Projects in categories: Documentary

Synopsis

Filmed over seven years in England and the United States, Dance of Identity is an intimate, powerful portrait of love, resilience, and family against the backdrop of a global culture war. The documentary follows Sophie, a British trans woman and amateur ballet dancer, and her partner Sandi, as they build a life together. From Sophie’s triumphant public ballet performances to the couple’s fairytale wedding and the high-stakes birth of their child, their personal joys constantly clash with a shifting political landscape. As politicians and media headlines weaponise trans existence, the couple faces rising hostility, social media attacks, and legal threats to Sophie’s fundamental rights. Yet, through nine years of waiting for gender-affirming healthcare and navigating bureaucratic hurdles, theirs is a story of defiant hope. Dance of Identity reveals the profound impact of political rhetoric on the private sanctuary of a family, ultimately celebrating the triumph of love over systemic adversity.

Synopsis

Imperial Illusions explores how Britain crafted a myth of benevolent empire to justify domination and exploitation, and how, as the empire collapsed, that myth was replaced with a heroic narrative of victory over fascism. The film investigates what happens when a nation buries the violence of its past, and how that denial continues to shape political, social, and cultural realities today. Through the histories of Kenya, India, and Northern Ireland, the documentary uncovers the lasting impact of suppressed memory and asks what it means for both Britain and its former colonies to confront the truths long left in the shadows.

Synopsis

Caught between her indigenous Buryat roots—where art is a shamanic window between worlds—and a Western market that treats culture as a commodity, artist Yuma Radne constructs a monumental canvas to confront the psychological distortions of colonization at the edge of an irreversible era. "Either you make art, or you suffer. It’s like a curse." For painter Yuma Radne, the act of creation is not an aesthetic choice, but an ancestral code carried in the blood. Moving from a remote Siberian village to the high-stakes European art world, Yuma finds herself navigating a surreal landscape where sacred cultural identity is rapidly converted into a luxury product. Through intimate studio dialogues and raw philosophical reflections, the film captures the gruelling physical and mental labour behind her graduation masterpiece, The End of Times. Centred around a gargantuan erupting booze (a traditional Buryat dumpling) mutated into an absurd, monumental symbol of a colonised and erased national identity, the film transcends a typical artist portrait. It becomes a vital, cosmic meditation on why humanity continues to create art in the face of systemic collapse—and a powerful testament to an indigenous culture refusing to be reduced to a souvenir.

Synopsis

In 1981, twelve young Asian men in Bradford faced terrorism charges after defending their community from a violent racist skinhead attack. They made petrol bombs for self-defence. Known as the Bradford 12, by arming themselves, they took direct action to ward off the greater threat of skinhead violence. The state labelled them terrorists, but the people rallied behind the slogan, “Self-defence is no offence.” Their case exposed the intense racial tensions in Britain. Their arrest sparked fierce protests nationally and internationally, with thousands demanding justice for the Bradford 12. The lengthy, tense trial revealed a police force indifferent to racist violence, one that believed discrimination was necessary and had Special Branch surveillance on key defendants. Ultimately, the Bradford 12 were acquitted - a landmark victory affirming the right to organised armed self-defence for oppressed communities. Their courage and solidarity challenged systemic racism and continue to inspire the fight for justice. Official Selection BFI London Film Festival 2026

Synopsis

A dementia group explores memories of travel through creativity, revealing how past experiences can enrich the present.

