Projects in genres: Black

Synopsis

Abiyot runs for money, every weekend at a different race. He left Ethiopia to try and relaunch his running career in the US.

With every aspect of his daily routine centered on his training, his footsteps not only dictate the rhythm of his life, but also become the pervasive rhythm of the film.

Synopsis

Young loner, Franke Scarfe, 22, is stuck in the past, due to traumatic incidents that happened to him 10 years previously.

The death of a former guide-leader triggers off a series of events that help him bury the past and get on with his life.

Synopsis

An intimate and moving account of one family’s extraordinary courage in the face of overwhelming injustice and brutality

In 2008 Mike Campbell – one of the few remaining white farmers in Zimbabwe to have held fast in the face of the violent ‘Land Reform’ programme – took the unprecedented step of challenging President Robert Mugabe before the SADC International Court (SADC - South African Development Community) to defend his farm, which is also home to 500 black workers and their families, and to charge Mugabe and his government with racial discrimination and with violations of Human Rights.

This film, much of it shot covertly, follows the traumatic ordeal of Mike, his son in law Ben and their family as they take on a man who has brought death to thousands.
 

Synopsis

Nora is based on true stories of the dancer Nora Chipaumire, who was born in Zimbabwe in 1965. In the film, Nora returns to the landscape of her childhood and takes a journey through some vivid memories of her youth. Using performance and dance, she brings her history to life in a swiftly-moving poem of sound and image. The result is a film about family dramas, difficult love affairs and militant politics, which moves back and forth between the comic and the tragic, the joyful and the mournful. It is a film about a girl who is constantly embattled - struggling against all kinds of intimidation and violence - but who slowly gathers strength, pride and independence.

Shot entirely on location in Southern Africa, Nora includes a multitude of local performers and dancers of all ages, from young schoolchildren to ancient grandmothers, and much of the music is specially composed by a legend of Zimbabwean music - Thomas Mapfumo.

Synopsis

A bullied teenage schoolboy teams up with two misfits to defeat the bully and win a girls heart in a classic tale of overcoming the monster. 'Napoleon Dynamite' meets 'The Goonies', in an 80s kid's comedy with a 21st century twist.

Synopsis

Based on an actor who suffers from an identity crisis with his film noir private detective character, whom I shall fondly refer to as - The Mole (his character actually wears a facial mole!).

Synopsis

Jerry Downing is an aspiring novelist who has an ego problem that is turning him into a monster in his household. He is an unformed, incomplete human being that has flaws in his personality. His ordinary world is one where he signs on the dole, checks-in for agency work and watches television over meals. One of his flatmates, Julia Wells, sees his problem and encourages him to give up his novel writing and find a full-time job where he will meet his other half. He refuses the call to adventure because he has been sacked from previous jobs because as a result of writing his novel during working hours. His other flatmate, Kerry Cerberus, invites him to go salsa dancing with her. He declines the offer, suddenly aware of her feelings for him.

Whilst searching for work, Jerry comes across his father who is also unemployed and off to sign on the dole. This highlights the inadequate role models and male figures in his life that have groomed him towards unemployment. He realises that he has to battle against his own nature in order to rise above his situation. He determines in his mind that he will find a job.

Synopsis

The Park is a drama that focuses on the lives of three teenage boys each living with a secret. The boys talk about things that are happening in their lives but tend not to divulge their true personal thoughts and feelings to one another. For example, the bruise on Tony’s left eye, the amount of ‘p*ssy’ JC gets and the fact that Marvin gets all the p*ssy he needs now that he has a girl friend, but the young men never delve deeper than the surface. As the sun begins to set, the boys say their good byes and this is where the drama unfolds.

Synopsis

The Starfish Principle was filmed in Cape Town, South Africa. It is an independently funded documentary that focuses on vision, hope and building bridges. We filmed individuals and groups who are creating positive change. Our focus is on community, youth and the Aids situation.

Seeing beyond the despair and hopelessness, and reaching out to make a change and a difference. Seeing the possibility in everyone and in every situation.

So often there is huge overwhelm that blocks the will and people’s ability to find solutions. People often feel broken down by isolation, betrayals, loss of trust, hunger and poverty. In this film we interviewed people, groups and organisations, listened to their stories, bearing witness to their hopes, dreams, despair and struggles. We hope to build bridges in communication, healing, forgiveness and to nurture community. We hope to inspire, demonstrate solidarity and also empower the projects and people we came into contact with.
 

Synopsis

A crew of Rastafarians evacuated to London after a volcanic eruption in Montserrat, adjust to life in inner city London.
 
The Rastamen reinvent themselves as 'rude-boy' rappers and small time hustlers. They pitch between enjoying the thrills of the city and committing to Rastafari ideals.

Synopsis

The Havana Boxing Academy is a Cuban boarding school that takes 9-year-old boys, and turns them into the best boxers in the world. Sons Of Cuba follows the stories of three young hopefuls through 8 dramatic months of training and schooling as they prepare for the biggest event of their lives so far: Cuba's National Boxing Championship for Under-12's.

But during the season, crisis strikes: Fidel Castro is taken ill, and all of Cuba's Olympic boxing champions defect to the USA, leaving Cuba at a crossroads, and the boys contemplating a changing world.
 

Synopsis

Don Letts is an unsung hero of British music. Told in Letts' unique voice, Superstonic Sound is a documentary about his family legacy that mirrors the history of Bass in the UK and his fighting for identity being the first generation of British born Black. A journey from Dub and Reggae to the legendary very first Punk club 'The Roxy' in the mid-seventies, crossing Hip Hop towards Dubstep; a musical, cultural and personal travel between past and present.