Projects in genres: Drama

Synopsis

Bulgaria 1952. 12 year-old David (Ben Tibber) escapes from the labour camp where he has lived most of his life. He races for freedom and stows away on a cargo ship bound for Italy.

Forced to deal with strangers for the first time in his life, David finds solace in the memory of his friend and mentor in the camp, Johannes (Jim Caviezel). He is given money for helping out some tourists and is able to buy food.

David comes across some children playing around an old shed. The shed catches fire with a little girl trapped inside and David rescues her with seconds to spare. Her grateful parents take David in but, unable to trust them, David runs away.

At the Swiss border, David meets an artist named Sophie (Joan Plowright). Sophie takes David to a bookshop where he sees a book that was written by a woman who lost her husband and son at the end of the war. He recognises the photo on the dust-jacket as his mother.

Urgent arrangements are made for David to fly to Denmark where, on the airport runway in Copenhagen he has an emotional reunion with his mother.

Synopsis

I Capture The Castle is a classically romantic tale of a young girl's emotional journey into adulthood, as she discovers the secrets of her own feelings and sexuality. Along the way she must encounter the trials and tribulations that life throws at her - many of which are hilarious, some of which may prompt a tear. Set against the stunning backdrop of awe-inspiring castles, dramatic landscapes and glamorous 1930's London; this is a film that will charm and delight.

Based on the novel by the best selling author Dodie Smith (One Hundred And One Dalmations). Produced by the Oscar* winning David Parfitt, (Gangs Of New York, Shakespeare In Love*, Wings Of The Dove, The Madness Of King George, Much Ado About Nothing) Directed By Tim Fywell (The Woman In White, North Square, Madam Bovary) with acclaimed Oscar* nominated cinematographer Richard Greatrex (A Knights Tale, Shakespeare In Love*, Mrs Brown).

Synopsis

I'll Sleep When I'm Dead is a taut, provocative character-driven thriller about contemporary life, justice and revenge. Will Graham (Clive Owen), a legendary London gangster, has given up the crime life to seek solace in the rural forest-land of North West Wales. His past will always affect him - he hardly sleeps; works without credentials - as he tries to make peace with himself.

His young, womanising, street-smart brother Davey (Jonathan Rhys-Meyers), to whom he's devoted, is a dashing, minor criminal. After scoring a deal and partying late into the night, he's followed home and attacked.

Sensing something is amiss, Will is pulled back to the city. Shocked and distraught, Will's antennae are re-tuned to the rush of London as he begins to investigate the disturbing event.

He seeks the counsel of his former gang-mates, ignites the jealousy of crime boss Turner (Ken Stott), visits the distressed Mrs Bartz (Sylvia Syms), tracks the mysterious Boad (Malcolm McDowell) and rekindles his relationship with Helen (Charlotte Rampling), the wise, romantic restauranteur.

Synopsis

The Salford-based story of Bernard, a loner. Since the loss of his wife, Bernard becomes trapped in the past and unable to break out of a funereal ritual that comes to define him.

Synopsis

This compelling film follows refugees Jamal and Enayatullah as they travel overland to London, passing through Iran, Turkey, Italy and France. Their fictitious journey is a distillation of the experiences of a multitude of real life asylum seekers and migrants - courageous and resourceful people seeking a better life but whose stories so often end in tragedy.

Synopsis

A couple break up briefly (the intermission of the title), sending ripples through the lives of everyone around them. Ripples that become shockwaves as a film-maker teams up with a cop for a journey into violence: a jilted wife plots revenge on her husband; three men team up for a daring kidnap-robbery. These and other stories collide, dovetail and climax in extreme ways, pushing the couple toward a reunion which in turn restores a kind of order.

Synopsis

'Me? Take it easy now, calm down. It couldn't be me, it couldn't be me! I mean if you don't know yourself who do you know? But the blood - It seemed crazy but how else could I be sure? So I set the camera up, tied myself to the bed and lay there, waiting - Guess I must have nodded off somehow, 'cos the next thing I know it's morning and I'm there just where I left myself. No problem, I'm telling myself, no problem - Then I played the tape. I just couldn't take it in. Me, a fuzzy black and white image in pyjamas, getting out of bed, leaving the room.'

