Projects in genres: Woman Director

Synopsis

Amá is the Navajo word for Mother. This powerful and shocking documentary from Lorna Tucker exposes the forced sterilisation of thousands of Native American women by the USA Government. Made alongside a group of incredible Native producers, consultants and the survivors themselves, Tucker travels across some of the loneliest parts of the USA meeting the brave survivors, doctors, politicians and whistle-blowers who have brought to light this horrifying scandal. Uncovering the grotesque abuses of power in modern American history. The film’s release has encouraged women to come forward to share their stories of being subjected to the violence of forced sterilisation suggesting that this abuse continues to persist in the USA and around the world, posing the question: when will this suffering end?

Synopsis

Following eleven modern-day Jewish bikers on an epic journey from Tel-Aviv to Berlin, crossing nine European countries and 4,500km in twenty-four days. Their mission, to deliver the Maccabi torch to Hitler’s infamous 1936 Olympic stadium, for the opening ceremony of the 2015 European Maccabiah Games. These riders follow in the tracks of the early 1930s’ bikers who set out from Tel Aviv to all corners of Europe. Their mission, to seek out athletes to compete in the first Maccabiah Games. En route, each country holds a chilling resonance for our motor-cycling Holocaust survivors, descendants of survivors and the grandson of a 1930’s Maccabiah Rider. Stories of defiance and survival are revealed, as well as those of horrifying tragedy. The juxtaposition of the present and past is the underlying thread of this Biker-Flick meets Holocaust film mixing archival footage with the 2015 journey. As resurgent populism and anti-Semitism once again rear their ugly heads, this film brings an important message through the voice of those who have been personally affected by one of the darkest pages in human history. This isn’t simply a “Jewish” story. It is the story of people overcoming the worst from fellow man to restate our common humanity.

Synopsis

A truncated woman thrusts awkwardly from a school-desk, motionless except for her spinning, shaking mouth. The novice must rehearse the lesson dictated by an unseen voice. She must sacrifice unbounded desire, press it into language, into discipline, into rule. Her body refuses the lesson but remains trapped by its rote.

Synopsis

The story of a group of children born in the High Himalayas of Nepal - a remote area of great natural beauty but where life is extremely tough. From just four years old, some children are sent by their parents to the capital city, Kathmandu, to a school run by a Buddhist monk in the hope that education will give them a better chance in life. For ten years or more they do not see or speak to their parents, due to the remoteness of their villages. Now, upon graduation, aged 16, the children are making the trek home: an arduous and lengthy journey across mountains that takes them to the highest inhabited place on the planet; a faraway, off-grid land where the way of life has not changed for thousands of years, and where their parents are waiting to see children brought up in a world of mobile phones, social media and most modern conveniences. And then the earthquake strikes. This film documents the children and their families' scary, moving, funny and humbling stories.

Synopsis

Facing twilight years of loneliness and isolation, Hilda, whilst clearing out her deceased husband's belongings, unearths a long-buried secret. The find forces her to confront her past and break free from her solitude with an attempt to live the life that she always denied herself...

Synopsis

Kath is an artist of the everyday. Inspired by the world around her, Kath's creations are keenly observed, and a far cry from the genteel pieces her contemporaries produce. A proud Yorkshire-woman, Kath reflects on her life and art as she carves her place in the precious world of miniatures. Official Selection Sheffield Doc/Fest 2018 - World premiere Official Selection Sundance Film Festival 2019 - International premiere Official Selection SXSW 2019 - Festival Favorites Official Selection Hot Docs 2019 - World Showcase

Synopsis

Two strangers meet through a Lift Share website: a young Romanian woman, desperate to find her child, and a Scottish musician reluctant to attend his violent father's funeral. In shifting time perspectives, they imagine what might await them as they journey towards the remote, haunting beauty of the Outer Hebrides.

Synopsis

Exploring the strange limbo state we experience in the aftermath of a break up, Lint follows one person’s bizarre attempt at regaining some sense of normality.

Synopsis

It is 1830 and the scientific world is closed to women. Mary, a prolific but destitute fossil hunter has recently made another big discovery. But she hasn’t been credited, again. Based on true events, the story of one woman’s quest to make groundbreaking discoveries against all odds.

Synopsis

Each moment millions of people are living their lives in completely different ways. In the Western world, the right to study, to get a job, to get married to the person we love, is considered ‘normal’; while these things are happening everywhere in the world they are felt as completely different experiences. This documentary follows four young girls for one day, each living in a different country but awoken by the same dawn in the same meridian: South Sudan, Romania, Palestine, Finland. Our girls are so different from one another and yet so similar in their behaviours, intentions, desires and dreams. With their innocence and spontaneity, children can show us our differences and similarities, portraying their inner beauty and sometimes their tragedy. They teach us to be more sympathetic with “others” and give us a better understanding of our world.

Synopsis

Sarah Francis is a young woman whose life is a bit of a mess. The last thing she needs is someone else to look after, let alone someone who dribbles, snores and eats from the kitchen trash. Yet, like it or not, her grandmother has left Sarah her prized possession, a very spoilt pug named Patrick. Surely she must have had her reasons?! Apparently not, as this four-legged friend proceeds to cause chaos in all aspects of Sarah’s life. But then something remarkable happens as Patrick, with all his stubby, stumpy attitude, begins to turn her life around. Official Selection Edinburgh International Film Festival 2018 - Special Screening

Synopsis

Jim, an isolated ex-miner who works as a night-shift security guard faces his last day at work before retirement. The film explores the intrinsic relation of an individual to work and asks what's left when, at the end of a lifetime of labour, a man loses his purpose. Official Selection Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival 2019