Projects matching: Sean McAllister

Synopsis

Filmmaker Sean McAllister return to his hometown of Hull as creative director of the opening ceremony of the City of Culture celebrations, where he reflects on the changes to a city hit by cuts in public spending and divided by Brexit. The film follows local resident Steve Arnott, a struggling warehouse worker by day and hip-hop performer by night, who harbours his own creative dream.
“Back home in Hull, where I began, I have been filming Steve and wondering whether he can, against the odds, unlock the opportunities to build a better life? Is social mobility possible in cities like Hull? What role does culture have to play in this? How long can he hold onto his dreams for?” (Sean McAllister)
Official Selection Sheffield Doc/Fest 2018 - Opening Night Film

Synopsis

Filmed over 5 years, A Syrian Love Story charts an incredible odyssey to political freedom in the West. For Raghda and Amer, it is a journey of hope, dreams and despair: for the revolution, their homeland and each other.
Winner, Jury Award at Sheffield Doc/Fest 2015

Synopsis

An intimate portrait of Yemen as the revolution unfolds, told through the eyes of a tour guide leader.

Synopsis

Holed up in a heavily fortified Baghdad hotel, the pianist Samir Peter and film-maker Sean McAllister try to survive the 'peace' of post-war Iraq.
 
Samir, once Iraq's most famous pianist, now plays in a half-empty hotel bar to contractors, mercenaries and besieged journalists. In his heyday he described himself as the 'Liberace of Baghdad' but today he sleeps in a bricked up hotel room, too afraid to cross town to his seven-bedroomed mansion. His string of western girlfriends has led to his wife and two of his kids leaving for the States. But now Samir has a visa to live in America too, to find fame and fortune there in what he calls his 'one last adventure in life'. But Sahar, his pro-Saddam daughter, hates America for what it has done to her country. She refuses to go and Samir is set to leave alone. Over 8 months of filming the violence escalates out of control, kidnapping is rife and Samir’s neighbour is murdered on her doorstep. Will Samir now sacrifice his American dream for the sake of his family left in lawless Iraq?