Production Fund Showcase 2018

Thursday 6 December | 6.30PM

Join us for an evening celebrating our Production Fund grantees.

In partnership with Channel 4, we will be hosting a screening of select grantee documentary shorts, followed by a Q&A with the filmmakers.

The films showcase a series of untold stories from the developing world, including Panama’s World Cup football team, Nepalese elephant drivers, a Colombian guerrilla fighter turned musician, gentrification in Cuba and India’s Women’s Ice Hockey Team.

 

THE FILM PROGRAMME:

Dan Faber – Panama Mundial

“Panama is going to the World Cup!”, shouts commentator David Samudio, as Panama secure qualification for the first time. For Roman Torres, national hero and scorer of the goal that took them them there, this moment could change the country. “In some countries football has changed the whole country. And I have faith that the same could happen in Panama.”

In Panama’s poorest areas, poverty and gang violence threaten the future of young people. But Panamanians hope that the national football team’s participation at the World Cup will be a catalyst for positive change. In the rough barrio where Torres grew up two brothers are working hard, hoping to follow in his footsteps.

Director:  Dan is a documentary filmmaker working in the UK and throughout Latin America, whose work has been broadcast on Channel 4 and Journeyman Pictures.

Duration: 14mins      Country: Panama

 


 

Film still by Jeffery Hirsch (c)

Andrew Davies – Shiva Shankers’ Fate

Shiva, a low caste elephant driver who sells elephant rides to tourists in Nepal’s national park, dreams of transcending the social strata by joining the Nepal police where he feels he will be better respected. To succeed he will need to prove his physical fitness and pass a written exam, but he will also need to leave behind his beloved elephant. Shot over 12 months, award-winning filmmaker Andrew Davies looks behind the much-maligned animal tourism industry and reveals a sensitive man in pursuit of a more secure future.

Director: Andrew is a filmmaker whose company, Campaign Film, produces compassionate stories to provoke and move people, quietly.

Duration: 12mins      Country: Nepal

 


 

Cosima Barzini – High Passes

Ice hockey may be a strange sight in India, but in the northern reaches of the country, the sport has carved out a special place. On frozen ponds high in the Himalayas, a group of young women are training for international glory.

Lack of money, recognition, and climate change all stand as barriers to the team, yet, as the documentary unfolds, we discover that ultimately, nothing can stop them from achieving their dreams.  Told through the voices of two of the team members, this short documentary provides a fascinating insight into their lives, and the challenges that come with being pioneers.

Director: Cosima is a documentary filmmaker and freelance camera operator. Her passion lies in character driven documentaries.

Duration: 21mins      Country: India

 


 

Danny Mitchell – Listen To My Song [trailer]

Esteban escaped poverty in the ghetto when he was thirteen, by running away from home and joining the FARC guerrilla movement in Colombia.

With the peace process underway Esteban’s life changes when he performs at a Peace Concert and is spotted by a famous Colombian producer. When he is invited to perform in Bogota, a career as a musician is beginning to look possible. However, he must first make his own peace with his past and reconnect with his family in Cali. If this is possible perhaps the country can also move on from its difficult history.

Director: Danny is an independent documentary filmmaker who makes character driven films involving social and political issues.

Duration: 3mins      Country: Colombia

 


 

Ravi Lloyd – The Riomar

Mercedes and Juan come from a wealthy Cuban family who moved to the Riomar, a luxury and modernist complex in Havana. After the Cuban revolution, all land and properties were nationalized. Many fled taking their wealth, Mercedes and Juan’s family stayed. What once was five apartment blocks and over 200 residents is now eleven families living in the central block of a ruin. Years of major hurricanes and with a lack of maintenance, the Riomar began to crumble. 50 years later and with a struggling Cuban government, Mercedes and Juan have nothing but a once luxury apartment in the Riomar.

Director: Ravi Lloyd is a curious multimodal storyteller based out of Anguilla and the UK.

Duration: 12mins      Country: Cuba

 


 

TIME: 6.30PM
DATE: 6 December 2018
LOCATION: Channel 4
Tickets: £7
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