Projects in categories: Documentary

Synopsis

Departing delightfully from the usual solemn tone for documentaries on arranged marriage. East London girl Shahanara is changing from pink hot pants into a saree, to meet her husband at the airport. But she only agreed to marriage to try and heal old wounds with the family. She says that they think she is a 'slag' because she had turned her back on Bangladeshi traditions.

Synopsis

A mockumentary which traces the life of Scottish director Bob McArthur who worked in Hollywood until the early 1970s. His career as a director was effectively ended in 1974 when production of his South American film was halted by its producer. He returned to Scotland to research and develop a film project about Robert Louis Stevenson. Following in the author's footsteps, McArthur disappeared for years in the South Seas.

Now McArthur is being honoured in Scotland with a lifetime achievement award. As the award ceremony approaches, his story is uncovered through archive material and the memories and opinions of those who have known him.

Synopsis

A tea break-sized glimpse into the many and varied ways that Britain’s favourite brew is enjoyed today– and it’s not always a simple case of tea bag and milk.

Synopsis

Foreigners is an animated documentary about foreigners who live in London. The film, which is based on interviews with ten young people from all over the world who live in the city, pieces together vignettes from multiple points of view that reveal London as an international metropolis which is both exciting and alienating. The interviews suggest a fresh look on contemporary English culture, and raise more fundamental questions about cultural differences and human nature.

Synopsis

Young people follow the legacy of the iconic 2 Tone record label in their home city of Coventry. The city's most famous musical export being the band The Specials, who had the hits 'Ghost Town' and 'Gangsters'.

The film was made by Leofric Films and GYGL, funded by First Light Movies.

Synopsis

A comedy of conflicting ambitions, the feature documentary Heavy Load captures the excitement, sweat and romance of playing in a band through the eyes of a unique set of characters. Heavy Load is a punk band made up of musicians with and without learning disabilities, doing what they do, not for fame or celebrity, but for the joy of making noise. The band survives through a combination of raucous energy, attitude and sheer volume. 'We like to take a classic song and crucify it!' says guitarist Mick. Inspired by hopes of playing Glastonbury, how far can the band take their dreams into the mainstream?

Synopsis

Like the other films (George Orwell, Agatha Christie, Ian Fleming, Elizabeth David) in this critically acclaimed and award-winning biography strand, HG Wells takes a bold and innovative approach to dramatising the story of the author’s life, by using HG Wells’ own words.

HG Wells wrote his four best-known works, The Time Machine, The War of the Worlds, The Invisible Man and the Island of Dr Moreau in the space of just four years from the age of 29. His fame only increased with the eerily prophetic non-fiction writing which followed. Wells predicted the invention of tanks, nuclear war, biological warfare, television and the internet. Wells’ celebrity status enabled his pursuit of free love, winning him lovers like novelist Rebecca West and the enigmatic Russian Moura Budberg. It also gave him unprecedented access to world leaders like Roosevelt and Stalin.

This story tells the story of Wells’ transformation from self-confident womaniser, socialist radical and young literary prophet to burdened missionary, dedicated to creating a World State that will avert man’s headlong course towards imminent annihilation.

Synopsis

'For the forty children who call it home, Mulberry Bush is their last chance. Excluded from school for extreme behaviour, and often having suffered severe emotional trauma, they are given three years at the Oxford boarding school to try to turn their lives around. Acclaimed documentary maker Kim Longinotto has once again turned her compassionate lens on to people living in extraordinary circumstances. The fragile young boys at the heart of her film lash out in shockingly extreme ways - hitting, swearing and spitting their way through the misery of their blighted childhoods. Endlessly patient and determined staff members verbally reason with the boys, whilst often having to restrain them physically. Hold Me Tight is ultimately a heartbreaking, engrossing study of dysfunction - of what happens when families break down. It also pays witness to the tremendous influence that adults hold - for bad and for good - upon growing children,' (Carol Nahra).

Synopsis

A contemplative look at one man's life living in a makeshift hut on the riverside in Tokyo. Akira asserts he has chosen a life that is better than one within society, because it is free from responsibility, but is he closer to a knife-edge than he lets show?

Synopsis

Four films about everyday life in the Amazon region of Brazil. Four ordinary people living in an extraordinary place. From the luscious forest up the Rio Negro to the smouldering lands of Rondonia, these are the stories of those whose future the world is trying to decide.

Synopsis

A stylised animated documentary visually depicting and mapping journeys, exploring notions of belonging and home.

‘Ilford’ narrates the tale of a number of its residents. The film uncovers untold stories and experiences of Ilford’s local community members. Collecting and sharing these stories, documenting experiences, mapping lives and presenting a picture of the composition of Ilford today. ‘Ilford’ takes its audience on a journey from places as far and wide as India, Africa, Kenya, Jamaica and Bosnia to settlement in Ilford.

Synopsis

This film follows 25-year-old William Francome’s investigation into the arrest of Mumia Abu Jamal, famed death-row prisoner and award-winning Black Panther journalist. Francome, born on the day of Mumia’s 1981 arrest, engages intellectuals, writers and musicians in an effort to expose the truth about justice in America for black activists in general and Mumia in particular.

The energetic, poetic and deeply moving interviews of Alice Walker, Noam Chomsky, Mos Def, Snoop Dogg and Steve Earle raise questions about the repercussions and damage of racial injustice not only to those targeted, but to the American culture itself. And most pointedly the film asks, what does it signify that Americans are still determined to put to death potential leaders and powerful political voices of the African-American culture.