Wayward pop star turned film composer Sir Peter Pilger faces the challenge of his life: To deliver a Requiem for his former college St Jude’s in time for the Memorial Celebrations while facing down revelations about his past and living up to his new authority as High Master.
Freighted in to lead his struggling alma mater through the rising tides of university fees, student unrest and political correctness, he neglects his hypochondriac wife and ungovernable teenage kids to turn upside down the institution he is meant to rescue.
But it is not from his misspent youth as an undergraduate at St Jude’s and not from the modern student body that his biggest trial emerges, but from the kitchens, where a time bomb ticks amongst the migrant college staff in the dazzling cellist Anastasiya, who remembers more about him than he does.
His Requiem lays nothing to rest. Not his libido. Not even his conscience.
The idea for the film originated from the eight objects that were traditionally given in England to welcome a new child into the world; Egg, Coal, Evergreen, Salt, Candle, Bread, Coin and Silver Ring. Each symbolic gift has been the theme of a public event, created by artist Clare Whistler, in collaboration with leading artists, musicians, poets and documented from 2005-2015 by established filmmakers.
'Gifts' is an interpretation of the eight events, directed by Nichola Bruce. The film brings together English traditions of ritual and landscape.
Financed by the gift economy movement and Arts Council England.
The captivating story of Entity, the UK’s most successful and controversial under sixteen street dance crew and their epic journey to the Hip Hop world championship.
Filmed in a direct cinema 'fly on the wall' style over nine months, this compelling and exciting story follows the trainers, the kids and their families as they lay everything on the line and battle to overcome the many challenges that face them, hoping to achieve their dream of world championship glory. From their training room in Barking to national and international competitions, 'the documentary gives us a unique and heartfelt insight into the lives of the kids and the adults supporting them, as they give everything in their bid for recognition on the world stage.
Close observations around Southend-on-Sea, a small English town along the Thames estuary, reveal not only everyday streets, everyday birds, unflagging tides, mud and sky, but also prize-winning Indian curries, an encyclopedic universe of hats and a nearly lost world of proto-punk music.
Official Selection Sundance Film Festival 2017 - New Frontier
A mockumentary catching up with David Brent (Ricky Gervais) of 'The Office' fame 15 years after his redundancy from Wernham Hogg.
A documentary crew catches up with Brent, now working as a travelling salesman, as he chases his dream of rock stardom by self-financing a UK tour with his band Foregone Conclusion.
Exploring supressed aggression and ambition. The outcomes of society’s moralistic expectations and repressing the competitive pressures placed on young girls.
Following the collaborative process of the band Mumford & Sons with an esteemed collection of musical partners during their 2016 tour of South Africa. Inspired by their first trek through the territory, and the unprecedented excitement from their South African fans, the band was moved to record five new songs with artists Baaba Maal, Mamadou Sarr, The Very Best, and Beatenberg. The blending of ideas and musical styles from Senegal, Sweden, Malawi, Cape Town, and London resulted in their acclaimed Johannesburg mini-album, recorded in just two days and released globally in June 2016.
Havana Moon captures the historic, once in a lifetime concert by The
Rolling Stones in Havana, Cuba. Directed by Paul Dugdale (Adele,
Coldplay) this epic, record breaking concert features the hits ‘Jumpin’ Jack
Flash’, ‘It's Only Rock ’n Roll’, ‘Gimme Shelter’, ‘Brown Sugar’,
‘Satisfaction’ and many more. Filmed at the end of the América Latina Olé
Tour 2016 Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Charlie Watts, and Ronnie Wood
perform a truly spectacular set to over 1.2 million adoring fans.
India’s largest crowdsourced documentary. The story of a single day, 10th October 2015.
The film is a unique document, capturing a remarkable range of characters and personal reflections into what it means to be alive in India today, submitted by individuals from across the country.
Cult-pop raconteur Aidan Moffat, former frontman of indie band Arab Strap sets out to explore Scotland’s past by rewriting and touring its oldest songs. But he doesn’t count on running into 79-year-old force of nature Sheila Stewart, a travelling balladeer who upturns Moffat’s folk assumptions. He believes the old songs are ripe for updating. She does not.
With Stewart’s wrath ringing in his ears, Moffat embarks on a road trip that finds him dressed for battle in a Highland graveyard, caught between feuding monster-hunters at Loch Ness, and singing in a dismissive farmer’s kitchen, before facing Stewart in his home-town of Glasgow for an unlikely final showdown, in this funny wee film about music and death.
Glasgow Film Festival 2016 - World premiere
When fifteen-year-old Shay hears the music of The Clash for the first time, it’s a revelation, opening up a new world of social consciousness and anti-establishment defiance beyond anything he’s known in his dead-end London suburb. Drawn into the heart of the city’s burgeoning punk scene, he forges two relationships that will change his life, falling in love with rebellious cool girl Vivian and finding an unexpected connection with none other than The Clash’s electrifying frontman, Joe Strummer.
Propelled by a blistering soundtrack that bounces from The Clash to The Ramones to Buzzcocks, this film captures the sound and spirit of a scene that shook the world.
Official Selection BFI London Film Festival 2016 - Sonic Strand
