Projects in genres: Comedy

Synopsis

THE PENGUIN WHO COULDN'T SWIM is an animation about disability – in fact it is about a disabled Penguin. A Penguin who lives on a rocky island in the southern seas where she feels isolated from the rest of her colony.
Official Selection BFI London Film Festival 2019 - Family Strand

Synopsis

Welcome to Slaughterhouse, an elite boarding school where boys and girls are groomed for power and greatness... and they’re about to meet their match.
Don Wallace is a wide-eyed new boy from a modest background forced to navigate a baffling new world of arcane rules and rituals, presided over by sadistic sixth formers. Matters of status are aggressively enforced and conversations with school goddess Clemsie, are strictly forbidden. But this ancient and ordered world is about to be shaken to its foundations – literally. When a controversial frack site on prize school woodland causes seismic tremors, a mysterious sinkhole and an unspeakable horror is unleashed. Soon a new pecking order will be established as pupils, teachers and the school matron become locked in a bloody battle for survival.

Synopsis

Focusing on the now-legendary 1953 tour which the ageing comedy duo Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy embarked on in the twilight years of their fame. Once the world’s favourite double act, but now diminished by age, and their golden era a distant memory, Laurel & Hardy set out on a variety hall tour of Britain in 1953.
As they crisscross the country, attendances are disappointingly low. But they’ve always been able to make each other laugh, and as the charm and beauty of their performances shines through, their audiences laugh too, and they re-connect with legions of adoring fans, old and new.
The tour becomes a hit, but Laurel & Hardy can’t quite shake the spectre of Stan and Ollie’s past; and long buried ghosts, coupled with Oliver’s failing health, start to threaten their precious partnership.
A portrait of the most tender and poignant of creative marriages begins to unfold, as the duo, aware that they may be approaching their swan song, try to rediscover just how much they mean to each other.
Official Selection BFI London Film Festival 2018 - Closing Night Gala

Synopsis

A comedy about being weird and struggling for a connection. The film opens as Benjamin, a rising star filmmaker, is on the brink of premiering his difficult second film ’No Self' when Billie, his hard drinking publicist, introduces him to a mesmeric French musician called Noah.
Official Selection BFI London Film Festival 2018 - Laugh Strand - World premiere

Synopsis

Following a day in the life of young Grime MCs The Block. On the morning of their college showcase, their frontman MC Slicker falls ill with the mumps. Just when all hope is lost, their prayers are answered in the form of the most unlikely of heroes.
Official Selection BFI London Film Festival 2018 - Journey Strand - World premiere

Synopsis

Still living at home, the lonely 40-year-old Giorgos devises an intricate plan to take his life after his beloved mother chokes to death on a pistachio.
As the day progresses, Giorgos allows excuses to hinder his deadly leap from the balcony, completely oblivious to the true reason behind all his stalling.

Synopsis

Frank told a bad joke at his new place of work. Nobody laughed. Now at 3.00am he's unable to sleep as he obsesses and ruminates over this social faux-pas, leading him to ponder on the nature of memory itself. Trapped in a loop, a self-imposed purgatory as the clock ticks.

Synopsis

Contrasting artistic visions, misplaced confidence and blatant ignorance collide on the backdrop of an increasingly fragile and divided world.

Synopsis

Seventeen year old, music obsessed school girl Kat Malone tricks her way into managing struggling band Dollar Days, pretending to be a band manager her twenties.
Set in London, 'Kat and the Band' tells of one young girl’s headstrong determination to follow her own path when confronted by tough life lessons, her mother’s unwavering exasperation and the weight of expectation, in this entertaining and touching coming-of-age comedy-drama.
Persuading disillusioned bassist Alex to give her a trial as manager and with the support of her free-minded gran, Kat takes the band on tour.
Kat’s entrepreneurial spirit generates band buzz and begins to re-energize Alex but success is short lived. As gigs get cancelled, band members lose faith, and exam time looms, Kat realizes pretending to be someone you’re not isn’t easy.
Kat must courageously navigate the challenges of growing up, whilst understanding the power of following your heart and dreams, and the surprise effect it can have on others...

Synopsis

An ex bodybuilding champion now personal trainer finds secret excitement in his life when he agrees to train a young man for championships; an overweight beauty clinic secretary who lacks confidence in her physical appearance uses her sexy voice to create a persona for seducing men she feels she could never have; and a dispirited religious singer tries his luck at becoming a wedding singer to increase the chances of finding the love of his life. This is the bittersweet tale of three middle-aged disenchanted characters yearning for love and connection in a city that does not embrace them.
Official Selection BFI London Film Festival 2018 - Love Strand - World premiere
Official Selection International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR) 2019 - Voices - International premiere

Synopsis

Jake is an introvert, illiterate, and unable to hold down a basic job. Unbeknown to those around him, however, he is intelligent and ingenious - strengths he uses to secretly observe his neighbour, Alice, the woman he loves. But Alice lives with her boyfriend, Guy, a small-time criminal and drug pusher. Events escalate when Jake crosses the line from Alice's voyeur to direct manipulation of Guy's illicit dealings. Things come to a head when Alice is assaulted by Guy and his accomplice. After an unconvincing appeal to the Police, Jake decides to rescue Alice in his own ingenious, yet ultimately dangerous, way.

Synopsis

An east-end drug dealer has to take his son to work and spends the day struggling to connect with him.
Official Selection Toronto International Film Festival 2018 - World premiere