Heavy Metal in Baghdad

Funny Up North

July 2011 •English

Documentary featuring a cavalcade of Northern comedy stars including the great Frank Randle, George Formby, Arthur Askey, Norman Evans and many more. The North of England has always enjoyed its own very particular brand of comedy, best seen today in Coronation Street. 80 years ago however Mancunian Studios produced feature films for the northern masses. Funny Up North tells the story of the Mancunian Studios, its eccentric owner John E Blakeley and its cavalcade of stars including such household names as Arthur Askey, Jimmy Jewell, George Formby and the legendary Frank Randle. Hosted by Professor Chris Lee, the authority on northern cinema, Funny Up North takes you on a journey from its humble beginnings to its sad demise in the 1960s.

Sweet and Lowdown

December 1999 •English

In the 1930s, jazz guitarist Emmet Ray idolizes Django Reinhardt, faces gangsters and falls in love with a mute woman.

Little Voice

November 1998 •English

After the death of her father, Little Voice or LV becomes a virtual recluse, never going out and hardly ever saying a word. She just sits in her bedroom listening to her father's collection of old records of Shirley Bassey, Marilyn Monroe and various other famous female singers. But at night time, LV sings, imitating these great singers with surprising accuracy. One night she is overheard by one of her mother's boyfriends, who happens to be a talent agent. He manages to convince her that her talent is special and arranges for her to perform at the local night club, but several problems arise.

The Wild Blue Yonder

September 2005 •English

An alien narrates the story of his dying planet, his and his people's visitations to Earth and Earth's self-made demise, while human astronauts in space are attempting to find an alternate planet for surviving humans to live on.

SLC Punk

September 1998 •English

Two former geeks become 1980s punks, then party and go to concerts while deciding what to do with their lives.

Kayfabe

April 2007 •English

The TCICWF is shutting down forever, and these colorful, eccentric, clueless, indie wrestlers have one last chance to show the world that they belong in the big leagues.

Ciclo da Reciclagem

January 2019 •Portuguese

Mercy of God

August 2020 •English

A silent portrait of the devastated condition of coastal Odisha after the cyclone 'Fani'

Hounddog

January 2007 •English

A drama set in the American South, where a precocious, troubled girl finds a safe haven in the music and movement of Elvis Presley.

American Swing

October 2009 •English

Chronicles the rise and fall of 1970s New York City nightclub Plato's Retreat.

Bukowski: Born Into This

January 2003 •English

Director John Dullaghan’s biographical documentary about infamous poet Charles Bukowski, Bukowski: Born Into This, is as much a touching portrait of the author as it is an exposé of his sordid lifestyle. Interspersed between ample vintage footage of Bukowski’s poetry readings are interviews with the poet’s fans including such legendary figures such as Lawrence Ferlinghetti, Joyce Fante (wife of John), Bono, and Harry Dean Stanton. Filmed in grainy black and white by Bukowski’s friend, Taylor Hackford, due to lack of funding, the old films edited into this movie paint Bukowski’s life of boozing and brawling romantically, securing Bukowski’s legendary status.

Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired

January 2008 •English

Examines the public scandal and private tragedy which led to legendary director Roman Polanski's sudden flight from the United States.

The Guitar

November 2008 •English

The life of a woman is transformed after she is diagnosed with a terminal disease, fired from her job and abandoned by her boyfriend. Given two months to live, she throws caution to the wind to pursue her dreams.

The Order of Myths

July 2008 •English

In 2007 Mobile, Alabama, Mardi Gras is celebrated... and complicated. Following a cast of characters, parades, and parties across an enduring color line, we see that beneath the surface of pageantry lies something else altogether.

Cirque du Soleil: Quidam

December 1999 •English

A young girl has already seen everything there is to see and her world has lost all meaning. Her anger shatters her world and she finds herself in the universe of QUIDAM, where she is joined by a playful companion, as well as another mysterious character who attempts to seduce her with the marvelous, the unsettling and the terrifying.

The U.S. vs. John Lennon

September 2006 •English

A documentary on the life of John Lennon, with a focus on the time in his life when he transformed from a musician into an antiwar activist.

Ripple Effect

June 2007 •English

Believing that bad karma is keeping him from realizing his dream, hip clothing designer Amer Atrash (Philippe Caland) attempts to orchestrate salvation -- with unexpected results -- in this indie drama. Pushed to the edge of financial disaster and facing marital woes, Atrash resolves to right a wrong he committed years earlier when his car accidentally struck Philip Blackman (Forest Whitaker), leaving him paralyzed.

Kinky Boots

August 2005 •English

Charles Price may have grown up with his father in the family shoe business in Northampton, central England, but he never thought that he would take his father's place. Charles has a chance encounter with the flamboyant drag queen cabaret singer Lola and everything changes.

Brothers of the Head

July 2006 •English

In the 1970s a music promoter plucks Siamese twins from obscurity and grooms them into a freakish rock'n'roll act. A dark tale of sex, strangeness and rock music.

Up the Yangtze

September 2007 •Chinese

A luxury cruise boat motors up the Yangtze - navigating the mythic waterway known in China simply as "The River." The Yangtze is about to be transformed by the biggest hydroelectric dam in history. At the river's edge - a young woman says goodbye to her family as the floodwaters rise towards their small homestead. The Three Gorges Dam - contested symbol of the Chinese economic miracle - provides the epic backdrop for Up the Yangtze, a dramatic feature documentary on life inside modern China.