The Uncertain Kingdom
A ground-breaking anthology of twenty short films by twenty filmmakers, which together offer an alternative snapshot of the UK in the year 2020.
Antonia Campbell-Hughes
Ray Panthaki
Lab Ky Mo
Guy Jenkin
Jason Bradbury
Paul Frankl
Hope Dickson Leach
Jason Wingard
Carol Salter
Sophie King
Runyararo Mapfumo
Ellen Evans
Stroma Cairns
Lanre Malaolu
Alison Hargreaves
Iggy Ldn
Rebecca Lloyd-Evans
Leon Oldstrong
David Proud
Also Directed by Antonia Campbell-Hughes
A Londoner returns to his ancestral homeland of Donegal in the west of Ireland and is drawn in by a teenage boy who almost kills him in a car crash.
Also Directed by Ray Panthaki
Ernie is a vulnerable recluse who spends his life caring for his racist father and navigating a world in which he doesn't quite fit in to.
A hard hitting fictional story of two schoolboys and how their paths crossing one night in urban London, will affect both their families lives forever. Loosely Inspired by events affecting his own life, Life Sentence is the Directorial debut of British actor Ray Panthaki (Kidulthood, 28 Days Later, Ali G indahouse) and is Shot by World renowned Cinematographer Pierre Aim (La Haine)
Also Directed by Lab Ky Mo
Chinese men are 'inscrutable'; none more so than Tony's Dad who works in a Chinese takeaway. Tony is Chinese but has lived in the UK all of his 20 years, during which his Dad has hardly uttered more than a few sentences to him, and never once touched him. It is the Chinese way. Tony has accepted it all his life. However, when Tony's Dad has a near-escape in a car accident, Tony begins to yearn for a deeper, more expressive relationship with him. This is easier said than done as Tony recalls the few occasions on which his Dad has ever spoken to him; his Dad has never wished him a happy birthday in his entire life; he failed to say goodbye when Tony left home at 18, and even neglected to congratulate him on his wedding day! Dad doesn't even utter a word when his wife - Tony's Mum - passes away. Tony wonders if his Dad has any feelings at all. Time finally runs out for them both when his Dad has yet another car accident; this time a fatal one. Thus, Tony has his Dad taken away without ...
Jack is dying. He's an old man with a past. His dilemma? Does he have time to make up with his estranged Chinese son and risk his current relationship Or does he stay with his English wife. Worlds apart but geographically close, Jack's dilemma exists within a 3 Mile Radius.
Story of swords and boys.
The story of two lads from Belfast as they stumble their way through the London gay underworld in search of 'gainful employment'. This being the offering of sexual favours to older gay men in order to subsidise their respective giros. 9 Dead Gay Guys is a high-camp send-up of gay stereotypes.
Also Directed by Guy Jenkin
Comedy drama. Retired Lord Chancellor Bill Webster decides to sell his memoirs to a tabloid newspaper in order to save his crumbling Cornish house. The Prime Minister wants to stop him as he believes the government will fall if his book is published. One of Bill's old girlfriends, now the Minister for Agriculture and Fisheries, is sent to try and stop him, but also on his trail is a tabloid journalist who senses a scoop.
Doug and Abi and their three children travel to the Scottish Highlands for Doug's father Gordie's birthday party. It's soon clear that when it comes to keeping a secret under wraps from the rest of the family, their children are their biggest liability...
The host of a British Shock-TV Show blurs the line between show business and life.
Political comedy set on the campaign buses of the main parties as they battle their way through the chaos of the election campaign.
A journalist becomes an independent MP. Loosely based on the election of Martin Bell to the constituency of Tatton between 1997 and 2001.
Political satire closely mirroring real-life British politics of the time - a self-serving Conservative minister "crosses the floor" to join the opposition Labour Party, at a time when the Conservative Party has a majority in Parliament of just one seat. Sequel to A Very Open Prison.
The Home Secretary has his eye on the Prime Minister's job. But an experiment in the way the prisons are run leads to embarrassment - and escaped murderers! The fore runner of Crossing The Floor
A young Englishman is dispatched to Sarawak to become part of the British colonial government. He encounters some unorthodox local traditions, and finds himself faced with tough decisions of the heart involving the beautiful Selima, the unwitting object of his affections.
A satirical swipe at the phone-hacking scandal surrounding the British newspaper industry.
