Tokyo Dreams

Director: Nicholas Barker

Year: 1998

Unmade Beds is a black comedy about vanity and desire in modern America. Set in the sexual jungle of the New York singles scene, two men and two women frantically pursue their impossible dreams. Equipped with ample provisions of self-delusion, misogyny, anti-semitism and homophobia, Brenda, Michael, Aimee and Mikey are on the road to heterosexual fiasco. Barker hired a research staff who combed New York for potential characters. Their search led them deep into the New York singles scene. They attended singles events, played the personals, and ran ads in the back page of the New York Press. Disguised as singles on the prowl, they canvassed bars and cafes in Manhattan's diverse neigh-bourhoods, until they found the 'cast'. Employing his unique brand of 'real-fiction' Barker then directed his 'cast' under feature film conditions during the summer, fall and winter of 1996-97. During this period he wrote and rewrote his script in response to the unfolding events in their lives. 'I'd say 90% of the script was based on the actual behaviour and language of the four principal characters' says Barker. 'The rest is a pack of lies'.

Director: Hannan Jones

Year: 2025

In the subterranean archive of the National Roman Legion Museum, where artefacts and imperial debris trace Britain’s imperial past, the possible first depiction of a Welshmen or “barbarian” becomes a catalyst to unsettle imperial narratives and surface long-suppressed voices.

Director: Siobhan Silén

Year: 2027

An animated VR short inspired by autistic musician Jen Msumba, who defies a system designed to erase her through synaesthetic music-making. It explores the universal need to be accepted for who we are. Participants journey through Jen’s life, from childhood, when the world feels confusing and “wonky”. Music is her safety and compass. While others read notes on a page, Jen sees visual maps that help her express emotions and navigate uncertainty. As a teenager, Jen’s mother becomes ill and her anxiety overwhelms her. Years of psychiatric institutions and medication leave her sedated, unable to play instruments. Her family sends her to the Judge Rotenberg Center, whose practices will later be described by the United Nations as torture. Over seven years of confinement and painful electric shocks, Jen is taught to believe she is “wrong”. Secretly composing music in her head becomes her refuge. Realising the centre will not support her independence, Jen writes to a judge and wins her freedom. She rediscovers music and invites us into her musical map, where participants touch and transform notes through movement, shifting melodies from classical to punk rock. We end with Jen performing on stage.