Steven, better known as Morrissey, frontman of iconic band The Smiths, is a restless young man struggling to escape his working class roots. He dreams of being in a band, writing music and flying clear of the daily grind.
One evening lurking in the shadows at a gig he meets Linder: artistic, literate, intelligent, she is all he sees in himself They fast become confidants, his courage and sense of purpose increasing day by day. Suddenly a chance encounter with guitarist Billy leads to a first gig. But Billy and Linder cannot support Steven forever, each making their own escape to the bright lights of London. Can Steven find his own path?
Edinburgh International FIlm Festival 2017 - World premiere
An unlikely gang of teenagers goes on the run from dysfunctional parents to an island music festival, where the rules of the real world don't apply.
Edinburgh International FIlm Festival 2017 - World premiere
First brought together by their shared love of music, ten years later Liam and Natalie have reached a breaking point. Opposites attract, but aren’t necessarily working long-term. Liam, a struggling musician, cannot let go of his vinyl collection and refuses to adapt to a world of smartphones and instant downloads. Natalie has let go of her dream of designing album covers and has become a rising star at her advertising firm. As they make the difficult decision to separate, they start by splitting their prized music library, but the soundtrack that defined their relationship keeps pulling them back together.
Adapted by Philip Gawthorne from his award-winning play.
Edinburgh International FIlm Festival 2017 - World premiere
The sequel to 'The Big Gold Dream' continues the story of Scottish Independent music. This film focuses on Glasgow after the collapse of Postcard Records. This is the story of The Pastels, The Shop Assistants, The Jesus and Mary Chain, Primal Scream, The Soup Dragons, BMX Bandits, The Vaselines and Teenage Fanclub.
'52 Portraits' is an epic love song written to an art form. Dance.
'52 Portraits' is a series of moving image portraits of dancers accompanied by sung autobiographies. It captures the profound, funny and surprising power of their subjects, revealing the stories, thoughts and struggles of dancers in an unexpected way.
Conceived by choreographer Jonathan Burrows, composer Matteo Fargion and video maker Hugo Glendinning. The idea behind the project was to catch both the individual and unexpected brilliance of individual performers, but also the larger collective concerns of dance artists, which accumulate over the course of the 52 films. Originally conceived as a digital project, it began with ideas of the familiar; the common; the shared technological situation. These short gestural portraits were released online every week over a year. These videos now form the chapters of this film.
What emerges in this film is a political and sociological gesture, interrogating the numerous ways artists are subject to hierarchies, stereotypes and marginalisation of any kind. The result is a hugely varied and personal story of what it means to be a dancer.
A short instrumental music film, with no lyrics or vocals.
A simple story about a man going for a walk and enjoying the scenery along the way, listening to music.
Guy's Girl highlights how female DJ’s are represented in London’s predominantly male music scene. The title Guy's Girl is ironic and with the documentary we aim to reinforce the fact that female DJs are just DJs and, despite popular belief, "don't mix with their vaginas."
Scotland, 1982. The stars of Big Gold Dream had either split up or taken the Big Gold Road south to major label success in London. Glasgow was left with an 'indie label' void but the seeds sown in Big Gold Dream would lead to a new era of rebellion. Punk was reborn in the shape of a new type of independent music. No longer would bands look to tidy themselves up and sign to a major record label in the hope of appearing on Top of the Pops. Independent music in Scotland now meant 'No Compromise' and this is the story of those bands and the personalities involved.
This new documentary from the creators of 'Big Gold Dream' tells the story of what happened next in the uncompromising world of Scottish indie music. The Vaselines, BMX Bandits, The Pastels, The Soup Dragons, The Jesus and Mary Chain, Primal Scream and Teenage Fanclub all appear. Bursting with new interviews, rare archive, untold stories along with some of the most amazingly difficult, scratchy, noisy, genius pop music ever given to the world. This is Teenage Superstars and you need to watch it
The musicians of the Buena Vista Social Club exposed the world to Cuba’s vibrant culture with their landmark 1997 album. Now, against the backdrop of Cuba’s captivating musical history, hear the band’s story as they reflect on their remarkable careers and the extraordinary circumstances that brought them together.
As The Beatles end their gruelling tour schedule in August 1966 they return to the studio to record the landmark ‘Sgt. Pepper’ album.
As one of the biggest selling records of all time, described by Rolling Stone magazine simply as “The most important rock & roll album ever made…”, ‘Sgt Pepper’ (released in June 1967) marked a pivotal moment in the 1960s, cementing the advent of Psychedelia and the Summer of Love.
This documentary journies through various solo projects to the release of Strawberry Fields Forever/Penny Lane, touching on flower power, John Lennon meeting Yoko Ono, LSD, meditation, Jimi Hendrix, the death of Brian Epstein, Abbey Road Studios and the Magical Mystery Tour.
Among the interviewees featured in the film are Hunter Davies (the band’s official biographer), Pete Best (the band’s original drummer), music manager Simon Napier-Bell and author Philip Norman, who has written biographies of The Beatles and The Rolling Stones and of Paul McCartney among others.
Croydon, suburban London 1977: Under the spell of the Sex Pistols, every teenager in the country wants to be a punk, including our hopeless hero Enn. Crashing local punk queen Boadicea’s party, Enn discovers every boy’s dream; gorgeous foreign exchange students. When he meets the enigmatic Zan, it’s love at first sight.
But these teens are, in fact, aliens from outer space, sent to Earth to prepare for a mysterious rite of passage. When their dark secret is revealed, the love-struck Enn must turn to Boadicea and her followers for help in order to save the girl he loves from certain death. When the punks take on the aliens, neither Enn’s nor Zan’s universe will ever be the same again.
Official Selection BFI London Film Festival 2017 - Love Strand
