Projects with status: Complete

Synopsis

In this new film, starring Lee Evans and Kathy Burke, the Martyns, to outsiders, are the kind of people that you'd cross the road to avoid, but though they're the family from hell, once you get to know them you can't help but love them. Robert Martyn (Lee Evans), an unemployed but optimistic loser, lives with his adoring and long-suffering wife Angie (Kathy Burke). They have two children - Katie, their heavily pregnant fourteen year-old daughter, and angelic Little Bob, their eight year old son who worships his Dad. Everyday he wakes up thinking that things will turn out better for him and his family, and that one day he'll win one of the competitions he's always entering. All he wants to do is give his wife and kids everything they really deserve. When Robert discovers that yet again he hasn't won the 'Dream Holiday' of a lifetime, a competition in his local newspaper, he finally snaps. He decides to take the law into his own hands; if he can't win a holiday, he'll just have to steal one!

Synopsis

It's a story that's been told for 2000 years, but never like this. The Miracle Maker is a brilliant new portrayal of Jesus, uniquely innovative yet convincingly authentic. Powerfully told through the voices of a distinguished cast, it begins with the chance encounter between a sick young girl, Tamar (Rebecca Callard), her Pharisee father Jairus (William Hurt) and the quietly resolute carpenter (Ralph Fiennes). Tamar becomes one of an ever-increasing following fascinated by the spiritual strength and leadership of this charismatic man, but her father and other people in authority are troubled by Jesus' ability to inspire the people. Plotting against him, the rich and powerful Ben Azra (Anthony Sher) arranges the murder of Jesus' faithful friend John the Baptist (Richard E. Grant) and stirs up the authorities against him. While Jesus shocks the leaders by healing the crazed woman Mary Magdalene (Miranda Richardson), Jairus knows he could ask Jesus to save his dying daughter, as his wife Rachel (Julie Christie) begs him to do. Now the unstoppable conflict between belief and authority will come to a head when the great pilgrimage reaches Jerusalem in a confrontation between the power of God and the power of Rome, wielded by Pilate (Ian Holm). Vividly effective, this epic international co-production combines the rich detail of three-dimensional model animation, graphically striking two-dimensional animation and sophisticated computer effects to achieve extraordinary intensity and realism. It has been written especially to appeal to children and families, who will find themselves irresistibly involved in the power struggles and passion, despair and elation of the man who is 'The Miracle Maker'.

Synopsis

Eamonn Manley (Kris Marshall) hasn't much going for him. He's 24, he works in a Dating Agency (Amoré - 'Your Love is Our Affair') and he lives with his Ma. At night he hides in his room, dreaming of superhero adventures, romance and a girl he's too scared to approach. Yet his life takes on a new direction when, after a miraculous encounter with Mary Mallory (Tara Lynn O' Neill), the local good time girl, Eamonn discovers he has the highest sperm count in Ireland. With male fertility rates plummeting around the world Eamonn finds himself in demand. Seduced by the possibility of doing good and a taste of the high life, Eamonn is persuaded by his friend Millicent (Bronagh Gallagher) to start providing a unique service to the good ladies of Belfast. With his new-found confidence, he finally finds the courage to ask out the girl of his dreams. Rosie (Kathy Kiera Clarke) works at the local funeral home and has proved impervious to the approaches of more bullish guys. Entirely unaware of his new profession she finds herself drawn to the innocent, awkward Eamonn. And so begins Eamonn's bizarre double life: Lothario to half the city by day and shy lover to Rosie by night. His life is weirder and more wonderful than he could ever have imagined. Meanwhile the 'most fertile man in Ireland' has come to the attention of the local Protestant hardmen, led by Mad Dog Billy Wilson (James Nesbitt), formerly 'the most-feared and psychotic' paramilitary in Belfast who now finds himself in a world that no longer requires or endorses his services. Aware that the rising birth rate in the Catholic community means the Protestants will no longer be in the majority, he is determined to get Eamonn to even the score.

Synopsis

The Navigators follows the fortunes of a group of rail track workers based at a South Yorkshire depot as the privatisation of British Rail takes effect. When Harpic (so called because he's clean around the bend), the depot boss, gives Paul, Mick and the rest of the gang their new working brief, the company's 'mission statement', 'performance-related pay' and no paid holidays seems like a joke. But before long the choice is very clear to the gang; take their chances with redundancy cash and life as casual agency workers, or work for the company under the new rules...

