Projects in genres: Woman Director

Synopsis

A young English couple bond with an enigmatic Russian businessman after a chance encounter on holiday. What they don’t know is that he is a gangster, seeking to defect to the British secret service before his rivals have a chance to murder him, and he has chosen them as his lifeline. The couple’s recruitment is followed by a deadly chase, which takes them from the souks of Marrakech to London, to the French Open Final in Paris and finally to a thrilling climax in the Swiss Alps. Official Selection San Francisco International Film Festival 2015 - World premiere

Synopsis

The story of a lonely but upbeat girl called Shelby who rides the local buses in an attempt to keep warm and find meaningful connections with her fellow passengers - in a world that all too often looks the other way. A sensitive look at those in the community who are vulnerable and marginalised. Highlighting that their lives, like those of all of us, are essentially the result of many factors beyond our control rather than any personal action.

Synopsis

A single, steady shot records the rising tide in the evening. Using sound and text, the film invites you to think and experience beyond the boundaries of the frame.

Synopsis

A poetic portrait of an Iranian watchmaker, whose philosophical musings on craft invite us to reflect on how we engage with time in a fast-paced world. Moving between his colourful pared-down home and the streets and windswept marshes of East London, we discover the horologist's ascetic and beautiful private world.

Synopsis

This piece records a water-music-light attraction which has been in operation at Watermouth Castle theme park in North Devon since the early 1980s. Installed in a child-sized theatre, the performance synchronises a 1920s Mighty Mortier organ with a water tray exhibited at the Festival of Britain in 1951. Official Selection Toronto International Film Festival 2016 - Wavelengths

Synopsis

The story of the late jazz musician and classical pianist Nina Simone including her rise to fame and relationship with her manager Clifton Henderson. A rare and poignant love story, this is an uplifting biopic of Nina Simone during a turbulent period in the iconic artist's life. Set in France during the 1990s with frequent flashbacks to defining moments in her life and her remarkable and unique music, this film tells the story of a tormented genius who eventually finds love and peace. The legacy of a legend who continues to engage, enthral and inspire audiences around the globe.

Synopsis

In 2012, the Ivy House pub in Peckham was sold to property developers as part of the ongoing gentrification of south London. The locals opposed it. Unfolding from this scenario, the film weaves verbatim testament into folk operatic form with the Ivy House itself, embodied and imagined as a central character and inhabited by the memories of the generations who have passed through its doors. Sarah Turner films the community’s creative reanimation of the mourned pub through dance, poetry and song... which both records and creates a vision of social possibility... The activism that saved the pub is a metaphor for social and creative agency. This is not just a film about resistance; it is a film that itself refuses categorisation... a triumphant genre-blending documentary which turns community action into an exhilarating participatory opera. (London Film Festival) Public House premiered in the documentary competition at the 2015 BFI London Film Festival and was nominated for the Grierson Award. The film has since been re-edited and remastered in a new version for wider audiences.

Synopsis

A comedy about arrested development. Anna is stuck. Her greatest happiness was her relationship with her twin brother, but since his death, 18 months ago, she's on a downward spiral that includes returning to her rural home-town, abandoning any hope of a sex life, and making the shed at the bottom of her Mum and Nan’s garden into her home. When her Mum serves her with an ultimatum and her schoolfriend comes to visit, Anna’s life of emotional isolation becomes impossible to maintain. Soon she is entangled with a troubled boy obsessed with Westerns, and the local estate agent whose awkward interpersonal skills continually undermine his attempts to seduce her. A story about confronting the things we are most scared of – a story that explores the universal themes of being lost and finding yourself, making peace with who you are, and regaining self-confidence and dignity. It’s basically the same themes as 'Rocky' but with thumbs. And a cowboy. And no boxing. Tribeca Film Festival 2016 - World premiere

Synopsis

Six stories of modern love in all of its dizzying, sweet complications. A passionate trip around the world with Gael García Bernal, Sion Sono, Sebastián Silva, Mia Wasikowska, Anurag Kashyap, and Natasha Khan each behind the camera for a 15-minute vignette. Exploring love in all its permutations. The six stories portray contemporary love in all its glorious, sad, ecstatic, empowering, and erotic manifestations. Official Selection Tribeca Film Festival 2016 - World premiere

Synopsis

A ‘pop-u-mentary’ following award-winning performance artist Bryony Kimmings and her 10-year old niece Taylor as they try to combat the hyper-sexualised and commercialised world of pop by creating their very own alternative popstar role model for Tweens (7 – 12 year old girls). They launch their creation into the world and measure her impact against a series of ‘Fame Aims’, including one million hits on YouTube and national radio play for one of her songs. Bryony and Taylor’s adventure sees them perform to thousands of children, garner national media attention, and takes them to the other side of the world and back. But the impact it has closer to home is perhaps the most powerful of all. This feature-length documentary is an upbeat and inspirational film for anyone who cares about the impact of the media we consume.

Synopsis

Heather and Sarah Ann were inseparable when they were little. They told each other every secret. They knew they would be best friends forever... But then they grew up. Now Heather is forced to return to her hometown when her father becomes ill. The cynical urbanite hates everything about the place she grew up – especially her bubbly childhood friend Sarah Ann. But Sarah Ann thinks they can be best friends again, and insists that Heather film the video for her dream wedding to a local policeman. Heather is convinced that the two young women have nothing in common – but what is going on between Sarah Ann and that handsome married man Heather once loved? And is Heather’s devil-may-care father really having an affair with Sarah Ann’s uptight mother, the wife of the Police Chief? As the big day approaches Heather finds that no one is quite what they seem – especially the old friend she thought she knew better than anyone. A rollicking comedy-drama about secrets and weddings – and best friends forever.

Synopsis

A stranger, Tasya, arrives in Sarajevo and barges into Damir's reclusive world. Little by little she takes over his apartment, his life, even his dreams. He can't summon the courage to confront Tasya and she becomes progressively more comfortable and controlling. Can Damir find it in himself to struggle out of this trap and regain control of his life, or will Tasya take him over completely, leaving no trace of Damir in the world? SXSW Film Festival 2016 - World premiere