Stepney Western

Director: Hannah Berryman

Year: 2024

A landmark feature documentary about astronaut Eileen Collins, the first woman to pilot and command the Space Shuttle. 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. 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? 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. Official Selection DOC NYC 2024 - World premiere Official Selection CPH:DOX 2025 - European premiere

Director: Jeanie Finlay

Year: 2026

Fisherman Stan Rennie and his family have always fished the waters of North East England for centuries. This line to history stretched uninterrupted, until a devastating tidemark of poisoned crabs appeared one Autumn morning like a biblical plague, heralding an unprecedented poisoning of the river and the sea Unless Stan - and others like him - can find answers, he may be the last of his kind. Can an unlikely alliance between a raggle-taggle group of salty fishers, elderly seal conservationist Sue and her equally elderly dog Mandy, with marine biologists be the key to survival? A richly layered story about the value of home and what happens when it is undermined by corruption, betrayal, and environmental collapse. Told with wit, pathos and underdog tenacity by the coastal community whose own Brexit votes may have been the catalyst for disaster.

Director: Niyadre

Year: 2025

A poignant and poetic exploration of the rise and decline of Luton’s once vibrant Caribbean culture. Through intimate personal stories, rich historical context, and a cultural lens, the film traces how a thriving legacy rooted in migration, music, resistance, and community has been gradually eroded over the years. From the golden days of sound system culture and bustling youth clubs to the bouncing spirit of Luton Carnival formerly Europe’s largest one day Caribbean carnival, the film reflects on how these vital cultural institutions have been systematically dismantled through decades of underfunding, neglect, and shifting priorities. These weren’t just events or social spaces, they were expressions of identity and anchors of community. With vignettes/reenactments shot on 16mm film and interwoven with candid communal conversations, this documentary offers a poetic and thought provoking insight and invites audiences from all backgrounds to engage in deeper reflection on the value of heritage and the fragility of community spaces. Official Selection BFI London Film Festival 2025 The film ends on the question of: How do communities reclaim their space, their voice, and their future?