Projects in genres: Drama

Synopsis

Nineteen year old Tommy likes his life as a criminal, and leads his friends in acts of horrifying violence, until one night he is kidnapped by a stranger, Chris. Waking up with a chain around his neck in the basement of an isolated home, Tommy finds himself at the centre of a dysfunctional family dynamic as Chris and his mysterious wife Kathryn try to make Tommy a “good boy”, in a process of forced rehabilitation. The one thing Tommy knows for sure: he must escape. Official Selection Toronto International Film Festival 2025 - World premiere Official Selection BFI London Film Festival 2025 - European premiere

Synopsis

When his past and his debts start to catch up with him, a high-stakes gambler laying low in Macau encounters a kindred spirit who might just hold the key to his salvation. In his green velvet suit and kid gloves, with his pencil moustache and posh accent, Lord Freddy Doyle plays the part of the international high roller, living the lush life at a luxury hotel in Macao. But a closer look suggests Doyle’s situation is more desperate than it appears. He’s behind on his room payments, can’t find a casino that will give him credit, and he’s deep in debt to a dubious local character. Doyle came to Macao because here, as a “foreign ghost” who no one knows, he can reinvent himself. But Cynthia Blithe knows who he really is - and what he’s running from. A sympathetic casino hostess may be able to help Doyle escape his mounting problems. But is there anywhere left for him to go? (TIFF 2025) Official Selection Telluride Film Festival 2025 - World premiere Official Selection Toronto International Film Festival 2025 Official Selection San Sebastián International Film Festival 2025 - European premiere Official Selection BFI London Film Festival 2025

Synopsis

The true life story of John Davidson. Diagnosed with Tourette's at 15, Johnson was targeted as insane by his peers, as he struggled with a condition few had witnessed. Campaigning for Tourette's as an adult, he was awarded an MBE in 2019 by Queen Elizabeth II in recognition of his pioneering advocacy. Official Selection Toronto International Film Festival 2025 - World premiere

Synopsis

A star-studded charity event turns chaotic when a radical group crashes it, seeking a mystical artefact tied to an ancient prophecy. Official Selection Toronto International Film Festival 2025 - World premiere

Synopsis

A true-life comedy of the most epic proportions, SAIPAN chronicles he events leading up to Ireland’s incendiary 2002 World Cup campaign, when the intense rivalry between Manchester United and Ireland football legend Roy Keane and Irish national manager Mick McCarthy transcended the game and gripped an entire nation. In 2002 while preparing for the World Cup on the tiny island of Saipan and when Keane was captaining the Irish national side, he and McCarthy had a very public, very bitter disagreement. On the surface, their feud was all about standards, but deep down it was a hugely emotive story of two men whose rivalry and contempt came to surpass the sport they loved, and whose very public falling out was to become one of the most fractious falling-outs in the history of the sport.

Synopsis

A pivotal day in the life of headteacher Steve and his students at a last-chance reform college amidst a world that has forsaken them. As Steve fights to protect the college’s integrity and impending closure, we witness him grappling with his own mental health. In parallel to Steve’s struggles, we meet Shy, a troubled teen caught between his past and what lies ahead as he tries to reconcile his inner fragility with his impulse for self-destruction and violence. A reimagining of Max Porter’s best selling novel 'Shy'. Official Selection Toronto International Film Festival 2025 - World premiere

Synopsis

Yorkshire, 1916. A choral society's male members enlist in World War I, leaving the demanding Dr. Guthrie to recruit teenagers. Together, they experience the joy of singing while the young boys grapple with their impending conscription into the army. Official Selection Toronto International Film Festival 2025 - World premiere Official Selection BFI London Film Festival 2025 - European premiere

Synopsis

Jonah, charismatically ADHD and dyslexically created, is a man-child who keeps on slipping. At the same time, his best mate, Lee, nimbly climbs every ladder. After hitting yet another bump and under pressure to see his great-aunt, who is lost to dementia, Jonah contrives that he and Lee visit, hoping it might also offer respite from himself and the mess he’s creating. Though the Northeast coast of Scotland wasn’t quite what Lee envisioned, it holds a certain wildness and wonder. They meet Charlie, who is profoundly Deaf and attempting to clean up after his shady twin brother. Through a developing friendship, the three boys form a connection that ultimately brings Jonah to discover the courage to be vulnerable and that joy is possible despite loss. THE SON AND THE SEA brings personal experience and threads of familial history together to ask: how will boys become men if there’s no one to show them the way? Official Selection Toronto International Film Festival 2025 - World premiere Official Selection San Sebastián International Film Festival 2025 - European premiere Official Selection BFI London Film Festival 2025

Synopsis

Warsaw, December 13th 1981. Martial law shuts down the country. Overnight, a country turns into a prison. Taxis have been replaced by tanks. Citizens are treated like criminals. And visiting British Professor Joan Andrews finds herself trapped. After witnessing the murder of a young student by the secret police (the "Crows"), Joan herself becomes the target. The Professor runs like a rat through the maze-like streets of Soviet-era Warsaw until she is forced to stop and take a stand. Official Selection Toronto International Film Festival 2025 - World premiere

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

Linda and her two daughters, Ali and Max, embark on their first holiday since leaving a violent household. What begins as an exciting escape to a beloved caravan park quickly turns into a fragile attempt to rebuild their lives and heal from the trauma of their past. While the initial days are filled with laughter, hope, and the freedom of new beginnings, Linda’s unresolved pain begins to surface in unexpected ways. As the days pass, Linda experiences a breakdown, her trauma manifesting as psychosis. Struggling to stay grounded, she becomes increasingly detached from reality, her grip on the present slipping further with each passing hour. Eventually, in a moment of deep disconnection, Linda disappears. MILES AWAY is an intimate portrayal of the psychological aftermath of abuse. As Ali and Max search for their mother, the film delves into the silence that surrounds mental health and trauma, capturing the haunting emotional journey of those left behind. It is a story of love, loss, and the long, painful road to healing, as the daughters are forced to confront their own fears and find a way forward without the one person they were depending on.

Synopsis

In the desperate search for a horse’s skull to lead an ancient folk procession, a man is drawn into the black market for animal body parts. Official Selection FantasticFest 2025