Since 2004 FOCAL International Awards competition is dedicated to the promotion and celebration of archival footage and its contribution to the creative and cultural industries. We congratulate all the past winners.
Shortlisted
Charlie Chaplin, the genius of liberty
Director:
Yves Jeuland
Producer(s):
Michel Rotman, Marie-Hélène Ranc
Footage Archive Producer:
Aude Vassallo
Archival Sources:
Pathé Gaumont, Lobster film, Roy Export, British Pathe, Library of Congress of USA
Production Company:
Kuiv Productions
Country of Production:
France
Synopsis
Everyone knows and everyone loves Charlie Chaplin. Everyone, all over the world. For over a century, unalterable success. A genius of burlesque, Chaplin put all his talent at the service of an ideal of justice and freedom. His best screenplay was that of his own destiny, a destiny that is inscribed in the political and artistic history of the 20th century. Charlie Chaplin, the genius of freedom: the first all-archival documentary dedicated to Charlot, nourished with anthology scenes from his most popular masterpieces and more surprising sequences, sometimes unknown, but just as pleasing. The combined pleasure of discovery and reunion. For the first time, an all-archival documentary traces the fate of Charles Chaplin, a complete artist and public figure, the most popular man in the world.
Latin Noir
Director:
Andreas Apostolidis
Producer(s):
Rea Apostolidi, Yuri Anerof, Sergio Munoz, Estelle Robin You
Footage Archive Producer:
Justine Moreau
Archival Sources:
Filmoteca Unam Mexico, INA, Penn Museum, Enrique Metinides Mexico
Production Company:
Anemon Productions, Point Du Joir - Les Films Du Balibari
Country of Production:
Greece, France
Synopsis
Latin Noir travels to five Latin American cities, meeting famous crime novelists Leonardo Padura (Havana), Luis Sepulveda (Santiago), Paco Ignacio Taibo II (Mexico City), Santiago Roncagliolo (Lima) and Claudia Pineiro (Buenos Aires). Through their stories and heroes, we discover a unique genre of flourishing literature, strikingly different from its North American or Nordic counterparts: it’s political, dark and crimes are committed by the state itself.
Street Gang: How We Got to Sesame Street
Director:
Marilyn Agrelo
Producer(s):
Trevor Crafts, Ellen Scherer Crafts, Lisa Diamond, Seth Needle, Mike Messina, Brian O'Shea/Nat McCormick, Matthew Helderman, Luke Taylor, Mark Myers, Heather Kenyon, Nancy Abraham, Lisa Heller
Footage Archive Producer:
Rich Remsberg
Archival Sources:
ABC, CBC, Streamline Films, Temple University, Kino Library
Production Company:
HBO Documentary Films, Screen Media, Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment, Macrocosm Entertainment
Country of Production:
United States
Synopsis
Street Gang: How We Got to Sesame Street is a rare window into the early days of “Sesame Street,” revealing the creators, artists, writers and educators who together established one of the most influential and enduring children’s programs in television history. The documentary focuses on the first two experimental and groundbreaking decades of “Sesame Street,” highlighting this visionary “gang” that audaciously interpreted radical changes in society and engaged children in ways that entertained and educated in new and innovative ways.
This revealing documentary explores how the team incorporated groundbreaking puppetry, clever animation, short films, music, humour and cultural references into each episode, ensuring it was engaging enough to keep children and parents coming back, and never shying away from difficult conversations with children.
Street Gang: How We Got to Sesame Street, inspired by the New York Times’ bestselling book “Street Gang: The Complete History of Sesame Street” by Michael Davis, features exclusive behind-the-scenes footage and over 20 original cast and creator interviews. They tell us in their own words about how “the gang” came together, staying committed to their original mission through decades of political and social change, and through it all maintaining a wicked sense of humour and joy.
Nicole Wilkinson and Misbah Ullah (Job Share)
Job Title:
Senior Product Specialist
Company:
Getty
Archival highlights
Misbah and Nicole job share at BBC Motion Gallery/Getty dealing with hundreds of requests at the same time and have been nominated for their unenviable task of keeping the avalanche of archive requests flowing through the many and various departments and checks required before footage can be delivered. While dealing with numerous requests they are always cheerful while keeping in touch with clients regularly.
Vicky Turner
Job Title:
Director of Sales EMEA/APAC
Company:
Nimia
Archival highlights
Vicky Turner has worked for Framepool since 2008, ‘she IS Framepool/Nimia UK’ as quoted in her nomination. Moving from Head of Global Sales Strategy to her current role as Director of Sales EMEA/ APAC Nimia is a testament to her talent within the archive industry. Vicky knows pretty much everyone in the business, and she will always go that extra mile to work with budgets of all sizes.
Aurélia Charrier
Job Title:
Sales Executive International
Company:
Ina - Institut national de l'audiovisuel
Archival highlights
Aurelia has been acknowledged for her extensive knowledge of the INA archive helping clients to navigate INA's inner workings and complexities as well as French copyright rules. She has been noted as being extremely accommodating to requests as well as helpful when it comes to 3rd party issues and necessary permissions, quick to respond and finds the most amazing archive.
James West
Job Title:
Footage Research and Clearance Manager EMEA/APAC
Company:
Nimia
Archival highlights
James has been quoted as being ‘like a bloodhound’ when searching out the best content and always goes the extra mile for our customers. In June 2020, Nimia took over Framepool and launched a sister company in Europe, Kurator, a complete clearance service. James has been a critical player in many of the projects, his knowledge of third party rights is immense, dealing with multiple requests in a very professional way.
R3store Studios
Synopsis
Established in 2016, R3store Studios is a London-based restoration house with a mission to restore film to its former glory. The team’s unique combination of passion, technology, and craftsmanship ensures the digital preservation and restoration of analogue content for generations to come.
