Projects matching: Michael Winterbottom

Synopsis

Manchester, 1976: Cambridge educated Tony Wilson, a Granada TV Presenter, is at a Sex Pistols gig. Totally inspired by this pivotal moment in music history, he and his friends set up a record label, Factory Records, and proceed to sign a number of bands destined to be some of the most influential artists of their time. First, Joy Division, who go on to become New Order; then come the Happy Mondays.

What ensues is a tale of music, sex, drugs, larger-than-life characters, and the birth of one of the most famous dance clubs in the world, The Hacienda. Graphically depicting the music and dance heritage of Manchester from the late 70s to the early 90s, 24 Hour Party People documents the vibrancy that made Mad-chester the place to be.

Synopsis

Heartlands is the richly comic story of a man who decides to give up his local shop and travel on an odyssey across the heartland's of England to retrieve his first love, his friends and his dignity.

Colin is a naïve, gentle man whose life is turned upside down when his wife leaves him for the captain of the local darts team. He follows them to Blackpool from the Midlands on his beloved Honda 50, stopping and meeting an odd variety of new friends on the road who in different ways help him work out what he has to do to mend his broken heart and salvage the rest of this life.

The film is a humorous tale of innocence seen through the eyes of a man who has never quite grown up and must, for the first time, confront the outside world. It is set in the beautiful, mysterious landscape of the Peak District in the North of England, populated by a bizarre collection of campers, ramblers and hikers all at one with their surroundings.

Synopsis

Daniel Dillon sold his wife and child - and then tried to buy forgiveness.

California 1849. The snowbound goldfields are littered with countless hopefuls rushing to make their fortune. Among them are the poor Irish immigrant Daniel Dillon, his wife Elena and baby daughter, Hope. Lost in a blizzard, exhausted and starving, they stumble upon a lonely hut with a sign above which reads 'Thy Kingdom Come'.

Fuelled by drink and a lust for gold, Dillon sells his wife and child to the prospector who lives there, in exchange for a gold claim.

Twenty years later Elena and Hope return to the pioneer settlement of Kingdom Come. Although rough and tough, the town is prosperous and Dillon is now a wealthy man of considerable authority, having as his mistress the local madam, Lucia.

The Claim is an epic story against the backdrop of American history in the making. This is a world of sweeping snowbound landscapes, goldmines, rowdy saloon bars and the racket and bustle of a pioneer town.

Hard times where jealousy and rejection take their toll and where one momentary lapse of weakness, twenty years earlier brings, a final and terrible retribution.
 
Based on Thomas Hardy's 'The Mayor of Casterbridge'.

Synopsis

'When a man is tired of London, he is tired of life'





Set in London during Bonfire Night weekend, Wonderland follows three generations of one family as their separate paths cross each other.





Mum and Dad are marooned in a loveless marriage, both scarred by the absence of their son Darren. Debbie, Nadia and Molly are their three daughters. Molly is due to have her first baby any day. Debbie has a nine year only boy, Jack, but still wants to spend her nights on the town. Nadia lives alone and is looking for someone to fall in love with.





Set on location with a small crew, using a hand held camera, no lights, no slates, no boom and no extras, the film tries to capture the everyday experience of life in a big city. The characters in the film are the people you see every day on the train, on the bus, at work. Their problems are mundane and eternal: how to find some contentment in this world.

Synopsis

Rosie and Vincent are desperately trying for a baby. But now that their passion has a purpose, and their attempts repeatedly fail, the strain on their relationship is beginning to show. When Benoit, a French postal worker and Rosie's teenage pen pal, arrives on their doorstep, Rosie is delighted but for Vincent the visitor is one delivery he definitely doesn't want. Benoit, who arrives with romantic notions about Rosie, is taken aback to learn that she is now married, and settles in as her houseguest. But Vincent is unhappy with this arrangement and finds himself tempted by his old flame Cathy, the local hairdresser. Both Rosie and Vincent find themselves facing choices they had never imagined they would have to make. Will they stay together for richer or poorer, or trade in their love of old for something new.

Synopsis

An English coastal town is the setting for a story of obsessive love when Martin returns to it following an eight year prison term. A young boy and his beautiful sister are drawn into Martin's pursuit of his former lover as he leads them on a dark and tense journey into the heart of desire.

Synopsis

Victor Kelly is a gangster and ruthless murderer - a 'Scarface' for the 90's. Modelling himself on Cagney and Dillinger, Kelly is the leader of a gang of killers. His cruelty makes him a ghastly local legend, both feared and venerated. On his trail is Ryan, a journalist, fired by an obsessive need to discover the truth about the so called 'Resurrection Men' putting his own life at risk.