengers and a dog survived the crash.

The accident investigators of the time concluded the Boeing 757 accident was primarily caused by pilot error. Why two of American Airlines most experienced pilots actually made the errors they did that night, that question, was never been fully investigated until now.

AMERICAN 965 looks at evidence the investigators never considered and flight safety critical evidence the aviation industry knew but was not brought to the investigators attention. Through extensive research and interviews with family members, survivors, air accident investigators and other experts, as well as a never seen before complete 3D recreation of the accident, Loraine offers a plausible new possible cause for why this tragic accident occurred. The film leaves us asking why did the aviation industry never reveal to investigators key information they knew. Information every passenger should know.

Directed and produced by Captain Tristan Loraine, a former British Airways Boeing 757 Captain and union Health & Safety representative, the film comes after nearly 20 years of research by the director.

Synopsis

An experiment based on the "E.S.T." process and therapy. "E.S.T." is an experiment where someone is locked inside a room in complete obscurity for a month or longer in order to cure any ailment.

Synopsis

Exactly 30 years after the original Woodstock, festival organisers attempted to replicate that summer of love vibe. However, times had changed and a new cultural zeitgeist raged.
Official Selection BFI London Film Festival 2021 - Debate - World premiere

Synopsis

Captured just before and during the Coronavirus outbreak and in the lead up to Brexit, DIVIDED BY LAW bears witness to binational families and couples trying to cope with the UK’s hostile immigration environment. From multiple locations across the world, we hear personal accounts of how the interviewees navigate their way through the UK family immigration regulations, encountering prolonged periods of separation from their partners and families with distressing consequences.

Synopsis

DON'T GO GENTLE is a film about finding strength in vulnerability. It journeys through determination, friendship and adversity of Idles as they fight for a place in a divided socio-political environment, unexpectedly inspiring and unifying an international community along the way. In a time when the ground is shifting beneath our feet, where open communication and truthful reflection are more vital than ever, we journey with lead singer Joe Talbot and the band as they tear across stages, knock down stereotypes and empower fans to face down uncomfortable realities and talk about mental health.

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A film about the therapeutic power of the natural environment and finding home in unexpected places.

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While millions of migratory birds fly free in the skies above, a dynamic Palestinian refugee yearns for the ancestral homeland she is denied. She challenges her friend to find the ancient mulberry tree that stands as witness to her family’s existence, guided only by inherited memories, a blind man and a two-headed dragon.

Spanning fifteen years, this story of a friendship that stays connected across a fragmented land and a divided people, reflects on freedom of movement, exile and the hope of return.