Projects matching: ISO

Synopsis

Every day, thousands of dairy calves are separated from their mothers at birth. A DAIRY STORY follows Wilma and David Finlay as they risk everything to find a way to keep dairy cows and their calves together. Filmed over two years, we see Wilma and David’s determination to reinvent dairy farming; challenging industry norms by putting nature and animal welfare first. Their path wasn’t easy. They faced criticism and ridicule from their intensive dairy neighbours and almost went bankrupt proving it could work. When Wilma receives a terminal cancer diagnosis, their mission to encourage wider industry adoption of their cow-with-calf system takes on new urgency. This documentary addresses themes of connection and mortality, and topics of animal sentience, the environment and system change. Following calves from birth to weaning, we see the herd's profound capacity for maternal care. It introduces us to Lancashire farmers who have been inspired by Rainton farm and follows David to London as he contributes to the UK Climate Change Committee. A DAIRY STORY shows how changing a farming system changes everything; from the lives of the animals to the wellbeing of the farmers, and perhaps even the future of dairy farming itself.

Synopsis

Maria is a primary school teacher doing her best to inspire a class of 11-year-olds, but she's unable to because of one unruly and chaotic student. With her career in question and the child’s behaviour spiralling, she makes a series of bad decisions that lead to her accidentally taking and locking this "bad apple” in her home. She tries desperately to backtrack, but when the class starts flourishing and the staff and parents are thrilled with the improvement, she finds herself in a very complicated predicament. As entertaining as it is provocative, BAD APPLES challenges us to think about our society’s systems and how we justify them to ourselves. Loosely based on Rasmus Andersson’s debut novel 'De Oönskare', which plants a mirror at society, lifting up the covers and showing the ethical hypocrisy that lies beneath many of our individual or collective decisions. Official Selection Toronto International Film Festival 2025 - World premiere Official Selection San Sebastián International Film Festival 2025 - European premiere

Synopsis

Nineteen year old Tommy likes his life as a criminal, and leads his friends in acts of horrifying violence, until one night he is kidnapped by a stranger, Chris. Waking up with a chain around his neck in the basement of an isolated home, Tommy finds himself at the centre of a dysfunctional family dynamic as Chris and his mysterious wife Kathryn try to make Tommy a “good boy”, in a process of forced rehabilitation. The one thing Tommy knows for sure: he must escape

Synopsis

In an isolated deaf community, Matt's idyllic world cracks when Eva arrives, making him question his identity and the costs of maintaining his supposedly utopian society. Official Selection Toronto International Film Festival 2025 - World premiere

Synopsis

Warsaw, December 13th 1981. Martial law shuts down the country. Overnight, a country turns into a prison. Taxis have been replaced by tanks. Citizens are treated like criminals. And visiting British Professor Joan Andrews finds herself trapped. After witnessing the murder of a young student by the secret police (the "Crows"), Joan herself becomes the target. The Professor runs like a rat through the maze-like streets of Soviet-era Warsaw until she is forced to stop and take a stand. Official Selection Toronto International Film Festival 2025 - World premiere

Synopsis

A disorienting nightmare gradually takes hold of two enemy soldiers stationed on a lonely desert border in this mind-bending picture. Official Selection Venice Critics' Week 2025 - World premiere

Synopsis

The story of Dinah Little, a no-nonsense, curmudgeonly farmer, and Charlie, the unloved niece who Dinah begrudgingly takes in after discovering her in an orphanage. Dinah's farm is in the self-proclaimed 'Pumpkin Capital of the World' where the biggest event of the year is a high-stakes, cutthroat giant-pumpkin-growing contest with an enormous cash prize. Charlie, who has a special bond with plants, decides to enter the competition where she and the other pumpkin growers face sabotage and a genetically engineered rival. As she nurtures her pumpkin ‘Peter’ and watches him grow, so does a bond between Dinah and Charlie. Official Selection Edinburgh International Film Festival 2025 - World premiere

Synopsis

A guilt-ridden writer, haunted by the past, embarks on a melancholic train journey home. Memories of a tumultuous adolescence resurface, forcing him to confront a dark secret that led to his mother's confinement in an asylum. Through fragmented recollections and lyrical confrontations, he navigates a path towards redemption and artistic awakening. This film is a Welsh-language "operatic film", a genre-bending exploration of grief, memory, and the power of artistic creation. Drawing inspiration from Wales' literary cornerstone, 'Un Nos Ola Leuad', this introspective drama is a fever dream woven from personal trauma and artistic expression. Score composed by Gareth Glyn, performed by the Welsh National Opera orchestra In Welsh with English subtitles Official Selection Edinburgh International Film Festival 2025 - World premiere

Synopsis

A character-driven horror-thriller set at Lockbridge Academy, an isolated school on the coast, run by the powerful aristocratic Aberdeen family, who are hiding a dark secret. Eddie, a mute burdened with caring for his cruel, ailing mother, on the cusp of losing their home takes a caretaker position at the foreboding Lockbridge. There, he meets Marie, sparking and instant connection that will alter the trajectory of his life, while unraveling a sinister mystery lurking within the school that could shatter the Aberdeen family legacy forever.

Synopsis

Baby dons a fluorescent pink wig and an unflinching smile on her socials, selling an airbrushed life in Europe to entice young Nigerian girls. Behind the filtered posts lies a more harrowing truth: Baby is trapped in a network of sex trafficking, surviving by enforcing the very system that once consumed her. Past rituals inflicted on the girls not only keep their bodies imprisoned, but also their minds, believing their silence and subservience dilutes their cursed lives. But, when someone from Baby's past becomes the newest recruit, Baby's carefully constructed world crumbles. Baby is confronted with guilt, complicity, and the crushing weight of unfulfilled dreams.

Synopsis

A grandson sets out to reconnect with his Nigerian grandmother as her sense of time and clarity begins to slip away.

Synopsis

A grandson attempts to connect with his Nigerian grandmother as the woman he once knew quietly begins to fade.