The FOCAL Awards celebrate three areas – production, restoration and preservation, and people. All our production categories celebrate the very best use of footage within the production, programme or project.
Please select the award category you wish to view from the drop down box.
Shortlist nominations announced
The FOCAL International Awards competition is dedicated to the promotion and celebration of archival footage and its contribution to the creative and cultural industries. We are delighted to announce this year’s shortlist in the Production and Restoration & Preservation categories.
The 2020 competition received a wide variety of submissions this year making it an undeniably rich and diverse contest making it a challenging and rewarding deliberation process for our dedicated jurors across the globe – testament to the continuing and growing power of archival storytelling. We would like to thank everyone who entered their work this year; the quality of the 2020 submissions has been unparalleled.
Impressive usage and previously unseen footage across a broad genre of productions from Cinematic Features to Innovative Platform can be discovered in our full list of nominees for this year’s FOCAL International Awards HERE.
The Jane Mercer Researcher of the Year, Footage Company of the Year and Student Jury Award for Most Inspiring use of Archive nominations will be announced later in July.
We appreciate that this is a difficult time for all of us in the media industry, we wish everyone well and staying safe.
Shortlisted
Now and Then, The Last Beatles Song
Director:
Oliver Murray
Producer(s):
Jonathan Clyde / Sophie Hilton
Footage Archive Producer:
Oliver Murray
Archival Sources:
Apple Corps Ltd / MPL Communications Ltd / British Pathé / Getty Images / Yoko Ono Lennon
Production Company:
Orofena Films / Apple Corps / Universal Music
Country of Production:
UK
Original Release:
2023
Synopsis
Now and Then's eventful journey to fruition took place over five decades and is the product of conversations and collaborations between the four Beatles that go on to this day. The long mythologised John Lennon demo was first worked on in February 1995 by Paul, George and Ringo as part of The Beatles Anthology project but it remained unfinished because of the impossible technological challenges involved in working with the vocal John had recorded on tape in the 1970s. For years it looked like the song could never be completed. But in 2022 there was a stroke of serendipity. A software system developed by Peter Jackson and his team finally opened the way for the uncoupling of John’s vocal from his piano part. As a result, the original recording could be brought to life and worked on anew with contributions from all four Beatles. This remarkable story of musical archaeology reflects The Beatles’ endless creative curiosity and shared fascination with technology. It marks the completion of the last recording that John, Paul and George and Ringo will get to make together and celebrates the legacy of the foremost and most influential band in popular music history.
Nature Matters
Director:
Andy Burns
Producer(s):
Graham Relton
Editor(s):
Andy Burns
Footage Archive Researcher:
Megan McCooley / David Parsons / Montserrat Rovira Prieto / John Casey / Martin Watts / Ruth Patman
Footage Archive Producer:
Alexandra Stockdale-Haley / Martha Cattell
Executive Producer(s):
Martin Hall / Jenny Hall
Archival Sources:
Yorkshire and North East Film Archive collections, including local news material from our archive, ITV Archive and BBC Motion Gallery
Production Company:
Yorkshire and North East Film Archives
Country of Production:
UK
Original Release:
2023
Synopsis
A love letter to nature and a call to action, ‘Nature Matters’ speaks across generations, using over a century of archive footage to remind us of our innate relationship with the natural world.
Have our fast-paced lives separated us from our childhood fascination with flora and fauna in the everyday, from countryside and coastal adventures, and knowledge of where our food comes from? Have we evolved to live in a society detached from nature?
“An empowering call to action – inspires without preaching.”
This timely short film explores our need for balance in a changing world: from the demand for resources, drive for profits and ‘progress’, offset against our fundamental human rights to access green spaces, clean air, water, and fertile soils to grow healthy food to feed our families.
What shines through is the human spirit, as individuals and communities fight to be on the right side of history, on a quest for environmental harmony and more sustainable lifestyles.
“[The film] has inspired me to try and get involved in more local community events and projects that will help the environment.”
