Projects in genres: Drama

Synopsis

When Allen is hospitalised in a coma, fiancée Cathy and best mate Danny use a Handycam to 'communicate' with him. What starts out as a birthday present for Allen, to 'have a laugh' when he gets back and see that he hasn't 'missed much', shifts an already complex relationship into uncharted territory.

Synopsis

A group of enterprising students strive against the odds to achieve their dream of acting on the big stage. The youngsters decide to stage Shakespeare's Macbeth at Crewe's Lyceum Theatre and recruit Eric Shepard, a once feared and respected theatre director, whose own career has been cut short by injury. The film, like the play they eventually put on, is a triumph of perseverance and self-belief.

Synopsis

Maurice and Ian are old friends, veteran English actors who never quite hit the bigtime. Now in their seventies, they continue to work (Maurice, for example, is playing a corpse in a television drama) but spend much of their time discussing their ailments over breakfast in a favourite café. When Ian's great-niece Jessie arrives from the provinces, she quickly tries her great-uncle's patience. But Maurice is taken with the girl, and proceeds to show her the cultural sights of the capital. Maurice tries to teach Jessie something about life, but in the process he is surprised to discover how very little he actually knows now that his own life is drawing to a close.

Synopsis

As a young couple discuss the idea of giving up smoking, the sounds of a neighbouring argument spill into their flat. The argument makes them question their own marriage, while doing nothing about the neighbouring situation. Meanwhile, a young teenager argues with his mother as he tries to sneak out to a party with friends. His mother blackmails him into staying home, using his guilt against him.

Synopsis

Alienated and battle-scarred, Wes returns home late from school delaying a trip to visit his dying Nan. Martin Radich's film considers the pleasure of memory and pain of loss.

Synopsis

A long English summer and Katie is bored. As a last resort she seeks out sherry and companionship from Dorothy, her grandmother. Dorothy wants to go home though and the two form an unlikely alliance whose days are numbered.

Synopsis

Terrified of holding the 'worst-ever party', the over-honest and over-obsessive Lance faces his fear when his parents go away for a dirty weekend. He and porn-addicted best mate Henry plan the party, the only problem being that they are each planning different parties. When Steph, Lance's perfect woman, turns up with the man-eating Abby and the man-hating Heather (plus some unexpected gatecrashers) and when Henry's plan kicks in, Lance sees his dreams painfully fall apart as the worst-ever party gets progressively worse. But is there light at the end of a very dark tunnel? We've seen Trainspotting. We've seen Twin Town. We've seen the gritty social dramas. But set in the definitively middle-class 'Royal Tunbridge Wells Spa Town', We've got the Toaster shows a different Britain from the urban and social decay portrayed in most home-grown pictures. It's a comedy that lovingly skits middle England. Toaster is as much about what happens before and after a party as what happens during one. The sleep-over. The clean-up. The neighbours. The parents. The myth. The way it can change your life for better and for worse.

Synopsis

Lanny Morris and Vince Collins are the country's hottest entertainment duo. They're knee deep in all the wealth and power that comes with such fame. That is, until a beautiful girl turns up naked and dead in the pair's hotel suite after a night of wild partying. Journalist Karen O'Connor's quest to uncover the facts leads her into an emotional and sexual relationship that proves impossible to break, even when the horrible truth of past actions is revealed.

Synopsis

Based on true events, Why Me? is a poetic short film that delves into the emotional world of an 11-year-old, known only as Boy, who goes through a painful awakening when he discovers that there is no such thing as the 'perfect' family.

Synopsis

Stéphanie is a transsexual prostitute who plies her trade in Parisian discos, parks and hotel rooms. She lives with Jamel, a 30-year-old North African who also turns tricks. Together they manage to enjoy brief moments of happiness here and there when they go out dancing or spend time with her friends, many of whom are also transsexual. One night Stéphanie meets Mikhail, a down-on-his-luck Russian immigrant living illegally in France. Soon, Mikhail falls in love with Stéphanie, and she ultimately makes a surprising decision to include both partners in her life. Summoned to her childhood home in the north of France by her dying mother Liliane, Stéphanie (whose birth name was Pierre) tries to provide comfort to a woman who never really accepted her son's unconventional sexuality. She is joined by Mikhail and Jamel, who together with Stéphanie form a nurturing web of comfort and support. Liliane finally dies in her sleep. En route to Paris, the three lovers are shown entwined in the same train compartment, an alternative family of sorts. But they are headed for an uncertain future, living on the margins of a society that is still not comfortable with outcasts, others and those living in-between.

Synopsis

In a suburb, still and quiet, a boy is listening to his father's old records and a housewife faints when she tries to leave her house. Willow Drive is a bittersweet romance and a dream of somewhere else.

Synopsis

Made by young Bangladeshi and Pakistani filmmakers from Nottingham, Wo Ishq Jo Hum Se Rooth Gaya tells the story of a girl who loses her sight in a tragic accident which also claims the life of her mother. A few years later, she finds love after mistakenly phoning a stranger who is entranced by the sound of her voice. They decide to get married, but a friend thinks he is just marrying out of charity. Despite a tragic finale, touches of light comedy and a positive outlook ensure that the film ends on an upbeat note.