Projects in genres: Children’s

Synopsis

It is night and all seems quiet on Tweedy's Farm. But someone - or something - stirs in the shadows - It is Ginger, a chicken with a mission. She and her fellow flock are determined to escape the egg farm where any chicken who doesn't make her quota can meet a fowl fate. There's Bunty, a champion egg-layer and proud of it; Babs, kind-hearted but decidedly bird-brained; Mac, the Scottish chicken who has all the skills of an engineering genius; and Fowler, the farm's elderly cockerel, who constantly reminisces about his wartime exploits in the R.A.F. Every one of the chickens' many escape attempts under the fence, over the fence, even masquerading as Mrs. Tweedy is thwarted, and the ringleader, Ginger, is tossed into 'the cooler' by Mr. Tweedy. Undaunted, Ginger is contemplating yet another escape attempt, when she witnesses the impossible - a rooster named Rocky comes flying over the fence into the farm. Ginger sees her salvation - if he can fly into the farm, she and the rest of the brood can fly out. She agrees to hide Rocky if he will teach the rest of the flock how to fly. But even as the chickens attempt to fly up, the egg count continues to go down - a fact not lost on the greedy Mrs. Tweedy, who decides that chickens who aren't laying profits - can be baked for profits as chicken pies.

Synopsis

Jimmy Spud is not your average eleven-year-old Newcastle lad. Keener on understanding the mysteries of the Universe than playing football, his plan to become an angel comes to fruition when he meets and is befriended by the Angel Gabriel. Jimmy's angelic aspirations are not, however, welcomed by his long-suffering family. The feather-covered costume that he wears to carry out his angelic duties - including the dramatic rescue of a young Scout from drowning - doesn't help either. When his Dad falls seriously ill, Jimmy decides to use his celestial powers to try and save him. The Spuds need a small miracle to make things better.

Synopsis

It's a story that's been told for 2000 years, but never like this. The Miracle Maker is a brilliant new portrayal of Jesus, uniquely innovative yet convincingly authentic. Powerfully told through the voices of a distinguished cast, it begins with the chance encounter between a sick young girl, Tamar (Rebecca Callard), her Pharisee father Jairus (William Hurt) and the quietly resolute carpenter (Ralph Fiennes). Tamar becomes one of an ever-increasing following fascinated by the spiritual strength and leadership of this charismatic man, but her father and other people in authority are troubled by Jesus' ability to inspire the people. Plotting against him, the rich and powerful Ben Azra (Anthony Sher) arranges the murder of Jesus' faithful friend John the Baptist (Richard E. Grant) and stirs up the authorities against him. While Jesus shocks the leaders by healing the crazed woman Mary Magdalene (Miranda Richardson), Jairus knows he could ask Jesus to save his dying daughter, as his wife Rachel (Julie Christie) begs him to do. Now the unstoppable conflict between belief and authority will come to a head when the great pilgrimage reaches Jerusalem in a confrontation between the power of God and the power of Rome, wielded by Pilate (Ian Holm). Vividly effective, this epic international co-production combines the rich detail of three-dimensional model animation, graphically striking two-dimensional animation and sophisticated computer effects to achieve extraordinary intensity and realism. It has been written especially to appeal to children and families, who will find themselves irresistibly involved in the power struggles and passion, despair and elation of the man who is 'The Miracle Maker'.

Synopsis

The Emperor Akbar breeds animals in captivity, to honour his first born son. His unsettled cheetah fails to breed. Akbar experiments with the enclosures he has built for his collection in order to induce the cheetahs to mate. After many frustrated attempts, Akbar gains a greater understanding.

Synopsis

Family high action adventure, aka 'Rebel Zone', features the rescue of hostages and gold bullion seized by armed terrorists led by a maritime Rebel Warlord. Royal Naval Frigate 'HMS Monarch', despatches a Royal Marine detail to track and confront the enemy at their tropical island HQ.

