Projects in genres: Dance

Synopsis

Usti Opre travels across Central and Eastern Europe showing the inventiveness and stylistic range of Roma musical traditions. With shifting rhythms, Usti Opre travels from Budapest to Serbia. From city to village, concert hall to café – the film challenges our ideas about 'gypsy' culture and rewards us with a rich and engaging musical panorama. Along with 11 accompanists, three musicians form the spiritual and musical core of the film. It is through their musical ideas and cultural backgrounds that the structural cloth of Usti Opre is woven together. Conversations between musicians and amongst friends appear in counterpoint to the music. The intimacy that surrounds what we are hearing broadens our understanding of music and artist.

Synopsis

Zohra is a coming of age short film about family independence and growing up. Based on a real event – in 1960 it follows the an 18 year girl, Zohra, from Karachi to London. Under pressure from her brothers, looking for “a better life at her Majesty’s invitation” Zohra arrives in Britain. She soon realises the chasm of culture between and the England and the rest of the world and how it can be bridged. The film is based on the true experiences of young settler, Zohra Naseem Akhtar Bem, in sixties London who was a leading figure for race relations in the seventies.

Synopsis

Natalie and Adam sing their love for one another. After work they meet a mysterious woman. She gives them a special candle and then disappears. They make their way home and then make love. Next morning tired and late, they decide to run to work, when a drunk driver kills Adam. Months later, Natalie (now pregnant) has a remembrance dinner and from a the special candle comes a shadow of the dead man. The shadow follows her around and tries to get her attention, but is unable to until it lies beside her in bed. She reaches out and thinks she feels its presence. As soon as this happens, the candle goes out and the shadow disappears. All she wishes is for her husband to be back with her again. A little time later, Natalie gives birth to a boy who is her late husband reborn. And so she gets her wish.

Synopsis

A Documentary on Women’s experience of Punk.

The present media interest in the 70’s is a pre punk; US dominated vision of the era. The UK experience was of a decadent hippie movement and the apolitical skinhead movement being swept aside by punk. This programme reassesses from a punk women’s perspective, women’s role in this dynamic movement that irreversibly changed the face of society, politics art and music.

Director Zillah Minx – Lead singer with punk band rubella ballet since 1976.

Synopsis

At the beginning of the last century, Romanian peasants discovered the solemn music of the military bands when they went into the cities. They were so impressed by these that they wanted to have brass bands in their villages as well. With the arrival of the communists, these popular country marching brass bands were invited to participate at official events. The regime confiscated their land, built immense industrial complexes and many of the farm-workers became factory workers. The brass bands then became a symbol of the people’s well-being and the brotherhood between the farm and factory workers. With the fall of the Communist regime, many factories closed down.

Synopsis

A pianist's art - and life - fall out of balance. Memory, trauma and creativity.

Triple-flashback visual poem to music, without dialogue.

Synopsis

Busker is a lighthearted story of two street performers who tussle to keep the attention of an audience. It was filmed on 35mm with French actor Dominique Pinon in the lead, and runs 6 minutes. The story is told entirely without dialogue.

Synopsis

Comes Undone tells the story of two ex-lovers recalling memories of their relationship. They find each other once more for a last dance: the swan song of their love. She is seduced by past memories - how relevant is the past when faced with the present?

Synopsis

A year in the troubled life of the Music School of Luanda, the capital of Angola, and one of the world's poorest and most dangerous places. Following four central characters, this film reveals not only their struggle with their country's war-ravaged past, but also their musical passion and ambition.

Synopsis

Fuel Crisis is a short film set just after a nationwide fuel shortage. Cars and other transport are redundant. A man in search of a new life wonders the countryside in search of hope. He discovers something much more valuable; a bicycle! He soon learns the value of his possession.

Synopsis

A staggering range of music captures the spirit of extraordinary world changes over the last 30 years.

Synopsis

A surreal short film set in the ruins of London, driven by a contemporary music-hall libretto. The film contrasts the beautiful and grotesque in a narrative focusing on the universal question - are our lives driven by destiny or chance?

This powerful short narrative embodies key aspects of the classic Gothic tale, with echoes of Du Maurier's Trilby and Le Fanu's dark stories.
The mystery of the 'true' nightmare of the narrative is left to the viewer to decide.