Glorious 39

Director: Stephen Poliakoff

Year: 2009

1939 is set between present-day London and the idyllic Norfolk countryside in the lead up to the Second World War. At a time of uncertainty and high tension, the story is centred on the formidable Keyes family, who are keen to uphold and preserve their very tradition, English way of life. The eldest sibling Anne is a budding young actress who is head-over-heels in love with Foreign Office official Lawrence. Anne’s seemingly perfect life begins to dramatically unravel when she stumbles across secret recordings of the anti-appeasement movement. Whilst trying to uncover the origin of these recordings, a tangles web of dark secrets begins to unfurl, culminating in the mysterious death of a dear friend. As war breaks out Anne discovers the truth and escapes to London to try to confirm her suspicions, but she is caught and imprisoned and only then does she finally begin to discover the true extent to which she has been betrayed.

Director: Stuart St Paul

Year: 1998

In nineteenth century rural England, a German hussar serving with King George III's personal cavalry, Matthaus Singer, falls madly in love with Frances Groves, the only daughter of a West Country solicitor. Based on the short story 'The Melancholy Hussar' by Thomas Hardy

Director: Sara Nourizadeh

Year: 2026

Set in a mosque waiting room in 1980s South Wales, and inspired by the true story of writer-director Sara Nourizadeh's parents, a young couple whose relationship crossed boundaries of culture, faith and expectation. At a time when Iranian politics dominated UK headlines and shaped public attitudes, a Welsh woman and her Iranian fiancé prepare for an Islamic conversion ceremony – a requirement they must fulfil if they are to marry. What follows is a quietly charged and emotionally intimate portrait of two people trying to navigate a moment that is both deeply personal and subtly political. As they wait for the ceremony to begin, small details – a trembling hand, a whispered joke, a fleeting moment of doubt – reveal the emotional stakes beneath the surface. Their conversation dances between humour and tension, affection and uncertainty, reflecting the push and pull of family pressures, cultural misunderstandings, and their own hopes for the future. Authentic VHS archive footage of the real couple is interwoven within this scripted drama, grounding the film in lived experience and offering an unexpectedly tender glimpse into the decades that followed.