Projects with status: Complete

Synopsis

Wire mesh, fibrefill, salt and paper, steel wool, cherry blossoms, grease and spit, bubble wrap, tea leaves, washer rings, and a drain stopper chain. An exaltation of the everyday set to music by Martin Tétreault and Otomo Yoshihide. Jetsam employs an early photographic technique directly exposing objects onto film.

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Kawah Ijen is an active volcano. It is also the site of labour intensive sulpher mining. There is no machinery, only a stream of hardy local labourers.   A contemporary twist on the myth of Sisyphus, the film follows these miners on their gruelling journey - from crater to wage clerk - ultimately questioning the ritual of labour.

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In 1904 the Elan Valley, in Wales, was flooded to create reservoirs for Birminghams's water supply. Many buildings were destroyed and over a hundred people were displaced. Keepsake uses original footage, archive maps, stills and domestic objects; the waters of the reservoir are 'drained' to reveal what was lost.

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After committing an unspecified act of violence, a young prostitute, frightened and desperate, turns to her mini-cab driver for help. A relaxed but cautious man he wants to help out but is concerned about the risks involved. The ending is deliberately open-ended and the audience can only speculate about the final outcome.   Killing time is a dark, tense, noirish encounter about divided loyalties, morality, race and unspoken desire between two very different individuals struggling to survive on the margins of society. Compelling, stylish and intriguing, killing time is an unusual take on the comfort of strangers.

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Isolated from the outside world, all that's left to do is kill time. For some, the only way to make friends is to grow them.

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A modern urban fairytale, Kingdom is the story of an accountant (Simon Kirk) who unwittingly stumbles on a centuries-old plan by a duplicitous feudal lord (Peter Campbell-Orde) to claim the crown of a kingdom ruled by dragons. With its ambitious mix of live action and complicated computer-generated images, Kingdom is a tribute to writer-director Kenneth D Barker's perseverance and resourcefulness. Determined to make a film that would stand out from the crowd of Tarantino-wannabes and have a wide consumer appeal, he decided to shoot the film on digital video directly for the video sell-through market because it would be quick and cheap. He teamed up with model-maker and special-effects designer Gary Rowntree, who suggested combining rod-controlled puppetry with CGI to create the dragons. By spring 1998 cast and crew were in place and Barker sent out a business plan to potential investors via the Yorkshire Association of Business Angels. Barely 10 days before principal photography was due to start, an anonymous businessman came forward with enough cash to see the film through to post-production. The film, which, with its images of dragons flying over the Leeds skyline, certainly seems to fulfil Barkers original aim, is available to order from Barker's website www.wotr.co.uk. He is now working on two projects which he will write and produce - the period sci-fi The Last Great Adventure and the futuristic 2642AD.

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Set in 1936, Ladies in Lavender is the charming and sweetly melancholic story about two ageing spinster sisters whose peaceable Cornwall existence is disrupted when they take a young man into their care - and their hearts.    

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During an endurance event to win a car, Gene falls in love with fellow competitor Tracey. But will she come along with him for the ride?  

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Layer Cake, a metaphor for the many murky layers of the criminal world, is set in modern day London and features smooth-talking and sophisticated drug dealer 'X' whose plan is to quietly bank-roll enough cash to retire young (early). Operating under the polished veneer of a legitimate businessman, his mantra is to keep a low profile and run a tight operation until it's time to get out.    'X' sees his opportunity to make a final score when crime boss, Jimmy Price, asks him to find the wayward daughter of rival crime boss, Eddy Temple. He agrees to take the seemingly innocuous gig as his opportunity to get out of the business with the blessing from Jimmy Price. From the glitz of the London club scene to the underbelly of its criminal world, a dark, twisted thriller ensues.    When a seemingly straight-forward drug deal goes awry, 'X' realises he has to break his die-hard rules and turn up the heat, not only to outwit the old regime and come out on top but to save his own skin.

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Set in a public swimming pool, this comical animated film features a timid young woman and her struggle to swim just - one - length.

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There's a story behind every life.

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Imagine what it must feel like to be forced to leave everything you know and love in order to stay alive. This was the situation for Jean Baptiste, a journalist in Rwanda. Letters Home is a poignant and very personal portrayal of his experiences since arriving in England as a refugee, through his letters home to his family.