Projects in genres: Woman Director

Synopsis

“You are a sky of autumn, pale and rose; But sadness in me rises like the sea" The Eyes of Beauty, Charles Baudelaire, The Flowers of Evil In Greenwich Park, London two lovers stroll and talk about love, their relationship and the making of a film in Venice. The Venice film is shot on 16mm. Venice at dawn is empty and a protagonist sits at the empty San Marco Piazza, is seen walking in a detached manner from the grand sights and facades and interiors of Palazzos into the backstreets. In gilded interiors and painted ceilings, as the winter afternoon light weakens in a soporific atmosphere, she lays in dark interiors with frescoes of Antiquity. Like the Risen, at twilight she walks the alleyways and into the Like the Risen, at twilight she walks the alleyways and into the dark to meet the Devil at dawn. Featuring the actor Pietro Fanelli – the Devil makes a fleeting but impactful appearance, the protagonist offers herself to his gaze and touch. The film follows a path via the remnants of Romanticism and Charles Baudelaire’s The Flowers of Evil in search of beauty, opulence, exotic pleasure and lovers, exemplified by Venice.

Synopsis

Anna is a single mother balancing work with raising her nine-year-old daughter, Thea, a bright, sensitive child experiencing severe school- related distress and stuck on a three-year waiting list for an autism assessment. At home, Thea is creative, affectionate and deeply vulnerable. At school, her psychological distress is mistaken for truancy, fabrication or bad parenting. As Anna fights for support, she faces mounting scrutiny from the school and local authority. She is blamed for Thea’s behaviour, instructed to attend parenting courses and ultimately served financial fines for repeated “unauthorised absence”. Her daughter’s needs remain unrecognised, the morning routine is reduced to a battle of increasing violence, and Anna is pushed to breaking point. Threatened with criminal prosecution, on the brink of losing her job and now in a state of complete exhaustion, Anna attempts a final school drop- off. Thea, in a state of sensory overwhelm, takes desperate measures to avoid a public meltdown which ends in unspeakable tragedy. Yet, the calls from the school continue: a relentless reminder that, to the system, Anna's young daughter remains little more than another “unauthorised absence”.

Synopsis

The final part of a documentary trilogy that began with 'Further Beyond' and 'TheFuture Tense', 'ACT 3' completes Christine Molloy and Joe Lawlor’s exploration of ideas around identity, place and memory. Here, they delve in to their past work and creative collaboration across 40 years to explore the possibility of their future identities; and how they choose to imagine the final third of their life. Mining the intimate relationship of artists Claude Cahun and Marcel Moore – who are the subject of their current feature film – and taking their typically droll, existentially-inflected, meta approach, the documentary ultimately becomes a moving meditation on the meaning of life, art and love. Official Selection Telluride Film Festival 2026 Official Selection BFI London Film Festival 2026

Synopsis

A split-screen dome projection is not something you see every day, yet its subject could hardly be more ordinary: public benches, located mainly in Plymouth, on the south coast of England. Whenever Tim Hart spots a new one, he takes a photograph, as he has done for 50 years. Just one photo, no more. “Cause it’s the same bench,” he explains amiably in Clare Richards’s documentary, which fills one half of the projection. On the other half, an orchestra performs Samuel D Loveless’ score, also titled BENCHES. His music follows the rhythm of Hart’s daily life as he walks from bench to bench, photographs them, sometimes sits down for a while, then moves on. And not just benches: Hart also photographs telephone booths, fairs, and more. Neurodivergent composer Loveless discovered the photographic archive of his autistic uncle Tim and was struck by the beauty of the everyday, patiently collected over decades. It gave Loveless an opportunity to celebrate a neurodivergent way of seeing the world, not by explaining it, but by sharing it.

Synopsis

Loyal butler Jonathan is sent to rescue the failing Blueberry Inn, unaware his blinkered Lord plots to leave it to him and three chaotic staff as a social experiment. When the Lord dies suddenly, Jonathan discovers he's a co-owner of the Inn and has just one month to save it. Battling sabotage from furious heirs, the mismatched team (and a pig!) rally their communities, securing the Inn's future against all odds.

Synopsis

Mary and Scott entwine themselves during a woodland rave

Synopsis

Wren is interviewed for a job at Brixham Fish Market. Gary shows her around and tells her to come back tomorrow, for the night shift. A few hours into the shift and Wren is flagging, she enjoys a moment of calm whilst smoking outside - until she is confronted with Cali, who wants a lighter and a chat. The next few nights, sleepless days and awkward interactions blur into each other until Cali greets Wren with a coffee and cigarette for the usual 2am slump. Wren is disgusted when realising Cali has spiked her coffee with brandy. Steph shows Wren how to fillet. Cali rushes to help, standing behind Wren, he places his hands on hers.Wren shrinks down, motionless, allowing Cali to puppeteer her, forcing his groin into her from behind. Wren empties her locker, she’s not coming back. She leaves, only to find Cali waiting for her, unbuckling his belt. Wren waits until his trousers are down, walks over to him, without breaking eye contact and guts Cali like a fish. She makes use of the “Monster Industrial Chum Grinder”, to dismember Cali’s body, discarding the chum into the sea at sunrise. She gracefully enters the sea herself, cleansed.

Synopsis

As Mike is leaving his London life behind, an old friend reappears to say goodbye. Official Selection BFI London Film Festival 2026

Synopsis

Using ideas from Carl Jung - exploring and accepting the inner world, Carolyn Abbate - analysis of dissonance to find the narrative voice - and Hilde Lindemann Nelson - using narrative to repair damaged identity, I filmed my process of creating puppets and recorded some of the thoughts that arose as I made them. I utilised emergent practice in the filmmaking, which meant letting go of preconceived ideas to let narrative arise in the moment. I wanted my puppets to unite, rather than fight in the traditional Punch and Judy manner.

Synopsis

Prima Facie - A legal claim with sufficient evidence to proceed to trial. Tessa (Cynthia Erivo) is a brilliant British defence barrister dominating London’s ruthless courtrooms. Fierce, witty, and self-made, she defends men accused of sexual assault - until she is assaulted herself by a colleague from a powerful legal dynasty. Suddenly, the system she trusted turns against her. As she faces the same tactics she once used in court, Tessa’s faith in justice unravels. Once in control, now exposed and disbelieved, she must fight to reclaim her voice and sense of self. A gripping and deeply human story about power, truth, and survival in a patriarchal world, PRIMA FACIE reveals the quiet strength of one woman’s pursuit of justice - and the beauty in confronting the truth. Official Selection Toronto International Film Festival 2026 - World premiere Official Selection BFI London Film Festival 2026

Synopsis

When drum & bass fan Jay is sent on a countryside walk by his probation officer as part of his mental health rehabilitation programme, he arms himself with headphones, good tunes and fluorescent snacks. But his iPod dies, and he can’t handle the silence. Visions of Pete, his deceased friend, begin to haunt him. Lost in the countryside, Jay eventually finds himself on a bus with a friendly driver, where a conversation about Pete forces him to confront the grief he has been avoiding.

Synopsis

Envy, a young Chinese woman searches for love while working at a bakery. When she secretly bakes a cake for her crush, her ideal fantasies of love are confronted by reality. Official Selection BFI London Film Festival 2026