Projects

Synopsis

The inspirational and feel-good story of Rita, a feisty factory worker who took on the biggest corporation in the world, Ford Motors. What started as a dispute over pay leads to an uprising amongst the women workers of 60s Britain that changed history. Sally Hawkins stars in this vibrant slice-of-life comedy directed by Nigel Cole.

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Two men strike a deal that reveals to be something altogether more sinister. Man Made is a dark and ominous short that addresses the issue of gender and power.

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Young loner, Franke Scarfe, 22, is stuck in the past, due to traumatic incidents that happened to him 10 years previously. The death of a former guide-leader triggers off a series of events that help him bury the past and get on with his life.

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Margaret Mellis’s career has encompassed some of the major movements of 20th Century British art. St. Ives neighbours Ben Nicholson and Naum Gabo saw her talent and potential but history has relegated her to the sidelines.   A dedicated abstract painter and superb colourist Margaret produced a unique body of work during her later life in Suffolk. Her true legacy has yet to be fully realised.   Using recordings from Artists’ Lives (British Library Sound Archive) the film is told entirely in Margaret’s own words, with her writings and diary entries read by Susannah York.   Margaret Mellis a life in colour puts Margaret’s work centre place, a visual feast of texture, shape and colour.   Margaret Mellis 1914-2009

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A dark tale about a sailor whose struggle with his demons leads to an encounter with the devil himself. Shot in an uncompromising b&w fiction-documentary style, the film records the last day of Mark's life up to its inevitable conclusion.

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An inner journey of a young girl catching reindeer in the twilight expanses of the Far North.

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A perplexed fisherman becomes united with a fragment of estranged matter.

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Michael Stern was injured at birth and is subsequently severely disabled. Despite his difficulties, and over fifty years of institutional care, Michael shines as a dignified and positive character. Michael's brother provides an articulate and poignant backbone for Michael's story and investigating his state of happiness and quality of life.

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Coming off the Robbie Williams tour, musical director eighties brit pop star Stephen 'Tin Tin' Duffy is fed up and completely disillusioned with the corporate music machine and decides to check out permanently and pursue his folk-political roots in the countryside. Along the journey he reunites his critically acclaimed band The Lilac Time to play the Green Man Festival in Wales, and rediscovers what it was originally about. 'We used to do it for the love, didn't we. People have forgotten that.' Duffy wanders as far as Cornwall before rediscovering meaningful poetic life. Sculptor Jon Edgar makes an appearance as he forms a terra cotta head of Duffy, who he believes will remain one of the key figures in arts and culture for future generations. It's a classic story of art versus commerce, disillusionment and rebirth told through one of the UK's most prolific recording artists, with archival super 8, stills, and historical footage from the 1960s through to the present. Much of the film is narrated by Duffy himself, the director Douglas Arrowsmith has poured over the archives and Duffy's own memoir to assemble an inspiring piece for any fan of music, poetry, and life's greater meaning.  

Synopsis

With its Arab, Assyrian, Jewish and Kurdish heritage, the Iraqi community of London forms a backdrop for the story of Bisan and Yusif as they negotiate a courtship in the run-up to the 2003 war. Yusif is an underground blogger opposing the regime of Saddam Hussain from within Iraq. He arrives in London in February 2003 with a view to helping highlight the brutality of this regime and the painful consequences upon the Iraqi nation of UN imposed economic sanctions. He dreams of a liberated homeland. Yusif's short stay in London brings him into contact with an array of individuals from the vibrant community: There is Zaynab - owner of Mesocafe and purveyor of advice for marriage and love, and for work and business. There is Tawfiq, a young Iraqi refugee spending the little money he has on phone cards calling his wife in Syria; there is Suad, a successful PR executive unable to come to terms with the death of her young husband at the end of the 1991 war; and there is the beautiful Bisan who, in between translating books from Arabic to English, relives her childhood memories Iraq.

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Mickey B is a world first, a feature film adaptation of Shakespeare's Macbeth, made with serving prisoners as cast, in Northern Ireland's notorious maximum security prison, HMP Maghaberry. Set in the fictional private prison of Burnam, where gangs run the wings, violence and drugs are the common currency. Duncan, the number one drug dealer, is about to be released. Mickey B is the muscle collecting on his behalf. The three witches take on the guise of three bookies, fixing the odds for their own ends. Ladyboy, Mickey B's bitch embodies the corrupting role of the queen of hate, scheming to reach the number one slot. Shot in hand held close up with cold, razor-blue filters, an unrelenting claustrophobic intimacy draws us into this dark world of ashen, scarred faces and tattooed flesh. Casual everyday violence, bourn out of the prisoners’ first hand experiences, ensures gritty, authentic and visceral performances. The laconic, drawling voices snake the story through each unexpected shocking attack. The brutality of clipped street slang delivered at staccato pace punctuates the monotony of endless prison time. This is a Macbeth like no other.

Synopsis

Jerusalem, 1948. On her way to work, Hind Husseini comes across 55 orphaned children in the street. She takes them home to give them food and shelter. Within six months, 55 had grown to almost 2000, and the Dar Al-Tifel Institute was born.   From Julian Schnabel, director of THE DIVING BELL AND THE BUTTERFLY,  BEFORE NIGHT FALLS and BASQUIAT, comes MIRAL, based on the book by Rula Jebreal and produced by Jon Kilik.   MIRAL stars Hiam Abass and Freida Pinto.