Justified and Ancient

Director: Chris Atkins

Year: 2010

This is entertaining and controversial film about something that fascinates us all - even if some of us are loath to admit it – Fame. This film explores the psychological reasons behind the unstoppable rise of the power of celebrity, the media’s need to capitalise on it, and reveals its impact on the world as we know it.<br /> <br /> Celebrity has reached into every corner of our world. It has come to dominate the media and many of the choices that we make in our lives. We are watching a generation of children growing up captivated by the world of celebrity and the desire for fame, and this documentary asks the question of what the consequence of that may be.<br /> <br /> In this film it is the stars who are the extras, we glimpse Jude Law and Mick Jagger, but it is the faces in the crowd whose stories we follow, the focus being on the ordinary people who have been swept up in the celebrity machine and the deep psychological reasons behind their obsession. Crucially, the film examines how the media is enhancing the spell of celebrity, and it explains how vast media corporations are profiting from manipulating our inescapable human instincts.

Director: Chris Atkins

Year: 2001

One Thursday morning Randall, one of life's natural wasters, awakes to find the door to his flat jammed shut and that his ex-girlfriend, Tabby, wants to buy a kilo of coke, price no object. Enter Phil, Randall's best mate. Dangerous and psychotic some say, unless you live in a permanent drug induced haze and don't notice, as Randall does. Through Tommy, their schizophrenic dealer, they acquire the necessary amount of coke and set things up to sell it on at double the price. A fact they quite sensibly conceal from Tommy and his boss. Randall and Phil wait at the bar for the courier to show up with the gear.<br /> <br /> The next morning Randall is wakened by Phil discovering a bloody corpse on the living room floor. This triggers a seemingly incomprehensible descent into confusion and death for them both. Threatened by an American drugs baron, fuelled with a cocktail of drink and drugs and spurred on by the promise of a £20,000 reward they struggle to discover the truth behind this bizarre turn of events.

Director: Hannah Berryman

Year: 2024

A landmark feature documentary about astronaut Eileen Collins, the first woman to pilot and command the Space Shuttle.<br /> Eileen’s incredible journey starts with her smalltown beginnings, sees her smash through many glass ceilings, and culminates in four dramatic space shuttle missions, the last being possibly the most dangerous and most important of them all.<br /> At its heart the film is the moving human drama of one family, where a mother’s extraordinary career takes us straight to the big philosophical question of what is the level of acceptable risk in human endeavour? <br /> This film celebrates Commander Collins’ trailblazing NASA career which opened the way for women to become spacecraft pilots and commanders, and proved a perfect riposte to a previous generation of male astronauts who thought there was no place for women to lead the way in space. <br /> Official Selection DOC NYC 2024 - World premiere<br /> Official Selection CPH:DOX 2025 - European premiere