The planet is in crisis. The problems we are facing at this crucial moment are deeper than climate change or social inequality – the fundamental cause lies in the way we see the world. ‘Planetary’ presents a stunning visual portrait of our Earth, taking us on a journey across continents: from the African savannah to the Himalayas, and from the heart of Tokyo to the view of our fragile planet from orbit. Through intimate interviews with a diversity of people, from NASA astronauts and environmentalists to philosophers and Tibetan lamas, the film shows that the solution to transforming our civilisation lies in an understanding that all life is inseparably interconnected, and that we cannot change the world unless we change the way we see ourselves, the world, and the wider cosmos we are embedded within.
SXSW 2015 - World premiere
"Passionate about music from a young age, Rodrigo and Gabriela were lucky enough to discover each other as teenagers in Mexico City, forging one of the most successful musical duos performing today. Music journalist turned filmmaker Alexandro Franco takes us through their fairytale rise, as they leave Mexico to prove themselves in Europe, arriving in Dublin in the late 90s as the Celtic Tiger was roaring. Whilst their phenomenal talent was obvious from the start, they had to prove themselves through old fashioned hard work... But they soon attracted a huge raft of admirers, drawn to their distinctive acoustic style - a blend of flamenco, heavy metal, and rock. An uplifting story of how talent and hard work can fulfil your wildest dreams." Sheffield Doc/ Fest
808 is a documentary film about the inspiring story of the Roland TR-808 drum machine. It's the tale of the birth of electronic music, and how one small machine changed the musical landscape forever... by accident. It's the story of a sound that has been embraced by the world's top producers and performers, and has been name-checked on a whole host of hit records. Associated with numerous musical styles crossing both time and genre, its defining sounds are as relevant now as they ever have been. It defined hip hop and modern dance culture and its sound continues to deliver dancefloor-smashing beats today.
SXSW 2015 - World premiere
Based on celebrity chef Anthony Bourdain's novel 'Bone in the Throat', with the action re-located from Manhattan to London. A gritty fast paced story about a young ambitious chef who, while trying to focus on getting ahead in his career, gets pulled into the East End London mob by his uncle, who expects him to step up and join him. He now has to work quickly to undo his uncle’s mess, while staying alive and out of jail.
SXSW 2015 - World premiere
Holly has a crush. She's fallen for Rob, who carries a black cloud of death and despair with him wherever he goes. She is warned off by her friends - he is a walking tragedy ever since his girlfriend Nina died in a car crash a year and a half ago. However Holly is undeterred: she wants him, she can fix him, she can make him happy again. They start a relationship, and the first time they're in bed together, so is Nina. A bloody and tangled mess of broken limbs, she is dead, very much so, but still here, still talking, all too real. Holly doesn't freak out and run - she can deal with the dead girl sharing their bed, their lives, their minds. If it's what Rob needs, it's what she'll do…
SXSW 2015 - World premiere
Following comedian/author/activist Russell Brand as he dives headlong into drugs, sex and fame in an attempt to find happiness, only to realize we have all been nurtured on bad ideas and empty celebrity idols. Brand leaves Los Angeles to embark on a stand-up comedy tour about his own true icons - Gandhi, Che Guevara, Malcolm X and Jesus Christ - and transforms from addict and Hollywood star into an unexpected political disruptor and new found hero to the undeserved.
Official Selection BFI London Film Festival 2015 - Gala Screening
Hollywood relies on Bruce Willis to save the world in Armageddon, but who are the real-life heroes seeking to save our civilization from the next major asteroid impact? Disaster Playground investigates future outer space catastrophes and the procedures to manage and assess the risks. The film follows the scientists planning the monitoring and deflection of hazardous Near Earth Objects and the real-life procedures in place in the event of an asteroid collision with the earth. Follow the chain of command that runs from the SETI Institute and NASA to the White House and United Nations and meet the people who are responsible from protecting us from a potentially devastating asteroid impact.
Supported using public funding by the National Lottery through Arts Council England, co-commissioned through Broadway’s Near Now programme.
SXSW 2015 - World premiere
'The Ecstasy of Wilko Johnson' confronts our worst nightmares of impending death and turns them upside down. It tells the extraordinary, yet universal story of legendary musician Wilko Johnson who, diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and given a few months to live, accepted his fate with uplifting positivity and embarked on a farewell tour, capturing the imagination of the world as he went. But like every good story Wilko's has a damn fine twist in its tail. Two years later and confounding the odds, Wilko wakes up in a hospital bed, unexpectedly sentenced to live, having now to integrate those enlightened lessons learnt under sentence of death into the unexpected and ongoing future of his life.
SXSW 2015 - World premiere
The story of an ordinary family in the state of Guerrero, Mexico. As they go about their normal lives, they are caught in the crossfire between the Narco drug cartels and the military.
"Following the kidnapping of her husband by a cartel, a woman named only as ‘Daughter 2’ grieves and tries to keep her family together. Her community band around her, with over 100 local taxi drivers going on a search to find the missing husband – to little avail, as they find him murdered the next day. Violence has a way of being contagious and Daughter 2’s son, on a misguided search for justice, joins a defence militia, while Daughter 2 herself suffers from anxiety and depression as she tries to keep her fractured family together. Narrated as a poetic hybrid of documentary and fiction, the screenplay is a transcript of conversations of the family recorded over a period of two years. Actors play the members of the family to protect their identity, but we are able to hear the actual recordings throughout the film, reminding the audience that these people are real."
"In 2012, 23 year-old Jyoti Singh had her whole life in front of her. A promising medical student and the apple of her adoring parents' eyes, she was months shy of completing her studies. But after attending an evening screening of 'Life of Pi' with a male friend, she met a terrible fate on a moving Delhi van, gang raped and brutalised by a number of strangers. By the time of her death a few days later, she had become a national symbol, and the focus of mass protests the length of India against an endemic rape culture and the ongoing subjugation of women. Director Leslee Udwin speaks to an impressive array of interviewees, from the accused rapists, awaiting their fate on death row, to Singh's parents and the defence team, whose shocking attitudes women are barely decipherable from the rapists they so staunchly defend." Sheffield Doc/Fest
This documentary follows three Newtown families as they rebuild their lives after the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre in Newtown, Connecticut. Over a year, we follow families of victims, and survivors. Some are taking the lead in community healing, others advocate for a change in gun laws; all are seeking healing. In their journey, some venture out of their ‘safe’ suburban community with new eyes:- engaging with black urban America; youth from all walks of life coming together to make change; gun proponents; prisoners incarcerated for violent crimes. This film shows the audience how even amidst such a horrific event, people find a way to survive, and brings a unique perspective to the ongoing gun debate.
A film about grief, hope, love and guns.
For Rene Fustercluck, life was bad, the Apocalypse was awful and then Gordon arrived. 'After the End' explores the possibility that the only thing worse than being the last man on earth, is being the second to last man on earth.
