Projects in genres: Human Rights

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

Anna is a single mother balancing work with raising her nine-year-old daughter, Thea, a bright, sensitive child experiencing severe school- related distress and stuck on a three-year waiting list for an autism assessment. At home, Thea is creative, affectionate and deeply vulnerable. At school, her psychological distress is mistaken for truancy, fabrication or bad parenting. As Anna fights for support, she faces mounting scrutiny from the school and local authority. She is blamed for Thea’s behaviour, instructed to attend parenting courses and ultimately served financial fines for repeated “unauthorised absence”. Her daughter’s needs remain unrecognised, the morning routine is reduced to a battle of increasing violence, and Anna is pushed to breaking point. Threatened with criminal prosecution, on the brink of losing her job and now in a state of complete exhaustion, Anna attempts a final school drop- off. Thea, in a state of sensory overwhelm, takes desperate measures to avoid a public meltdown which ends in unspeakable tragedy. Yet, the calls from the school continue: a relentless reminder that, to the system, Anna's young daughter remains little more than another “unauthorised absence”.

Synopsis

European archival footage from the 1950s documents the life of indigenous, nomadic Sahrawi children and youth in Western Sahara / Morocco. Seventy years later, local young people from Laayoune (El Aaiún) revisit locations that may have appeared in the footage. From ocean to desert to oasis, under trembling starlight, they share their thoughts on life, dreams, and utopia as they search for an uncertain upstream. Official Selection BFI London Film Festival 2026

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 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

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

In a near future in rural Britain, Mustafa cares for his deaf sister, Amna, spending their days together in their hidden, isolated home. One morning, anti-immigration vigilantes descend, tearing them apart and leaving each to navigate fear, loss, and the quiet brutality of a world shaped by far-right policies. Amna escapes and searches for her brother, moving through the fields with determination, only to witness a horrific event. A meditation on family, the unbreakable ties between siblings, and the devastating cycles of violence that fracture lives. Against the backdrop of systemic oppression, the film explores how hate divides families, how love endures, and how the human heart persists even in the face of destruction.

Synopsis

For the first time in 30 years, a film crew gains rare access to Pennsylvania’s maximum-security women’s prisons. Inside, The Lady Lifers – a band led by former soul singer Naomi Blount – turn grief into music and defiance. Though Naomi never took a life, she is serving life without parole. To have any hope of freedom, she must express guilt she does not feel – a cruel paradox of the justice system. As her music echoes beyond the prison walls and reaches the public, lawmakers and activists, the question remains: Will her voice be enough to finally set her free - and to free those she left behind? Official Selection Durban International Film Festival 2026

Synopsis

A group of international doctors breach the blockade of Gaza. What they find is the calculated dismantling of life itself. Official Selection Sheffield DocFest 2026 - World premiere

Synopsis

Bermuda, April 1968: once again a White US college student is crowned queen of the annual floral pageant, the greatest spectacle on the island home of the Easter Lilly. Hours later a race riot breaks out. The city burns. Across a decade of civil disturbances, encompassing assassinations and the last executions in the British Empire, BERMUDA RIOTS ARE DIFFERENT re-evaluates this contested history with the archival voices of Black Bermudian eyewitnesses. Official Selection BFI London Film Festival 2026