Uncontrollable Universe

Director: James Richards

Year: 2015

A special combined presentation of three of James Richards’ recent works (2006-2014) that recycle and adapt a diverse range of material to produce a spectral meditation on the human figure as a space of sensual integration, inspired by the work of the late filmmaker Derek Jarman. Official Selection BFI London Film Festival 2015 - Experiementa Strand

Director: Puzhen Zhang

Year: 2026

One summer in early 2000s China, a shy preteen girl confronts her fear of water — and human connection — when she forms an unexpected, magical bond in the deep end of the pool.

Director: Clare Richards

Year: 2026

A split-screen dome projection is not something you see every day, yet its subject could hardly be more ordinary: public benches, located mainly in Plymouth, on the south coast of England. Whenever Tim Hart spots a new one, he takes a photograph, as he has done for 50 years. Just one photo, no more. “Cause it’s the same bench,” he explains amiably in Clare Richards’s documentary, which fills one half of the projection. On the other half, an orchestra performs Samuel D Loveless’ score, also titled BENCHES. His music follows the rhythm of Hart’s daily life as he walks from bench to bench, photographs them, sometimes sits down for a while, then moves on. And not just benches: Hart also photographs telephone booths, fairs, and more. Neurodivergent composer Loveless discovered the photographic archive of his autistic uncle Tim and was struck by the beauty of the everyday, patiently collected over decades. It gave Loveless an opportunity to celebrate a neurodivergent way of seeing the world, not by explaining it, but by sharing it.