In the 1830s, Winnifred ‘Freddie’ Sheridan finds herself convicted to serve a sentence at the ‘Cascades Female Factory’ in Tasmania. There she meets the charismatic Ellen Scott, a female convict who has created a joyful counter-culture within the misery of 'The Cascades' - a rebel faction known as the ‘Flash Mob’. Together, the two women will grow the ‘Flash Mob’ from an underground movement into a prison-wide feminist phenomenon that could threaten the very existence of ‘The Cascades’.
WHAT ABOUT GARY is a raw and emotive documentary that delves into the tragic consequences of misinformation, exploring how conspiracy theories led to the death of Gary Matthews from Covid-19. The film intimately portrays the profound grief of Gary's family and friends as they grapple with this senseless loss.
Director Tristan Copeland, Gary's cousin, questions the purveyors of these falsehoods, driven by a need to understand why they ensnared Gary. Through vérité footage, archival materials, and Gary's own paintings, the film explores Gary’s descent into a distorted reality, seeking the root causes of his susceptibility to misinformation.
Shot during the pandemic in Shrewsbury, England, WHAT ABOUT GARY captures the isolation that made many, including Gary, vulnerable to manipulation. With kinetic editing, evocative camera work, and a poignant score, the film examines how society failed to protect its citizens from misinformation.
A potentially controversial yet vital work that questions how conspiracy theorists wield such influence and whether others can be saved from similar fates. A cautionary tale for a world grappling with truth in the digital age, and a tribute to a life tragically cut short, driven by a need to understand why.
Fifteen-year-old Jamie lives with his peace activist mum in an army town in England, where they suffer prejudice due to their anti-war beliefs and activism.
“Domestic violence - the beast that has been with us since time immemorial but refuses to die." Erin Pizzey
Erin Pizzey is a hero. Every refuge today owes its existence to her courage. Five decades after she made history, by opening the first women’s refuge in the world, icon Pizzey is joined by Dame Joanna Lumley to ask why so many lives are still devastated by domestic abuse. Articulate and engaging, they explore the mechanism, essence and psychology of the abuse, explaining why “the beast that has been with us since time immemorial” refuses to die. Resting on Erin’s five decade fight and unparalleled knowledge, they present proven ways to stop the cycle of abuse for both victim and perpetrator.
ERIN: BEHIND THE BRUISES offers a rarely intimate insight into the hidden reality of abuse. Through Erin’s astonishing life and great sacrifice, the film shows the incredible progress made, but sends an urgent message to press on. Thanks to Erin's courage, women went from suffering in silence, with nowhere to turn fifty years ago, to being supported and helped today, but the problem remains. “Too many today are still accepting the abuse because they are trapped, but we can stop it” explains Pizzey, calling for a "long overdue open, honest and serious discussion about domestic abuse.” This film is a call for action, a golden opportunity for real change.
Edited by Chris Hall (CNN, BBC, Discovery, Channel4), the film pays tribute to a living legend who changed the course of history. Fifty years ago Erin has singlehandedly brought domestic violence into the open, forcing society, local authorities and governments to address it. Erin has saved thousands of lives and changed women and children’s lives for the better, but her fight against domestic violence is far from over.
A young American girl finds herself stranded in a Northern Irish village when her estranged father is arrested for the murder of a policeman who vanished during The Troubles. Compelled by her father’s secrecy, she teams up with her delinquent cousin to uncover the family secrets that have shaped their lives.
Exodus is the migrant story of people from different walks of life who have been displaced for various reasons and share the same path of trying to escape to a new refuge. Overnight ordinary citizens find themselves enemies of the state.
Suddenly they have to say goodbye to loved ones, livelihoods and homes to find safe refuge. All set against the backdrop of Turkey.
It is a human story of desperation, love, persecution, compassion, outlaws, and an individual's will to survive.
Director James Glancy, a former British Royal Marine commando who was decorated for his actions in combat, returns to Afghanistan with a handpicked team to help him answer the question that has haunted him for ten years. Was it worth it? Dramatically, mid-way through filming, President Joe Biden announces that the US will be pulling troops out by 9/11, starting a Taliban offensive that leads to the dramatic fall of the Afghanistan Government, amidst chaotic evacuation scenes in Kabul, as American forces withdraw.
WITH THESE HANDS shares challenging, complex and under-discussed stories of sexual assault and recovery. It explores the role of listening in the recovery of both survivors and those responsible for sexual harm. WTH is made in collaboration with contributing artists and in consultation with survivor-run organisation SLEEC.
1967. A militant white supremacist government dominates South Africa. Apartheid laws are ruthlessly enforced. Organised opposition is destroyed. Mandela is in prison. Underground networks smashed.
In exile, ANC leader Oliver Tambo has a plan to re-organise a new underground. That will take time. Right now, he needs to get a message of hope to the oppressed millions inside South Africa.
Using apartheid’s prejudices against itself, he recruits white sympathisers from London to run underground missions into the heart of the racist state. He tasks Ronnie Kasrils, a charismatic young ANC fighter, with leading the London operation.
Ronnie’s recruits smuggle leaflets into the country to put in the mail. Through Joyce, a black journalist and ANC activist, we see leaflets reach individuals, but attempts to inspire a wider audience result in torture and imprisonment. No message of hope to millions.
In response, a secret propaganda weapon is invented – the leaflet bucket bomb. Despite dangers, Sean, Steve, Kathy and other young Londoners, volunteer to deploy them in South Africa. Spectacular explosions. Thousands of leaflets. No one is hurt and the message gets through. Success. Under pressure, Ronnie selects Sean for another mission. It’s a trap. Sean is now on death row.
Eye-witness testimony. Archive. Reconstruction.
15 year old Isaac Owino struggles to live in his everyday life of poverty, along with his mother who is a drug addict. However, things begin to take a dramatic turn as a package is delivered to his house.
A troubled vagabond who helps strangers bring an end to their suffering is forced into a reckoning with his own moral duties as a father.
JACKDAW is a dark, experimental drama that explores the emotional complexity bound to the debate on euthanasia.
A woman in the state of an agony and rebirth. She can only find her strength in her wild nature, in her witch nature, in her return to primal instincts.
How the victims of abuse have to redefine themselves and learn the world again. Personal growth and self discovery portrayed by a single mother, her daily struggles, her beliefs, and her close relationship with nature and her child. Film shows absurdity of how terribly we allow ourselves to be asked simply stupid questions. The story is told in three plans: A day to day reality, second plan is a dream and third, return to her childhood.