LOLA Clips
Synopsis
LOLA Clips is a boutique video content sales agency. With offices in London and Los Angeles. LOLA has created a new footage option specifically for Feature Film and TV clients globally. LOLA offers professionally shot content that has never been sold as clips before. Our exec team has run divisions of some of the largest libraries in the world and its two founders have over 40 years of experience licensing footage to productions in Hollywood and London.
Frames Dealer is a premium catalogue of exclusive shots sourced from hundreds of talented filmmakers all over the world. Its innovative platform offers unique creative tools for a relevant and inspiring user experience.
Stephanie Jenkins for Muhammad Ali
Production Company:
Florentine Films
Synopsis
Cassius Marcellus Clay, Jr. is born in Louisville, Kentucky and takes up boxing at the age of 12. Hard-working and determined, Clay rises through the amateur ranks and at eighteen years old wins the light-heavyweight gold medal at the 1960 Olympics. He turns professional and moves to Miami, where he trains with Angelo Dundee, sharpening his boxing skills and honing his genius for self-promotion. Meanwhile, he quietly begins attending meetings of a separatist religious sect called the Nation of Islam and becomes a close confidant of the charismatic minister Malcolm X. In 1964, at just 22 years old, he shocks the world by upsetting the heavily favored Sonny Liston to win the heavyweight championship.
Archival highlights
Stephanie Jenkins is a dogged researcher who has developed relationships with hundreds of archives and has found never-before-seen footage in attics and warehouses. Muhammad Ali was her most ambitious archival project yet. Stephanie managed a team that pulled in over 1000 hours of footage from more than 100 archives throughout the world. In spite of the vast trove of known archival material on our subject, Stephanie turned up plenty of never-before-seen gems that lent a remarkable depth and dimension to our portrait of Muhammad Ali.
For example, Stephanie was determined to find early footage of Louisville, Kentucky, where Cassius Clay was born. Over two years, she formed a connection with local television station WHAS and discovered they had a film morgue. This station had never allowed an outside researcher into their collection. They agreed to let her make two trips into the archive, which yielded a lot of the visual imagery in Episode 1 of our series. Most excitingly, she found what we believe is the earliest extant moving image material of young Cassius Clay, which shows him signing up for an amateur boxing tournament at age 13. We’re proud to have Stephanie represent our company as an archivist. Her love and appreciation of archival materials is clear in her work and the care she takes in cultivating relationships and seeking out unique and beautiful materials.
Sports can provide some difficulty in licensing, as well as a great expense. The per-second licensing cost for Muhammad Ali was the highest of any Florentine Films (Ken Burns) production. We went to great lengths to secure the funding to make exactly the film we wanted to make, despite the high cost of sports footage. Faced with a far more substantial budget need for the archival footage than we had originally anticipated, Stephanie approached us with an appeal, and great efforts were then made to raise the additional funds.
As this is a Researcher award, we want to note that Stephanie’s passion about archival research extends beyond our edit room. She founded and runs ArchiveNYC, an email listserv that includes 200+ New York-based archival researchers. This is a vibrant resource for researchers, and a way to foster community amongst many who are often isolated on individual projects. Stephanie has also lectured at and participated in panels at DOCNYC, ACSIL, Iowa University, UGA Brown Media Archives, The New School and others.
Mridu Chandra and Lewanne Jones for CURED
Production Company:
Story Center Films, LLC and Singer & Deschamps Productions, Inc.
Synopsis
Mentally ill. Deviant. Diseased. And in need of a cure.
These were among the terms psychiatrists used to describe lesbians and gay men in the 1950s, 1960s, and early 1970s. According to the medical establishment, every gay person—no matter how well-adjusted—suffered from a mental disorder. And as long as lesbians and gay men were “sick,” progress toward equality was impossible.
CURED chronicles the battle waged by a small group of activists who declared war against a formidable institution—and won a crucial victory in the movement for LGBTQ equality. This award-winning documentary takes viewers inside the David-versus-Goliath struggle that led the American Psychiatric Association (APA) to remove homosexuality from its manual of mental illnesses in 1973. Combining newly unearthed archival material with incisive eyewitness testimony, the film reveals how a small group of impassioned activists achieved this unexpected victory.
While CURED is indisputably about science, medicine, and politics, at its core this is a film about the process of social change. It features a diverse group of activists who came together at a crossroads in LGBTQ history. Their tenacity brought about a change that transformed not only LGBTQ people’s perceptions of themselves, but also the social fabric of America.
Archival highlights
We are humbled that CURED has received numerous accolades, including the American Historical Association’s John E. O’Connor Film Award for best historical documentary of 2021. We feel certain that the archive research undertaken by Mridu Chandra and Lewanne Jones is a central reason for this recognition. In February 2022, the AHA hosted a screening and discussion of CURED as part of its annual conference. We would like to share remarks that Professor Dagmar Herzog presented during the post-screening discussion. Herzog is Distinguished Professor of History at the Graduate Center, City University of New York, and the author of seven books, including Cold War Freud: Psychoanalysis in an Age of Catastrophes. She is recognized as one of the world’s foremost experts on the histories of gender and sexuality. She offered the following comments on CURED:
“Among the film’s numerous distinctive strengths is its reliance entirely on the voices of its protagonists. There are no academic talking heads describing events from afar, nor is there a generic authorial voice-over. At every point, the story is carried along by a blend of—quite brilliantly juxtaposed—clips and footage from the 1950s-1970s (from cassette tapes to television shows) and retrospective interviews conducted with the main actors, some from the more immediate aftermath and culled from archival sources (1980s-1990s) and some conducted by filmmakers Sammon and Singer themselves in the 2000s.
“The thoroughness of the archival research in CURED is staggering. The service to historians of American society and culture is immense. Through their persistence and ingenuity, the film team has unearthed a mountain of material—much of it long believed lost, or sitting in dusty boxes no one had opened for decades, including audio and video recordings, revelatory photographs, handwritten notes, old typescript texts, diary entries, newspaper and magazine clippings, and much else. The feel of the spaces, the fashions of the eras as times changed, the tone people took in their discussions of homosexuality as expert opinion began to be contested, the energy of ‘zaps’ and demonstrations, the doggedness of careful planning, the noxious authoritative certitude of the opponents that needed convincing or outmaneuvering: all of this is captured beautifully.
