In the jungles of Borneo, an Iban father on the cusp of old age begins a river journey to seek medical help for his sick child. Along the way, the boy is troubled by recurring visions of a strange figure who appears on the river bank. As the journey progresses, father and son are drawn inexorably to a final encounter with the mythical 'transformed' shaman who dwells deep inside the jungle.
Semangat was made by working closely with one Iban longhouse community from Sarawak, Malaysia with whom the story was devised and filmed. Set in the jungles of Borneo, the basis of the film explores the conflict that exists between ancient animist beliefs and modern approaches to illness. The main protagonists of the film are a real father and son, and a retired shaman from this community.
Semangat is a micro-budget hybrid docu-fiction film funded by The Channel 4 BRITDOC Foundation, The UK Film Council/CTBF John Brabourne Award and Screen South. It has been produced under the creative guidance of award winning filmmaker, Pawel Pawlikowski (Last Resort, My Summer of Love). It has been co-produced with The National Film and Television School.
Inspired by the life of legendary English rock 'n' roll singer and performer, Ian Dury of Ian Dury and the Blockheads. We follow the highs and lows of Dury's personal and professional life against a backdrop of his greatest hits. The story looks at his relationship with his son in parallel to his own childhood; Dury's upbringing depicts the story of a charismatic, crippled boy who overcomes great personal odds in order to establish his existence as a talented and determined individual.
A veteran of an anonymous war - Tom is haunted by memories. Lost and alone he finds himself in Tokyo, bombarded by the sights and sounds of a frantic city.
There he endures a tormented existence, desperate for redemption and the chance to live once again. The weight of his past however means there is no escape.
Shunyata is a short political film that may appear to explore the duplicity in our democratic system but in spirit hints at the struggle faced by minorities in just about any country. It is set in Mumbai and doesn't make any direct reference to a particular individual or event but rather every single similar event since the partition of two countries due to politically fueled religious issues which have had and will continue to have severe repercussions.
The story revolves around a Muslim girl Saeeda whose husband is picked up for questioning by the police and mysteriously disappears. It's been two years but she won't give up until she knows the truth. She forms a special father-daughter relationship with a police inspector who thinks he's helping her in her quest but doesn't realize that he will ultimately destroy her by leading her to the very people who brutally murdered her husband.
Sidney Turtlebaum is a bitter sweet comedy and cautionary tale set in present day Golders Green, the heart of London's Jewish community.
Sidney Turtlebaum is an eccentric gay Jewish man in his eighties. To punish the world which rejected him, Sidney earns his living as a pickpocket and a conman. His chosen modus operandi is to read through the recent death notices in the London Jewish Post identifying Shiva houses of mourning in order to steal from the gathered crowd.
More than just a thief, Sidney is a performer and revels in the opportunity to take centre stage capturing the assembled mourners with his anecdotes and nostalgic songs.
When Sidney earns the respect and curiosity of 26 year old Gabriel he decides to take him to his next Shiva home thus opening up his strange world to the innocent eyes of his young new friend.
From BAFTA award winning director, Chris Menaul, comes the story of Mozart's definitive romantic comedy. A school for lovers must learn that when words fail, only music can speak to the heart.
Adam, a rich industrialist aspires to a more cultured world. Spurred on by playful jibes that he’s little more than a city suit living the capitalist's dream, this frustrated amateur opera singer decides to put on an opera in his lavish country retreat. Once his friends see him belting out the notes, he feels sure it will spell the end to their shallow taunts. It might even help him win the hand of Celia, the female conductor he has been pursuing and is the first to be recruited for his showpiece.
As for the other major roles and the production, Adam brings in the pros. A troupe of sexy, young singers with enough collective sexual tension to literally light up the stage. The opera they will be performing is Mozart's Cosi Fan Tutte, the master composer's fabled romp through the bittersweet themes of sexual infidelity. As the disparate group begins to rehearse, it isn’t long before life starts to replicate art and their relationships flourish and flounder.
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.
A group of twentysomething friends hang out in the rich neighbourhoods of the sleepy capital city of Islamabad, Pakistan. Hasan flirts with both filmmaking dreams, as well as with secret crush Aisha. But a daily routine of driving around town with his cocky, status-obsessed buddy Sheryar could prevent Hasan from escaping the existential bubble he is trapped in.
Sleep Furiously is set in a small farming community in mid Wales, about 50 miles north of Dylan Thomas’ fictional village of Llareggub, a place where Koppel’s parents – both refugees – found a home. This is a landscape and population that is changing rapidly as small scale agriculture is disappearing and the generation who inhabited a pre-mechanised world is dying out.
The central character in the film is John Jones who, once-a-month, drives the library van around the Trefeurig community, from farm to farm, collecting and delivering books. This bright yellow van becomes both literally and metaphorically a vehicle of stories – stories which take us on a poetic and profound journey into a world of endings and beginnings; a world of stuffed owls, sheep and fire. Allied to a soundtrack by the revered electronic musician Aphex Twin Sleep Furiously has been described as 'lyrical film making at its best'.
