Projects in genres: Drama

Synopsis

An adaptation of Ben Macintyre’s best-selling book exploring the impact of a notorious betrayal of the British establishment. It focuses specifically on what happened during the final meeting between Philby and his close friend and fellow MI6 agent Nicholas Elliott (Damian Lewis), in the days leading up to Philby’s defection. Was Elliott merely trying to extract a confession or was there something more shadowy at play? Outstanding performances from Lewis, Pearce and Anna Maxwell Martin bring to life the layered and deeply intelligent script by showrunner Alexander Carey (who previously worked with Lewis on HOMELAND). Part gripping spy thriller in the Le Carré mould, part incisive dissection of the British class and power structures still in place today, A SPY AMONG FRIENDS is, above all, a moving portrait of friendship and betrayal.
(London Film Festival)

Synopsis

The world has turned yellow, and people carry stuffed birds under their arms in this anxious and alienated environment.

Synopsis

How well do we ever really know our partner? That’s the question at the heart of this crafty comedy-drama, which follows married couple Jamie (Corden) and Amandine (Melia Kreiling) as they navigate the happily ever after. Combining the trappings of romantic comedy with the twists and turns of a whodunnit, the show deftly explores just how complicated long-term commitment can be. Best known for his comic performances, Corden is terrific in a more contained dramatic role, while Hawkins and Colin Morgan sparkle as Jamie’s sister and brother-in-law – a couple facing their own challenges. Butterworth’s (Jerusalem, Spectre) dexterous script is nimbly directed by Stephanie Laing, who has previously shown such a keen eye for gender dynamics in her work on PHYSICAL and MADE FOR LOVE.
(London Film Festival)

Synopsis

Complex drama and knotty themes have long been hallmarks of Blick’s work. Through the lens of the Western, he now turns his attention to the founding of contemporary USA. Blunt plays wealthy English woman Cornelia Locke, who arrives in the United States in 1890 with a bag of cash, hell-bent on killing the man responsible for the death of her child. She’s thrown together in unlikely circumstances with Pawnee scout Eli Whipp (a career making turn by Chaske Spencer), recently discharged from the army and trying to make his way home. Demonstrating a deep literacy with the genre, The English is stylised and angular filmmaking that both critiques and pays homage to the traditional Western while imbuing it with a contemporary sensibility. It’s also a work that speaks acutely to post-Brexit Britain – the imperial confidence of ‘the English’ playing cricket on the prairie is in striking contrast with a 21st-century nation coming to terms with its waning global power.
(London Film Festival)

Synopsis

Two young soldiers across enemy lines fall in love and find escape from their oppressive environments in this musical drama.
Official Selection Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival 2023

Synopsis

When a bag of drugs goes missing, four youths must race across the city to find it before the party of the year.

Synopsis

Gordon is determined to die as he has lived - alone. Until care worker Aaron comes knocking. And an intimate encounter alters his life as well as his death.

Synopsis

'Four Quartets' names four landscapes that serve as the basis for four interwoven meditations on the nature of time, faith and the quest for spiritual enlightenment. It is one T.S.Eliots's final great poetic works and its questions, imagery and reflections retain their power and resonance today.
Early in the Covid pandemic Ralph Fiennes set himself the challenge of committing 'Four Quartets' to memory. This cinematic adaptation, filmed shortly after the conclusion of Fiennes original stage production, is an exquisite rendering of Fiennes' tour de force performance, seamlessly transposed from stage to screen, featuring the landscapes in the poem.

Synopsis

After turning 18, a young woman's time in the care system has abruptly ended. She now faces the 'care-cliff' as she struggles to survive living independently.

Synopsis

A fisherman contemplates his mixed relationship with alcohol throughout his life, as he drinks excessively by a fishery.
Official Selection Cork International Film Festival 2022

Synopsis

A swimmer detects an unusual sound late at night and she decides to investigate.

Synopsis

While Steve is desperate for his sisters to prove his innocence, Izzy and Jess are fighting to preserve their safe space and their connection to each other is key.
Official Selection BFI London Film Festival 2022 - World premiere