“The film manages to communicate, more compellingly and clearly than I have ever seen before, just how horrendous, how stunningly sadistic, the cultural climate of the pre-sexual revolution, pre-civil rights era was for Americans with same-sex desires. As one of the main characters in the film notes, if an individual’s homosexuality was revealed, ‘You couldn’t keep your children, you couldn’t be a teacher, banker, judge, or head of an industry.’ The film begins by conveying potently the emotional damage done in the name of psychotherapy, as well as the terrors of physical torments, including whole-body electroshock, genital shocking, hysterectomies and castrations. These are all facts that are hard—but essential—to imagine and remember now…. Among the several incredibly powerful messages conveyed by the film is the remarkable revelation that a truly tiny handful of determined individuals can change an entire society.”
Rosemary Rotondi for ATTICA
Production Company:
Firelight Films
Synopsis
In the fall of 1971, tensions between inmates and guards at the Attica Correctional Facility were at an all-time high due to worsening prison conditions. On the morning of September 9, it all came to a head when inmates erupted into one of the largest, deadliest prison riots ever witnessed. On Sept. 9, 1971, over 1,200 inmates at the Attica correctional facility in Attica, NY, seized the yard at the maximum-security prison, took more than three dozen guards and civilian employees hostage, and demanded more humane treatment and better conditions. For five days, the world watched as TV news cameras covered the story from both outside and inside the prison, as journalists and a team of negotiators converged at the scene. But when law enforcement was ordered by New York Governor Nelson Rockefeller to retake Attica, the resulting massacre by state police left 29 inmates and 10 hostages dead. Before the smoke from the tear gas cleared, police tortured inmates behind the walls. No charges were ever brought against authorities for the killings of inmates and guards. It was the largest prison rebellion in U.S. history.
Archival highlights
The word “Attica” today most often conjures up vague notions of a violent incident. The specific and horrifying details of the Attica Prison Uprising are in danger of being lost. We wanted to make Attica in order to represent the complex events that took place over the course of the five fateful days of the Attica prison uprising, while also giving audiences a broader understanding of the tragedy within the context of politics, race, power, and punishment.
Our aim was to create an accurate account of this critical moment in history using the firsthand accounts of the people who lived it – the inmates, hostages and their families, reporters, and invited negotiators. The presence of national and local media during the rebellion became an important part of the story, as inmates held press conferences inside the yard in hopes that inviting the media into the prison would provide some level of protection. This was the first time the country heard directly from prisoners about their lives. Prisons are purposely located in remote places where no one sees them, so that no one knows what happens inside. The media’s role in documenting the rebellion was transformative, because it allowed people to see and hear the experiences these men were having.
There’s unbelievable footage in Attica that has never been put together before. ABC, CBS, and NBC all sent crews up to Attica during the rebellion, which is 250 miles from New York City — so if crews were there, they stayed and shot footage for days, using these giant portapacks. It was the first era in which they could shoot on the go, and they shot all the time. Plus, local stations sent their own crews, mainly from Buffalo.
Our archival researcher Rosemary Rotondi scraped the corners of the earth to find footage and photographs of anybody that was even marginally related to Attica in some way. Rosemary also conducted all licensing for the film.
There are moments in the film where the inmates are talking to Russell Oswald, who was then New York Commissioner of Corrections under Governor Nelson Rockefeller, and they’re saying, “We’ve seen you on the news, we know how you’re talking about us” — then Rosemary was able to find footage of Oswald saying it! As a filmmaker, to find those serendipitous moments is terrific. We also uncovered New York state prison surveillance footage that is quite amazing, much of it from cameras up in the towers over the prison. All of this footage has never been put together before.
Adrian Wood for Film, the Living Record of Our Memory
Production Company:
El Grifilm Productions, Filmoption International
Synopsis
Why are we still able to watch moving images captured over 125 years ago?
As we move ever further into the digital age, our audiovisual heritage seems to be taken increasingly for granted. However, much of our filmed history and cinema has already been lost forever.
Film archivists, curators, technicians and filmmakers from around the world explain what film preservation is and why it is needed. Our protagonists are custodians of film whose work behind the scenes safeguards the survival of motion pictures. It is a task they undertake based on their closely held belief in the artistic and cultural value of the moving image, in tune with a shared mantra that a film might one day transform someone’s life. This documentary is a homage to them all and sheds some light on their critical undertaking.
Archival highlights
In our film footage plays a crucial role. We wanted to highlight the importance of moving images and of those who work in the field of film preservation by showing a wide variety of films. In order to achieve this, we needed a professional and seasoned archival consultant in our team. Adrian Wood is exactly that. He has been working with archival footage since the 1970s, and he is deeply involved in the work of international film archives and in film preservation. His work, experience, knowledge, advice, and kind spirit have been key in managing to have access to the footage we needed - which, at times, was quite rare footage. Having him on our team has made the lengthy and challenging process of locating and accessing moving images highly enjoyable, where we all discovered new things as we progressed. The film has highly benefitted from Adrian Wood's involvement and expertise, and it has exceeded our expectations. These years working together in such a demanding project have not only resulted in managing to secure amazing images for the film, but it has also gifted us with an unexpected long-lasting friendship and a professional bond that will bring us together again for our next film project.
L’Avventura
Production Company:
Cinematographique Lyre
Synopsis
Michelangelo Antonioni broke many codes and invented a new film grammar with L’AVVENTURA, which is today recognised as a masterpiece worldwide. Presented at the height of European cinema’s « golden age », it was, and still is, a very provocative and iconic film.
