The Journalist and the Jihadi

Director: Lisa Smith

Year: 2025

This personal documentary invites viewers into the life of 76-year-old Romani grandmother Margaret Smith, a former nomadic potato picker who travelled each summer to a small coastal village in south Wales. Filmmaker Lisa Smith, Margaret’s granddaughter, delves into the Romani collective cultural memory, uncovering the deeper significance of the potato harvest and its connection to an undocumented network of stopping places for her family.

Director: Kris Kelly

Year: 2025

In the fading summer light, fourteen-year-old Chris is tested by his friends — a journey that reveals the gap between simplified notions of masculinity and the deeper emotions and diverse voices that shape identity. Official Selection Foyle Film Festival 2025

Director: Asif Pervez

Year: 2026

1975. Jay, an eighteen year old who appears ordinary but harbours a dangerous, uncontrollable compulsion. By night, he prowls quiet suburban neighbourhoods, driven by urges he neither fully understands nor can suppress. What begins as trespassing and voyeurism slowly escalates into a disturbing pattern of crimes that terrorise the community. Raised in isolation with a distant military father and an overwhelmed mother, Jay’s neglected childhood fuels his deviance. As a teenager, his thrill-seeking manifests in strange burglaries - not for theft, but for control. Soon, reports of sexual assaults surface, signalling that Jay has crossed a point of no return. Detectives Shoore and Remming lead the hunt for the elusive “Marcavillian Hunter,” but Jay adapts quickly, evading capture despite near-misses and a chance encounter that goes unnoticed. Hoping to escape his impulses, Jay joins the military - only to return more dangerous than before. His crimes culminate in a calculated provocation and a tragic confrontation that leaves the case unresolved. Decades later, Jay lives free, convinced he has outrun his past. But unseen eyes still watch. A chilling psychological crime drama about obsession, evasion, and the banality of evil.