Commissioned by York St John University’s Cinema and Social Justice Project, York Business School and the Yorkshire and North East Film Archives ‘Nature Matters’ project supported by the National Lottery Heritage Fund.
Incident
Director:
Bill Morrison
Producer(s):
Bill Morrison / Jamie Kalven
Footage Archive Researcher:
Bill Morrison
Footage Archive Producer:
Jamie Kalven
Archival Sources:
Chicago Police Department
Production Company:
Hypnotic Pictures / Invisible Institute
Country of Production:
USA
Original Release:
2023
Synopsis
INCIDENT reconstructs a police shooting in Chicago in 2018, reassembling the event and its immediate aftermath from a variety of viewpoints, including surveillance, security, dashboard, and body-worn cameras as a continuous, synchronized split-screen montage.
They All Came Out To Montreux
Director:
Oliver Murray
Producer(s):
Stuart Souter / Bill Lord / Oliver Murray / Nicolas Bonard / Quincy Jones
Footage Archive Producer:
Maureen Ford / Thierry Amsellem / Fraser Kennedy
Archival Sources:
The Montreux Jazz Festival / The Claude Nobs Foundation / Radio Television Suisse / Getty Images
Production Company:
BMG Films / Beyond TNC / Orofena Films / The Claude Nobs Foundation
Country of Production:
UK / Australia / Switzerland
Original Release:
2023
Synopsis
The extraordinary story of the world-famous Montreux Jazz Festival and its beloved founder, Claude Nobs. Starting in 1967, with no knowledge of the music industry, Claude began turning his sleepy hometown of Montreux on the shores of Lake Geneva into a destination for the world's greatest music artists including Aretha Franklin, Nina Simone, David Bowie, Muddy Waters, Miles Davis, Etta James, Santana, Alicia Keys and Prince. From the beginning of the festival Claude organised for these performances to be captured on film. Now this archive, recognised by the UNESCO inscribed 'Memory Of The World Register', is available to the audiences for the first time. The series takes the viewer back in time to hear the trumpet of Miles Davis, the piano of Nina Simone and the guitar of BB King echo through 5 decades of candid recollections by dozens of the festival’s star performers and industry insiders. Over three one-hour episodes, the series includes more than 40 testimonies, 30 concert performances and a variety of previously unseen film and photography. Never before has a documentary of this magnitude been made on the history of the Montreux Jazz Festival offering a breath-taking panorama of half a century of music history.
The Stones and Brian Jones
Director:
Nick Broomfield
Producer(s):
Kyle Gibbon / Shani Hinton / Marc Hoeferlin
Footage Archive Producer:
Kyle Gibbon / Simon Orman / Lisa Savage
Archival Sources:
BBC / Reeling In The Years / Bill Wyman / Historic Films / Kino Library
Production Company:
Lafayette Film
Country of Production:
UK
Original Release:
2023
Synopsis
Featuring revealing interviews with all the main players and unseen archive released for the first time, The Stones and Brian Jones explores the creative musical genius of Jones, key to the success of the band, and uncovers how the founder of what became the greatest rock'n'roll band in the world was left behind in the shadows of history.
American Experience: The War on Disco
Director:
Lisa Q. Wolfinger
Producer(s):
Lisa Q. Wolfinger / Rushmore DeNooyer / Cameo George
Footage Archive Producer:
Mary Antinozzi Soule
Archival Sources:
Retro Video / Historic Films / Chicago Film Archive / KinoLibrary / Media Burn
Production Company:
Lone Wolf Media / WGBH
Country of Production:
USA
Original Release:
2023
Synopsis
The War on Disco explores the culture war that erupted over the spectacular rise of disco music. Originating in underground Black and gay clubs, disco had unseated rock as America’s most popular music by the late 1970s. But many diehard rock fans viewed disco, with its repetitive beat and culture that emphasized pleasure, as shallow and superficial. A story that’s about much more than music, The War on Disco explores how the powerful anti-disco backlash revealed a cultural divide that to some seemed to be driven by racism and homophobia. The hostility came to a head on July 12, 1979, when a riot broke out at “Disco Demolition Night” during a baseball game in Chicago.
