Projects in genres: Drama

Synopsis

It all began so innocently for two children growing up in the deepest countryside, their imaginations set ablaze by a book on local myths and legends. Berenice convinces her younger brother Brian that she is the reincarnation of a witch with the powers to put everything right. As they grow up Brian becomes emotionally dependent on his sister, so that when she returns to the family home for Christmas with her new boyfriend he feels totally betrayed. At the same time a man strongly resembling the mythical Jake the Mid-Folker is closing in. An overwhelming sense of impending horror surrounds the house, but is the enemy outside - or is the enemy within?

Synopsis

The Trousseau is a moving story of a young British woman Ama, who returns to her birthplace in Ghana after receiving news of her mother's sudden death. She is met by her three stern clanswomen who doubt very much if she capable of taking the place of her frail grandmother during the funeral preparations. Defying tradition she proves them wrong and begins to find expression of her grief in the ritual preceding the funeral, ensuring that her mother appears in death as she did in life.

Synopsis

On the eve of war in Bosnia, Stevo and Ramiz are sent home from school, oblivious to the encroaching danger. They play in an abandoned hill fort pretending to be pirates looking for treasure. But instead of gold they find a gun and overnight both their lives are changed forever.

Synopsis

Ireland 1920: workers from field and country unite to form volunteer guerrilla armies to face the ruthless 'Black and Tan' squads that are being shipped from Britain to block Ireland's bid for independence. Driven by a deep sense of duty and a love for his country, Damien abandons his burgeoning career as a doctor and joins his brother, Teddy, in a dangerous and violent fight for freedom. As the freedom fighters' bold tactics bring the British to breaking point, both sides finally agree to a treaty to end the bloodshed. But despite the apparent victory, civil war erupts and families who fought side by side find themselves pitted against one another as sworn enemies, putting their loyalties to the ultimate test.

Synopsis

This Is England tells the story of Shaun, a 12-year-old kid growing up without a father in the north of England. Set during the summer holidays of 1983, we chart his rites of passage from scruffy misfit grieving the loss of his father into a shaven-headed thug whose anger and pain are embraced by the local skinhead fraternity. With a shell of a mother and no father to guide him, Shaun seems set for self-destruction, but it's not long before things turn sour with his new-found 'friends' and Shaun soon learns that violence is the coward's answer.

Synopsis

Set in a 19th-century European village, this stop-motion, animated feature follows the story of Victor, a young man who is whisked away to the underworld and wed to a mysterious Corpse Bride, while his real bride, Victoria, waits bereft in the land of the living. Though life in the Land of the Dead proves to be a lot more colourful than his strict Victorian upbringing, Victor learns that there is nothing in this world, or the next, that can keep him away from his one true love. It’s a tale of optimism, romance and a very lively afterlife, told in classic Tim Burton style.

Synopsis

On a hot July afternoon, a girl wanders away from a house, towards a deserted pool of water. Her body is recovered the next day. Thirty years later, as Allon White lay dying of leukemia, he drew upon memories of his sister's death and the landscape of his childhood. These fractured recollections are the inspiration for Too Close To The Bone.

Synopsis

The action of this short, comic film noir unfolds as Mike explains how he's come to be buried alive. It's a tale of the underworld, in more ways than one, as cross and double-cross lead to a trip to the countryside that is anything but a picnic.

Synopsis

Tatjana dreams of escaping St Petersburg, and thinks she has found a man who can take her away. Meanwhile in Mexico City, Champinon is overshadowed by his confident, good-looking best friend and struggles to find himself a girlfriend.  In Los Angeles, Asha discovers the man of her dreams has been cheating on her, and in Kenya, Matthew rebels against his religious upbringing by reaching into Nairobi's burgeoning hip hop culture, attracting swift discipline from his father. The heat is on and our cast of characters react to the building pressure to create Transit: Tatjana leaves Russia for Mexico City in search of her lover, and Asha for Nairobi to shoot a documentary for her graduation project. In their new locations our characters meet and our four stories become two when Tatjana finds Champinon and Asha finds Matthew. Love follows but their relationships are not as simple as they first appear, as we discover that all their stories are interlinked.

Synopsis

On a windswept beach, a lone figure trudges across the sand. Deep in concentration, his eyes are trained on the ground ahead. This is the story of an old man's relentless search. He can only ever rest when he finds his treasure.

Synopsis

Based on the book by acclaimed author and playwright Athol Fugard, this deeply affecting film traces six days in the life of a ruthless young gang leader who shoots a woman outside her home and steals her car, unaware, in his panic, that her baby is in the back seat. Pumping with the high energy of Zola's 'Kwaito' music, Tsotsi is an extraordinary and gritty contemporary portrait of ghetto life set amidst the sprawling Johannesburg townships.  

Synopsis

Ever sat on an underground train and felt you were being watched? You might have been an unsuspecting participant in a game of Tube Poker, the gambling phenomenon that is sweeping the globe.