Beginning in Vienna where the filmmaker meets her father, David, whom she hasn’t seen since she was two. Through a mixture of onscreen text, sit down interviews and archival footage, David’s early life as a teenage activist in Northern Ireland is revealed. The film then travels to Belfast and segues into an impossible reconstruction of David’s early years. In and attempt to better know him, Garnett uses previously recorded audio interviews to skillfully craft a lip-synced, cross-gender performance where she impersonates the his youthful presence and casts a transgender actress in the role of his girlfriend. The film cycles through various camera modes – narrative vignettes on RED alongside handheld camcorder footage of contemporary Belfast street life mixed with these verbatim re-enactments – to create a fragmented account of a teenager struggling to find an identity in a rapidly deteriorating society, and the parallel struggle of a filmmaker to connect with her estranged father. The layers of texture in this film mirror the fractured lens of history, and point to the impossibility of filmmaking as a container for 'Truth'. In TROUBLE, cinema is a means of rebuilding family ties of highlighting the complexities of representation and the construction of identity.
Official Selection BFI London Film Festival 2019 - Experimenta Strand - World premiere
Exploring how punk influenced politics in late-1970s Britain, when a group of artists united to take on the National Front, armed only with a fanzine and a love of music. Developed from Rubika Shah's short film WHITE RIOT: LONDON (Sundance 2017, Berlin 2017).
Official Selection BFI London Film Festival 2019 - Documentary Competition - World premiere
Winner Grierson Award for Best Documentary, BFI London Film Festival 2019
Official Selection Berlin International Film Festival 2020 - Generation 14plus - International premiere
A job is just a job, but as with anything, time flies when you’re doing it with your best friend. And today’s no different. We follow Ty & Malcolm as they go about their daily routine. Just another day for two really good friends conducting business as usual.
Official Selection BFI London Film Festival 2020
Tam gets the first tube home alone. In just a crop-top and high-waisted jeans he re-lives his Halloween night out.
Official Selection BFI London Film Festival 2019 - Create Strand - World premiere
A gritty British drama set in modern-day London. Nearing her final year of school, Hilda’s aspirations hit rock bottom when she is forced to contend with the abandonment of her parents and the dependency of younger siblings. Determined to avoid the breakup of her family, she depends on dance to keep the enclosing chaos at bay. As people begin to vanish from Hilda's life, her only constant is music, but when it stops the silence is deafening.
A social realist fairytale about a transfeminine teenager, as seen through the eyes of their 7-year-old brother. Set in a desolate and prejudiced coastal town, the film examines how a child's unconditional love can be an empowering and disruptive force for good.
A queer teenager struggles with her sexuality, as desires manifest their way from the depths of her eerie closet into reality.
Official Selection BFI London Film Festival 2019 - Journey Strand - World premiere
The documentary follows choreographer and drag queen Jay Jackson/ Laganja Estranja ('RuPaul's Drag Race' Season 6) around London. Jay teaches a dance class and shares stories about his life. The film ends with a live performance at the West 5.
A confrontation between two swimmers in a locker room ends in tears. A collaboration with London-based musicians GUO.
Official Selection BFI London Film Festival 2019 - Official Short Film Competition - Dare Strand
