In the 1840s, acclaimed self-taught paleontologist Mary Anning works alone on the wild and brutal Southern English coastline of Lyme Regis. The days of her famed discoveries behind her, she now hunts for common fossils to sell to rich tourists to support herself and her ailing widowed mother. When one such tourist, Roderick Murchison, arrives in Lyme on the first leg of a European tour, he entrusts Mary with the care of his young wife Charlotte, who is recuperating from a personal tragedy. Mary, whose life is a daily struggle on the poverty line, cannot afford to turn him down but, proud and relentlessly passionate about her work, she clashes with her unwanted guest. They are two women from utterly different worlds. Yet despite the chasm between their social spheres and personalities, Mary and Charlotte discover they can each offer what the other has been searching for: the realisation that they are not alone. It is the beginning of a passionate and all-consuming love affair that will defy all social bounds and alter the course of both lives irrevocably.
Both a heartfelt love-story and an examination of gender, class and society, 'Ammonite' brings to life in vivid detail the life of a woman unappreciated in her own time. A pioneering paleontologist and passionate fossil collector, Anning’s findings contributed to changes in scientific thinking around the prehistory of the Earth and saw her named as one of the most influential women in British scientific history by the Royal Society after her death.
Official Selection Cannes Film Festival 2020
Official Selection BFI London Film Festival 2020 - Closing Night Gala
Musician, model and rock monster Dave Doughman and his band Swearing At Motorists have a unique reputation on Hamburg's alternative music scene. IT'S NOT ALL ROCK AND ROLL is about being a musical troubadour in the modern world.
The tragic tale of Mark Linkous, known as Sparklehorse, one of America’s most influential cult music artists whose life was lived with intensity and beauty.
Crippled by adversity and struggling with his demons, 2020 marks the 10th anniversary since Mark took his own life. Made with the cooperation of the Linkous family, Mark's life is told in his own words and music with contributions from David Lynch, Matt Linkous, Jonathon Donahue, David Lowery, Jason Lytle, Gemma Hayes, Adam Bryanbaum Wiltzie, Ed Harcourt, Josh Carter, Matthew Wright, John Parish, Adrian Utley, Emily Haines, and is narrated by Mark's close friend and collaborator Angela Faye Martin.
In the sixteen years that Felix has grown up he's had to contend with the unpredictable and consuming nature of Tourette's Disorder, all whilst navigating the usual tribulations of adolescence. He wants to share his story and break the stigma.
Official Selection IDFA (International Documentary Festival Amsterdam) 2020 - European premiere
During a long hot summer in the forest, Child is forced to grow up. First her Dog becomes ill, then out of the blue her Mother returns with a new lover in tow. Child’s world is turned upside down. A coming of age story, set in an enchanted Russian wilderness.
Mary Lennox is a troubled, sickly, orphaned 10-year-old girl, sent to live with an uncle after her parents died in a cholera outbreak in India. Initially sour and rude, Mary begins to explore the grounds of her uncle’s estate and befriends a robin. Mary hears of a locked-away, hidden garden. Together with the robin, she finds the key and enters the garden, discovering it to be more magical than she could have ever imagined.
Adaptation of Frances Hodgson Burnett’s classic family book 'The Secret Garden'.
Ding Ling, a research scientist who fled Indonesia in the wake of rising sea levels, disembarks from the cargo ship on which she had been living. She moves onwards to explore new/old territories, revealing something of her past in Indonesia and China via Singapore.
The episode DING LING AND SENAIT is a moment in Shezad Dawood's episodic film series 'Leviathan Cycle', shifting the narrative from one of breakdown and fragmentation to a focus on methodologies for surviving the future.
An urban thriller set around a London council estate and local run-down snooker hall, owned by one-time gangland enforcer and tough guy Ray.
A rags to riches, feel good story, following the exploits of Spencer Pryde, a gifted, inner-city kid, wasting his talents on petty crime.
Witnessing the brutal murder of his pal Denis, and finding himself in debt to drug dealing thug Ginger, Spencer’s life is spiralling out of control, until one day, a chance encounter with Chinese stranger and former eight ball pool champion Vincent Qiang presents Spencer with an opportunity to turn his life around. In order to make a new life for himself, Spencer needs to break away from the peer pressure of his friends, environment and the negative influences of his current life.
Vincent Qiang is an old friend of Spencer's father Terry. Terry is serving a lengthy prison sentence and is desperate to prevent his only son following in his footsteps. Terry manages to convince Qiang to take on the mantle of mentor for the troubled youngster. With Qiang's guidance and support Spencer makes a bid for a prestigious snooker tournament in Beijing. The reward is a place on the professional circuit.
Ecstatic lipsynching in downtown bars is a far cry from Donna’s Baptist upbringing in San Jose; now in her seventies, her estranged siblings haven’t even seen her in a dress.
Donna is offered a chance to co-write a play about an overlooked episode in queer history, the Compton’s Cafeteria Riot, in which transgender women Donna knew stood up against police harrassment. She writes a character to be played by a young transgender activist. Praised for her writing and emboldened by her new friends, she heads out of the city to meet her sister Gloria…
This intimate and uplifting film is beautifully observed by director Jay Bedwani and features mesmerising moments recalled by Donna in her emerging writer’s voice. Donna is a film that shows the strength that can be drawn from your community and proves: it’s never too late to find your métier and truly blossom.
After thirty years of working at an industrial sock factory, HR manager, Sidney faces a challenging dilemma that could affect the livelihood of his employees. We find him wandering around the now empty workplace haunted by the memories of his past colleagues, friends, and bosses. Throughout his journey he is confronted head on by the horrific consequences of his actions. Will he make the right choice at the end of his last day?
The narrative follows Yiling Li, a Chinese woman who has recently moved to London and lives with her stoic and detached cousin. Struggling to settle in and wanting to find some stability, Yiling Li eventually finds a job at a real estate agency. She overhears a phone call regarding a large monetary exchange for the opportunity to visit a serial killer’s old flat at night. With mounting financial pressures Yiling Li decides to steal the keys in order to rent the flat out hourly to the eager patrons.
As we see this side business grow, Yiling Li falls deeper into the world of misfits. She latches onto the connection she feels for them, intrigued by their vulnerability that stems from their twisted fantasies. She eventually begins to relish her nightly persona, realizing that sometimes the darkest environments breed the most authentic connections.