Its gripping and unconventional narrative revolves around the enigmatic disappearance of a young woman (Lea Massari) during a yachting trip off the coast of Sicily and the search that ensues, which throws together her fiancé, a failed architect (Gabriele Ferzetti) and her best friend (Monica Vitti, unforgettable in what is her debut film). From the haunting landscapes of the Aeolian islands to the corridors of the Taormina Domenico hotel, the journey will take them on a gorgeously shot tale of modern ennui and spiritual isolation.
Archival highlights
In our opinion, restoration is as collaborative a work as the original production of a Film may have been. Thus we were very keen and happy to reproduce, with our technical partners, the spirit of collaboration between France and Italy that gave birth to L’AVVENTURA in 1960.
The evolution of technology in the very last few years and the level of expertise reached by each of our technical partners – three of the very best in the world, coming from France and Italy – ensured that the project would result in a truly unique, never-before-seen quality rendition of the full Cannes Version of Antonioni’s work of art.
To this day, L’AVVENTURA remains one of Cinema’s most outstanding films and it is a pleasure to present to all audiences, young and not so young, this 4K restoration which captures like never before the beauty of the images and the haunted quality of the soundtrack.
Sambizanga
Production Company:
L'Immagine Ritrovata
Synopsis
This restoration is part of the African Film Heritage Project, an initiative created by The Film Foundation’s World Cinema Project, the Pan African Federation of Filmmakers and UNESCO – in collaboration with Cineteca di Bologna – to help locate, restore, and disseminate African cinema.
Archival highlights
Trapped in a web of legal disputes that made it inaccessible for almost two decades, the restoration of Sambizanga took three years to be completed. During this time we tragically lost Sarah Maldoror, one of the very first woman pioneers in the history of cinema, a poet and a free filmmaker. In the words of her daughter, Annouchka De Andrade :"This film is also the story of a political awakening. The protagonist's continual displacement is also Sarah’s, and it defines women in the African diaspora".
Restoring Sambizanga entailed making sure that the beauty but also the fragility of this film was respected, that the film was not overrestored, that the grading could bring back the lights, the colors and the tragedy of the battle.
Finally, thanks to this restoration project the film was "morally restituted" to Maldoror's and to her audience. And to the audience that will discover her.
Camera Tripod Bicycle
Director:
Nuala O'Connor, Philip King, Tina O'Reilly
Producer(s):
Tina O'Reilly, Ashleigh Carton
Footage Archive Producer:
Nuala O'Connor
Archival Sources:
Crowe family archive, Pathé News
Production Company:
South Wind Blows
Country of Production:
Ireland
Synopsis
Camera Tripod Bicycle celebrates the work of Dubliner and fireman Leslie Crowe who spent 25 years filming his city and family on his 8mm Brownie camera .On his death in 1989 his cans of film were stored in biscuit tins and put away in an attic for 30 years . Some poor quality digital copies were made of some of the material but now the entire collection of over 11 hours of footage has be professionally restored and digitised . A one hour documentary from television was made in 2021 using some of the footage . The fillm 'Camera Tripod Bicycle was broadcast on New Years Eve by RTE television .
In this film Leslie’s beautifully composed and restored footage documents the everyday life of a city undergoing radical modernisation : the demolition of the old city and the development of semi rural villages into the Dublin suburbs of Coolock Raheny and Santry in the 1960’s and 70's.
His two surviving daughters speak about their father’s short film dramas based around everyday events providing us with a unique glimpse of family life in Ireland in across three landmark decades.
Film, the Living Record of Our Memory
Director:
Inés Toharia
Producer(s):
Isaac Garcia, Paul Cadieux
Footage Archive Producer:
Adrian Wood
Archival Sources:
Eye Filmmuseum, George Eastman Museum, INA, British Pathé, BFI National Archive
Production Company:
El Grifilm Productions, Filmoption International
Country of Production:
Spain, Canada
Synopsis
Why are we still able to watch moving images captured over 125 years ago?
As we move ever further into the digital age, our audiovisual heritage seems to be taken increasingly for granted. However, much of our filmed history and cinema has already been lost forever.
Film archivists, curators, technicians and filmmakers from around the world explain what film preservation is and why it is needed. Our protagonists are custodians of film whose work behind the scenes safeguards the survival of motion pictures. It is a task they undertake based on their closely held belief in the artistic and cultural value of the moving image, in tune with a shared mantra that a film might one day transform someone’s life. This documentary is a homage to them all and sheds some light on their critical undertaking.
HBO Max 'Celebrating Devoted Fans'
Footage Archive Producer:
Spring McCoy
Footage Archive Researchers:
Matt Gee, Itzel Sarabia, Craig Phillips, Jeffrey Harland, Kadie Spinks, Mike Kho, Lauren Wackell, Anna Weltner, Jen Van Horn, Chelly Zerbe, Aaron Sharper, Nathalie Dortonne, Miles Brandenstein, Rachel Saxby, Brandi Self
Producer:
Scotty Schuckies
Archival Sources:
Tik Tok, Instagram, YouTube, Facebook, Twitter
Production Company:
STALKR, BBDO NY
Synopsis
A love letter to the fans marking the one-year anniversary of HBO Max’s launch, this spot features user-generated content from fans of HBO Max properties, highlighting the symbiotic bond between storyteller and audience, and celebrating the exuberant global fandoms who are co-creating culture.
Google 'It Starts With Summer'
Footage Archive Producer:
Marina Sanchez
Footage Archive Researchers:
Alexandra Duxbury, Jimmy Dunne, Marijana Radovic, Pepito Morán, Marija Perisic, Morgan Foye, Joe Bowler, Jelena Markovic, Dragana Jovanovic, Fer Tome
Director:
Josh Tenser
Producer:
Charlie Balmer
Archival Sources:
Independent Filmmakers, Social Media Platforms, STALKRFILM, Getty Images, Film Supply
Production Company:
STALKR, Uncommon Creative Studio
Country of Production:
United Kingdom
Synopsis
2021. A landmark year around the world. A time of change, reflection, opportunity and hope.
Google and Uncommon Creative London, working with STALKR, celebrate our return to ordinary life by exploring the diverse yet shared culture of the UK. This campaign has got it all; Marriage, friendship, family, love, hugs, clubs, pubs, soccer and naturally, the famed British weather.
