Projects matching: Stuart Urban

Synopsis

Following eleven modern-day Jewish bikers on an epic journey from Tel-Aviv to Berlin, crossing nine European countries and 4,500km in twenty-four days. Their mission, to deliver the Maccabi torch to Hitler’s infamous 1936 Olympic stadium, for the opening ceremony of the 2015 European Maccabiah Games. These riders follow in the tracks of the early 1930s’ bikers who set out from Tel Aviv to all corners of Europe. Their mission, to seek out athletes to compete in the first Maccabiah Games. En route, each country holds a chilling resonance for our motor-cycling Holocaust survivors, descendants of survivors and the grandson of a 1930’s Maccabiah Rider. Stories of defiance and survival are revealed, as well as those of horrifying tragedy. The juxtaposition of the present and past is the underlying thread of this Biker-Flick meets Holocaust film mixing archival footage with the 2015 journey. As resurgent populism and anti-Semitism once again rear their ugly heads, this film brings an important message through the voice of those who have been personally affected by one of the darkest pages in human history. This isn’t simply a “Jewish” story. It is the story of people overcoming the worst from fellow man to restate our common humanity.

Synopsis

Barry Vartis is a cycle cop - a quiet character who proves to be a figure of fun for both other members of the force and the public at large. But a freak accident turns him into a psychopath, conveniently as the riots break out on the streets of the capital. Soon Vartis is dishing out justice of a very heavy-handed nature, capturing his graphic beatdowns on his helmet-cam. Unsurprisingly these videos become massive hits when they are posted anonymously online, leading to events spiralling out of control as Baz comes up against a host of villains who very much have it in for him.

Synopsis

The unique story of how Dr Garri Urban, the film maker's father, went back after the fall of the Soviet Union to recover the evidence of his imprisonments by, and escapes from, the Soviet secret police, and also to discover how his family died in the Holocaust. The film comprises video diaries shot over 14 years by Stuart Urban and an interview with Dr Garri Urban who also presents and narrates the story. We experience sorrow and joy as his 25-year search, to find out if anyone from his family survived the Holocaust, brought about the discovery of his brother in Israel in 1964. We see Garri find the woman who had been his fiancée and discover that she was imprisoned for eight years because of him. Less than one in a hundred men who were tortured by the KGB were able to withstand the pressure to make a false confession or work for the organisation. Even fewer survived and almost none escaped. Garri Urban is thus a unique survivor, but also a humanitarian and a distinguished doctor whose work brought him awards from Soviet authorities. After Garri's death in 2004, Stuart probes more and more fascinating mysteries and secrets to the man who survived what so few did. There are even allegations that Garri went on a dangerous mission for the KGB in Nazi Germany.  

Synopsis

A relic has been fought over by the forces of light and darkness for two thousand years. Missing for centuries, the sacred artefact turns up in the back of a camper van in 2001. A powerful secret society is slaughtering innocents to get hold of it. To discover and understand the relic, the ancient arts of sacred geometry, astrology and alchemy must be combined with modern cyber skills and cryptography. Billionaire mogul Magnus Martel (Terence Stamp) is desperate to find and destroy the relic, reluctantly aided by his estranged son Jake (James D'Arcy), a computer decoding expert, and Mira (Natasha Wightman), a student of alchemy. The hunt takes the protagonists from Britain to France, Malta and Greece. The dangerous journey also becomes a voyage of self-discovery and personal fulfilment. In pursuit is the Grand Master (Udo Kier), a demonic sentinel who has stalked the ages since witnessing Christ's crucifixion, and whose unfaltering quest is to take possession of the Loculus and reclaim its devastating knowledge. And when the secret of the relic is finally revealed, it heralds the crossover of science and religion in the new millennium.

Synopsis

Family high action adventure, aka 'Rebel Zone', features the rescue of hostages and gold bullion seized by armed terrorists led by a maritime Rebel Warlord. Royal Naval Frigate 'HMS Monarch', despatches a Royal Marine detail to track and confront the enemy at their tropical island HQ.