Projects in categories: Documentary

Synopsis

Exploring the status and potential of unrealised and fragmented histories from the legacy of Chilean filmmaker Raúl Ruiz (1941 – 2011) to animist cinematic traditions in Taiwan. The project takes as its starting point an unfinished film made by Raúl Ruiz in Taiwan in 1995. Based in Paris since the late 1970s Ruiz came to Taiwan to film THE COMEDY OF SHADOWS / LA COMEDIE DES OMBRES with a script inspired by the Taoist philosophy of Chuang Tzu’s' Wandering on the Way' and Luigi Pirandello’s 'Six Characters in Search of an Author'. The project was filmed at Chin Pao San cemetery with a Taiwanese cast and crew but never finished. The incompleteness of Ruiz’s film is the starting point for DOUBLE GHOSTS, that considers the echoes of this unrealized project to explore cinematic and political phantoms. Drawing on research and diverse collaborations with filmmakers Valeria Sarmiento and Niles Atallah as well as Chilote fishermen, the film is staged as a series of actions seeking to reactivate this lost film. Filmed on 35mm film in Chile and Taiwan, DOUBLE GHOSTS follows traces across the Pacific from Ruiz’s birthplace in Puerto Montt to the mountain cemetery in Taiwan. Official Selection International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR) 2019 Official Selection New York Film Festival 2019 - Projections

Synopsis

Can magic mushrooms cure depression? Over 4 years, filmmaker Monty Wates was given exclusive access to the first ever medical trial to give psilocybin (the psychoactive ingredient in magic mushrooms) to a group of volunteers suffering from clinical depression. His remarkable film follows three of the volunteers and their families, and the ambitious staff running the trial, who are hoping this controversial treatment will have the power to transform millions of lives. With deeply moving footage of the “trips” the patients go on, this intimate film is an absorbing portrait of the human cost of depression, and the inspirational people contributing to groundbreaking psychedelic research.

Synopsis

A feature film portrait of two powerful figures: Lord Stevenson and Professor Malcolm Carruthers. Powerful for what they represent and their life story and powerful for some of the most controversial and contemporary issues: mental health, cosmetic surgery and the use of testosterone.

Synopsis

Zahida Kazmi is the first female taxidriver in Pakistan and a local legend. Independent, feisty and street-wise, she is a master hustler. Twice a widower and 56 years old, she is fighting to make a living on the dusty roads of Rawalpindi. Also a mother to 7 year old Zara, she is continually juggles her home life with behind the wheel. Reciting beautiful poetry in nostalgic moments off the road, Zahida reflects on her fate. Zahida is a fascinating insight into the trials faced by a determined woman carving her own path within a patriarchal society.

Synopsis

Shergar was once the most valuable stallion in the world. His kidnapping in 1983 by the IRA still grips public’s imagination. What really happened with the prizewinning Irish racehorse? BAFTA-winning director Alison Millar goes in search of new evidence to try to solve the mystery.

Synopsis

William Sellers and the Colonial Film Unit developed a framework for colonial cinema, slow edits and minimal camera movement, no camera tricks. In an effort to recuperate black dance from this colonial project, SPECIALISED TECHNIQUE, attempts to transform this material from studied spectacle to livingness. Official Selection International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR) 2019 - Bright Future

Synopsis

Jay Wilde struggles with his conscience every time he takes his cows to be slaughtered. Completely trapped within the industry, Jay realises that he must find a way to make a change. BAFTA Film Awards 2019 - Winner, Best British Short Film

Synopsis

Nobody should have to die alone. A woman cares for sick animals, staying with them when they die. A contemplation on life, death and kindness.

Synopsis

A 60-minute film exploring neuro-diversity in the arts through the work of Samuel Beckett from disabled performer Jess Thom's personal perspective. Jess is an artist and activist who also has Tourette's Syndrome. In this film, Jess takes us on a funny and unpredictable journey of discovery into one of Beckett's most complex plays,and asks us to radically reconsider issues of disability, representation and social exclusion as she prepares to perform the role of Mouth in Not I, in front of a live theatre audience.

Synopsis

A unique documentary snapshot into the life and times of Ambrose Mendy, boxing promoter, footballer's agent and entrepreneur. Filmed as a single shot over 100 minutes Ambrose takes you on a journey that begins in Hackey London in 1955. An unflinching human portrait of what it has taken this extraordinary man to survive and thrive over six decades. Every story he tells gives an insight into how the world has changed but also stayed the same.

Synopsis

A VR animated adventure with a dark heart. Be transported to Hawaii in 1984 and into a hand-painted enchanting rainforest, in search of the last õ'õ songbird. A fabled black bird with yellow legs and a unique voice, whose last living specimen disappeared from the island 30 years ago.

Synopsis

Nicu, a homeless street kid, is adopted by the notorious 'Bruce Lee' and brought up in the subterranean tunnels of Bucharest. As he grows up, he begins to realise that this 'King of the Underworld' is maybe not the father that he needs. Filmed over five years by photographer Joost Vandebrug, the film is a real life Oliver Twist story about growing up, and finding a family.