Broadway League 'This Is Broadway'
Footage Archive Producer:
Brandon Hardin, Colleen Cavanaugh Anthony
Footage Archive Researcher:
Jeffrey Harland
Producer:
Lucky Generals, Jolly Banerjee
Archival Sources:
Spotco, The Tony Awards, HMS Media, Getty Images, Film Archive
Production Company:
STALKR, Lucky Generals
Country of Production:
United States
Synopsis
After the longest hiatus in its history, New York City welcomed the return of live theatre to Broadway in the fall of 2021! The “Broadway’s Back” campaign that played to the tri-state area television audience, on Subway platforms and in taxicabs across the city and most iconically on a jumbotron in the heart of the Broadway Theatre District, Times Square, reminds us how much we need and missed the incredible artistry and energy that is part of what makes NYC the world-class city that it is. Voiced by the one and only Oprah, the film is a whirlwind of music, dance, emotion and excitement that leaves you with goosebumps every time, just like a great Broadway show.
Queen of Speed
Director:
Barbie MacLaurin
Producer(s):
Andy Holland
Footage Archive Producer:
Jo Stones
Archival Sources:
Helmut Deimel, INA, ZDF, BP Video Library, Smoke and Rubber
Production Company:
Sky Studios, Drum Studios
Country of Production:
United Kingdom
Synopsis
Queen of Speed tells the story of Michèle Mouton, the most successful female rally driver of all time. It is a biographical and historical documentary set predominantly in the 1970s and 80s and centres on the rallying world.
From the roads of Monte Carlo to the deserts of Africa and the Rocky Mountains in the USA, Michèle Mouton defied the odds as she broke her way into the world of motorsport at a time when rallying was at its fastest and most dangerous. She made history as the first and only woman to win rounds of the FIA World Rally Championship and the last woman to compete in top-level rallying, cementing her reputation as one of the greatest motorsport drivers of all time.
Directed by award-winning Barbie MacLaurin, and produced by Drum Studios, Queen of Speed is driven by compelling interviews with Michèle, her co-driver, her family, her teammates and her rivals. Featuring spectacular footage of some of the most dangerous races on earth, as well as previously unseen cinematic archive shot by an embedded cameraman who captured the behind-the-scenes politics and pressures facing Michèle, this film takes viewers on a white-knuckle ride through this exciting time in sporting history.
Dettori is the story of the dramatic and emotional life of superstar jockey, Frankie Dettori. Far more than a simple sports story, the film covers the rollercoaster career of racings undoubted rock star. Underpinning the film is an extraordinary love/hate relationship between father and son. Burdened with massive expectations and packed off from his native Italy to England on his own at 14, Dettori overcame numerous hurdles to become Champion Jockey, leading to huge success, but trouble lay ahead in the form of a brush with death in a plane crash, fall outs and sackings and a drugs ban. Written off at 42, Dettori has fought back to enjoy a wonderful Indian summer to his career and at 51, remains at the very top of the jockey tree. The film is driven by the most charismatic, open and emotional central character; truly a documentarian's dream. Sports documentaries can be bland and formulaic but with Dettori as the subject that was never a danger. The appeal of the film stretches far beyond the core racing audience. It is packed full of universal themes, rich and colourful characters and illustrated by the stunning visuals that racing invariably delivers.
SEVE; Artist, Fighter, Legend
Director:
David White, Joss Holmes
Producer(s):
Malcolm Booth, Danny Fenton, Matt Graff, Caroline Rowland
Footage Archive Producer:
Denis Karam, Mark Harrowell
Archival Sources:
The R&A, CBS, ITV Sport, N.F.S.A, IMG
Production Company:
Zig Zag Productions, Rakuten TV, R&A, Egoli and North Ridge Films
Country of Production:
United Kingdom
Synopsis
SEVE was an artist, a golfing Picasso, a fighter, against injury, his rivals and cancer. He remains a LEGEND. This is his story told by those closest to him, sporting greats and in his own words via newly unearthed material.
The film covers everything from his humble beginnings in Pedreña to his major championship successes and revolutionary Ryder Cup moments.
The Silent Pulse of the Universe
Director:
Ben Proudfoot
Producer(s):
Elizabeth Brooke, Abby Lynn Kang Davis, Gabriel Berk Godoi, Ben Proudfoot, Brandon Somerhalder, Sarah Stewart
Footage Archive Producer:
Sarah Stewart
Archival Sources:
Newspaper, BBC, Personal, Kino, Pond5
Production Company:
Breakwater Studios
Country of Production:
United States
Synopsis
Jocelyn Bell was a graduate student at Cambridge in 1967 when she pushed through the skepticism from her superiors to make one of the greatest astrophysical discoveries of the twentieth century. While Jocelyn was belittled and sexually harassed by the media, the Nobel Prize was awarded to her professor and his boss.
We Were There to Be There
Director:
Mike Plante, Jason Willis
Producer(s):
Mike Plante
Archival Sources:
Joe Target Rees/Target Video, Napa State Hospital, Napa County Historical Society, Berkeley Barb, Individuals: Jill Hoffman-Kowal, Ruby Ray, Jim Jocoy, Sam Edwards, Brad Lapin
Production Company:
Field of Vision
Country of Production:
United States
Synopsis
Taking place as cuts to crucial social services loom under Ronald Reagan, two legendary punk bands come together to perform a show for patients and staff at a psychiatric facility. Captured on tape by seminal video art collective Target Video, “We Were There Be There” threads moments from the Napa State Hospital set with commentary from band members and those who witnessed it firsthand, providing a crucial backstory for the recording of one of the most iconic shows in the history of music, at a critical moment in the future of mental health care in the US.
