Projects in categories: Documentary

Synopsis

Since the high school and the fish farm closed, the men and teenagers have had to leave the small northern British island of Out Skerries for Shetland’s mainland. Julie is one of the women left on the island with her youngest children. In her empty house prey to the sea winds, daily life follows a strange timescale, at the rhythm of the activities of those who left.
Official Selection Visions du Réel 2019 - International Competition - World premiere

Synopsis

What is it like to grow up in a place that has been forgotten? Tyler, a 16-year-old boy who has never attended school, guides us through an estate in the north of England.
Official Selection Visions du Réel 2019 - World premiere
Official Selection Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival - International Competition

Synopsis

Iceland is a country marked by its frozen nature and extreme temperatures, which give it a certain touristic appeal. The harshness of the climatic conditions and the enthusiasm of tourists regularly cause car accidents to happen. From this phenomenon, verging on absurdity, the artist and filmmaker Ruaidhri Ryan had planned to make a road movie, one that he will never finish. He thus adventures into the different phases of pre-production, production and post-production of what this film could have been.
This film captures the hilarious diary of this failure, in which Ryan calls on a 4x4, a GPS gnawed by the cold, an elf and a Viking guide with whom he maintains a virtual correspondence. Moving between simulated reality, video games and cinema, the film explores the geography of a country marked by the exoticism of its landscapes, often used as backdrops for Hollywood movies. A hilarious look at the way in which new technologies condition our ways of representing territories.
Official Selection Visions du Réel 2019 - International Competition - World premiere

Synopsis

A portrait of Jamaican-born artistic polymath Barbara Samuels. Featuring an account of her first generation, diasporic experience in Southend and London, and her discovery of hippiedom and the personal freedoms offered by entry into creative life.
Official Selection BFI London Film Festival 2019 - Experimenta Strand - World premiere

Synopsis

A short documentary/ drama, based on interviews and eye witness accounts, on the serial killer Javid Iqbal who murdered over 100 children in the early 1990s Lahore Pakistan.

Synopsis

A first of its kind documentary exploring the events that lead to the Jallianwala Bagh Massacre, also known as the Amritsar Massacre of 1919.
Presented by Kuldip Singh Sahota, we explore what really happened on that fateful day of April 13th 1919 in the heart of the Punjab, Amritsar. With the help of author of 'Garden of Bullets' Saurav Dutt, author of 'The Butcher of Amritsar' Nigel Collett, Dr Harish Puri and Dr Stephen Badsey, the events that lead up to the massacre are contextualised.

The massacre itself caused the deaths of up to 1000 innocent Indian men, women and children.

After the massacre a strict curfew was imposed on the city, thus stopping dead and the dying receiving any medical help. Then immediately a martial law was declared which further punished the local population with crawling and flogging orders.

Synopsis

The documentary was made in the wake of the director's own loss of his mother, who in her last days of life received very poor palliative care by the hospital.
The film is aimed to raise awareness around palliative care and end of life care, and covers interviews from a number of UK leading experts in palliative care. The film also takes great care not to leave out the story of those directly in receipt of palliative care. Unlike others films on this subject, the director's primary narrative aim is not to have a film about dying but instead have a film that looks at how to live life to the best until those final days.
SEARCHING FOR MEANING is a collage of education and thoughtfully blended aspects from what is a heartfelt story of a lady who even in the face of death, continues to demonstrate incredible courage by living life to the max. The director is also himself in receipt of palliative care and it's that emotional connection with the subject matter which is truly apparent in this film.

Synopsis

The compelling story of the Chins, the Chinese Jamaican family behind “Studio 17” a legendary recording studio in downtown Kingston, Jamaica. Studio 17 was at the heart of the music revolution that began after Jamaican independence in 1962. In its prime, artists who recorded there included Bob Marley and the Wailers, Lee “Scratch” Perry, Peter Tosh, Gregory Isaacs, Dennis Brown, Alton Ellis, Carl Malcolm, Jimmy London and many more. But dramatically, during the political turmoil of the late 1970s the Chin family fled to New York and the studio was abandoned. 40 years on, a treasure trove of original studio tapes has been salvaged - revealing unique and stunning recordings from the ‘golden age’ of reggae, many of which were unreleased and have never been heard before. As the tapes are played they give rise to a myriad of wonderful stories and in a highly poignant conclusion, the teenage voice of the late Dennis Brown is beautifully re-recorded with the vocals of a rising teenage star, Holly Stevenson, all magically orchestrated by producer and one time Eurythmics star, Dave Stewart.

Synopsis

Legendary US photographer Jim Marshall's diary of a life in music captures both the volatile man behind the lens and the seismic changes that defined the 1960s. A child of immigrants he battled inner demons and fought his way to become one of the most trusted mavericks, the man with five Leica M4s hanging round his neck.
A passion for music led him to capture some of the most iconic figures in music history from the jazz greats to Bob Dylan, Johnny Cash and The Rolling Stones. His abrasive but honest approach to his subjects combined with his incredible skill to build trust expanded his portfolio beyond celebrities, documenting key moments in US history and a time of great turbulence.
Official Selection SXSW 2019 - 24 Beats Per Second - World premiere

Synopsis

For years Michael avoided seeing his father as he found him a constant reminder of his own possible fate. Now with signs that’s his father’s genetic disease has been passes down to himself, he’s back to help take care of him in his final days.

Synopsis

The future of social housing is threatened by the AC30 Housing Bill. Set in London's East End, a trio of art students are eager to raise awareness about their neighbourhood especially the lives of tenants and people who work on the estate.

Synopsis

In England banger racing isn't just a sport, but a way of life. JUNIOR BANGERS follows 11 year olds Finn and Harley through a cold winter race day in Birmingham.
Official Selection BFI London Film Festival 2019 - Thrill Strand - European premiere
Official Selection Sundance Film Festival 2020 - Documentary Shorts Program - Nominated, Short Film Grand Jury Prize