A satirical look at the 'secret' TRUE life of Jeffrey Archer. The Truth, the whole truth and everything BUT the truth.
Also Directed by Jason Bradbury
Set on the Isle of Wight, the film tells the story of Anthony and Kyle, and their last night together as Kyle moves away leaving Anthony to look after his terminally ill mother. Poetic in nature, the film is concerned with exploring the intimate and often unspoken moment in which we give something special away.
A collection of six gay-themed short films about relationships and the pain of love, including: REQUITED (directed by Sal Bardo), BOYS LIKE YOU (directed by Daniel Armando), WE ONCE WERE TIDE (directed by Jason Bradbury), REVOLUTION (directed by Abdi Nazemian), THE IN-BETWEEN (directed by Alain Hain) and FROZEN ROADS (directed by Mark Pariselli).
Collection of tech-related short films marking the 30th anniversary in 2019 of the World Wide Web.
Those boys you know and love are back! Hailing from Australia, Canada, Romania, Switzerland, the UK, USA and even the Isle of Wight, BOYS ON FILM 21 invites you on a voyage of emotion-soaked self-discovery, where same-sex attraction is celebrated, first loves are tenderly formulated, and beautiful secrets burn and bloom.
From the cliffs of the Isle of Wight to an abandoned swimming pool via a broken down lift in Lambeth, Peccadillo Pictures presents an eclectic mix of ten UK-set short films from scorching new British talent that depict LGBT characters in situations both funny and heart-rending, definitive and unique.
A tense encounter between a young man in distress and his reluctant saviour.
Alcopops, VHS tapes, cigarettes, boys, MSN Messenger, Placebo - this is 2003. Set on the Isle of Wight, fragments of the director's own teenage video diaries collide with the fictional story of 15-year-old Tommy in this short film about a boy's search for connection in the advent of the internet age. Infatuated with his best friend's boyfriend and unable to truly reveal himself to anyone, Tommy feels an overwhelming sense of isolation on the small chalk island he calls home. Desperate to be seen, he logs on to family computer, clicks connect and opens MSN.
Also Directed by Paul Frankl
A cold and isolated transgender sex worker takes in a young girl who has been abandoned by her mother, and her life is thrown into question.
Luke longs for a meaningful connection, but the man he has fallen for torments him with acts of impulsive intimacy and spontaneous selfish thoughtlessness.
A compilation of short films that peek behind the curtain and get inside the lives of the people of London. Explore the diversity of this great city through drama, comedy, animation and documentary.
A young Jewish girl gets pregnant after a one-night stand with a non-Jewish boy.
Also Directed by Hope Dickson Leach
An electric collection of the latest, award-winning lesbian and feminist short films exploring fantasies, dreams, desires, love and transgression. Featuring chance encounters, teenage lust, girl fighters, self-conscious dolls and rampant zombies alongside journeys of self-discovery, the fight for equality and a playful take on stereotypes. GIRLS ON FILM 2: BEFORE DAWN takes you on an incredible adventure from America to Australia through Iceland, the UK and Algeria into worlds beyond.
A young couple not ready to expect their first baby track down a cradle, only to make a discovery that will change their family forever.
It's been seven years since the plane crashed. Why are Bonnie and Lloyd still searching for their parents amongst the wreckage?
The story sees a 40-something trans man recalling and reliving his first romantic entanglement.
he Moffatts are in trouble. Their sick young daughter Franny almost died in October, and, wanting to make her final days good ones, they held a fake Christmas for her. A couple of months later, as the Moffatt household wakes up on December 25th, Franny is still alive, and the rest of the family have fallen apart. Big sister Veronica has hidden the family cat in the cupboard, and spends her days searching the streets for a new family. Brother Neil has given up talking altogether, and barks like a dog at his parents who are arguing about health food. When Franny finally wakes up she announces, with a smile on her face, that today is Valentine's Day.
Nina and the other new 12-year-old girls at her English boarding school must visit the school doctor for a check-up. As they wait outside the doctor's office, wondering what will happen inside, allegiances are born, and broken.
13 year-old Nina hates her Mom, her thighs and the ill-fitting bridesmaid dress she must wear tomorrow at her mother's wedding. When her Mom has to help her out of the dress, she decides to take matters into her own hands.
