Projects in genres: Human Rights and with status: Production, Post-production, Pre-production

Synopsis

An intimate yet candid portrait of a group of Western women who devoted their young lives to ISIS, but who now want to be given the chance to start over, back home in the West. Among them, probably the most famous British recruit, Shamima Begum, who fled the country when she was 15, and Hoda Muthana from USA who incited her followers on Twitter to go on drivebys and kill Americans. Universally reviled by the media, these women now tell their stories for the very first time. Official Selection Hot Docs Festival 2021 - Special Presentations - Canadian premiere

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In a time of great ecological, social and economic unravelling, THE WORLD IS FOREST is the profound story of one indigenous family working to heal and transform not just individuals, but whole societies, cultures and ecosystems.

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Following the journey of a public relations officer who works for a high profile charitable fund after she discovers that the charity is covering up a sexual assault on a homeless woman.

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A deep and rich exploration of the complex ancestries of African diasporic cultural expression, inspired by post-colonial African spirituality and artistic practices from West Africa to the Caribbean and Europe. It mixes subtle and exquisite film with live choreography to create a visual poem of dynamic interactions between image, dance, ritual and music.

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When activist Perween Rahman is murdered, her sister Aquila returns to Karachi Pakistan to investigate and finds herself caught up in powerful forces intent on stealing the city’s water. Based on a true story, INTO DUST is the fiction debut of Oscar-winning director Orlando von Einsiedel (THE WHITE HELMETS, VIRUNGA).

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Following an interracial couple in Montana, as they prepare for their up-coming wedding. We see the challenges their Native/Non-native family face, and shed light on what it means to be a man and a woman in a patriarchal society. The film will leave the audience asking; How do we define identity? And where does the role of traditional culture start and end?

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Knowledge is power, but lack of knowledge keeps power where politicians want it... From BAFTA-award-winning producer Gillian Mosely, in association with multi-award winners, Spring Films (NIGHT WILL FALL, THE ACT OF KILLING), THE TINDERBOX is a controversial, revealing, and timely new feature documentary exploring both sides of the Israeli Palestinian conflict. It’s the first time the facts behind the divide have been brought to the screen in a single film, and delves deep into history, as well as hearing from contemporary Israeli and Palestinian voices. Exposing surprising, shocking and uncomfortable truths, not least for its Jewish director and onscreen investigator, this is an important film that will provide valuable context and help people make up their minds – or even change them.

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Borneo, the world’s oldest rainforest, a culture near extinction. All destroyed by a sporting event viewed by billions. Three brothers from the forest, a film crew and their activist friends become undercover investigators, following the stolen wood to its final stop: Tokyo’s new Olympic Stadium. TOUCH WOOD plays out in the build-up to the approaching Olympic spectacle, the camera following a group of friends across oceans, through a spectrum of cultures, to reveal an honest tale of a peoples’ attempt to understand the forces behind the destruction of their home. This journey, however, is not without dangers. Spying on illegal companies has obvious risks but the alienating world they discover on the way has more sinister perils. In this character-driven documentary, the brothers are a symbol of the exploited. The Tokyo Olympics in contrast typifies the insatiable consumer society validating this type of profiteering. Whilst highlighting these clear injustices, TOUCH WOOD provides a window into how indigenous peoples view the world that is driving so much change within their own communities. In doing so, exploring the costs of humanity’s addiction to progress and the effect it is having on the globe’s most vulnerable peoples and the ecosystems they inhabit.

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An English photographer looks back at his latest assignment: a reportage on Father Renato Chiera an Italian missionary working with children in the favelas of Rio de Janeiro. Mixing documentary and narrative DEAR CHILD tells the stories of teenagers caught up in drug trafficking, and their attempt to change their lives. It is a poetic film about the fight of a community against violence, poverty and despair. It is a film about love.

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When the Calais Jungle was ignored and condemned by authorities, ordinary people stepped in to support the refugees. This is the untold story of the volunteers and those they tried to help. ON OUR DOORSTEP delves deep into an aspect of the refugee crisis that rarely reached the press. With NGOs being blocked by red tape and the absence of any positive action by French or British authorities, the film is a behind-the-scenes look at the unprecedented grassroots movement that rose to aid the refugees in Calais, and the community that sprang up there, before it was forcefully demolished. This is the story of what happens when young and inexperienced citizens are forced to devise systems and structures to support 10,000 refugees; and are left unguided to face the moral and emotional conflicts, blurred lines and frequent grey areas of giving aid to vulnerable people. People who do not want to be there. Originally arriving at the Calais Jungle as a volunteer, Thomas Laurance ended up documenting what he saw over the year he spent there, until the camp’s destruction in October 2016. This film is the result of the remarkable and intimate access he gained to both volunteers and refugees.

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A portmanteau documentary made by displaced Syrian filmmakers through workshops in Beirut, Amman and Istanbul. Each film is distinct, but what they have in common is their ability to surprise and move us with otherwise untold known stories told in a highly accessible and creative way, reminding us of the strains of exile and the resilience of the human spirit.

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Nelson Mandela recounts his life story, from birth, through life to death surrounded by his grandchildren in unique drama-documentary featuring extraordinary unseen footage. Narrated by Mandela himself, one of history’s extraordinary enduring figures, his account reveals previously unheard, personal and touching testimony, teamed with emotional conflict. Travelling through time back to his beginnings as a rebellious young man in South Africa; his rebirth as a lawyer; 27 years imprisonment on Robben Island and finally to his release and free and fair elections and victory against Apartheid rule. The interviews and narration are the last oral and video account by the great man before his death. The film was edited by Gregers Salls (SENNA) and officially supported by the Mandela Foundation, and Mandela’s own family.