Film Library 2019

The 2019 programme was the largest, most diverse and most accessible to date. It included 12 short-form genres, as well as Feature-length Documentaries and Narratives, Immersive and VR films.

Each genre was part of a wider spectrum of programming that connects audiences, touching upon all elements of humanity and varying facets of society.

Curate your own experience with the 2019 film library, explore your passion and discover new cinema.

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Be Ready

Dir. The Blink Fish
Staying true to the slogan “Be the Boss You Want to Be,” this short explores the attributes that make a great leader, questioning the prevailing definition of a “boss” in the 21st century workplace.

Born in Britain

Dir. Luca Homolka
Leone.Mon raps about his quest to become independent from South London’s growing gang culture. Though his friends support him fully, a motorcycle is the only way for his mind to run free.

Dulux – Colour Your Home

Dir. Carol Freeman
A stop motion advert for Dulux Weathershield, created with a combination of techniques including felt puppets – animating the changing seasons on a prop house using oil and Dulux paint.

Puma RS-X Trophies

Dir. Filmawi
Inspired by Puma’s original Running System models released in the late 1980s, the return of the RS line is one encapsulated by rediscovery and reinvention. Commissioned by High Snobiety.

We Are The NHS

Dir. Toby Dye
A 70th anniversary commercial celebrating the wonderful NHS and, in particular, the unsung heroes of the medical profession: nurses. Part of the organisation’s biggest ever recruitment drive.

Z Zegna

Dir. Giacomo Boeri
Prepare for an epic, surreal tennis match as champion Alexander Zverev, ranked fourth worldwide, faces the ultimate partner. Luckily he’s wearing the Z Zegna Techmerino wash&go suit.

Animation

Manen

Dir. Thomas Anglade, Maxime Announ, Lucie Dessertine & Estelle Saint-Jours
Sergio, an old and solitary fisherman, takes out heavy artillery to avenge a pelican that has wronged him. Then comes the big wave.

My Mother’s Eyes

Dir. Jenny Wright
Childhood memories are powerful and evocative – personal and impacting. My Mother’s Eyes circulates around the experience of motherhood and loss in the abstracted world of the psyche.

The Curious Child

Dir. Howard Vause
A small child asks a very big question. The travelling carnival folk can’t satisfy her curiosity, but years later, as a wise old woman, she receives an unexpected visitor. Perhaps this is the answer?

Artists’ Film

alice__alice

Dir. Rhona Foster
Digital identities have become the norm. Idealism and FOMO are rife within online worlds. alice__alice is a DIY pop song and music video about Alice’s seemingly perfect life shared on Instagram.

Dog Daze

Dir. Ian Gibbins
“I can track droplets of fear, bare-boned on your long and solitary road. Too late now to call for your doctor. I have all the time in the world.” Inspired by David Bowie’s album Diamond Dogs.

Horror Vacui

Dir. Matteo Zamagni
Horror Vacui explores Earth’s untouched lands and humanity’s artificial settlements, using digital reconstructions to comment upon our increasingly urbanised and globalised existence.

I’m Okay

Dir. Amy Magee
An experimental short film that explores mental health and our relationship with the Earth through layered sounds and visuals. An immersive and complex rendering of filmic concepts.

Implex

Dir. Charlie Tweed
Implex addresses the contemporary condition. By appropriating the language of behavioural marketing, the film proposes a machine that enables a new form of responsive “solutions.”

Instruction Manual as Mythology

Dir. Jake Davidsonh
A 42-page PDF document outlines how to be decontaminated after exposure to tear gas. Alongside powerful narration, the animation highlights human rights contradictions and disputes.

Serious Tingz

Dir. Abdou Cisse
A short tale on masculinity, portrayed by young men who have grown up in inner-city environments. The iconic “screwface” is more than just an expression – it’s a matter of life and death.

The Path She Walks

Dir. Marloes ten Bhömer
Investigating traditional Japanese footwear and the movements of those that wear them. Walking embodies other cultural and socio-political elements: ultimately, the construction of identity.

Weight of Spring

Dir. Erika Calmeyer
What does love look like? Weight of Spring depicts a collection of romantic, intimate and destructive relationships. The film is told through 12 juxtaposing tableaux, with 24 different actors.

Comedy

Capital

Dir. Freddy Syborn
When a misjudged referendum comes back 50.9% in favour of hanging, a group of inept junior civil servants meet on their first day in their new roles in the Department of Capital Punishment.

Love The Sinner

Dir. Jennifer Sheridan
11-year-old Joanna tries to understand grief for the first time when she witnesses her mother’s manic reaction to the death of Princess Diana. She decides to use it to get out of Sunday School.

Luger

Dir. Freddie Waters
Tom is in for a surprise when he meets his grandfather’s two carers. They’re already at war with each other, but when he discovers a mysterious object in the kitchen, things take a turn for the worse.

NYET! – A Brexit UK Border Farce

Dir. Alex Helfrecht & Jörg Tittel
Boris and Olga have travelled across Europe to the port of Dover with precious cargo from Russia. When Border Control guards find far more than they were expecting, an interrogation ensues.

