Projects in categories: Documentary

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.

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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.

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A film collating the testimonies of six survivors from five of the worst events in living memory to build a picture of the human experience of war and genocide.

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Rio 2016 was the first time athletes from the newly emergent nation of Kosovo were allowed to compete in the Olympic Games. This film captures the behind the scenes struggles, hard graft and grit of the humble Kosovo Olympic Team as they prepare to make history on the world stage. GO GO KOSOVO! is about triumphing over adversity and never giving up, no matter what. It’s the ultimate underdog story about hope and fighting for what you believe in.

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Two brothers embark on a worldwide journey to discover what it's like for other siblings living with Down's syndrome. Official Selection Glasgow Film Festival 2021 - World premiere

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Among the narrow streets of contemporary Naples, HIDE AND SEEK follows four years in the life of nine-year-old Entoni and his grandmother Dora during a critical state crackdown on crime that threatens Entoni's future with forced removal and imprisonment. Official Selection BFI London Film Festival 2021 - Documentary Competition - World premiere

Synopsis

From the confines of her home in England, a filmmaker embarks on a digital quest to track down an old friend who disappeared years ago in Japan. With the internet as her only resource, she stumbles upon ‘The Inquirers’, a website full of souls looking for lost people. As she gets closer to finding her friend, she finds herself wondering why it is so hard to forget about some people, and, equally, why is it often necessary to let them go. IN THE SPACE YOU LEFT is a film about the meaning of missed connections in the digital age. Official Selection Sheffield Doc Fest 2021 - UK Competition - World premiere

Synopsis

The first feature documentary entirely in Scottish Gaelic, IORRAM (BOAT SONG) is an immersive and poetic portrait of life in the Outer Hebrides, as the islands and the language face an uncertain future. Archive sound recordings of ghostly voices, stories and songs from the last century are mixed with stunning footage of daily life in the islands today, on land and sea, to create a lyrical and playful dialogue between past and present, and between sound and vision, set to an original score composed and performed by award-winning folk musician Aidan O’Rourke. IORRAM began as an experiment to make a cinematic film entirely composed from archive sound and contemporary moving images. The sound archive at the heart of this project contains over 30,000 pieces of previously untranslated and largely unheard Scottish Gaelic recordings, representing a treasure trove of cultural history and memories which deserve to be heard. Making documentaries from archive film footage is a long established practice, but there are also vast riches in sound archives around the world, which are gradually being digitized and restored, and represent a valuable resource for filmmakers interested to explore the relationship between past and present, and between the ears and the eyes. If cinema has historically prioritized vision over sound, IORRAM marks an ambitious effort to redress the balance, and provide audiences with a new and deeply satisfying kind of cinematic experience.

Synopsis

A cinematic insight into the world of Michelle Mansell, a cold, open-water swimming coach. Through her work Michelle gives people an effective way of regaining mental and physical health and shifting their perspective on how the world around them can heal.

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Poly Styrene was the first woman of colour in the UK to front a successful rock band. She introduced the world to a new sound of rebellion, using her unconventional voice to sing about identity, consumerism, postmodernism, and everything she saw unfolding in late 1970s Britain, with a rare prescience. As the frontwoman of X-Ray Spex, the Anglo-Somali punk musician was also a key inspiration for the riot grrrl and Afropunk movements. But the late punk maverick didn’t just leave behind an immense cultural footprint. She was survived by a daughter, Celeste Bell, who became the unwitting guardian of her mother’s legacy and her mother’s demons. Misogyny, racism, and mental illness plagued Poly’s life, while their lasting trauma scarred Celeste’s childhood and the pair’s relationship. Featuring unseen archive material and rare diary entries narrated by Oscar-nominee Ruth Negga, this documentary follows Celeste as she examines her mother's unopened artistic archive and traverses three continents to better understand Poly the icon and Poly the mother. Official Selection Glasgow Film Festival 2021 - World premiere Official Selection SXSW Film Festival 2021 - North American premiere