Film Stars Don’t Die in Liverpool

Director: Paul McGuigan

Year: 2003

Michelle is young, bright and attractive, leaving prison with a spring in her step and determined to steer clear of the heroin that led her here. Shaun is getting out after a year, his mother Angela there to greet him and take him home to start anew.<br /> <br /> In improvised scenes drawn from their past and present experience, Michelle is tempted by a junkie friend and succumbs to an overdose, while Shaun tries hard with his friend Carl to stay straight. It's only a matter of time before Angela's suspicions are confirmed as they return to drugs and thieving. Michelle continues her fighting descent back into addiction, revealing the defining moments of her life: the death of her mother and her father's effective abandonment of her. Angela discusses with Carl's mother the impact of heroin on their lives and her relationships with other men, recalling the despair that led to her attempted suicide. But it's her love which keeps Shaun going, the love Michelle has lost.<br /> <br /> In this powerful, often emotional film, Hollywood-bound film director Paul McGuigan achieves a vibrant modern approach to the kind of creative documentary originated by Robert Flaherty and developed by Humphrey Jennings.

Director: Paul McGuigan

Year: 2002

England 14th century. Plague and bandit attacks threaten remote communities and the forests that surround them add nameless terrors. The people labour under the yoke of two oppressive powers - the Church laying claim to their souls and the Knights, the feudal warlords, who command life after death.<br /> <br /> Nicholas, a young priest, is discovered in the act of adultery by an enraged husband who dies in the ensuing struggle. Appalled by his fall from grace, he turns his back on the Church and goes on the run.<br /> <br /> Destitute and forced to hide his privileged origins, Nicholas joins a troupe of travelling actors who have just lost one of their number. He is falling for Sarah, the beautiful sister of the troupe's leader, but the shame of his past leads him to conceal his passion. He begs to stay and learn the mysteries of the actor's craft.<br /> <br /> The small town where they plan to perform The Fall of Adam and Eve is under a dark cloud of fear. A boy has been murdered, and the town's sheriff has been swift to lay the blame on a deaf and dumb girl, Martha, who can do nothing to defend herself, but whose striking looks captivate Martin. Realising that the crime is not the first, the actors set on a course of action, which will expose a serial killer.

Director: Paul McGuigan

Year: 2000

Set in 1960's Soho, a blood-chilling battle of wills is played out between London's leading gangster and the young apprentice who wants to usurp him. A study of cunning, deceit, violence, betrayal and obsession.