Projects in categories: Documentary

Synopsis

In the early hours of 6 February 2023, a Mw 7.8 earthquake hit a large area of Turkey and Syria. It’s destructiveness was exacerbated by the instability that had torn the region apart. Waad Al-Kateab’s film is powerful record of the disaster, drawing images from TV news reports, social media, CCTV and drone footage, alongside archive material of the region. The shock of the earthquake soon gives way to a damning record of human failure, with Al-Kateab focusing on two Syrian families over the course of ten days, sensitively recording their desperate efforts to find their loved ones. Highlighting official incompetence and a paltry level of humanitarian aid, Death Without Mercy is, above all else, a moving testament to human dignity. (Sheffield DocFest 2024 Programme)
Official Selection Sheffield DocFest 2024

Synopsis

Part road trip, part coming-of-middle-age tale, director Duncan Cowles’ laconic humour and frank approach to his subject proves effective in exploring aspects of masculinity that all too often are little discussed. Admitting that he is not always open and intimate in his conversations with loved ones, the BAFTA-winning Scottish filmmaker sets out to define masculinity in the modern age – what makes men tick and, more importantly, coming to terms with all aspects of health, both physical and mental. The questions asked in Silent Men may seem simple, but their answers betray underlying tensions, as Cowles’ subjects make all too clear. The film grapples with being able to express oneself as a man – to become someone at peace with themselves, their life and the ones they love. (Sheffield DocFest Programme)
Official Selection Sheffield DocFest 2024 - Special Mention Grand Jury Award for the International First Feature Competition - World premiere

Synopsis

Existing between the domains of architectural, technological and spiritual mediums, ‘spaces as traces’ features found footage, director Teo Shi Yun’s body of archival material concerns with Singapore’s architecture and Taoist religious rituals, as well as three-dimensional rendered animation of deities in an imagined science fiction of Chinese mythology.
Official Selection International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR) 2025 - World premiere

Synopsis

When artist Sergei Ivanov moves with his partner Tszman Chan to the remote Scottish island of Papa Westray, they start an International Arts Festival, bringing an eclectic mix of artists, performers and musicians to the island from as far afield as Japan and Norway. With the festival entering its seventh year they invite their friend, filmmaker David Kew to make a documentary about their extraordinary life on the island.
But when Sergei suddenly disappears without trace on Papa Westray three months into filming, the filmmaker is forced to embark on a profound journey of discovery and contemplation. As the filmmaker interviews those left behind, each in their own way trying to make sense of Sergei’s vanishing, the film gravitates towards Tszman as she attempts to come to terms with her grief by creating an elegiac and moving tribute to Sergei on the island.
Shot over several years, THE ARTIST WHO DISAPPEARED includes profoundly moving scenes with Tszman and their daughter Snaedis in the wake of Sergei’s disappearance, interviews with islanders, artists and close family members. THE ARTIST WHO DISAPPEARED goes to the very heart of what it means to be an artist, how we judge success and failure, and the nature of loss.

Synopsis

During the conflict in Northern Ireland a practice developed that saw actors hired to dub those associated with the IRA on broadcast media. Via unseen archive footage and interviews with key figures, THE BAN reflects on the British government’s use of the threat of ‘terrorism’ to justify censorship.
Official Selection International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam (IDFA) 2024 - International premiere
Official Selection CPH:DOX 2025

Synopsis

A writer, a filmmaker and a January 6th insurrectionist embark on a road trip from Washington DC to Idaho after the insurrectionist has been sentenced to two and a half years in prison for her part in the storming of The Capitol. En route they visit friends of the insurrectionist and hear about their respective journeys of “awakening”. The insurrectionist takes the writer and filmmaker on an intense journey into her labyrinth of conspiracy, but is disappointed when, by the end of the trip, she has not succeeded in her mission to elevate them out of their 3D world and help them to see the truth.

Synopsis

On a bright January morning in 2020, 38 year old Clemmie suffered a catastrophic brain haemorrhage. Just a few hours earlier, she’d been a star on the rise - acclaimed broadcaster, writer and musician. Against the odds she emerged from a 17 day coma but, unable to speak or walk, she was now faced with having to rebuild her life.
With compelling recordings of her early attempts to speak and walk, we follow Clemmie as she tries to return to work, to finish the book she’d started before her brain injury, and to play her beloved violin again with her son. The film interweaves verité filming with touching home movies and lyrical sequences of Clemmie struggling amidst the cacophony of New York’s streets. Counterpointed throughout are majestic pieces of music from her book. She’s defiant and refuses self-pity, but is haunted by the knowledge that her brain could bleed again at any moment. A film about resilience, rediscovery and identity.

Synopsis

Craving their own version of the American dream, a trio of Michael Jackson tribute artists drive to Hollywood to find fame and fortune, but as the allegations against their idol mount up, can their friendship survive?

Synopsis

In this personal and intimate film writer-director Elizabeth Sankey uses her own story of being admitted to a psychiatric ward after the birth of her son to explore the unexpected yet compelling connections between perinatal mental health illness and the history and portrayal of witches in western society. Using clips of cinematic witches to illustrate her own experience and those of fellow sufferers, alongside interviews with medical professionals and academics, Sankey creates her own spell book for all to use.
Official Selection Tribeca Film Festival 2024 - World premiere
Official Selection BFI London Film Festival 2024 - Documentary Competition

Synopsis

Documenting the annual round up of wild Carneddau mountain ponies in Wales - organised by local farmers, it's the only intervention in the ponies' lives, who otherwise graze undisturbed whilst conserving their mountain habitat. The film follows the event, becoming increasingly engulfed in complex dynamics of capture and care.
Official Selection International Short Film Festival Oberhausen 2024 - World premiere

Synopsis

A fly on the wall mini doc on the daily activities of engineers in London fixing elevators - showing a day with the teams out on various sites and showing the works that are undertaken by the site teams.

Synopsis

After enduring decades of embarrassment, the filmmaker admits that possessing the most common name in the English-speaking world has had a profound impact on his psyche. Peppered with disparate fragments of autobiography, BEING JOHN SMITH takes us on a confessional journey that reveals just how important a name can be.