Projects in categories: Documentary

Synopsis

Yuliia has become a refugee in Scotland due to the war in Ukraine. She is fighting for the future of her children while trying to maintain her relationship with her husband, who is on the frontline. Edinburgh International Film Festival 2023 Bridging the Gap - World premiere

Synopsis

Based on the award-winning book ‘Scala Cinema 1978-1993’ by Jane Giles (FAB Press, 2018) this feature-length big screen documentary tells the riotous inside story of the infamous sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll rep house which inspired a generation during Britain's turbulent Thatcher years. The film combines 50 new interviews with diverse audience members who went on to become filmmakers, musicians, writers, actors and artists, combined with previously unseen archive material and iconic movie clips. With its universal themes of youthful discovery and the underdog vs. the establishment, this is no nostalgia trip but rather a film of universal relevance with clear parallels between then and now. Above all, it's a hilarious and joyous celebration of cinema-going. Official Selection Il Cinema Ritrovato Bologna 2023 - World premiere Official Selection BFI London Film Festival 2023

Synopsis

Noel Coward was one of the most important figures of the 20th Century. He was not only a great playwright, but also one of the best songwriters, directors and performers. Coward’s triumphs across theatre, film and music mark him out as one of only a handful of artists whose mastery has moulded the spirit of a nation. And yet he grew up poor, left school when he was only eleven and was full of contradictions – he was a sex symbol who was gay, a rebel who was also a patriot, his plays were set in glamorous drawing rooms while he lived in the smallest room in his mother’s boarding house. He was a true star, who had a style and character that personified the very idea of Englishness. And yet he ended his life in exile from the country he came to define. He was an extraordinary man that led an extraordinary life.

Synopsis

An ancient monolith stands sentinel in a Cornish field for millennia. Part provocation, part meditation, part invocation, BAFTA-winning documentarian Christopher Morris’s A YEAR IN A FIELD is a record of their brief interaction. Morris invites us to slow down, as he films for a year in a West Cornwall field; to immerse ourselves in this quiet, direct-action of stillness, to take a breath and reflect on the planetary impacts of our brief human existence, under the watchful gaze of the Longstone, a 4,000-year-old standing stone that predominates this elemental landscape. From Winter Solstice 2020 to Winter Solstice 2021, a string of unprecedented worldwide climate disasters, met by weak global political resolve, are revealed as just fleeting moments, under the ever-present unflinching granite gaze of the Longstone. As the wheel of the year turns, Morris’s ecosophical polemic unearths a mythic reality buried just below the furrowed soil of our consumerist age, suggesting, perhaps, that whilst time may feel like it’s running away at an ever-increasing rate, it’s not too late to pause, reflect, and change. Official Selection Sheffield DocFest 2023 - World premiere Official Selection Zurich Film Festival 2023 - International premiere

Synopsis

In December 2018, a young pansexual man from the slums of Jamaica became the first non British and black man to win the UK X-Factor and a million-pound album deal that promised to change his life forever. Filmed over two years, this documentary follows 24-year-old Dalton Harris as he searches for fame, love and acceptance and tries to capitalise on this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to achieve his dream. Charting an extraordinary rise, the film follows Dalton winning the world’s most famous talent competition, starting a lavish life in London, falling in love with his new boyfriend and launching his first single on national UK television to1.7 million viewers... Official Selection Sheffield DocFest 2023 - World premiere

Synopsis

BAFTA-winning filmmakers Bruce Fletcher and Peter Beard follow their close friend Otto Baxter, a man with Down Syndrome, through a year of change as he writes and directs his first film; an allegorical horror biopic set in Victorian London charting the life of a monster baby on the rocky path to escape incarceration and become his own master. Otto has recently experienced bereavement and family health scares that have forced him to think about mortality for the first time – his own and those closest to him. Otto has always turned to films to make sense of the world, and this moment is no exception. Through the writing and directing process, he finds the vocabulary to process his past and imagine his uncertain future. He tackles his demons head on, but always with a riotous sense of humour. Otto’s extraordinary upbringing has meant his life has always played out on camera to some extent. This rich archive will be blended with drama and present day footage in this intimate documentary, to tell the compelling story of Otto and his family, placing it firmly in the context of the UK’s evolving attitudes to disability over his lifetime. Official Selection Sheffield DocFest 2023 - World premiere

Synopsis

The extraordinary untold story of how a pioneering group of American women, from very different walks of life, fought to break into the most macho sport of all: boxing. In their day, Marian 'Lady Tyger' Trimiar, Cathy 'Cat' Davis and 'Pretty' Pat Pineda were famous, earning headlines as they battled against sexist 1970s society for the right to fight. But today, they live anonymously, and in many cases, in poverty - their groundbreaking contributions to sport ignored by the men who've written boxing history. RIGHT TO FIGHT uncovers the hidden origins of women's boxing, and the remarkable story of the pioneering women who put their lives of the line to earn the right to fight each other in the ring. This is an inspirational story, but it is not a hagiography - the narrative takes dark and surprising twists and turns as the women's stories unfold in unexpected ways. Official Selection Sheffield DocFest 2023 - World premiere

Synopsis

Ste Giddings grew up with addictions in himself and those around him. At 26 he was giving up on life. STEPHEN is a film-within-a-film that combines narrative fiction with real-life observation and archive material. It takes us on intimate journeys into two characters as Ste auditions for and takes on a role in a fiction film. Produced with a mixed cast of people in addiction/recovery alongside four professional actors, the film presents alternative perspectives on urgent social questions including alcohol/drug misuse, gambling and mental health. As fiction merges with reality the separation between person, actor and character at times dissolves. Official Selection Sheffield DocFest 2023 - World premiere

Synopsis

Exploring an untold part of UK history when over 70,000 children from West African families, principally Nigerian, were unofficially fostered without regulation into white British families between the 1950s and 1990s, to help combat the issue of childcare for economic migrants. Official Selection Sheffield DocFest 2023 - UK premiere BAFTA TV Awards 2024 - Winner - Specialist Factual

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An inspirational, intimate story of resilience and freedom, following athletes on their journey to become part of the refugee Olympic team in Tokyo 2020. Official Selection Tribeca Film Festival 2023 - Spotlight Documentary - World premiere

Synopsis

Aubrey Gordon, writes anonymously as "Your Fat Friend" about what it means to be a very fat woman in the world. Her searingly honest writing describes in intimate, humorous and unflinching detail what it’s like to be that fat person on the plane... and how the fantasies, peddled by a diet and wellness industry worth $26 billion a year, are on a par with the lies that Big Tobacco told the public in the 1950s. (95-98% of diets fail for lasting weight loss) …and about her own fractured relationship to her body. This isn’t about “body positivity” co-opted by brands to sell fat-kinis to size 16 women; it’s about fat justice and liberation with no limits. It has brought her an insatiable worldwide audience, a book deal and threats to her life. Filmed over 6 years, we follow Aubrey’s rise from anonymous blogger to best selling author and co-host of one of the biggest podcasts in the world and public figure. Chartsing how it feels to live in a very fat body, and the pain and triumph of trying to change your family... and a world where you just don’t fit. Official Selection Tribeca Film Festival 2023 - Spotlight Documentary - World premiere Official Selection Sheffield DocFest 2023 - International premiere - Winner - Sheffield DocFest Audience Award 2023

Synopsis

An exploration of Hollywood and LGBTQ+ identity, examining the life of legendary actor Rock Hudson, from his public “ladies’ man” persona to his private life as a gay man. Official Selection Tribeca Film Festival 2023 - Documentary Competition - World premiere