Conscious
Synopsis
A quartet of voices: Maureen Winfield represents the struggle of the caregiver - her husband regressed to the period when they were engaged and no longer recognised her or the home they lived in for 40 years; Wendy Mitchell, diagnosed with young-onset dementia, embodies resilience, she uses ingenious coping mechanisms to navigate her changing perceptions; Pegeen O’Sullivan, daughter of novelist Liam O’Flaherty, offers a surprising perspective - although she has lost her memories, she has also been liberated her from fears; providing a scientific counterpoint is neuroscientist Anil Seth, who suggests that our "normal" reality is itself a form of controlled hallucination.
By weaving together deeply personal lived experiences with performance and scientific theory, CONSCIOUS illustrates how dementia shifts our internal worlds. The film challenges our preconceptions of ageing, and shows us that whilst there are devastating losses on on the dementia journey, there can also be triumphant gains.
Details
- Year
- 2026
- Type of project
- Features
- Running time
- 80 min
- Format
- 4K Digital Raw/ProRes 4444
- Director
-
Suki Chan 1st Feature
- Producer
- Aimara Reques, Teresa Grimes, Suki Chan
- Co-Producer
- Gannesh Rajah
- Executive Producer
- Mark Thomas, Sandra Whipham, Dominic Davis
- Editor
- Suki Chan, Michael Ellis
- Screenwriter
- Suki Chan
- Director of Photography
- David Lee, Catherine Derry
- Sound
- Dominik Scherrer
- Composer
- Dominik Scherrer
- Principal cast
- Sam Dale, Maria Macdonell, Karen Fanning, Érin Geraghty
- Other Lead Creative(s)
- Script Editor and Consultant: JILLIAN MANNION, Visual Effects: OMBRIUM
Categories
Production Status
Production Company
Supported by BFI Doc Society Fund, Sundance Institute Documentary Film Program, Sandbox Films
Aconite Productions Ltd.
Burgh Business Centre (Office 5)75 King Street
Rutherglen
Glasgow
G73 1JS
Scotland
Page updates
This page was last updated on 30th January 2026. Please let us know if we need to make any amendments or request edit access by clicking below.
See also
You may also be interested in other relevant projects in the database.
Milan, 2026 : Right Place Right Time
Director: Devika Shallivan
Year: 2026
Milan, 2026 – Right Place Right Time follows the untold human stories behind the Winter Olympics, capturing fleeting moments of triumph, struggle, and serendipity. Through the eyes of athletes, spectators, and creators, the film explores how being in the right place at the right time can transform ordinary moments into extraordinary experiences, revealing the cultural, emotional, and personal dimensions of one of the world’s largest sporting events.
Here to Stay
Director: Sheida Kiran
Year: 2026
In a remote village in southeast Turkey, 35-year-old Meryem begins the annual olive harvest. For generations, the groves have sustained the village women's livelihoods, but this year, the harvest takes place under a shadow of fear. Following a devastating earthquake that destroyed Meryem’s home, 60% of the village’s olive lands have been seized by the government to build a new satellite city. As the concrete edge presses steadily toward their remaining fields, this harvest may be their last. Once a stay-at-home mother, Meryem picks up a camera to document the slow unraveling of her community. Women, previously confined to the home, step into public life - leading protests, sit-ins, and a landmark lawsuit alongside thousands of indigenous landowners, to protect the land they have tended for centuries. Interweaving Meryem’s video diaries with observational footage, the film moves between intimate scenes of the family harvest and the female-led resistance. As the movement unfolds, the once-perfect harvest is gradually disrupted by destruction. HERE TO STAY tells the story of a people’s fight for justice, tracing how tragedy transforms Meryem from mother to resistance leader, as she seeks to protect the land she calls home.
Rick on the Roof
Director: Isaac Atkin-Mayne
Year: 2025
In the mid-2000s, Rick Canty lost both his mother and their home in Barry, Wales. Evicted, he climbed onto his roof and stayed there for years in protest. Through candid interviews and archive, RICK ON THE ROOF reveals how a quiet neighbourhood becomes a community, throwing street parties and keeping him alive through storms, until Rick is suddenly injured under mysterious circumstances. Today, amidst the UK’s ongoing cost of living crisis, the community he shaped reflect on the legacy of their local hero. This slightly bizarre, emotional documentary explores one man’s fight for his home. Official Selection Folkestone Documentary Festival 2025 - World premiere