Lindisfarne's Geordie Genius: The Alan Hull Story
Director:
Ged Clarke
Producer(s):
Tony Parker, Malcolm Gerrie, Geoff Wonfor, Ray Laidlaw
Brit Award winner Sam Fender goes in search of a musical hero from another era - the late, great, Alan Hull of Lindisfarne.
Sam is amazed how few people outside of his native North East know much about his hero’s work. He’s now on a mission to win back Hull’s place in music history.
In this film he traces the career of the man whose words and music put Newcastle and supergroup Lindisfarne on the musical map in the 1970s. Alan continued to write classic songs until his early death in 1995.
He spoke of love and life, championed the underdog and the misunderstood, and celebrated working-class people and his hometown - both of which he loved with a passion. Alan lived and wrote through turbulent times - writing eloquently about the troubles in Northern Ireland, the Falklands War and the miners’ strike.
Sam digs out great archive interviews, performances and unseen footage, and meets friends, family and bandmates who knew Alan Hull best.
He also hears from top stars like Sting, Elvis Costello, Mark Knopfler, Dave Stewart and Peter Gabriel. All were huge fans of songs such as Lady Eleanor, Fog On The Tyne, Winter Song, Clear White Light and Run For Home. But Sam also finds that Alan inspired an entire new generation of musicians like Kay Greyson: a young rapper from Tyneside. To his surprise, Sam discovers “Hully” also took the lead role in an acclaimed BBC TV primetime drama.
He reveals a complex man - a political animal, a drinker and an agitator, beset with his own insecurities but one who could break hearts and inspire minds with his lyrics and melodies.
King Rocker
Director:
Michael Cumming
Producer(s):
James Nicholls
Footage Archive Producer:
Stewart Lee
Archival Sources:
BBC Motion Gallery (Getty), ITV, MACE, Warner Music, Music Convoy
Production Company:
Krocker Film Ltd
Country of Production:
United Kingdom
Synopsis
Comedian Stewart Lee and director Michael Cumming (Brass Eye, Toast of London), investigate a missing piece of punk history: Robert Lloyd, best known for fronting cult Birmingham bands The Prefects and The Nightingales, has survived under the radar for over four decades.But how, if at all, does Robert want to be remembered? The anti-rockumentary King Rocker weaves the story of Birmingham’s undervalued underdog autodidact into that of the city’s forgotten public sculpture of King Kong, eschewing the celebrity interview and archive-raid approach for a free-associating bricolage of Indian food, bewildered chefs, vegetable gardening, prescription medicines, pop stardom and pop art.
Blitzed: The 80s Blitz Kids Story
Director:
Bruce Ashley, Michael Donald
Producer(s):
Ian Penman, Andy Woodford, Celia Moore
Footage Archive Producer:
Kalbir Dhillon
Archival Sources:
Getty, BBC, Homer Sykes - My British Archive, Nicola Tyson - Sadie Coles Gallery, Sheila Rock Photography
Production Company:
Get Blitzed Ltd.
Country of Production:
United Kingdom
Synopsis
In strife-torn 1979 Britain, against a backdrop of strikes, blackouts, racism and homophobia, out of one small London venue called The Blitz came a generation of outrageous teenagers, working-class and art school kids, who would define the look, the sound, the style and the attitude of the ‘80s & beyond. Inspired by David Bowie and driven by a gender-bending, genre-busting desire to make it, these penniless superstars in the making from Boy George & Culture Club to Spandau Ballet, Visage, Ultravox & Sade would go on to change the face of fashion, music, sexual expression and culture across the world. This is their story.
Σε γνωρίζω από την όψη (By the light of thine eyes)
ERT, Netherlands Eye Film Museum, ELIA (Greek Literary and Historical Archive), International Committee of the Red Cross, Benaki Museum Athens
Production Company:
Committee Greece 2021, Animasyros
Country of Production:
Greece
Synopsis
To mark the 200th anniversary of the founding of modern Greece, this celebratory documentary imaginatively narrates two centuries of Greek history from the Greek war of Independence in 1821 up to the present. Based on extensive archival research and expert historical evidence, the film highlights instances from Greece's military and political history, as was well as developments from the fields of science and arts, and the changes in everyday life across two centuries. In essence, it narrates how Greece reached its current form: how the country went from revolutionary general Makriyiannis's famous quote, "This is what we fought for," through successes, adversities and setbacks, to today: a modern, democratic and European state.
Cinecittà, de Mussolini à la Dolce vita - Cinecittà, making of History
Director:
Emmanuelle Nobécourt
Producer(s):
Martin Laurent
Footage Archive Producer:
Carlo Degli Esposti, Nicola Serra, Andrea Romeo
Archival Sources:
Atelier des archives, INA, Gaumont Pathé Archives, Archive.org, Getty Images
Production Company:
Temps Noir, Palomar, Cinecittà-Luce
Country of Production:
France, Italy
Synopsis
From 1937 until the 1960s, from Scipion to La Dolce Vitta, Cinecittà was the real political laboratory in Italy. As the country moved from fascism to economic miracle, Cinecittà became the symbolic epicentre of Italian society and the theatre of its representation. In Cinecittà, directors managed to bypass political pressures, survived the war and its destructions, and faced American competition. These challenges might have meant the end of Italian cinema. On the contrary, it is in these difficulties that the filmmakers found the strength to create a leading form of art. A new kind of cinema that has been able to witness the Italian reality and has become its ambassador throughout the world.
