Projects in genres: Romance

Synopsis

Eniola Baba-Lola and Jordan Dante - two brilliant young Black graduates with first-class master’s degrees in business - should be on the fast track to six-figure salaries and global success. Instead, they're hitting closed doors at every turn, even from their best friend’s father, the powerful tycoon Sir John Fenton. With job rejections piling up, dreams of becoming footballers, barbers, or even rappers fizzle fast - especially after a sharp warning from Eniola’s no-nonsense mother. As the pressure mounts, Eniola discovers his girlfriend Monica is pregnant, while Jordan faces a family crisis in Jamaica, a brother veering towards gang life, and an expiring visa that could lead to deportation. With time running out, the friends take a bold leap - starting a business of their own. But with everything on the line, will their gamble pay off - or break them completely?

Synopsis

Robert Schumann wrote a declaration of love for Clara in his early music. SCHUMANN A LOVE STORY is a 30 minute dance film about this declaration set to one of his most famous works, Fantasiestücke Op.12. The three dancers and the pianist tell the story of how Schumann's two alter egos, Eusebius-the mild, and Florestan-the wild fight for Clara's attention. Which of Schumann's two passionate sides will she choose?

Synopsis

The love story of a London-based Lebanese journalist and a Syrian activist/ cameraman as told through thirteen years of personal archives across revolutions, war and exile. Official Selection Sundance Film Festival 2026 - World premiere Official Selection Hot Docs 2026 Official Selection Sheffield DocFest 2026

Synopsis

Dave, a young British film director, travels to the small Hungarian town of Kalocsa for a location scout led by his ex-girlfriend, Emília. As they walk and talk around Emília’s hometown looking for filming locations, they begin to reconnect romantically, much to the joy of Dave. There’s just one problem; Emília has a new boyfriend. If Dave is to stand a chance of winning Emília back, he must learn to be honest with both her and himself.

Synopsis

A thief postpones robbing a regal traveller out of romantic interest. They have a tender fling before tensions resume.

Synopsis

At a vibrant Nigerian traditional wedding, the bride, Trish, takes centre stage, radiating beauty and grace. Yet it’s her spirited 13-year-old sister, Bukky, who craves attention. Tasked with collecting money gifted to the bride, Bukky weaves through the chaotic celebration, dodging kicks and spilled drinks, her frustration mounting. Amidst the commotion, her eyes meet those of Samson, a boy her age sitting alone... Official Selection BFI London Film Festival 2025

Synopsis

London, 1931. Abel Lively is broke, alone and terrified of going outside his one-man movie studio, Lively Pictures. A reality-challenged title writer with an imaginary parallel existence as the gun-slinging star of his own action-adventure serial, Abel is fast approaching a crossroads. Penelope Peabody, a former Paramount poster artist and current unemployed portrait painter who shares Abel's distaste for talking pictures, catches his eye and unknowingly sets in motion a collision of worlds. Soon, Abel will be forced to face the perils and possibilities of two worlds: the one in his head, and the one in which he has a chance at real love. What follows is a planet-spanning odyssey replete with mad scientists, barren wastelands, vengeful utility companies, draconian judiciaries, sinister machines, prophetic visions, unbearable heartache, crippling poverty, murderous phantoms, fiendish debt collectors and an interfering Betty Boop. A silent film featuring performances from Louise Brooks, Wallace Beery and Edward G. Robinson alongside a modern cast, with an entirely original solo piano soundtrack.

Synopsis

A rescue dummy gets forgotten at the bottom of a swimming pool. Behind his single expression, a whirlwind of emotions flood his plastic carcass as he fantasies about being picked up and brought to the surface in the strong and reassuring arms of a swimmer. Official Selection London Short Film Festival 2026

Synopsis

Years ago, Max asked Simon out, who turned him down. The two have remained friends, and get on the same train after seeing mates from university. Their conversation reveals that Max has gone onto have a thriving career and adopt children with his husband, whereas Simon is single and less successful. Eventually, Simon confesses his belief that if he had said yes, all those years ago, he and Max would still be together now. Max admits that he thinks the same, and asks Simon why he didn’t say yes. Simon replies that he was scared by how Max made him feel, but kept this a secret, assuming someone as confident as Max would never understand. Max says that he was also scared, but that that was why he asked Simon out, reasoning “what’s the point of dating someone who doesn’t give you butterflies?” A shocked Simon is left pondering this as Max gets off at his station. The train leaves and enters a tunnel, plunging Simon – now alone – into darkness.

Synopsis

When a Swiss woman and a British man reunite on the streets of London, what starts as a pleasant reunion gradually descends into an elliptical journey that challenges the accuracy of their memory through obsessive repetition in an attempt to reconcile their failed relationship.

Synopsis

A coming-of-age drama following Cat, a wide-eyed freshman, while she attempts to navigate university. The abrupt ending of her situationship with laid-back Noah leads her to a desperate search for validation. Cat searches for fleeting replacements until she hits a low point. She attempts to build herself up from scratch, only to come face-to-face with Noah again.

Synopsis

ROCK SONG began as a story about a thrill-seeking rock, chasing speed and adrenaline by rolling down the hill. During the film’s development, the director experienced a traumatic event that reshaped the story and its purpose. It became a survival project, a way to understand the pain, and also transfer some of it into the world of rocks. Through the rock’s journey: falls, cracks and discovering different parts of the forest, ROCK SONG reflects the experience of hurt, carrying the damage, and slowly figuring out how to heal. The film translates the director’s changing emotional states into movement and texture, while holding onto the hope of getting better in time. Made through stop-motion animation with hand-dyed fabrics and embroidery, the film’s soft and tactile world creates a quiet sense of comfort, contrasting with the difficult emotions that shape the film. ROCK SONG also considers the inner life of a rock, imagining how it might perceive its own existence. It explores the unknowable inner reality of things and how empathy can extend beyond the human. Official Selection Kaboom Animation Festival 2026