Projects in genres: Woman Director

Synopsis

Jody has insomnia. Almost every night she leaves her sleeping husband and child and fills the lonely twighlight hours walking the streets of suburbia. But tonight is different; at the local 24- hour garage a passionate young couple have caught Jody's eye.

Synopsis

A warm-hearted documentary about how Britian caught the flamenco bug. Elders of the British flamenco scene recount how they fell into the world of Spanish dancing which shaped their lives and influenced future generations. Personal stories are told against a vivid background of archive footage and photos.

For this documentary, Spanish Steps Film organised a flamenco reunion party in a Soho restaurant, where the flamenco culture had been incubated in post-war Britain. Here flamencos gathered to play, dance, sing and remember the old days.

Synopsis

This short animated comedy comments on the underground British music scene and the men it encompasses.

Synopsis

Laika is a re-imaging of the true story about the first dog in space and what may have happened to her on her momentous journey.

Synopsis

Lucia has been living in England since the 1990s Balkans War. This is the story of her journey home to Croatia, to introduce her English-speaking son to her elderly mother. She finds her eccentric mother living in a rural farmhouse and comedy ensues as Lucia tries to modernise her traditional way of living.

But Lucia cannot escape the traumatic remnants of the war, particularly when tragedy beckons as she discovers they are surrounded by minefields.

Synopsis

The story of a woman who gets lost every day of her life, in the streets she’s lived in for 20 years, even in her own house - when she wakes each morning, her walls seem to have moved overnight. Her world becomes different in the blink of an eye.

Synopsis

'A girl's life is cruel - A woman's life is very cruel', notes Sampat Pal, the complex protagonist at the centre of Kim Longinotto’s latest foray into the lives of extraordinary women.
 
Sampat Pal should know, like many others she was married as a young girl into a family which beat her often. But unusually, she fought back, leaving her in-laws and eventually becoming famous as a champion for beleaguered women throughout Uttar Pradesh, many of whom find their way to her doorstep. 
 
Rekha, a 14 year-old untouchable, is three months pregnant and homeless unable to marry her unborn child's father because of her low caste. Fifteen year-old Renu's husband from an arranged marriage has abandoned her and she's threatening to throw herself under a train. Both desperate young women, reach out for their only hope - Sampat Pal.
 
Pink Saris is an unflinching and often amusing look at these unlikely political activists and their charismatic leader.  In extraordinary scenes, we watch her launch herself into the centre of family dramas, convinced her mediation is the best path for these vulnerable girls.  Her partner Babuji, who has watched Sampat Pal change over the years, is less certain.

Synopsis

This is the story of a slum school choir who put on a concert of songs from The Sound of Music with a full orchestra and in front of an audience of over a thousand people. Performing in such a prestigious concert is a world away from their lives in the slums but will singing songs about climbing mountains really help these kids find their dreams?

Synopsis

This film is a unique documentary event: with unrivalled access, it follows both sides in a political battle during a year long campaign which attracted worldwide headlines.
 
Labour MP Margaret Hodge, a Jewish immigrant, is defending the parliamentary seat of Barking in the British general election from a challenge by the leader of the right wing British National Party, Nick Griffin, who has a big following amongst disenchanted white working class voters.
 
With building tension, as violence erupts on the streets, the film shows the strategies of both parties and the eventual denouement on election night.
 
Described as 'remarkable' by the Observer newspaper, the film will be of particular interest in countries where there is a populist rightwing or racist party.

Synopsis

Electric was made in Brixton over the Summer of 2010. Over two weeks of drama workshops, the untrained cast used their lives as source material to create the story. The film was shot the following week.

Synopsis

Lola, 14, romanticises the memories of two teenagers who she once hung out with, Zania and Kad. At war with a mother who'll never understand her, Lola feels propelled to tell an intimate tale about what love is. As she takes a journey, to visit the couple's baby, we learn how the baby's deceased parents had something beautifully unique.

Synopsis

Working for your festival ticket is hard, especially under the watchful eye of the Security Supervisor.

The Gate is a short stopmotion animation which follows the journey of George as he works as a gate steward for his music festival ticket.