DUTHCHAS is a poignant, touching and emotive exploration of what it means to people, especially women, to have to leave the island of their birth - Berneray in the Outer Hebrides - to get an education, work, and live and examines the effect this had on the Gaelic language and culture of the island.
The documentary features previously unseen Kodachrome 8mm archive film of everyday life on the Isle of Berneray in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland through the 60s and 70s, intercut with interviews with people from the island including many featured in the archive film which reveals repeated iconic scenes of leaving the island, friends and relatives on the pier waving as they recede into the distance.
A specially composed soundtrack by Donald Shaw draws on the richness of traditional Gaelic songs from Berneray and their compelling melodies as inspiration.
A childless woman is told that her longed for unborn baby is incompatible with life. Alone with her conscience, unable to openly discuss her situation, she painfully decides the best way forward. A film highlighting pro choice, in a world where women are still fighting for autonomy over their bodies.
Haunted and scarred by conflict and loss, a sailor must come to terms with the trauma of war and the mysteries of the deep, as he endures another shift in the small hours of the night on the Middle Watch.
BAFTA Film Awards 2023 - Nomination - Best British Short Animation
Seen through the eyes of Grace, age 6 innocent and carefree. Grace is black. 1977, London, with the the rise of the National Front appealing to racial hatred. Micro aggressions culminate when Grace realises the world operates with bias when it comes to the colour of her skin.
Two British artists: the lesbian portrait painter, Sadie Lee, and the non-binary writer, Libro Levi Bridgeman, both born on the same day. They meet to collaborate on a portrait of Libro and discuss their lives from the 1980s onwards. Now, after 3 years, Sadie is ready to uncover the painting.
Single-mum Lina and her daughter Priya have a close and playful bond that helps them navigate life without tearing each other apart. Lina has found a fair way to settle any debate, using the game Rock Paper Scissors. But all too soon Priya learns that sometimes life isn’t a playground.
Official Selection Venice Film Festival 2022 - Immersive Competition
Ireland 1778.
When Sally finds herself at the mercy of her wealthy but abusive guardian Sir William and threatened with a forced marriage, Eleanor - herself faced with banishment to a convent - hatches a plan for them to escape. They will flee at night to the coast and catch a boat to Wales and freedom. But danger abounds. Rioters roam the forest smashing fences in protest against land enclosures. Bad weather grounds all ships and they have to take shelter. As they explore a new found intimacy, the pursuit closes in.
Inspired by the true story of the legendary ‘Ladies of Llangollen.’
Whilst waiting for her asylum claim to be assessed in Glasgow, a Kurdish refugee’s infatuation with a charismatic Turkish barber forces her to confront her past trauma in order to face the future in hope.
The world's first multi-sensory augmented reality narrative experience. The game turns players into time-travelling detectives, using their sight, sound and smell to investigate the mysterious sinking of Henry VIII’s favourite warship, The Mary Rose, that claimed the lives of the 500 soldiers and sailors on board.
An old lady living lonely and isolated is waiting for her daughter to come over for tea. As the waiting drags on and her loneliness gets more and more intense, plants start sprouting everywhere in her kitchen. At first the old lady is angry at the plants but eventually starts to embrace them and accept them as her new company after her daughter cancels last minute.
Growing old amid flickering memories and teetering on the brink of survival, Bradford Movie Makers' members pull out all the stops to save their club from its final reckoning in this quietly hilarious, profoundly moving portrait of shared artistic folly that speaks to the delusional dreamer in us all.
Official Selection Sheffield DocFest 2022 - International Competition - World premiere
Grierson Awards 2023 - Nomination - Best Cinema Documentary
A MONTH explores how we communicate through silences, especially when we don't know what to say. The story of a young man who goes blind. He and his sister must now come to terms with what happened and figure out what that means for them.