The Last Supper

Dir. Alicia MacDonald
Two disciples pitch PR ideas to Jesus on the eve of his crucifixion. The Last Supper, with the Mid-Brow, is all about plotting book deals, resurrections, celebratory dinners and increasing followers.

Whenever You’re Ready

Dir. Craig Ainsley
Heartbreak is one of the most devastating emotions the human soul can bear. But what happens when it syncs up perfectly with an important audition? This actress is about to find out.

Dance

Dynamite

Dir. Leila Jarman
Dynamite is a performance art film that investigates gender and masculinity through the American black male experience. The film uncovers truths about race and identity in social landscapes.

Lace

Dir. Roberta Jean
Focusing on duets between dancers and machines, Lace was shot on location at MYB Textiles in Ayrshire, the only location in the world to still manufacture with original Nottingham Lace Looms.

One Another

Dir. Kevin Frilet
From the underground, a group emerges from the darkness. The bodies mingle and intertwine to form one being. With a regular step, they walk together towards the light in search of greatness.

Remains

Dir. Antoine Marc
A fantasy detached from reality where the mind dances and loses itself, unaware of consequences. The protagonist falls in love with an essence – an idea. What happens when you’re left alone?

Shove

Dir. Lauren Pringle
Shove is a metaphorical dance film that reflects the realities of unsafe abortions that still occur internationally. A sensitive and moving piece that considers the nature of true bodily autonomy.

Velvet

Dir. Iggy LDN
Velvet re-writes the narrative of young black males automatically linked to gang culture and crime in London in the media. This is the story of a boy who was in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Documentary

72 hours in André Balazs’ Chateau Marmont with Kenneth Anger

Dir. Floria Sigismondi
On LA’s iconic Sunset Boulevard, inside the glamorous rooms of Chateau Marmont, Floria Sigismondi shot Kenneth Anger for an additional special edition of the renowned System Magazine.

Borderlands

Dir. Simon Lane
Mother Nature leaves a chilling message for her inhabitants in this visual poem traversing the Norwegian and Russian border towns of Kirkenes and Nikel. A study of urbanity and nature.

The Last Taboo

Dir. Chloe White
Three women who made the decision to mother from afar tell their stories. When there’s growing acceptance for alternative family models, why does non-custodial motherhood shock and appall?

Wargames

Dir. Jessica Bishopp
A creative documentary that charts the attendees of Britain’s longest running Wargames group. Investigating the complexity of combat and camaraderie from a psychologist’s perspective.

WYPIPO

Dir. Brian & Karl, Jean Paula, Florian Joahn
Inspired by stories like #PermitPatty, a white woman who called the police on a black kid selling water, and #BarbecueBecky, a woman who reported black kids simply for cooking food.

Drama

Happy?

Dir. Petra Trampuž
Happy? pursues an elderly lady who fulfils her days observing others, condemning and embroidering neighbours. This is a story about those who revel in other people’s sadness and misfortune.

Nursery Rhymes

Dir. Tom Noakes
Why is a metalhead singing Old MacDonald on the side of a rural highway? From the background, two farmers rush to the scene.
A bizarre encounter ensues, and it’s darker than first imagined.

Safety

Dir. Fabrice Joubert
It is wind-down time after gym class for second graders. Michael and 11 other children lie side by side on the floor of the gym, breathing quietly. Suddenly, a detonation tears the silence.

This Time Away

Dir. Magali Barbe
Nigel is an elderly man living as a recluse, haunted by his past and memory of the family he once had. That is, until an unexpected visitor arrives and disrupts his routine. Featuring Timothy Spall.

Experimental

Furnace of the Birds

Dir. Arsen Arzumanyan
If birds had a religion, perhaps this would be their origin myth. Furnace of the Birds is a mystical, ethereal affair – looking at the idea of creation and the beginning of existence and belief.

Kindred

Dir. Samona Olanipekun
Samona Olanipekun considers the concept of home, identity and belonging, whilst tapping into the underlying presence of wider globalisation in today’s world. Commissioned by The Barbican.

Recitative

Dir. Shir Handelsman
An opera singer stands on a lifted platform, singing a Martyr’s wish for redemption. A counterpoint between the human voice and mechanical sounds of machinery moving up and down.

Fashion

Arnette | Van Khokhlov

Dir. Van Khokhlov
C41 presents, in collaboration with Arnette and K48 production, a new fashion film that tells the story of a gang of young people who live in the city. The Milan landscape is the background.

BEYOND | LEONE

Dir. LEONE
Beyond is an Italian brand designing and producing shoes. The aim of the company is to create footwear that won’t go unnoticed. They go beyond expectations and cross new boundaries of fashion.

Burbuja

Dir. Román Reyes/strong>
She can no longer live in the reality she knows, so she has built a bubble in which to hide away. It is a place of protection. Burbuja follows a young woman hiding in the leaves – in the shadows.

CNMI – Woolmark

Dir. Matteo Grimaldi
CNMI – Woolmark is a collaboration between Camera Nazionale della Moda Italiana and Woolmark, celebrating creativity with a conscious mind. Inspired by the Greek myth of Ariadne.