Synopsis

The Parole Officer is a comedy starring Steve Coogan as an honest but inept probation officer who moves from a small northern town to a big city where he witnesses a serious crime and is framed for murder. The only way he can prove his innocence is to break into a bank vault where the crucial piece of evidence is stored. He goes back to his home town to persuade three of his former clients to return to lives of crime and help him rob the bank.

Synopsis

It's 1940 London, the height of the Blitz. Two young women, Lily (Anna Friel) and Sophie (Julie Cox) work as East End seamstresses. They are best friends, working and playing like typical 20 year olds despite the nightly bombings. They meet two Canadian servicemen at a dance, Charlie Travis (Aden Young) and Louie Maldoff, and fall madly in love. Charlie regales Lily with stories of his family's huge 'John Wayne style ranch' on the Canadian Prairies. In a matter of weeks the two couples are married and the boys are shipped to the front. Lily learns she will have Charlie's baby. After the baby is born, mother and child and Sophie are shipped across the sea to their new in-laws by the Canadian Embassy. While Sophie is welcomed into a wealthy and warm family, Lily is met with an icy reception from her bitter mother-in-law, Betty (Brenda Fricker) and crippled sister-in-law, Sylvia (Molly Parker). What's even worse, the 'dream ranch' is actually nothing more than a dirt-farm with a tiny shack in the middle of nowhere. In true 'Lily' style, she struggles to overcome these obstacles and is determined not to let anything interfere with making her new life and marriage work. After several years, Charlie returns, no longer the fun loving, naive man Lily married in London. He has become a shell-shocked stranger. Lily considers joining a now disappointed Sophie in Returning to London, but decides, in spite of everything, that she wants to remain in her home with her new Canadian family. Charlie and Lily resolve to face the rest of thier lives together, undaunted by the past or the future.

Synopsis

When his conscience awakens, his journey begins. The Warrior is a timeless story of an epic journey from the deserts of Rajasthan to the snow capped peaks of the Himalayas. The story follows Lafcadia, head of a small band of warriors employed by a tyrannical lord, who rules the region from his crumbling fort in the desert. The warriors are ordered to wipe out a village late with its payments. The warriors set off on horseback and proceed to raze the rustic village to the ground. In he midst of the slaughter Lafcadia has a mystical encounter with a young girl. Lafcadia drops his sword and vows to never kill again. He decides to escape his violent life. He sets off with his young son, Katiba, for his native village in the mountains.

Synopsis

This film is a tale of one man's struggle to grasp reality in an alien land. It is a bleak fairytale set in the parallel worlds of a solitary skinhead. He must follow a childhood trust, to release him from his past and lead him to the white room.

Synopsis

A highly stylised intimate portrait of the fantastic life of Louis Armstrong. The film charts the story of the innovator, the first great jazz soloist, bandleader, pop star, actor and American cultural ambassador, Louis Armstrong. Narrated by Danny Glover, The Wonderful World of Louis Armstrong is a sensitive insight into the life of the man behind the trumpet; an epic story that spans 70 years from his childhood days on the streets of New Orleans to the glamorous Hollywood films like High Society and Hello Dolly, punctuated by timeless hits like What a Wonderful World and When You're Smiling.

Synopsis

Jimmy Grimble dreams of being a great footballer - if he was, life would be easy. He'd find a nice girl, wouldn't get bullied at school, and if he was really good, as good as Gorgeous Gordon Burley for example, he may even be offered an apprenticeship with his team, City. But Jimmy is rubbish at football. One day however, things begin to change for Jimmy, he gets chosen to play for his school team and when he scores a magnificent goal he gains a confidence that touches the lives of those around him. His football coach, Eric Wirral, finds a passion for the game he thought had deserted him. His mum even sees the light and dumps her no-good boyfriend and gets back together with her ex Harry and Jimmy himself falls in love.

Synopsis

A surreal black comedy concerning the institutionalised racism of the film industry. We follow Vinod, a frustrated young Asian actor auditioning for yet another stereotypical bit-part. Fired up with revolutionary fervour, Vinod launches into a furious tirade at his self-satisfied tormentors, the results of which might not be as great as they first appear.

Synopsis

A raw, passionate and darkly humorous interpretation of Zola's classic novel The Earth. Francine and Kath are sisters who run the farm of their deceased parents in an isolated rural village. Kath has a daughter by Buto who, greedy for land, proposes to Kath on her coming of age and subsequent inheritance of the farm. Francine dislikes Buto and, in seeking comfort from her life of unrelenting toil and hardship, develops a relationship with the outsider, Lek. Francine's family and close-knit community fiercely disapprove of this liaison and begin to wage war on the stranger, which has destructive consequences for the whole village.