Projects with status: Complete

Synopsis

By the early 1980s, after two decades of violence and unrest, the situation in Northern Ireland took a sudden and profound turn inside the infamous Maze Prison. Seeking the right to be treated as political prisoners rather than common criminals, Irish Republicans led by Bobby Sands began a prison hunger strike that would draw international attention to the conflict. In the 66 days that he refused food, Sands would be elected to the British Parliament, put the Irish Republican struggle centre stage on the world news agenda, and pay the ultimate price for his political convictions. The film combines a powerful mosaic of archival materials, reconstructions and the illuminating accounts of former prisoners, commentators and key players in the drama. With Sands' evocative prison diary at its core, the film brings fresh insight to an iconic figure who single-handedly created a transformative moment in Ireland's history that had global aftershocks. (Hot Docs brochure) Hot Docs 2016 - World premiere

Synopsis

Ghana 2011. Inside a dusty roadside shack sleeps Paa Joe - the world renowned Grandfather of the fantasy coffin trade. He dreams of his bygone days – bringing money home in briefcases and work being shipped to galleries the world over. Now, he sleeps as the cars hurtle passed. There are no customers, no tourists – there are no coffins to make. His son, Jacob, dreams too, he dreams of returning his father to his glory days and rebuilding the family legacy together. Over the next four years they stand side-by-side, conquering love and death and embracing a life changing opportunity to travel to the UK to undertake an artist residency. It is the start of their future together – father and son, master and apprentice, Paa Joe & The Lion. Sheffield Doc/Fest 2016 - World premiere

Synopsis

Moazzam Begg has been detained under suspicion of terrorism in Pakistan, Afghanistan, Cuba and Britain. In 2002, in Bagram, he confessed to being a member of Al Qaeda. He has never been convicted of any crime. This is his first-hand account, a chronicle of the rise of modern jihad, its descent into terror and the disastrous reaction of the West. Sheffield Doc/Fest 2016 - World premiere

Synopsis

Cult-pop raconteur Aidan Moffat, former frontman of indie band Arab Strap sets out to explore Scotland’s past by rewriting and touring its oldest songs. But he doesn’t count on running into 79-year-old force of nature Sheila Stewart, a travelling balladeer who upturns Moffat’s folk assumptions. He believes the old songs are ripe for updating. She does not. With Stewart’s wrath ringing in his ears, Moffat embarks on a road trip that finds him dressed for battle in a Highland graveyard, caught between feuding monster-hunters at Loch Ness, and singing in a dismissive farmer’s kitchen, before facing Stewart in his home-town of Glasgow for an unlikely final showdown, in this funny wee film about music and death. Glasgow Film Festival 2016 - World premiere

Synopsis

When fifteen-year-old Shay hears the music of The Clash for the first time, it’s a revelation, opening up a new world of social consciousness and anti-establishment defiance beyond anything he’s known in his dead-end London suburb. Drawn into the heart of the city’s burgeoning punk scene, he forges two relationships that will change his life, falling in love with rebellious cool girl Vivian and finding an unexpected connection with none other than The Clash’s electrifying frontman, Joe Strummer. Propelled by a blistering soundtrack that bounces from The Clash to The Ramones to Buzzcocks, this film captures the sound and spirit of a scene that shook the world. Official Selection BFI London Film Festival 2016 - Sonic Strand

Synopsis

Documentary focusing on the work, both on screen and off, of director Ken Loach. Revolving around the 'battles' linked to his long filmography- ranging from the campaign to combat homelessness prompted by the 1966 film 'Cathy Come Home', to a right-wing press backlash over the Palme d’Or win for 'The Wind That Shakes The Barley' in 2006, to a fight with the censors over the language in 'Sweet Sixteen'. A provocative and revealing account of the life and career of one of Britain’s foremost filmmakers, produced as he turns eighty, looking back at over fifty years of filmmaking.

Synopsis

Inspired by the streets of contemporary London. The wife of an ex-Rugby superstar, a small time drug dealer, a rich playboy and a cab driver all all live within a hundred London streets. Their lives cross, intersect and entwine.

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An animated narrative about narcissism in modern romance. Rooster meets Owl and they fall in love. Rooster's fear of becoming all-consumed grows and grows and turns their relationship dysfunctional.

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Sensitive wallflower Cara exists in her humdrum life until the appearance of charismatic Jay unlocks powerful desires within her. When Jay's beautiful French lover arrives, Cara's journey to self-discovery takes a dark and unexpected turn, with tragic consequences.

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The picture we frame of the past continuously changes and grows over time, slowly becoming less similar to the original experience. Returning to Blackpool, we visit people, places and memories as 24 hours in the ‘Vegas of the North’ unfolds.

Synopsis

A witty take on the contingencies of the conditions in which to best read Marx. Filmed over 6 days, the time-lapse technique compresses a classic text (Karl Marx's 'Das Kapital') into a 9 minute experience, raising questions as to how film might transcend verbal language. The picture is offset by David Cunningham’s score which is composed solely from the two words of the book’s title. Official Selection BFI London Film Festival 2016 - Experimenta Strand

Synopsis

Set in a stylised, fast-moving London, Brash Young Turks follows a new breed of hustlers—flashy, unapologetic, and operating beyond their lane—led by Terrell Mackintosh, a magnetic figure who drives his crew from street-level survival into a world of high-stakes ambition and influence. When Mia, a care-leaver searching for love and escape, is pulled into his orbit, she enters a volatile world defined by hustle, risk, and the pursuit of elevation. Moving through the cut-throat arenas of sales and property, where image is currency and success is measured in money, status, and power, the group chase opportunity at any cost. But as ambition intensifies, loyalty begins to fracture. What once felt like progress turns unstable, and the personal and material costs of rising become impossible to ignore. Told through intersecting storylines and a visceral, hyper-kinetic style, the film captures a generation in motion—restless, defiant, and unwilling to accept limitation, no matter the consequences.