Projects in genres: Climate / Environment

Synopsis

A feature documentary journeying into the depths of the COP climate conference in Dubai. Are these enormous get-togethers all about false promises that hinder change? Or are they the only hope we've got for world-saving unity? With his innocuous selfie-stick, filmmaker Josh Appignanesi moves unnoticed through Dubai's seductive slickness to reveal the talks, meetings and backroom parties behind the strange mixture of global cry for help and political jostling that is a COP. Lost in translation, he comes face to face with the irony of an oil baron hosting this last-chance climate saloon in a techno-utopian leisure city -- that, er, happens to be built in a burning desert. But then the business-as-usual is ruptured by a searing encounter with indigenous voices from the frontline of climate injustice…

Synopsis

Every day, thousands of dairy calves are separated from their mothers at birth. A DAIRY STORY follows Wilma and David Finlay as they risk everything to find a way to keep dairy cows and their calves together. Filmed over two years, we see Wilma and David’s determination to reinvent dairy farming; challenging industry norms by putting nature and animal welfare first. Their path wasn’t easy. They faced criticism and ridicule from their intensive dairy neighbours and almost went bankrupt proving it could work. When Wilma receives a terminal cancer diagnosis, their mission to encourage wider industry adoption of their cow-with-calf system takes on new urgency. This documentary addresses themes of connection and mortality, and topics of animal sentience, the environment and system change. Following calves from birth to weaning, we see the herd's profound capacity for maternal care. A DAIRY STORY shows how changing a farming system changes everything; from the lives of the animals to the wellbeing of the farmers, and perhaps even the future of dairy farming itself. Official Selection IndieCork 2025 - World premiere Official Selection Central Scotland Documentary Festival 2025 - UK premiere

Synopsis

An immersive dive into nature, across the world made with barely any travel, exclusively on the original home-movie format, Super 8. SUPER NATURE takes a joyous, heart-warming gaze on the natural world; a visceral, poetic, more intimate meditation on us and our relationship with nature than the hi-tech approach we’ve come to expect. A growing network of makers take to this antique format, to share images, thoughts and philosophies in a gentle, beguiling way, scored with diverse music. A fresh take on the most important subject there is. Official Selection BFI London Film Festival 2025 - Documentary Competition - World premiere

Synopsis

In Cambodia, former Khmer Rouge child soldier Aki Ra and his wife Hout help communities reclaim their land by undertaking the potentially lethal task of clearing unexploded landmines left over from years of war. Along the way they adopt unwanted kids whose childhoods and limbs have been destroyed by landmines, and open a war museum that soon becomes world famous. Aki Ra fights to break free of shadows cast by his role in the genocidal Khmer Rouge regime, and rebuild his shattered family. But in a country grappling to come to terms with its history, the past always has a way of catching up.

Synopsis

Beneath the polished floors of the Triennale di Milano, the ground begins to stir - an awakening of memory and matter. Plant, prion, soil, microbe… a fissure appears, first noticed by the cleaners. What starts as a subtle disturbance evolves into SPIKA, a strange ecological disruption that hungers for further disruption. This short film imagines a world overtaken by symbiotic life- plants and proliferating microbes that spread across the city, energised by SPIKA. The sculpture reimagines urban sustainability through Microbial Hydroponics (Mi-Hy), integrating hydroponics with microbial fuel cells to promote symbiotic relationships between plants and microbes. SPIKA becomes a prosthetic rhizosphere, transforming household waste into natural fertilisers. It challenges architecture’s legacy of ecological disruption and proposes an alternative: a closed-loop, living architectural core that turns buildings into metabolic hubs for the city. The film was created using 16mm celluloid, various film stocks, and plant-based hand development rituals to evoke the organic essence of SPIKA. It responds to the sculptural installation exhibited at the 2025 Triennale di Milano, and draws on a fictional conceit developed by the Experimental Architecture Group. Official Selection Ji.hlava International Documentary Film Festival 2025

