Projects in categories: Documentary

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.

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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

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

Synopsis

Filmmaker Sean McAllister return to his hometown of Hull as creative director of the opening ceremony of the City of Culture celebrations, where he reflects on the changes to a city hit by cuts in public spending and divided by Brexit. The film follows local resident Steve Arnott, a struggling warehouse worker by day and hip-hop performer by night, who harbours his own creative dream. “Back home in Hull, where I began, I have been filming Steve and wondering whether he can, against the odds, unlock the opportunities to build a better life? Is social mobility possible in cities like Hull? What role does culture have to play in this? How long can he hold onto his dreams for?” (Sean McAllister) Official Selection Sheffield Doc/Fest 2018 - Opening Night Film

Synopsis

Amá is the Navajo word for Mother. This powerful and shocking documentary from Lorna Tucker exposes the forced sterilisation of thousands of Native American women by the USA Government. Made alongside a group of incredible Native producers, consultants and the survivors themselves, Tucker travels across some of the loneliest parts of the USA meeting the brave survivors, doctors, politicians and whistle-blowers who have brought to light this horrifying scandal. Uncovering the grotesque abuses of power in modern American history. The film’s release has encouraged women to come forward to share their stories of being subjected to the violence of forced sterilisation suggesting that this abuse continues to persist in the USA and around the world, posing the question: when will this suffering end?

Synopsis

Following eleven modern-day Jewish bikers on an epic journey from Tel-Aviv to Berlin, crossing nine European countries and 4,500km in twenty-four days. Their mission, to deliver the Maccabi torch to Hitler’s infamous 1936 Olympic stadium, for the opening ceremony of the 2015 European Maccabiah Games. These riders follow in the tracks of the early 1930s’ bikers who set out from Tel Aviv to all corners of Europe. Their mission, to seek out athletes to compete in the first Maccabiah Games. En route, each country holds a chilling resonance for our motor-cycling Holocaust survivors, descendants of survivors and the grandson of a 1930’s Maccabiah Rider. Stories of defiance and survival are revealed, as well as those of horrifying tragedy. The juxtaposition of the present and past is the underlying thread of this Biker-Flick meets Holocaust film mixing archival footage with the 2015 journey. As resurgent populism and anti-Semitism once again rear their ugly heads, this film brings an important message through the voice of those who have been personally affected by one of the darkest pages in human history. This isn’t simply a “Jewish” story. It is the story of people overcoming the worst from fellow man to restate our common humanity.

Synopsis

Dr Lynda Boothroyd of the University of Durham is asked to take a deeper look at the cultural and scientific reason for growing a beard. Her interview is accompanied by a series of intimate portraits of those with beards and their stories.