Colonia Dignidad: Eine deutsche Sekte in Chile [Colonia Dignidad: A Sinister Sect]
Director:
Wilfried Huismann, Annette Baumeister
Producer(s):
Gunnar Dedio, Regina Bouchehri, Daniela Bunster, Birgit Rasch
Footage Archive Producer:
Claudia Hentze
Archival Sources:
Archiv Colonia Dignidad / Villa Baviera, PROGRESS Film, AP Archive, Canal 13 (Chile), NBC
Production Company:
LOOKSfilm, Netflix, Westdeutscher Rundfunk (WDR), Südwestrundfunk (SWR), ARTE
Country of Production:
Germany, United States
Synopsis
This 6-part Netflix documentary series tells the rise of Paul Schäfer; from a poor German lay preacher to one of the most powerful men in Latin America. After 40 brutal years as leader of the sect Colonia Dignidad, he was finally taken down by a group of Chilean boys, who were members of his sect. It is the story of the German sect, Colonia Dignidad; told through the eyes of those who lived in it, who endured it, who fought it.
For the first time, the series uses never-before-seen footage to also tell the story of Chilean boys who were held captive by Schäfer and who succeeded in doing what neither the German nor the Chilean justice systems could do: they forced Paul Schäfer to flee in 1997 and freed the colonists from 40 years of slavery.
Lotte Eisner - A Place, Nowhere
Director:
Timon Koulmasis
Producer(s):
Ilona Grundmann, Christophe Gougeon, Yann Brolli
Footage Archive Producer:
Timon Koulmasis, Céline Le Roux-Vincent
Archival Sources:
Friedrich-Wilhelm-Murnau-Stiftung, Det Danske Filminstitut, Stiftung Deutsche Kinemathek, Cinémathéque Francaise, Mémorial de la Shoa
Production Company:
Ilona Grundmann Filmproduction, Acqua Alta
Country of Production:
Germany, France
Synopsis
Lotte Eisner - A Place, Nowehere. Lotte H. Eisner (1896-1983) was one of the most fascinating figures of the past century. Little known by the general public, the author of the celebrated essay L’Ecran démoniaque (The Demonic Screen) and curator in chief of the Cinémathèque Française was admired by Fritz Lang, Murnau, Stroheim, Sternberg, Chaplin, and Renoir, but also by Brecht, Man Ray and, later, Herzog and Wenders, Godard and Truffaut. Persecuted by the Nazis, living as a refugee in France, Lotte E. Eisner was an eternal exile. Or how History (of the twentieth century), the history of cinema and the life of a woman were aligned.
9/11: One Day in America: Told in Full
Director:
Daniel Bogado
Producer(s):
Caroline Marsden
Footage Archive Producer:
Peter Scott, Jack Penman, Fiammetta Luino, Anna Broadbent
Archival Sources:
CNN Collection / Naudet Brothers, Evan Fairbanks, Anthony Fioranelli, The Camera Planet Archive, Veritone / CBS News
Production Company:
72 Films
Country of Production:
United Kingdom
Synopsis
9/11: One Day in America tells the in-depth story of September 11th through the eyes of the witnesses, heroes and survivors. Made in collaboration with the 9/11 Memorial & Museum to mark the 20th anniversary, this major new series charts the tragic day in unprecedented detail – from the first plane hitting the north tower to the last survivors being rescued from the rubble.
Episode one; As a hijacked plane hits the North Tower, we follow the first firefighters on the scene and their race against time to rescue the civilians trapped above. We also witness a businessman trying to save the life of a badly injured stranger. And as a second plane hits the South tower, no doubt remains: America is under attack.
Bruno v Tyson
Director:
Benjamin Hirsch, Kevin MacDonald
Producer(s):
Rick Murray
Footage Archive Producer:
James RM Hunt, Matthew Phillip Price, Benjamin Hirsch
Archival Sources:
BBC, Sky Sports, Fremantle, ESPN, ABC
Production Company:
Workerbee
Country of Production:
United Kingdom
Synopsis
The story of Iron Mike Tyson, as the friend and enemy of Britain’s Frank Bruno. Both bred on the mean streets, they both used boxing as a way out. But their lives couldn’t have been more different. This feature-length documentary charts the sensational highs and calamitous lows of two of the world’s most iconic black sportsmen, capped off with a reunion between the two foes; where they discuss life after the final bell. By award-winning director Kevin MacDonald and Benjamin Hirsch, we relive this legendary boxing rivalry, spanning two epic fights that were mired by vicious politics and volatile race relations. Bruno had a boyhood dream to become Champion Of The World, but he had to downplay his heritage to be accepted by the establishment. Despite being defeated by Tyson, Frank became a national treasure. Meanwhile, the once invincible Tyson crashed and burned, losing his title, jailed for the rape of a beauty pageant contestant and despised by his countrymen. With the Heavyweight king dethroned, Bruno seized his opportunity to finally grasp the title he had always dreamed of. But it was to be short lived, as Tyson was out of jail, and was gunning for Bruno and his title.
The Return: Life After Isis
Director:
Alba Sotorra Clua
Producer(s):
Alba Sotorra Clua, Vesna Cudic, Carles Torres
Footage Archive Producer:
Roxana Portase, Júlia Parés Fabrellas, Pau Galan Rosas
Archival Sources:
Anha TV, ABC News, A HBR, Australian Broadcasting Corporation, Aerial Videography - Epic Drone Films CBS News
Production Company:
Alba Sotorra Productions, MetFilm, Sky
Country of Production:
United Kingdom
Synopsis
Alba Sotorra's exclusive access to Roj Camp in northeastern Syria brings us closer to the harsh reality of a group of Western women trapped by their past as members of ISIS.
Shamima Begum left the UK with two friends when she was only fifteen. American Hoda Muthana emigrated to Syria at nineteen, while inciting her Twitter followers to follow in her footsteps or commit attacks in the US. Alongside them, thousands of women who fell into the clutches of ISIS propaganda are crying out for a second chance at a fresh start in their home countries, while their governments remain impassive, blocking their repatriation. Their departure filled headlines around the world; now, their struggle for return has come back to haunt them, generating a debate that ignites passions in the West.
In an effort to observe without prejudice, Alba Sotorra portrays Shamima, Hoda, Hafida, Nawal and Kimberly with unprecedented closeness and intimacy as they tell their harrowing stories, revealing why they were drawn to ISIS, the horrors they experienced under its rule, their fears and their hopes for the future.
