Projects matching: ISO

Synopsis

Two men, two women, two journeys are woven into an intricate tapestry of desires as Travellers and Magicians takes us on an adventurous emotional tour through the heartland of Bhutanese Buddhist culture.   Set amidst the pristine beauty of the tiny Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan, our story follows the footsteps of Dondup, a handsome young government officer stationed in a rural outpost. But instead of revelling in the dignity of his position, Dondup has attitude. He is convinced that leaving Bhutan for the western world will satisfy all that he craves.   When opportunity knocks, it comes with a deadline. Dondup seizes the moment, lies to his senior officer, throws his suitcase out the window and hastily departs - unfortunately a touch too late.  He misses his bus to the nearby town of Thimphu and, to his dismay, is left stranded on the road with two other travellers heading in the same direction - a Buddhist monk and a simple apple seller.  Dondup's fear of spending a dark night under the stars alone subdues his arrogant display towards his fellow travellers and he joins them for a night around their fire on the roadside.   'Be careful with dreamlands..' the monk tells Dondup upon hearing of his plans to go to America, '...when you wake up, it might be unpleasant.' To pass the night away the good natured monk begins to tell the tale of Tashi, a lazy, disinterested student of sorcery who dreams of distant 'greener pastures' inhabited by beautiful women. One day his younger brother gives Tashi a magic potion that transports him through distant mountains and forests where he is unceremoniously dumped. In blinding rain the exhausted traveller stumbles upon an isolated hut where a cantankerous old man Agay and his beautiful young wife Deki offer him shelter.   The monk's tale continues throughout the journey as they make their way along the majestic mountain roads. Getting a lift for all of them becomes a mission and walking to Thimphu seems to be their destiny. Along the way they meet a series of colourful local characters but it is when Dondup meets a local beauty, Sonam, that his world starts to alter and his footsteps begin to falter. Will the monk's playful teasing change Dondup's view of his 'primitive' homeland, or will it be Sonam's beguiling smile?   Is he blinded by his hopes and schemes, is it lust or love, and what of his 'great American dream'?  Dondup is wavering - should he leave or should he stay? The monk with the permanent smile knows. With his deadline looming, a ride finally appears but can only take two of the travellers...

Synopsis

This debut feature film, written, choreographed and directed by its leading man, the black dancer Rodrequez King-Dorset, shows a creative dance artist in the grip of a personal crisis. The film depicts the black ghetto lives of two black boys in England in the 1980s, one a newly arrived African, the other an Afro-Caribbean, and highlights the ethnic tensions between their respective groups. The young black Briton, Lewis, (Troy John plays him as a boy) has to face scorn and misunderstanding from his father when he tries to become a professional dancer. Lewis has a close friendship with the African, Ramsey, (Andante Ajinzea) and a rewarding relationship with an Afro-Caribbean girl friend Maudi, (Naomi James). His African friend is imprisoned for a killing he was forced into in sheer self-defence, and this only adds to Lewis' confusion. He sets out creating a solo dance, which embodies some of his emotions.  The film has a predominantly black cast and was financed on a shoestring budget, largely as a result of the dedicated enthusiasm of all concerned in its making.

Synopsis

One man and his amusing disease: Ian Spatchcock is a prisoner in his own home, unable to go out or even to the bathroom due to his magnetic attraction to something quite horrible! Here he explains how he manages to cope with the changes brought about by his affliction and life without his Mondeo.

Synopsis

Audaciously split into three simultaneous frames AKA tells the story of a disaffected youth, identity lost and found, and the search for love. Dean, the handsome hero, is trapped in a dead world: a working class suburb with a sexually abusive father and a waitress mother who is convinced that she is the friend of aristocrats she serves. Dean runs away from home seeking out Lady Gryffoyn, one of the many characters that his mother has told him about at the restaurant. After meeting Lady Gryffoyn, Dean moves into her home but after a short time falls out with her jealous son Alex Gryffoyn. A chance meeting with Benjamin, a charismatic American leads Dean to Paris where he looks for work. Unable to get work Dean pretends to be Alex Gryffoyn and with Benjamin's unwitting help, infiltrates the very upper class set his mother waits on, convincing them and himself that he belongs. All the time he is funding this deceit with his credit card, running up huge bills. Back in England the police are alerted to his fraudulent use of the credit card. Dean hooks up with David Glendenning the rich aristocratic man for whom Benjamin is a courtesan. David takes Dean under his wing but only after expelling Dean's one true friend Benjamin from their inner circle. Reinventing oneself comes at a price. Slowly, the living hell, which he endured at home, comes back to haunt Dean. Dean finally tells the truth to Benjamin who is furious with Dean and tells David Glendenning. The charade is over. Dean goes back home, confronts his father and the tragic family secret is blown apart. The film ends with Dean in prison but in possession of his own identity and on his own terms.

