Secret blood draws. Controversy. No diagnosis. No cure, leaving 20 million people to suffer with ME, a mysterious illness.
This documentary investigates the debilitating condition of Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/ME (also known as Chronic Fatigue Syndrome/CFS). Varied stories and revelations produce a story of intrigue, heartbreak and hope.
Archie is a small boy with learning difficulties. He doesn't speak, and can't cope with school. His parents are at war, and the social services want to take Archie into care. Most people have written him off, but a chance meeting with an unlikely friend changes everything.
Moscow, 1959: Katya is young, beautiful – and a spy for the Americans. When she begins spying on Alexander, an idealistic Communist politician, the last thing she expects is to fall in love with him. Her choice between love and duty leads to a nail-biting conclusion that Alexander can only unravel decades later in New York. His journey back to the snowbound streets of Moscow uncovers an unexpected love triangle and betrayals from those he trusted most.
Inspired by D.F. Wallace's first short story, visualising mental discomfort as living on another planet to Earth, the film splits the character of May in two halves: one struggling in London in the past, the other one trying to recover in a youth clinic in the present -until the two storylines collide.
“Two birds flying high”
The flower of carnage is a traditional 2D short animation that is based on the story of the willow plate. It’s a forbidden love story that is created using both blue ink and nail varnish onto acetate sheets. The ink maintains the fluidity of the animation.
A successful young couple’s sheltered, affluent world is shattered when they each make a decision to neglect the needs of a vulnerable teenage girl. The husband exploits her, and the wife, unaware of her husband's actions, fails to respond to the girl's plight. When the girl invades their luxurious country home and scares the pregnant wife, the repercussions of their actions weigh heavily on their consciences, leading to traumatic reassessments of themselves, their relationship and the wider world around them.
A compelling portrait of loyalty, broken dreams and redemption told by its director, reluctantly-dutiful daughter Karen, who takes you under the skin of the deceptively humdrum household she returns to for this long goodbye.
Karen’s mother Ann suffers a devastating stroke that brings her daughter back home. But Karen isn’t the only one who comes back to help care for Ann in the crisis: Her prodigal father - the endearing yet unfathomable Ian, who’s been separated from Ann for years - also reappears.
Reunited so unexpectedly, and armed with her camera, Karen seizes this last chance to go under the skin of the family story before it’s too late, to come to terms with the aftermath of the secret her father had tried - and failed - to keep from them all: a relationship and a son, Campbell, born in Ethiopia and now in Scotland.
With candour, warmth and much unexpected humour, Karen’s role as family confidante, busybody, therapist and spy brings to life both an extraordinary story and a profound portrait of family survival.
Hot Docs 2015 - World premiere
In 2012, jihadists took control of northern Mali. They imposed one of the strictest interpretations of sharia law in history. On 22 August they banned music – radio stations destroyed, instruments burned and Mali’s musicians faced torture, even death. This film follows Mali’s musicians as they fight to keep music alive in their country. Through personal stories we draw the audience into the human side of this ongoing conflict and ask the burning question: what does the future hold for Mali? The film culminates with the first public concert in Timbuktu post jihadist takeover and music ban.
The Palio horserace in Siena isn't a matter of life or death... It's much more important than that. Twice a year the Italian city of Siena goes crazy for the oldest horse race in the world: the Palio. Not your average race: strategy, bribery and corruption play as much a part as the skill of the riders.
'Palio' explores the thrilling story of a rivalry between a young ‘outsider' keen to break in to a dangerous but lucrative game and the corrupt 'insider' who has manipulated the city of Siena for a decade. Their passionate and dramatic battle is an epic and cinematic tale of Italian life in microcosm.
Tribeca Film Festival 2015 - World premiere