Synopsis

The Greatest Store in the World is a gripping, entertaining, poignant Christmas special for all the family. Who needs a toy when you can have the whole toy department? Why watch one television when you can watch hundreds? Who needs to write to Santa Claus when he's right there in his Grotto? A cold, homeless, present-less, cracker-less Christmas is transformed into every child's fantasy when a mother takes her two children to live in the greatest store in the world. But what starts as a spirited search for refuge, becomes a nail-biting adventure, as 'away in a manger' turns into a race against time, crime and a wicked Santa Claus and his malicious elfin side-kick

Synopsis

To eleven year old Taliesin Jones, God is as palpable as the apple he buys on his way to school, as real as the rain which trickles down his neck, as near as the warts on his fingertips. In Cqmglum where he lives on a farm in rural Wales, God is all around, even at school where Hoop The Mental hits him on the nose, and earthy Julie Dyer blows confusing smoke rings at him. Others don't see the world the way he does. When his mother leaves home with her hairdresser to put more colour in her life, Taliesin is left behind with his distracted father, sullenly adolescent brother and his own creeping uncertainty to try and make sense of this sudden conspiracy of events. It is only with elderly Billy Evans, piano teacher and part time healer that Taliesin finds a source of miracles, miracles which transform his life . . . The Testimony of Taliesin Jones is a beautifully measured story exploring the troubled borderland between childhood and adolescence. Poetic, precisely observed and filled with humour, it examines the resources of imagination and faith to which children can turn when faced with the confusion and imperfection of the adult world they are about to enter.

Synopsis

Broughton 'B' FC aren't just bad, they're awful. They cheerfully face a weekly inevitable annihilation with scores such as 27-0. This young team never let defeat get them down even when their sponsor, the local optician, offers them free eye tests. A heart-warming film which shows that hope really does spring eternal.

Synopsis

Jacob Two Two is 2+2+2 years old, the youngest of five he has to say everything twice to get himself heard. Desperate to be taken seriously, when Dad needs groceries Jacob bravely volunteers to go and buy them; so embarking on his first solo mission. The quest goes horribly wrong when Jacob loses his nerve and runs off - straight into a ten-pound hanging salami. He wakes up to find himself in court charged with the terrible crime of insulting a grown up. The Singing Judge, Rough Justice, sentences Jacob to Slimer's Island Children's Prison, presided over by none other than the gruesome Hooded Fang! But help is on its way in the form of the heroic Child Power Masters. Escorted by the Fang's henchman, Miss Fowl and Mr Fish, Jacob arrives at the fog-bound, crocodile infested prison guarded by the Slimers where he meets the fearsome Hooded Fang. When the Child Power Masters fail to show on time (as usual) Jacob Two Two hatches a cunning plan and decides to take on the Hooded Fang himself! Will he out-wit Fish and Fowl and the evil Slimers or will it be the Child Power Masters who save the day? All will be revealed in George Bloomfield's hilarious rendition of Mordecai Richler's classic childrens adventure, Jacob Two Two Meets the Hooded Fang.

Synopsis

Brighton. Late August. Teenage companions brash Wayne and shy Chris take an awayday to catch the last of the summer girls. After a shaky start they meet two girls on the pier who cause more trouble than the boys could ever have imagined. Chris wanders off to the beach, where he meets the perfect girl who is beyond his reach. The awayday closes prematurely, leaving everyone a little more worldly wise.

Synopsis

Three girls, wasting time at a bus stop. Four boys, loitering with intent...A teenage spaghetti western cracked on cheap wine and hand-me-down sportswear.

Synopsis

Leicester, 1972. T-Rex are chewing up the charts and Jack, a mixed race teenager with a lot more than schoolwork on her mind, has a hectic month of growing up to do. This is coming-of-age, Midlands-style: forget the Prom, corridor passes and making out at the drive-in. Think Baked Alaska, the Colgate ring of confidence and sneaky cigarettes behind the bike sheds. When we first meet Jack it's the day of her first period and just four weeks before she has to run the race of her life for a place on the county athletics squad. Convinced she is champion material, her bullish PE teacher, Mr Loughborough, is piling on the pressure to train hard, and buys her a long-coveted pair of swanky red trainers to demonstrate his commitment. But a 13-year-old's life is not just one long 200 metres: Jack shines in academia and art class as well as on the track, and she's got her eye on a rather handsome classmate called Steven Green. Sex, 'frigging' and the big 'V' are the subject of every school bus seminar and playground pow wow. And Jack's mum Vivian is determined to keep a beady eye on her daughter's new-found interest in matters carnal. Vivian is also convinced her daughter is about to be offered a cocktail of class A drugs on every street corner. While on a school cross-country run up to the local tourist trap and nookie spot, Jack is approached by Spanner, a David Cassidy look-alike with a nice line in cannabis consumption and floppy hair. He introduces Jack to the delights of getting slowly wasted in the sun. Meanwhile Jack's best friend Maxine sets her pal up in a garage tryst to do the deed with Steven Green and his spotty mate Poor Bastard. But the three of them are disturbed by a local policeman. By now determined to throw off her cumbersome virginity, Jack steals a handful of contraceptive pills from her mum's bedside cabinet and finally gets together with Spanner...