Projects

Synopsis

Soundtrack to Sixteen is a coming-of-age film about two anxious teens growing up in London in the 2000s. Maisy is self-conscious and constantly overanalysing. She is obsessed with having her first kiss this year before she turns seventeen, but stalking the boy next door doesn’t seem to be working. Meanwhile Ben, a boy from a nearby school, is happy being a nerd and thinking he’s better than everyone else until his grades start plummeting. For the first time he must come face to face with the idea that he might, in fact, be average. When the two meet each other on the night bus things get even more confusing for them as they attempt to navigate their first potential romance under the stress of exams that will define their future.

Synopsis

The compelling story of the Chins, the Chinese Jamaican family behind “Studio 17” a legendary recording studio in downtown Kingston, Jamaica. Studio 17 was at the heart of the music revolution that began after Jamaican independence in 1962. In its prime, artists who recorded there included Bob Marley and the Wailers, Lee “Scratch” Perry, Peter Tosh, Gregory Isaacs, Dennis Brown, Alton Ellis, Carl Malcolm, Jimmy London and many more. But dramatically, during the political turmoil of the late 1970s the Chin family fled to New York and the studio was abandoned. 40 years on, a treasure trove of original studio tapes has been salvaged - revealing unique and stunning recordings from the ‘golden age’ of reggae, many of which were unreleased and have never been heard before. As the tapes are played they give rise to a myriad of wonderful stories and in a highly poignant conclusion, the teenage voice of the late Dennis Brown is beautifully re-recorded with the vocals of a rising teenage star, Holly Stevenson, all magically orchestrated by producer and one time Eurythmics star, Dave Stewart.

Synopsis

Time-travelling record producer Harley Byrne crash-lands in a virtual reality heritage theme park in 22nd-century France. Corrupt holograms, cyborg saints, and sentient statues haunt an absurdist Super-8 universe, digitally re-colourised for your pleasure!

Synopsis

A peaceful working relationship between two power-line repair men is put under pressure when one returns back from a family bereavement. In Trucker’s Atlas, the rural landscapes of the UK provide the backdrop for an exploration into emotional repression and outdated ideals of masculinity within middle aged, working-class men.

Synopsis

When Jeff and Emelia are gifted a virtual reality set that shows one's "ideal self" for their twentieth wedding anniversary, they discover a secret that could shift their relationship indelibly.

Synopsis

An impoverished preacher in Miami is offered cash to save his family from eviction. He has no idea his sponsor works for the FBI, who plan to turn him into a criminal by fuelling his madcap revolutionary dreams. Official Selection SXSW Film Festival 2019 - World premiere

Synopsis

Following his death, Lother Schramm finds himself in a disorientating and nightmarish afterlife. A short, animated sequel to Jörg Buttgereit's 1993 film SCHRAMM. Official Selection Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival 2020

Synopsis

The searing story of President Duterte's bloody campaign against drug dealers and addicts in the Philippines, told with unprecedented and intimate access to both sides of the war - the Manila police, and an ordinary family from the slum. Shot in the style of a thriller, this observational film combines the look and feel of a narrative feature film with a real life revelatory journalistic investigation into a campaign of killings. The film uncovers a murky world where crime, drugs and politics meet in a deathly embrace - and reveal that although the police have been publicly ordered to stop extra-judicial killings, the deaths continue. Official Selection CPH:DOX 2019 - F:ACT Award - World premiere Official Selection Hot Docs 2019 – World Showcase

Synopsis

Legendary US photographer Jim Marshall's diary of a life in music captures both the volatile man behind the lens and the seismic changes that defined the 1960s. A child of immigrants he battled inner demons and fought his way to become one of the most trusted mavericks, the man with five Leica M4s hanging round his neck. A passion for music led him to capture some of the most iconic figures in music history from the jazz greats to Bob Dylan, Johnny Cash and The Rolling Stones. His abrasive but honest approach to his subjects combined with his incredible skill to build trust expanded his portfolio beyond celebrities, documenting key moments in US history and a time of great turbulence. Official Selection SXSW 2019 - 24 Beats Per Second - World premiere

Synopsis

In the aftermath of World War II, a British colonel and his wife are assigned to live in Hamburg during the post-war reconstruction. Rachael Morgan arrives in the ruins of Hamburg in the bitter winter, to be reunited with her husband Lewis, a British colonel charged with rebuilding the shattered city. But as they set off for their new home, Rachael is stunned to discover that Lewis has made an unexpected decision. They will be sharing the grand house with its previous owners, a German widower and his troubled daughter. In this charged atmosphere, enmity and grief give way to passion and betrayal.

Synopsis

Set on the island planet of Kairos Linea, ELEVEN ELEVEN is a multi-linear narrative that places users in the center of the action as its inhabitants count down the final 11 minutes and 11 seconds to an extinction-level event. The only guarantee for survival is aboard a rescue ship that will launch just before the clock hits zero, transporting a lucky few to the safety of a floating ark in the sky. The narrative plays out in real-time and focuses on six main characters whose stories intersect as they try to make it to the ship, or face the reality of what could be their final moments. Official Selection SXSW 2019 - Virtual Cinema Competition - World premiere

Synopsis

In a perfect town filled with perfect families, twelve-year-old Justin Whitter has gone missing. Greg Harper, lead investigator on the case, struggles to balance the pressures of the investigation which has brought to attention a similar case thought to be buried in the past, while finding a way to forgive his well-heeled wife, Jackie, for a recent infidelity. Great strain is put on the family as Jackie’s guilt slowly gnaws away at her grip on reality, and when a malicious presence manifests itself and puts their young son, Connor, in mortal danger, the cold, hard truth about evil in the Harper household is finally uncovered. Official Selection SXSW 2019 - Midnighters - World premiere