Synopsis

Amy reluctantly returns home to the windy clifftop in North Cornwall where she grew up, after a break-up with her partner Jess has left her homeless. She hopes her mum, Sue, will be pleasantly surprised at the chance for them to reconnect. But Sue isn't good with surprises, and has other things on her mind. She is preparing to plant a bare root hedge, her final act of resistance against the second home development that will surround her home, concreting over her memories and erasing her past. They start early: digging in the hedge is backbreaking work.   When Amy finally manages to tell Sue about her loss, Sue is lost for words. They doggedly continue planting, gradually finding a rhythm together in the silence. As night falls, and exhaustion sets in, Sue returns to the house, and Amy is left in the field, digging the last trench for the remaining plants. Alone, they each find a way to reach out across the silence, the years of separation, and their losses, towards each other. Official Selection Encounters Film Festival 2025 Official Selection Aesthetica Film Festival 2025

Synopsis

An escaped prisoner flees into the Icelandic countryside. After their friends mysteriously vanish, they are pulled into a space where time and nature move differently. A modern take on Icelandic folklore of the hidden people, featuring motion captured circus artists and realtime animation. Official Selection Art VR Festival 2025 - International Competition - World Premiere Official Selection Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival 2026 Official Selection Annecy International Animation Film Festival and Market 2026 - International Competition Official Selection Raindance Film Festival 2026 - International Competition

Synopsis

FIRES AND FACISM shows the wildfires in Europe are more than just from climate change and mismanagement, but link also with politics, big business, organised crime, and the far right.  The film showcases how communities are engaging in direct action, protest, rewilding, and suppressing the rise of both uncontrollable fires and fascist attitudes. The aim of the film is to unite communities in an increasingly divided society. It shows some ways to bring people together for a common cause and the positive impact this has. Featured are the experiences and actions of 25 people from Greece, Italy, Spain, and Portugal, and their actions to build community for a safer and more resilient future.

Synopsis

In 1981, thousands of women gathered at Greenham Common to protest against nuclear weapons. Their bold, nonviolent resistance became a powerful symbol of feminist and anti-nuclear activism - a story of courage that still resonates today! Fast forward to now, and 𝐆𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐥𝐞 𝐀𝐧𝐠𝐫𝐲 𝐖𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐧 tells this story through the eyes of a new generation of young activists as they retrace the footsteps of the original protesters. Unaware of the longest female-led campaign in British history, a new generation of young female activists is standing up to fight for the issues of their time, as well as being teenagers and finding their place in a turbulent world. Meet three fearless young women, Poppy (16), Xanthe (17), and Evie (19) who embark on a 110-mile 40th anniversary march to retrace the footsteps of Greenham Common's pioneering female protesters. Through powerful intergenerational exchanges with their activist counterparts, the film reveals a journey of self-discovery and a timely narrative of feminist activism. As nuclear tensions rise globally, their story becomes urgently relevant for today. A coming-of-age documentary that sparks conversations about hope, action and change.

Synopsis

Ten days before the millennium, Hope, a single mother, arrives in London with her two infants, clutching only the clothes on their backs. Escaping a haunted past, she seeks refuge in a city gripped by Y2K paranoia. A charismatic stranger offers sanctuary, but as Hope navigates an uncertain future in unfamiliar streets, she uncovers his chilling motives. The threat to her family dwarfs the feared technological collapse. In a pulse-pounding race against time, Hope must protect her children at any cost, no matter the personal sacrifice. Official Selection BFI London Film Festival 2025 - Short Film Competition

Synopsis

An experimental silent film about water and coping with grief. Princess, who recently lost her twin brother, Prince, has been struggling to sleep and maintain a routine. Worse still, the kitchen tap has been leaking for a month, and the water bill is extremely high. She finally calls a plumber who offers an unexpected solution. A random conversation forces her to move on from her past.

Synopsis

An experimental film conveying a positive lived experience of being trans, as a counterpoint to the overwhelmingly negative narratives in the current discourse. This glimmer of hope and optimism, performed by trans artist Toby Vincer, devised with director Sharon Burrell, meditates on Toby’s relationship with their body, the Divine Feminine, and the natural environment.