Memory Box: Echoes of 9/11
Director:
David Belton, Bjørn Johnson
Producer(s):
Hugo Godwin, Elizabeth Fischer
Footage Archive Producer:
James RM Hunt
Archival Sources:
Ruth Sergel – The personal testimonies of those affected by 9/11 collated in 2002/2003 in her project “Voices of 9.11.”, Dr Mark Heath footage from the bottom on the Tower after the collapse, Street level footage from Jameson Gong, The contributors personal archive, NBC News archive throughout the film
Production Company:
Dog and Duck, NBC News Studios, Yard 44, MSNBC Films
Country of Production:
United States, United Kingdom
Synopsis
“The Memory Box: Echoes of 9/11” is a feature documentary that tells the story of September 11th through a unique set of eyewitness testimonies, recorded in a small plywood video box in the months following the attacks. Twenty years later, the eyewitnesses return to the box to share their memories and reflect on America today. Bridging past and present, the film is a searingly emotional portrayal of hope, resilience and how to heal.
Launch! On the Sea with Scotland's Lifeboats
Director:
Shona Thomson
Producer(s):
Shona Thomson, Jen Skinner, Jack Lockhart
Footage Archive Producer:
Shona Thomson
Archival Sources:
RNLI (Royal National Lifeboat Institution), National Library of Scotland Moving Image Archive
Production Company:
A Kind of Seeing, Screen Argyll
Country of Production:
United Kingdom
Synopsis
A new cinematic release of archive film and video with an original immersive 5.1 surround soundtrack celebrating volunteer RNLI crews, created as a 2021 big-screen tour of archive film and relevant in-cinema activity to coastal communities across Scotland. For one of the very few times in its 200-year history, the much-loved RNLI has opened up its moving image archives to a professional curator/filmmaker for this special project with archive footage at its heart: https://launchonthesea.com.
Shona Thomson – FOCAL award-winner for her work on innovative platforms – has directed, researched and edited Launch! in a co-production with island-based Screen Argyll. The creative interplay in Shona’s work of archive film inspiring music continues her collaboration with sound artist and nature beatboxer Jason Singh as he assembled some of UK’s best contemporary musicians to compose and record the soundtrack in lockdown.
Launch! has been two years in the making with unprecedented archival access. 1960s colour promotional RNLI films and breath-taking digital video captured by crews’ helmet cameras in the past ten years out on the wild sea is interwoven with rare 1920s footage sourced from the National Library of Scotland Moving Image Archive bringing home that it truly takes a community to launch a lifeboat.
Living Proof - A Climate Story
Director:
Emily Munro
Producer(s):
Emily Munro
Footage Archive Producer:
Emily Munro
Archival Sources:
National Library of Scotland
Production Company:
National Library of Scotland, Film Hub Scotland
Country of Production:
United Kingdom
Synopsis
In the year that Scotland hosts the UN’s climate change conference (COP26), curator and director Emily Munro searches for the roots of the climate crisis in our history. Archive footage from the National Library of Scotland evocatively portrays a country shaped by demands for energy and economic growth, while a dramatic soundtrack amplifies the voices of the past in powerful and unsettling ways.
The film reveals Scotland’s post-war history as seen through the lens of current debate, inviting audiences on a journey to revisit the promises of the past and consider how they relate to our future on this planet. Was climate change inevitable? Can we break free from a boom-and-bust mentality? Are we able to adapt to ensure a healthy and sustainable future for generations to come?
Featuring corporate voices, news reporters, protestors, and the general public, the footage spans the geography of Scotland, taking in the most treasured, contested and exploited parts of the country. Part found-footage mash-up and part archive collage, Living Proof features a soundtrack that traverses space and time, with contemporary Scottish artists Louise Connell, Brownbear and Post Coal Prom Queen sitting alongside music that appears in the archive itself.
Attica
Director:
Stanley Nelson, Traci A. Cur
Producer(s):
Marcia Smith, Vinnie Malhotra, Jihan Robinson
Footage Archive Producer:
Rosemary Rotondi
Archival Sources:
New York State Archive, Richard Nixon Presidential Library, major news network and affiliate news archives, college and university archives, stock footage archives such as Oddball Films in CA
Production Company:
Firelight Films, Showtime
Country of Production:
United States
Synopsis
In the fall of 1971, tensions between inmates and guards at the Attica Correctional Facility were at an all-time high due to worsening prison conditions. On the morning of September 9, it all came to a head when inmates erupted into one of the largest, deadliest prison riots ever witnessed. On Sept. 9, 1971, over 1,200 inmates at the Attica correctional facility in Attica, NY, seized the yard at the maximum-security prison, took more than three dozen guards and civilian employees hostage, and demanded more humane treatment and better conditions. For five days, the world watched as TV news cameras covered the story from both outside and inside the prison, as journalists and a team of negotiators converged at the scene. But when law enforcement was ordered by New York Governor Nelson Rockefeller to retake Attica, the resulting massacre by state police left 29 inmates and 10 hostages dead. Before the smoke from the tear gas cleared, police tortured inmates behind the walls. No charges were ever brought against authorities for the killings of inmates and guards. It was the largest prison rebellion in U.S. history.
Citizen Ashe
Director:
Rex Miller, Sam Pollard
Producer(s):
Steven Cantor, Anna Godas, Beth Hubbard, Rex Miller, Jamie Schutz
Footage Archive Producer:
Lizzy McGlynn, Hannah Shepard
Archival Sources:
John G. Zimmerman Archive, CBS/Veritone, Getty Images, USTA/Veritone, IMG/Wimbledon
Directors Rex Miller and Sam Pollard explore the enduring legacy of tennis great and humanitarian Arthur Ashe, tracing his personal evolution from sports legend to global activist. His own words, and those closest to him, reveal his quiet determination to ‘use what he had to do what he could.’
