Projects in genres: Dance

Synopsis

Maestro tells the story of a famous international concert violinist who no longer plays. Embittered and haunted by a guilty secret, he retires to a remote mountain village in Spain. He lives alone and is regarded by the villagers with a mixture of suspicion and disdain. The arrival on holiday of his housekeeper's beautiful daughter, Inma, upsets his quiet existence and re-awakens long buried emotions and old wounds. In an electrifying final act, the theme of atonement and redemption is played out against the background of Easter Feria. Beautifully photographed by Tom Ingle, the film was shot on location in Britain and Competa, Spain. The blazing Spanish sun, the towering beauty of the mountains, the apparent tranquillity of the little white villages of Spain, provide the backdrop and atmosphere for the cauldron of the characters' emotions.

Synopsis

Nobody Someday is a feature film about Robbie Williams. It was shot during his five week tour of Europe. Robbie had just given up alcohol and drugs and was trying to decide whether he wanted to continue being a popstar. Although he is the main attraction, the film also examines the circus that surrounds a modern celebrity.

Synopsis

'Let Love Be Your Energy' is Robbie Williams' new single release from his latest album Sing When You're Winning and is his first animated promo.

Synopsis

Veteran BBC Radio DJ John Peel takes his first visit to Derry and discovers for himself the band that forged his favourite pop song 'Teenage Kicks'. The film, through the use of archive footage, including previously unseen material of Derry and The Undertones, takes us back to 1975. To a time when it would have been normal, even expected, for five Derry teenagers to get together and have a riot. The Undertones got together, formed a band and created their own form of riot, bursting into a vigorous and joyous celebration of their own existence. The band was made up of former choirboy and distinctively voiced lead singer Feargal Sharkey, the O'Neil brothers, John and Damian, played guitars. Michael Bradley joined in with bass and Billy Doherty beat the drums. Peel takes us on a journey of discovery in which he expresses his amazement at the band's innocence, the completely artless way in which they resisted all hype and packaging. The Undertones would play to packed houses of adoring fans and then go home to Derry, to parents who waited up for them. Reared in a town where the most abhorred social disgrace was to get above yourself, they refused to take it seriously.

Synopsis

Kaleidoscopics brings together pornographic stills from the internet and bubbles at the edge of running water, putting both through the same digital processes. Eyes, faces and limbs surface and sink again in sequences of coloured tessellations, lead by a music soundtrack that overlays breathy sound with formal patterning.

Synopsis

Billy Elliot is a coming-of-age story of Billy, who through his unexpected love of dance, embarks on a journey to self-discovery in the world of picket lines, cultural stereotypes, family crises and a headstrong ballet teacher. When eleven-year-old Billy stumbles across a local ballet class that comes to share the village hall with his boxing club, something in the magic of the movements captures his imagination. Meanwhile, Billy's father and older brother, both on strike, struggle to put food on the table and finally explode when they discover Billy has been squandering his boxing money on less than manly pursuits. Billy's ballet teacher eventually persuades him to accept free private training, telling him she wants him to audition for the Ballet School, but when the audition comes Billy is tragically forced to miss it as a result of his brother's scuffle with the police. Distraught by his family's lack of understanding, Billy unleashes his feelings in a dance meant only for his friend Michael to see, but is caught mid-routine by his father. Rooted to the spot by the power and animation of his son's talent, he solemnly agrees to ensure Billy finally makes it to London for the gruelling audition.

Synopsis

Goldie, the Godfather of Drum and Bass, takes us on a roller coaster ride through his frenetic life. A journey that takes us from Wolverhampton to Tokyo, Miami to Hong Kong; through his years in council care and his life as a musician and international pop star. Along the way we meet his family, his collaborators and his celebrated friends, David Bowie and Noel Gallagher.

Synopsis

A highly stylised intimate portrait of the fantastic life of Louis Armstrong. The film charts the story of the innovator, the first great jazz soloist, bandleader, pop star, actor and American cultural ambassador, Louis Armstrong. Narrated by Danny Glover, The Wonderful World of Louis Armstrong is a sensitive insight into the life of the man behind the trumpet; an epic story that spans 70 years from his childhood days on the streets of New Orleans to the glamorous Hollywood films like High Society and Hello Dolly, punctuated by timeless hits like What a Wonderful World and When You're Smiling.

Synopsis

Human Traffic focuses on the lives and loves of five friends - JIP (played by John Simm), LULU (Lorraine Pilkington), KOOP (Shaun Parkes), NINA (Nicola Reynolds) and MOFF (Danny Dyer) --who suffer their weekday jobs to 'live it large' at the weekends. Jip and Lulu are having relationship problems: Jip is insecure after failing to perform during several one night stands and Lulu's talent for picking the wrong bloke is getting her down. Nina and Koop have a great relationship - except he doesn't trust her, and Moff, their friendly dealer, is heading for a fast burn out. Beneath the heady cocktail of music, clubs, drugs and bullshit, Human Traffic is also a film about friendships.

Synopsis

A sexy, glamorous, romantic comedy, in the style of classic 1930's Hollywood, with world famous songs by Cole Porter and Irving Berlin. In 1939 the King of Navarre and his three best friends swear an oath to give up women for three years whilst devoting themselves to the study of philosophy. One of the terms of their pledge specifically prohibits women from their presence, but the arrival of the Princess of France and her three beautiful attendants on a diplomatic visit, throws the plan into disarray. In secret the King and each of his friends pursue the girls and the entire court become intoxicated by love. The mood is broken by the news of the death of the Princess's father and the girls return to France. France has fallen to the Nazis. Before they leave, the heartbroken men must prove that their love is not just an infatuation and remain faithful to them. And as proof of their devotion the loving couples are happily reunited at the end of the war.

Synopsis

A hilarious comedy . . . It's 1977 and our love-struck young hero drops his sequins for safety pins.. and deserts disco for Punk. Vince Smith is eighteen, shy and maybe in love . . . with Joanna, who works in the same office. By day he's a lawyer's clerk, but by night he's an aspiring disco dancer . . . Joanna Robinson is also eighteen, not shy and really likes Vince, especially teasing him. By day, she's also a lawyer's clerk, but by night, she's a punk . . . Harold Smith is Vince's dad. He's retired, likes his pipe, his telly and sitting quietly in a corner being ignored by his glamorous wife Irene and the rest of the Smith family. Until one Christmas day he does an amazing magic trick . . . which catapults a reluctant Harold into the limelight of the North of England. Whilst Harold's previously peaceful world is thrown upside down by his new-found magical powers, Vince has fallen head over heels for a spiky punk girl. Father and son are in turmoil but together they discover it's not what you are, it's who you are that makes for true happiness.

Synopsis

A thrilling and visceral opera on wheels; an update of the legend of Satan's fall from Heaven to Hell, via London 1998; a frenzied leather-and-oil spectacular.