Projects matching: Paul Sng

Synopsis

Revealing the inner world and outer life of Irvine Welsh, one of the most original and controversial writers of our times. Over four decades across novels, screenplays, and as a forthright, opinionated and outspoken media presence, the 'Trainspotting' author has both celebrated and defined contemporary society and culture, whilst simultaneously exposing all of their many flaws. In this intimate and personal documentary we meet the acclaimed writer at a crossroads, acutely aware of his mortality and accepting that his hedonistic days are drawing to a close, but still very much committed to new avenues of creativity and discovery.
On a book tour in Canada, Welsh chooses to explore the boundaries of consciousness by taking DMT at a Toronto drug therapy centre. The resulting hallucinogenic trip, illustrated within a kaleidoscopic imagined memory space, is interspersed with candid observational footage, cinematic archive, and novel excerpts to create a captivating piece of autobiographical cinema that gets to the beating heart of one of Scotland’s most vital creative voices. Official Selection Edinburgh International Film Festival 2025 - Closing Night

Synopsis

Tish Murtha was a photographer whose images of people on the margins of society in 1970s Newcastle challenged and documented the inequality she herself lived through and wanted desperately to escape. However, despite early acclaim for her work she was unable to make a living from photography and lived in poverty until her death. In this new feature length documentary we ask: who was Tish Murtha and why did she not receive her due? The documentary will question the value society places on working-class communities and working-class artists, both in the past and the present day.
Official Selection Sheffield DocFest 2023 - World premiere

Synopsis

Li, a vulnerable, injured Taiwanese woman is on the run. Desperate to escape the men pursuing her, she seeks uninvited shelter inside the home of elderly St Lucian widower, Errol. Despite not speaking one another’s language, the two form an intimate bond of friendship over the course of one day. What unfolds is a universal tale of compassion and trust that reveals two resilient people helping one another through trauma and grief.

Synopsis

Poly Styrene was the first woman of colour in the UK to front a successful rock band. She introduced the world to a new sound of rebellion, using her unconventional voice to sing about identity, consumerism, postmodernism, and everything she saw unfolding in late 1970s Britain, with a rare prescience. As the frontwoman of X-Ray Spex, the Anglo-Somali punk musician was also a key inspiration for the riot grrrl and Afropunk movements.
But the late punk maverick didn’t just leave behind an immense cultural footprint. She was survived by a daughter, Celeste Bell, who became the unwitting guardian of her mother’s legacy and her mother’s demons. Misogyny, racism, and mental illness plagued Poly’s life, while their lasting trauma scarred Celeste’s childhood and the pair’s relationship.
Featuring unseen archive material and rare diary entries narrated by Oscar-nominee Ruth Negga, this documentary follows Celeste as she examines her mother's unopened artistic archive and traverses three continents to better understand Poly the icon and Poly the mother.
Official Selection Glasgow Film Festival 2021 - World premiere
Official Selection SXSW Film Festival 2021 - North American premiere

Synopsis

In 2017 housing rose to the top of the British political agenda for the first time in a generation. But despite the media spotlight, few stories examined the catastrophic long-term failures that resulted in a chronic shortage of social housing in the United Kingdom. This film seeks to explore the agenda behind the neglect, demolition and regeneration of council estates in the UK over the past thirty years. The film reveals how individuals and communities are fighting against the state and private developers, as they try to save their homes from demolition, while investigating the decisions that turned a crisis into a tragedy.
The story of people who know that housing is not an expensive luxury, but a fundamental human right.