Robbie Williams
Director:
Joe Pearlman
Producer(s):
Dominic Crossley-Holland / Asif Kapadia / Duncan Coates / Sally Brindle / Louis Mole / Kai Hsiung / Gabby Chelmicka / Helena Korner / Isabel Davis / Lottie Allen
Footage Archive Producer:
Tess Mcnally-Watson
Archival Sources:
Guy Chambers / RPW Archive / MTV EU / Universal / BBC
Production Company:
Ridley Scott Associates / Netflix UK
Country of Production:
UK
Original Release:
2023
Synopsis
Robbie Williams is nearly 50, a dad of four with a loving wife and a happy family. But he can’t escape his past — and his past has all been captured on film in thousands of hours of behind-the-scenes archive. He has never seen it, no one has. Until now.
Robbie’s way of exorcising his demons is to go back through it all, every up and every down. Platinum albums, sell-out gigs; drink, drugs, rock bottom and whatever comes next when you get there and keep digging.
Robbie Williams is a four-part documentary series that tells the story of one of Britain’s greatest modern performers — while also watching him try and make sense of it all. The star who famously promised to entertain you now has to ask himself, ‘At what price?'
Stephen Curry: Underrated
Director:
Peter Nicks
Producer(s):
Ryan Coogler / Erick Peyton / Ben Cotner / Marissa Torres Ericson / Sean Havey
Footage Archive Researcher:
Loi Almeron
Footage Archive Producer:
Matthew Fisher
Archival Sources:
NCAA / NBA / CBS Sports / Southern Conference / Catapult
Production Company:
Apple Original Films / A24 / Unanimous Media / Proximity Media
Country of Production:
USA
Original Release:
2023
Synopsis
The coming-of-age story of one of the most influential players in the history of basketball: Stephen Curry. The documentary blends cinéma vérité, archival footage and on camera interviews to document Curry’s rise from an undersized college player to a four-time NBA champion.
Going To Mars: The Nikki Giovanni Project
Director:
Michèle Stephenson / Joe Brewster
Producer(s):
Michèle Stephenson / Joe Brewster / Tommy Oliver
Footage Archive Producer:
Hannah Shepard
Archival Sources:
WNET / WGBH / Getty / Fox / British Pathé
Production Company:
Rada Studio / Confluential Films / Cinetic Media / HBO Documentary Films
Country of Production:
USA
Original Release:
2023
Synopsis
"The trip to Mars can only be understood through Black Americans." Legendary poet Nikki Giovanni's revelation is a launching pad to an inspiring exploration of her life and legacy. Through a collision of memories, moments in American history, live readings of her poetry, and impressions of space, Giovanni urges us to imagine a future where Black women lead, and equity is a reality.
Directors Joe Brewster and Michèle Stephenson (American Promise, The Changing Same) craft a vision fit for the radical imagination of Nikki Giovanni. Present-day Giovanni reckons with the inevitable passing of time, while an evocative melding of vérité and archival images act as openings into her mindscape, transcending time and place. Brewster and Stephenson's approach is imaginative and dreamlike, akin to the way Giovanni's words are hair-raising in their power to summon unrealized ways of seeing. The Afro-futuristic lens honors Giovanni's complexity and transports us on a journey through Black liberation from the perspective of one of America's most acclaimed and beloved writers, a profound artist and activist. Next stop, Mars.
