Projects in categories: Documentary

Synopsis

Through the interspecies gaze we observe one of the most ancient and highly honoured dog breeds, the Saluki. Guiding us in love, preparing us in death and transforming us in life.
Official Selection Hot Docs 2019 - International premiere

Synopsis

'Fleshback: Queer Raving in Manchester’s Twilight Zone’ celebrates the long and vivid history of alternative queer raving in the North of England, placing Manchester at the forefront of progressive queer rave culture.

Synopsis

From BAFTA winning director Ben Anthony and BAFTA winning Executive producer Morgan Matthews, this ambitious feature documentary brings together multiple stories from the Grenfell Tower fire – the most devastating tower block fire in European history.
On June 14th 2017, fire ripped through Grenfell Tower - one of the poorest tower blocks situated in London’s richest borough, Kensington and Chelsea, where the average price of a home is £1.4 million. The fire claimed the lives of 72 people - many of them social housing tenants. This tragedy left a community distraught, with many asking questions about how this could happen in contemporary British society.
Filmed over the course of the year following the fire, this meticulously crafted documentary draws from hundreds of hours of observational footage, archive and social media content and features the largest collection of interviews with those connected to the tragedy to be gathered together on film.
In the immediate aftermath of the tragedy, the filmmakers were embedded with people who were displaced by the fire, as well as with those who had lost love ones. ‘Grenfell’ tells the story from within the community, including residents from the tower such as Edward Daffarn who predicted the fire in a blog two years earlier when he raised serious concerns about the safety of the building.
The film also shows how, during a recent refurbishment of the building in 2014, dangerously flammable cladding was applied to the exterior – one of the factors that is now understood to have exacerbated the fire, allowing it to spread so quickly.
Ultimately ‘Grenfell’ captures the incredible human spirit of a community who turned their grief into action and began an irrepressible fight for justice.

Synopsis

Kath is an artist of the everyday. Inspired by the world around her, Kath's creations are keenly observed, and a far cry from the genteel pieces her contemporaries produce. A proud Yorkshire-woman, Kath reflects on her life and art as she carves her place in the precious world of miniatures.
Official Selection Sheffield Doc/Fest 2018 - World premiere
Official Selection Sundance Film Festival 2019 - International premiere
Official Selection SXSW 2019 - Festival Favorites
Official Selection Hot Docs 2019 - World Showcase

Synopsis

This documentary explores the stage version of Trevor Griffiths' seminal 1982 television play, 'Oi For England', for the Royal Court Theatre Upstairs. Looking back to an extensive tour of Inner London community centres before a sell-out run at the Court, it asks: Can theatre or the arts make a difference?

Synopsis

Each moment millions of people are living their lives in completely different ways. In the Western world, the right to study, to get a job, to get married to the person we love, is considered ‘normal’; while these things are happening everywhere in the world they are felt as completely different experiences.
This documentary follows four young girls for one day, each living in a different country but awoken by the same dawn in the same meridian: South Sudan, Romania, Palestine, Finland. Our girls are so different from one another and yet so similar in their behaviours, intentions, desires and dreams.
With their innocence and spontaneity, children can show us our differences and similarities, portraying their inner beauty and sometimes their tragedy. They teach us to be more sympathetic with “others” and give us a better understanding of our world.

Synopsis

When his 65th birthday approaches, Desmond Gentle, an eccentric piano tuner from London, decides to undertake the most difficult and perilous piano delivery of his career. The challenge entails travelling to the heart of the Indian Himalayas with a 100-year old upright piano, carried across high mountain passes using only yaks and ponies. Destination: a primary school in Lingshed, one of the most isolated settlements in the world, situated 14,000 feet above sea. If Desmond is successful, this will be the highest piano delivery in history, and the crown achievement of his 40-year long career.
Official Selection Edinburgh International Film Festival 2018 - World premiere

Synopsis

Capturing the secret world of a comic book artist, who draws images of women he finds beautiful, and the woman he wants to be. Throughout his life, he has battled “him” and “her”.
However, they both complete, protect and nurture each other whilst guiding him when he needs them.

Synopsis

Sebastien lives for the thrill of the circus. Now the oldest acrobat in the troupe, he knows this show could be his last.

Synopsis

A short film about an eighty-year-old tidal pool in Margate, and the swimmers who find solace and community in her waters during these turbulent times. Filmmaker Kathryn Ferguson and writer Anna Hart explore the magical healing nature of the sea, and the value of a true community pool.
Official Selection Sheffield Doc/Fest 2018 - World premiere
Official Selection Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival 2019 - International Competition

Synopsis

Orson Welles trained as an artist before he become an actor and director, and continued to draw and paint throughout his career - character sketches, storyboards, set designs, pictures of the people and places that inspired him. These artworks are a sketchbook of his life, and most have never been seen outside his family and close friends.
For the first time, award-winning director Mark Cousins has been granted access to this treasure trove of imagery, to make a film about what he finds there - the story of Welles' visual thinking, never before told. An exclusive new perspective on one of the 20th century's greatest creative figures, whose art and life continue to fascinate audiences today.
Official Selection Cannes Film Festival 2018 - Cannes Classics - World premiere

Synopsis

Intimate glimpses of one very special day in the lives of high-school seniors from an industrial corner of the Florida Everglades: prom’s over, the future is uncertain, and the irresistible pull of the beach makes the long-time friends take a "Skip Day", drive 90 kilometres to chill, pose and revel in the waves.
Official Selection Cannes Film Festival 2018 - Directors Fortnight - Œil d'Or Award Competition - World premiere