Boys on Film comes of age with ten uplifting and powerful tales recounting the lives of everyday heroes with no special powers except striving for their own identities and fighting for the right for us all to be ourselves.
Clover is finishing a veterinary course when her brother dies and she is called home to her family's struggling Somerset farm.
Also Directed by Jason Wingard
When a teenager gets on a bus her baby starts to speak to her. Is this her paranoia or the inner thoughts of others?
Short documentary made for the 2011 Reed Film Competition. Shot in 4 hours in Manchester.
Omar and Pete are half brothers. When their parents are eaten by lions they embark on a journey to find Omar's real father. What follows is a funny, heart-warming journey of self-discovery for both boys...in Blackpool. The Choudray family represents a truly contemporary example of modern multicultural Britain - but what will the brothers make of their eccentric newfound family? Will they be going to Mecca or Mecca bingo? In contrast to the old fashioned stereotypes about Blackpool, the comedy is sharp, current and non-stop.
Our once beautiful homeland had become uninhabitable. Too dangerous to walk the streets, drive a car, visit friends. Many had already left Syria. Risking their lives on the open water. Giving all we had to the ruthless, opportunists who trade in the currency of human misery. We all spent what little money we had to reach anywhere, a safe place, a new life away from the bloodshed, the bombing, the murder. Europe was meant to offer us hope. Yet the borders closed one by one. We gave up everything, left all we had behind. Living on hand outs, with no shelter, no money and now no hope. I am here, trapped in Calais Jungle. I don’t know where my wife is. The police treat us like animals. They beat us and spray us with teargas everyday. We cannot move forward, we cannot go back. We have to get out of here. I look into the eyes on this camp and I can see it; The blank emptiness of desperation. In another life I was a teacher. Now I’m a refugee. My name is Adnan.
The film follows Linda (Watson), a crossword enthusiast, choral society member, wife and mother of two, and her music lecturer husband, Jim (Grant), who are about to celebrate their 30th wedding anniversary with a romantic trip to Lisbon. But the night before they travel, Linda discovers a monumental secret that will shake the very foundations of their marriage. Determined not to let this discovery define her life and needing space to process, Linda takes the plane tickets and flies to Lisbon without Jim. Alone in this beautiful city, Linda falls madly in love… with the profoundly moving Portuguese folk music, fado — a sensuous new relationship that will allow her to rediscover the joy and passion within herself.
Also Directed by Carol Salter
Far from home, 17-year-old Ying Ling practices for her examination to become a mortician at one of China's largest funeral homes. The everyday routine of this unusual occupation also serves up both humorous and life affirming moments.
In a forgotten seaside town in the north of England, seventy eight year old Dave hands out food and kindness to those in need. After ten years of austerity, this nuanced portrait of a volunteer-run food bank penetrates the harsh reality of contemporary Britain.
Also Directed by Runyararo Mapfumo
The title of this British series is derived from the education of the main character,Otis, and his high school classmates as they navigate the confusing world of sex.
When a young girl’s father is taken to hospital, a familial bond between her and her uncle is tested.
A group of young men try to interpret their friends art, so they can save face and show support.
Also Directed by Stroma Cairns
After months of fighting and no communication, two teenage twin brothers come together to spend a day in Canvey Island. The brothers have a unique connection and shared passion for bikes. Whilst both being born with a hearing loss they have experienced challenging situations and been involved with gangs. Today marks a fresh start for the boys, with Lewis being a new father and Connor putting family first.
Also Directed by Lanre Malaolu
A bold and lyrical portrayal of two brothers from inner-city London and the challenges they face daily, interpreted through dance.
Also Directed by Iggy Ldn
Fatherhood is a short film designed to decode the intimacy between men of colour; in particular, the relationship between father and son, which is hardly portrayed in mainstream media. Fatherhood aims to challenge the stereotypical ideals of manhood in order to break a cycle, which has culminated into the neglect of these relationships, and adopts a symbol of accountability and forgiveness for past wrongdoings in a beautiful and profound way.
Also Directed by Leon Oldstrong
Weathering intertwines the deeply personal stories of two Black key workers as they reveal their experiences of racism in the UK. The film explores the impact of the UK government-imposed Covid-19 lockdowns, and the worldwide anti-racism movement which grew after the murder of George Floyd. Both events have acted as a magnifying glass for the inequalities that exist within British society.