Leonard Grey, superintendent of Jericho Mansions. His world may be small but he cares for every inch of it. The fading wallpaper in the entrance hall, the ageing carpet on the stairs, the clank of the elevator and above all, the faint but continuous refrain of lives being lived around him - For the last thirty years the building has been his universe. Beyond the front door of the apartment block lies a terrifying agoraphobic nightmare into which, for as long as he can remember, he has never dared to venture.

But Leonard's sanctuary is beginning to crumble; forces are conspiring to kick him out. Constant accusations by Lily Melnik, the landlady, of stealing worthless items from her apartment, stirrings of discontent among the residents, infidelities and finally a murder.

Bill Cherry, one of the building's inhabitants is found dead, his body thrown down the garbage chute. Though the cops believe they have their killer and motive - a jealous tenant taking revenge on his wife's lover - Leonard begins to discover clues that point to a different kind of killer. Himself.

Synopsis

This is a love story, not Helen and Joe, but the whole family. Helen (late 30s) is wife, mother and daughter and, on the morning we meet her, is killed in a road accident. But Helen doesn't know she is dead, and neither does her husband, Joe, who is a truck driver travelling home to London from war-torn Eastern Europe. The film charts the four-day odyssey of the family until Joe's return: the children and Grandpa at home struggling with what has happened, Joe over scary and unpredictable terrain and Helen through limbo to the moment when she and Joe finally reconcile their love and she is free to leave in peace. In the tragedy comes the seed of hope for the future.

Synopsis

A free-spirited group of young animal rights activists break into an animal research facility in order to get video footage of grisly experiments for their 'LD-50' website. When cocky group leader, Gary, wanders into a booby-trapped office, his leg gets caught in a hidden steel trap. Unable to free himself, the group panic as they hear the sound of approaching police sirens. Believing that the survival of the group is the most important thing, they flee the building, leaving Gary behind. Gary is taken away in handcuffs as the group's van drives away under the cover of darkness.

Troubled by an unspoken, collective guilt, the group disbands.

One year later, Gary sends a mysterious, encoded message to his brother, Danny, the group's videographer and all round 'tech-head'. Danny is sure that Gary is in trouble, and appeals to the group to reconvene. Reluctantly, they agree to go on one more mission to find out what happened to Gary and to investigate the mysterious MultiTech lab that Gary mentions in his e-mail. But, it is only a fact-finding mission - they will sneak in, find Gary, and get out quickly.

Synopsis

Julie has a bad dream. Is it an omen of something that is rapidly approaching to destroy her waking life?

Synopsis

Jason Flemyng (From Hell, Rock Star, Snatch, Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels) stars with rising star Kirsty Mitchell (Butterfly Man, A Shot At Glory) in Lighthouse Hill a funny and thought-provoking story of the conflict between love and the realisation of a dream, the power of money and position and what happens when we turn our backs on everything familiar.

Charlie Davidson (Jason Flemyng) is thirty-something, single and seems to have it all: a successful London publishing company, a beautiful and intelligent girlfriend, everything money can buy. But something is missing - Suddenly his best friend and business partner Peter suddenly dies, and he finds himself running away from three really determined loan sharks. Driving off into the heart of the countryside, with the loan sharks in pursuit, he stumbles across a surreal and lonely hotel, with a landlocked lighthouse. This place is inhabited by some strange and fascinating characters including Grace (Kirsty Mitchell), an attractive waif who he meets in a junkyard in the village who will change his life forever. Here in this strange hamlet Charlie tries to find a real purpose in his life.

Synopsis

Michelle is young, bright and attractive, leaving prison with a spring in her step and determined to steer clear of the heroin that led her here. Shaun is getting out after a year, his mother Angela there to greet him and take him home to start anew.

In improvised scenes drawn from their past and present experience, Michelle is tempted by a junkie friend and succumbs to an overdose, while Shaun tries hard with his friend Carl to stay straight. It's only a matter of time before Angela's suspicions are confirmed as they return to drugs and thieving. Michelle continues her fighting descent back into addiction, revealing the defining moments of her life: the death of her mother and her father's effective abandonment of her. Angela discusses with Carl's mother the impact of heroin on their lives and her relationships with other men, recalling the despair that led to her attempted suicide. But it's her love which keeps Shaun going, the love Michelle has lost.

In this powerful, often emotional film, Hollywood-bound film director Paul McGuigan achieves a vibrant modern approach to the kind of creative documentary originated by Robert Flaherty and developed by Humphrey Jennings.