Projects with status: Pre-production

Synopsis

The dramatic true story of Austrian visionary, Rudolf Steiner who against ridicule, controversy and attempts on his life, developed an intricate philosophy based on his ability to research and perceive spiritual dimensions.

Synopsis

You awaken on a fog-shrouded shoreline and meet Echo, a strange child with a hole in their stomach. Together you cross a lantern festival where the veil between worlds is thinnest, sail into an ocean that opens beneath you, and descend through a portal into the Underworld. The Underworld moves through different facets of grief: a rave where silhouettes dance in slow motion, indifferent to Echo's attempts to reach them; a frozen sea where giant statues crack open to release a buried memory of a lost mother; a shadow theatre where an anger monster is unleashed, reducing everything to embers. From the embers, a boat carries you into a vast darkness, where Mother appears, and they are finally reunited. You sail together to the Tree of Life, a bioluminescent, cosmic jungle. Echo begs her to return to the World of the Living, but ancestors appear and surround you. She cannot come back - the journey was never about bringing her back. Echo, revealed to be your own child self, dissolves around you as the hole fills with light.

Synopsis

Riaz Masih is a 51-year-old Christian sewer worker living in Lahore, Pakistan. Despite systemic discrimination and working for a pittance, he is determined, with the support of his wife Zarina, to educate their four children. After 27 years of informal labour, Riaz finally secures a job with the city sanitation department and makes the rare decision to take out life insurance. His children show great promise. Sahil dreams of becoming a civil servant, while Mehek earns a scholarship to Punjab College. Their younger children, Rahul and Manahil, are deaf and mute and each excels in their own way. Through his school, Rahul is exposed to a more affluent world, as many of his classmates come from influential families. Sometimes labelled a bully at school and in his neighbourhood, his emotional and moral development becomes a key thread of the story. Riaz, whose own father only completed secondary school, dreams of seeing his children graduate from university and transform the family’s future. The documentary follows Sahil’s gap year after disappointing exam results and explores family tensions, including Mehek running away from home and leaving school. The film exposes the entrenched caste and religious privilege that marginalises Christian Dalits in Pakistan.

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How do we remember the past when our history has been faked? One man’s idea to rebuild a capital on the foundations of an unfinished city erased a collective memory, casting a dark shadow over Skopje's future identity.

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Jude and Sam, a grieving couple clinging to routine and survival, whose lives are upended when William, a coldly devout government “foxfinder,” arrives at their struggling farm with a mission to root out the designated enemy - the fox. As paranoia festers and absurd regulations tighten their grip, suspicion replaces love, and truth itself begins to warp.

Synopsis

The dramatic true story of an Austrian visionary, who against ridicule, controversy and attempts on his life, developed an intricate philosophy for the good of humanity based on his ability to research and perceive spiritual dimensions. In 1923, Central Europe is in social chaos created by the polarizing events of World War I. It proves one of the most tragic for Steiner, which includes the rise of nationalism and the seeds of hatred spawned by Adolf Hitler and his failed assassination attempt of Steiner. This is coupled with a hostile press, critical academics, the Pope’s decree banning Steiner’s organization and a Catholic priest who preaches openly each Sunday from the pulpit that Steiner and his society must be destroyed. Despite the enormous threats and surviving a poisoning attempt, Steiner, as a true holistic pioneer, develops new concepts of agriculture, architecture, the arts, science, medicine, social reform, education and many other areas. From the insight of one man, each concept has flourished and continues to do so globally to this day.

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Second feature from SCRAPPER director Charlotte Regan.

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Third feature from BLUE JEAN (and her forthcoming SENSE AND SENSIBILITY adaptation) director Georgia Oakley.

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Classical pianist Yuja Wang balances fame and the pursuit of perfection while seeking happiness.

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After accidentally insulting President Saddam Hussein on stage during a performance of Hamlet, theatre actor Salem faces a looming death sentence. To escape the execution, he continues playing the role of Hamlet, feigning insanity, and is sent to a psychiatric hospital, where his condition awaits evaluation. Trapped in a facility filled with the lost souls of Saddam's regime, Salem must navigate a precarious balance between his will to survive and the fear of genuinely losing his mind. Salem catches the attention of the hospital director, who becomes increasingly wary of his growing influence over the patients. But, he finds an unexpected ally in Adyan, a young, ambitious, and deeply committed psychiatrist tasked with assessing his condition. Adyan, however, faces a moral dilemma: remain loyal to her duty, deliver an honest verdict and secure her promotion, or risk everything to save Salem. They defy institutional norms and stage a play with the patients. What begins as a simple exercise of Salem's diagnosis and patients' therapy becomes an unexpected triumph, drawing so much attention that it reaches Saddam Hussein, who grants Salem a presidential certificate of appreciation, officially declaring him mad.

Synopsis

A high energy, fast paced, tragic and comedic look, at a city changing beyond recognition. It's younger generation, fighting for self expression. Frank, a crooked businessman, runs; The Apollo. A venue in the heart of Glasgow, famous for the iconic bands it hosted. Supported by his cronies, mostly hoods and part time gangsters. Frank profits from the business but has no interest in its social significance. His 3 sons (all in their 20’s) are: Andy; training to be a priest, Mark; an ex-soldier, and Ian; Studying at University. Frank also has an illegitimate son called Beattie, who suffers from epilepsy. Each of the sons are very different and the film explores the character development of these young men over the space of 3 days and in the epilogue. Where the action jumps forward to 3 months later. The film incorporates live action (re-enactments) of gigs which took place at the time at the Apollo.

Synopsis

Fresh out of university and brimming with optimism, Lucy and Sean begin their civil service placements at Belfast City Council, only to find themselves thrust into chaos when a bizarre gastrointestinal epidemic - dubbed "Code Brown" - strikes the city. As nappies become black-market currency and the council descends into disarray, the duo stumbles upon a conspiracy involving illegal sewage dumping and a corrupt councillor lining his pockets. What began as mundane office work spirals into a frantic investigation filled with stool samples, shady contracts, and a very suspicious boat. With Belfast quite literally in the shit, it’s not the bureaucrats who save the day, but its citizens. From disinfectant-wielding grannies to paramedics in DIY hazmat suits, the community rallies with resilience and absurdity. In a climactic council showdown - punctuated by an explosive display from local wildlife... - Lucy and Sean expose the scandal, becoming unlikely heroes. The film ends with a messy but heartwarming celebration of civic pride, teamwork, and a city that proves it can weather any storm…even a tidal wave of diarrhea.