Synopsis

Animal rights activist Jade is anxious to get Nick Robinson, the marketing director of a pharmaceutical company, to justify their experimentation on animals so she can post the results on her fledgling website www.justice4animals.tv but all attempts at a serious debate are met with contempt! When hard-line activist Charlie convinces Jade he can get the one-on-one she wants, she agrees, unaware of what this will involve. Kidnap. Imprisonment. Torture. Locked in a cage, barely able to move, Nick is finally at Jade's mercy as she videos and uploads his arrogant dismissal of her questioning. Realising that Charlie has no intention of changing Nick's view of life but to simply end it, Jade breaks anonymity to warn the police, putting her own life at risk to save another.

Synopsis

Isaac Julien's BaadAsssss Cinema is a groundbreaking documentary that looks back to the soulful, strange days of the 70s to explore an exciting and controversial era of film history: the phenomenon that was blaxploitation.

Synopsis

Bitter Sweet is a contemporary love story set in Cornwall. Becky and Jack were madly in love once, but drugs got in the way. She cheated him out of a deal, and to make matters worse, shopped him to the police. When Jack is released from prison, he sets out to find her. The role of the avenging angel greatly appeals to him. A Penzance solicitor with a social conscience does his best to help Jack, but he just wants to get even with Becky. His love for her has turned into an unhealthy obsession, and now, hatred. She, in the meantime, turns tricks for money, working under the cover of an aromatherapist. It is not long before he finds her amongst the sand dunes of Hayle, and he shoots Becky with his air pistol. She falls to the ground, crying out in pain. There is a small graze on her arm. He offers to kiss it better. One kiss leads to another and the young lovers soon make up their differences. They are oblivious of a total eclipse passing over their heads. As the sun re-emerges they walk into the brilliant clear light.

Synopsis

Bouncer tells the story of one night in the life of a doorman when events spiral out of control resulting in fatal consequences. This is a night when the threat of an angry punter coming back turns into a bloody reality - Just another night that becomes a living hell.

Synopsis

Set inside Tihar Central Jail in Dehli and shot over a period of a year, this film looks at life inside the jail focusing on a handful of characters. Raymond from London is on remand and is accused of smuggling 70 kgs of heroin. If convicted he would face the next 10 years in Tihar. Lakshmi is in the women's part of the prison, serving life for the murder of her husband's mistress. She thinks about him all the time, even though he has not visited her for six years. Bhabhuti, his wife, Prempatta and their son, Rama Shankar are all serving a life sentence for a death in the family. Prempatta's youngest daughter, Pushpa, also lives with her mother in the prison. But Puspha's future is uncertain as she is at an age when she must leave jail. There is a choice of either sending her to the village or to a boarding school where a charity has found a place for her. The film charts the conflicts that arise in the family as Pushpa's time of departure approaches. The pressures of life in Tihar are movingly captured in this engaging documentary.

Synopsis

1917. The Western Front. A million or more Allied and German troops face each other across the shattered landscape of northern Europe. A world of mud, entangled by a wilderness of barbed wire, scarred by miles of trenches, soaked with the blood of the fallen, the air fetid with the suffocating stench of death and gas. Hundreds of thousands of young men are already buried in this terrible wasteland; hundreds of thousands more will die here before the slaughter ends. It is here that one young man must face the truth about himself; that he is a coward, unable to face the coming horror of battle. Private Charlie Shakespeare is frozen with fear. Forced over the top at gunpoint he is hurled into the chaos of battle, witness to the decimation of his comrades; bodies shredded by machine-gun fire, others are blown apart by stray shells. He is alone, desperate to turn and flee. Then the poison gas drifts over the nightmare battle field and all he can do is fumble for his mask, press himself deeper into the mud and pray for dawn. When the battle is over, Shakespeare and the handful of other survivors from Y-Company are utterly lost somewhere in enemy territory. Their only shelter is an abandoned German trench. It's a claustrophobic maze of blind corners and underground tunnels, overflowing with war dead and infested with rats. Here, exhausted and terrified, they seek refuge, waiting to be rescued. But no one will come and as the night draws in, one by one, the young men of Y Company begin to die. An unseen enemy is stalking them, driving them insane with fear until they begin to turn on each other. Is their refuge possessed by something even more terrible than the war that surrounds them? In this cursed, lonely place, Private Charlie Shakespeare must find the strength to overcome his own deepest fears if he is to survive.

Synopsis

Barry struggles to come to terms with his redundancy and to occupy himself whilst apparently at work, he breaks into stranger's houses to clean them. Through cleaning Barry regains order, a sense of purpose and the strength to confront his situation. He unwittingly becomes an angel in another couples troubled life.  

Synopsis

Placed on opposing teams in a vicious game of street hockey, Alicia and Julian's relationship is pushed to its furthest extreme. In front of a worldwide online audience of baying gamblers, their love and respect for each other is tested beyond all reasonable means.