Synopsis

Defined for much of his life by other people's perceptions of his visible difference, actor Adam Pearson finds a new sense of possibility when he meets Ellie, a teenage girl living with the same genetic condition. As their unlikely friendship inspires Adam to confront the rules he's built to protect himself, he returns to the big screen and discovers that the hero he's been searching for may be himself. Official Selection Telluride Film Festival 2026 Official Selection BFI London Film Festival 2026

Synopsis

A cinematic documentary filmed inside active war zones in Ukraine that reframes how conflict is witnessed and remembered. The film removes traditional narration, allowing only children's voices to shape its emotional and narrative architecture. Their testimonies unfold as a chorus of memory, loss, and fragile hope, transforming lived experience into a meditation on childhood under siege. Only Children's voices - no adults, no outside commentary, no mediation. The film's sonic landscape is shaped through an original symphonic score by Academy Award-winning composer A.R. Rahman and an original Ukrainian-language piece created with a Grammy-winning Ukrainian composer, extending the children's voices beyond image into sound. Through this union of image and music, the film resists commentary and invites the audience into an intimate, human encounter with a generation growing up inside conflict.

Synopsis

This archival documentary traces the rise and fall of Richard Nixon and the death of the American dream, from the presidential primaries of 1968 through the Watergate break-in of June 1972 and Nixon’s resignation two years later, killing trust in the political process and the American presidency in the wake of the Vietnam War. Narrated by Harry Shearer (THIS IS SPINAL TAP), the film tells the untold story of the Watergate burglars, based on director Shane O’Sullivan’s book on the subject, and explores representations of the Nixon years in popular culture, using the music, commercials, and cinema of the era to evoke the fevered political landscape and the culture wars between Nixon’s silent majority and the radical anti-war left. How MEDIUM COOL, LION’S LOVE and SHAMPOO reflect on the political events of 1968; and how paranoid thrillers like THE CONVERSATION, TAXI DRIVER and ALL THE PRESIDENT’S MEN can be read in the context of the Watergate break-in and investigation which followed.

Synopsis

Bel was a Kenyan-Scottish woman who dreamt of singing to the whole world. A gifted musician, singer, and writer, she performed under the stage name Heir of the Cursed and in 2021 was on the absolute cusp of wider fame. But just as the world was finally about to discover her name, Bel took her own life, leaving behind poignant video diaries and a mobile phone full of amazing, unreleased songs. She was a brilliant artist fighting to be heard, yet she remains largely unknown today. Her untimely death and a small but beautiful body of work form her legacy now. Much like the legendary musician Nick Drake who also died young, the power and mystery of Bel’s music lies within the heavy pathos of her life's sudden end. Whatever deep internal struggles led to her tragic death were also at the very heart of what powered her mesmerising art. This documentary tells the story of an artist on the edge of stardom, and her sister Leah’s fierce determination to fulfil Bel's dream: releasing her final record and sharing her with the world. Official Selection Edinburgh International Film Festival 2026 - Closing Night Film - World premiere

Synopsis

Extremism is one of the most pressing issues of our time, yet the public's understanding of what causes it and so too how it can be prevented is often far, far away from many of the debates within academic circles. With examples ranging from Sudan, Israel, the US and the UK, to activists from Amnesty International, a pseudonymous journalist and an anonymous expert sits down to discuss 6 metaphorical vignettes from a range of formers, scholars and activists to explore what we've been getting wrong about extremism.

Synopsis

In 1988, Afghanistan sent its only astronaut into space, a journey that proved home can be farther than the stars. Official Selection, Locarno Film Festival 2026 Official Selection, Dokufest 2026

Synopsis

Rob Beaton has been weaving tartan and tweed in the Scottish Borders since he was 14. Now 84, he is Scotland's oldest and longest-serving mill worker, operating 100-year-old traditional shuttle looms. With no apprentice to carry on his craft, the mill where he has worked for over four decades may soon be forced to close. But elsewhere in Scotland, a different story is unfolding. At another mill in Highland Perthshire, a young apprentice is learning the trade, and the ancient rhythms of the looms are being passed to a new generation. Once, Scotland's textile industry employed nearly 75% of the population. Today, that figure stands at just 0.2%. Against the backdrop of that decline, the stories of these two mills paint a portrait of an industry at a crossroads. Through his film, Callum McCulloch-Nowlan celebrates the workers, machines, and spaces of Scotland's weaving tradition, while exploring the urgency of preserving a disappearing craft.