Downstream

Director: Adam Kossoff

Year: 2018

A fictionalised documentary essay, tracing the politics of the Thames River, from colonialism to global financialisation, through the prism of Joseph Conrad’s 'Heart of Darkness'. Two unseen people meet in Shoeburyness, where the Thames River meets the North Sea. With a visually distinctive use of tableau shots of locations along the Thames, they narrate their journey to London’s Docklands. The woman quotes from 'Heart of Darkness', but instead of travelling up the Congo River into the heart of Africa, their journey ends in the heart of London’s Docklands, where contemporary darkness reigns. A self-proclaimed ‘accelerationist’, the woman plans to destroy the financial district and accelerate capitalism towards its end, while the man is more concerned for the ecology of the river and our debt to nature.

Director: Adam Kossoff

Year: 2016

Upside down stop-frame images follow a path through Epping Forest on the edge of East London, revealing the beauty of a topsy-turvy forest. The film recalls the attempt by the British government to privatise all the UK forests, but then had to do a U-turn due to large public pressure. Official Selection BFI London Film Festival 2016 - Experimenta Strand

Director: Cherish 'Chez' Oteka

Year: 2026

Reliving one of the first viral social media moments in rap culture, when a 17 year old female rapper’s life was turned upside down by admitting to having an orgy, FREE LYRIC explores the experience of online call out culture, gender and consent. With the rise of social media as the backdrop, this film explores the journey of a young woman named Niki who was cancelled before being cancelled was a thing, and how she survived a sex scandal. Official Selection Raindance Film Festival 2026 - World premiere