Voices of Hope

As historic ships vanish from British waters, a group of passionate volunteers fights to save the Balmoral—a 1949 passenger vessel moored in Bristol’s iconic harbour—battling time, bureaucracy, and financial struggles to preserve a piece of maritime history before it’s lost forever.

Chocolate of Peace depicts the Peace Community of San José de Apartadó's experiences of resistance, via a journey through their processes of organic chocolate production. From the seed to the product, the cacao is the narrative thread that takes us through the Community's stories of violence and resilience, and their fight to remain neutral in the face of the Colombian armed conflict. This film offers a panorama of hope, proof that despite great difficulties it is possible to sow peace through human and economic relationships. It invites us to rethink our relationship with food, to value the efforts of those who produce it, and to build bridges between the victims of the armed conflict and other sectors of global civil society.

This documentary explores the ancient water system of Douiret-Sbâa, Morocco, a remarkable network fed by a local spring that has sustained the community for centuries. Highlighting the ingenuity of traditional hydro-technologies, the film examines how these systems continue to shape life in arid lands today.

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A small community of passionate ice hockey players from around the North East of England reflect on mental health, fellowship, and loss, as they share a last game with their lost teammate and celebrate his passion for the sport.

Two Canadians, one Liberal and one Conservative, attend a U.S. convention focused on depolarizing politics, determined to engage in tough conversations for a healthier democracy.

Real-life drama about why, in a beautiful and quirky rural town, film- maker Jez Lewis' childhood friends are killing themselves. Beginning with a personal quest for understanding, the film moves into a year-long drama of human tragedy and redemption as principal character Cass comes to terms with his own mortality and attempts to lift himself out of his cycle of self-destruction. This core narrative carves an upward arc through an intimate study of a place often described as paradise, but which harbours an undertow of lethal hedonism and disillusionment. As people continue to kill themselves during the making of the film, a maelstrom of conflicting values throws up unexpected truths about the human condition.

Making Dust is an essay film, a portrait of the demolition of Ireland's second largest Catholic Church, the Church of the Annunciation in Finglas West, Dublin. Understanding this moment as a 'rupture', the film maps an essay by architectural historian Ellen Rowley on to documentation of the building's dismantling. Featuring oral interviews recorded at the site of the demolition and in a nearby hairdressers, the film invites viewers to pause and reflect on this ending alongside the community of the building. The film is informed by Ultimology, and invites its audience to think about the life cycles of buildings and materials, how we mourn, what is sacred, how we gather, what we value and issues of sustainability in architecture.

At the focal point of this movement, and of this film, are the farmers and chefs who are creating a truly sustainable food system. Their collaborative work has resulted in great tasting food and an explosion of consumer awareness about the benefits of eating local. Attention being paid to the local food movement comes at a time when the failings of our current industrialized food system are becoming all too clear. For the first time in history, our children'€™s generation is expected to have a shorter lifespan than our own. The quality, taste and nutritional value of the food we eat has dropped sharply over the last fifty years. Shipped from ever-greater distances, we have literally lost sight of where our food comes from and in the process, we've lost a vital connection to our local community and to our health.

Filmmaker Warren Harrison captures the memories and experiences of people who grew up as part of a unique community at Greatham Creek, a salt-marsh near Hartlepool in the Tees Valley. One of those who’s memories are recorded is photographer Ian Macdonald whose haunting images of the creek are used in the film along with family photographs, archive film provided by the North East Film Archive and contemporary footage.

The Big Picture uncovers the untold story of a state-of-the-art cinema quietly forgotten in the center of Bristol, a vibrant UK city known for its countercultural spirit. Once a cutting-edge IMAX theatre, the building was abandoned for over a decade—until a collective of cinephiles reclaimed it. Blending DIY ingenuity with punk ethos, they’ve transformed a forgotten relic into the beating heart of a grassroots cinema movement—reviving not just a building, but a shared vision of what cinema can be.

This short documentary examines an innovative educational program developed by John and Gerti Murdoch to teach Cree children their language via Cree folklore, photographs, artifacts, and books that were written and printed in the community. Made as part of the NFB’s groundbreaking Challenge for Change series, Cree Way shows that local control of the education curriculum has a place in Indigenous communities.

The case of Yeates, found murdered on Christmas Day 2010 in Bristol, became a stark example of media frenzy gone wrong. Her innocent landlord, Christopher Jefferies, was wrongly accused, before a Dutch national was ultimately jailed.

Live at the Apollo was a by Ben Harper and The Blind Boys of Alabama filmed at the Apollo Theater (Harlem, New York), on October 12, 2004. Born October 28, 1969 Ben Harper is an American singer-songwriter and musician. Harper plays an eclectic mix of blues, folk, soul, reggae and rock music[1] and is known for his guitar-playing skills, vocals, live performances and activism. Harper's fan base spans several continents. His albums have been commercially successful in North America, Europe and Oceania. Harper is a two-time Grammy Award winner as well, winning awards for Best Pop Instrumental Performance and Best Traditional Soul Gospel Album, in 2005.

Before South Africa’s apartheid government in the 1970’s destroyed District Six, being gay, or “moffie,” was an accepted part of this racially and religiously diverse community in Cape Town. Kewpie's hairdressing salon was the epicenter of this culture, a meeting place where the “girls” organized drag balls and cabaret performances, all of which are captured through her amazing collection of snapshots.

Bondi Icebergs is the most photographed pool in the world. This is where generations of children have learnt to swim, where the diehard have braved the frigid waters of one hundred winters, where the young and beautiful have come to bond and bake in the hot sun. THE POOL is a stunning cinematic experience with a soundtrack that harks back to the 1960s and a cast of characters who each have a story to tell. It speaks to the enduring power of community and our collective longing to find it. No matter your background or where you’re at – everyone is equal in their swimsuits.

A documentary that follows the Bixa Pare Collective during an edition of the Sarau Bixaria Literária, exploring art, freedom of expression, and issues surrounding the world of drag queens.

The neon sign ‘Circus’ illuminates the wide street of Naples’ suburbs: four circus families were abandoned by the institutions, and now they’re awaiting the pandemic will disappear, like a magic show. The circus has stopped, but their lives go on.

"Everybody should have a home. If you punish a nation, this is so abstract, it's very mean to use your power to put another country in your control... Instead of punishment, maybe we should have love." Eliane from Chile, Milad from Iran, and Georgia from Greece, three migrants in the UK and their thoughts on love, home, family, and Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet.

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