GAL 9000 (A Set Odyssey)

Dir. Boldizsar CR
GAL 9000 (a set odyssey) is a dark, jaded view on the everyday life of a model in the big, cold city. Haunted by inner voices similar to Kubrick’s HAL 9000 in Space Odyssey, this is a chaotic shoot.

Light

Dir. Robert dos Santos
Light is a fashion film for TailorMe. Flying through the streets of Johannesburg on a skateboard in black and white, a delicate piano score accompanies the sweeping, dramatic landscapes.

Lola’s Manifesto

Dir. Gsus Lopez & Cristian Velasco
Lola’s Manifesto is a brief moment in the life of two TV commercial stars between takes. Mother and daughter passionately discuss what they think a fashion film really is. A meta-fashion film.

Nowness x Burberry – The Dreamers: Katia and Marielle Labèque

Dir. Fiona Jane Burgess
Katia and Marielle Labe?que are a French piano duo who, since childhood, have been driven to musical compositions written for four hands. Part of a new series in collaboration with Burberry.

Nylon Farm

Dir. D I • A L
Enter the Nylon Farm: a fully automated factory that produces Prada’s iconic black material. But this perfect world of manmade machinery is interrupted by a series of strange malfunctions.

Puma Outlaw Film. Freedom

Dir. Diyara Minrakhmanova & Maksim Bashkaev-Vaisbord
A collaboration fashion film between Puma and Outlaw, Freedom is a journey through wintry landscapes –an expression of energy and youth. It is a call to action across ice, fire and snow.

Self Portrait

Dir. Emma Dalzell-Khan
Self Portrait is a celebration of self-expression. It holds a mirror up to society and reflects the multilayered facets of masculinity, redefining what it means to be a man in today’s world.

The Silence is Black and White

Dir. Ryan Henry Knight
A visual exploration of fashion designer, Kirstian Dendy’s, winter 2019 collection, “The Silence is Black and White.” This experimental short film uses visual symbolism to tell the story of a love triangle that forms within a cult.

Music Video

25 – Kojey Radical

Dir. Taz Tron Delix
An impressionistic reflection on diverse black culture, achieved with beautifully composed visuals that do visual justice to the range of ideas in Kojey Radical’s music and lyrics.

Behold The Man – C’mon Tigre

Dir. Marco Molinelli & Sic Est
Taking inspiration from a science fiction novel from 1969 by Michael Moorcock, the story is about a modern version of the first human being, who appears on earth as an adult child.

Bluesman – Baco Exu do Blues

Dir. Douglas Ratzlaff Bernardt
An artistic manifesto that sparked a debate on institutional racism, and resignified black culture. It rocketed Baco Exu do Blues from the underground of rap to the mainstream of music culture.

Falle Nioke, New Foundation

Dir. Tom Dream
New Foundation follows the story of Falle Nioke on his arrival to Margate in the UK with his wife Charlotte. Falle is known locally as a musician and artist, and for creating a sense of community.

Feel Like Home – Tyler James Bellinger

Dir. Joseph Robert Redl
A young man tries to break free from his oppressive life. Feel Like Home is based on true events, and is a captivating glimpse into a broken household and its wider effects on youth and beyond.

Gunning For – Peyton Pinkerton

Dir. Jay Hollinsworth
A music video for the track Gunning For from the Peyton Pinkerton LP Rapid Cycler. A fully animated, low-fi excursion through the advertisements found in the pages of silver age comics.

If You Want To – Beabadoobee

Dir. bedroom
Bea hasn’t been sleeping, so mum calls the doctor. This is the latest Beabadoobee collaboration with directing duo Bedroom. It is a concoction of pills, insomnia and hyperreal visions.

No Avocados in the Ghetto – Dekunle

Dir. John Connor Hammond
Dekunkle’s No Avocados in the Ghetto is a pop-coloured affair, filled with retro cars, suburban landscapes, pastel colour schemes, backing singers and avocado-filled supermarkets.

Not Enough – Benny Sings

Dir. Bear Damen
A paradisiacal, pleasantly tormented succession of vignettes with various characters. Possibly dreamt up by the artist through their music, this is a world that’s close but very different from the rest.

Playing with Fire – Breakup Shoes

Dir. June Hucko
Split between channels, this is a fun-loving, colouful music video that follows a band attempting to get one of their members back after he’s lost to the throes of new love from across the street.

Scars – Hazey Eyes ft. Yoke Lore

Dir. Simon Dymond
What seems to be a carefree young romance reveals itself as a much darker story of sacrifice and human loss in an unbalanced and disproportionate relationship. Filmed for Hazey Eyes.

Son Of The Morning – Caspar Leopard

Dir. Caspar Leopard
Emerging from the primordial waters of the womb, we follow a new born consciousness on a journey of self-discovery, traversing vast and unknowable worlds until finally coming to rest in the birth place of the stars.

Thriller

Blue

Dir. Samantha Severin
A nameless girl spends her nights alone, speaking to strangers on her webcam. She disguises herself to remain anonymous, but then realises the viewers know more about her than intended.