Mad About the Boy: The Noel Coward Story
Director:
Barnaby Thompson
Producer(s):
Barnaby Thompson / Gregor Cameron
Footage Archive Researcher:
Emma Gibbs / Chris Lovell / Mark Macey
Footage Archive Producer:
James R.M. Hunt
Archival Sources:
The Noel Coward Estate / BBC / BBC Motion Gallery / David Paradine Productions Ltd / Reelin’ In The Years Productions / ITV Archive / Sony Pictures Content Licensing
Production Company:
Fragile Films / Unigram / AI Films / BBC Films / BBC Arts / Altitude Distribution / Warner Music
Country of Production:
UK
Original Release:
2023
Synopsis
Noel Coward grew up in poverty and left school when he was only nine years old. He was queer in a very straight world. And yet by the age of 30, he was the highest paid writer in the world, and a star on the Broadway stage. He wrote, directed and acted in some of the finest plays and movies of all time, including Private Lives, Blithe Spirit, Brief Encounter and In Which We Serve. He also became a world renowned songwriter and performer of whom Frank Sinatra said, ‘If you want to hear how a song should be sung, go see Mr Noel Coward’.
And if that wasn’t enough, he discovered John Gielgud, Laurence Olivier and David Lean, and was a spy in the Second World War!
Against all odds, Noel Coward became the most successful multi-talented artist of the Twentieth Century. He defined an era and led an extraordinary life. This is his inspirational story told in his own words and music, and unique home movies. The film features Laurence Olivier, Maggie Smith, Harold Pinter, Frank Sinatra, Lauren Bacall, Michael Caine and Lucille Ball. Narrated by Alan Cumming. Rupert Everett is the voice of Noel Coward.
Mary Pickford, a blessing and a curse
Director:
Clara Kuperberg / Julia Kuperberg
Producer(s):
Clara Kuperberg / Julia Kuperberg
Footage Archive Producer:
Clara Kuperberg / Julia Kuperberg
Archival Sources:
Mary Pickford Foundation / Bison Archives / Pond 5 / UCLA
Production Company:
Wichita Films / Kali Pictures
Country of Production:
France / USA
Original Release:
2023
Synopsis
Mary Pickford's name remains inseparable from the legend of American cinema. She invented the star system at the beginning of the 20th century, and was the biggest star ever known, not just in Hollywood, but worldwide, at a time when actors didn't even have their names on movie posters.
She was more than a pioneer, she was a jack-of-all-trades: world-famous star, producer and formidable businesswoman, screenwriter and director in the shadows, studio boss, Mary Pickford alone embodied the entire legend of cinema and the advent of women in that particular era.
WHAM!
Director:
Chris Smith
Producer(s):
John Battsek / Chris Smith / Simon Halfon
Footage Archive Researcher:
Kitty Robertson
Footage Archive Producer:
Alex Black
Archival Sources:
BBC / Sony Music / MTV Viacom / So Pure / George Michael Entertainment
Production Company:
Ventureland / Library Films / Nemperor
Country of Production:
UK / USA
Original Release:
2023
Synopsis
In 1982, the best of friends and still teenagers - George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley as WHAM! set out to conquer the world.
By June of 1986, they played their very last gig at Wembley Stadium having done exactly that.
Now for the very first time, told in their own words, the amazing story of how in four years they dominated the charts around the world with timeless and classic pop songs.
Hit after hit - Club Tropicana, Wake Me Up Before You Go Go, Freedom, I’m Your Man and of course Last Christmas.
Their time in the spotlight was white-hot, becoming the very first Western pop act to play in China.
It was a time that both encapsulated and epitomised not just their youth, but also those of the many millions of fans that adored them.
WHAM! is a feature-length documentary that captures this magical time, from director Chris Smith (Tiger King, Sr.) and producers John Battsek (The Deepest Breath) and Simon Halfon (Supersonic)
With unprecedented access to both George and Andrew’s personal archive including remarkable and never-before-seen footage, alongside rare, candid and previously unheard interviews.
WHAM! charts their incredible journey from school friends to superstars.
Time Bomb Y2K
Director:
Brian Becker / Marley McDonald
Producer(s):
Brian Becker
Footage Archive Researcher:
Shelby Fintak / Kushagra Kar
Footage Archive Producer:
Brian Becker / Peter Nauffts
Archival Sources:
ABC / CNN / CBC / Misc Home Video / Veritone
Production Company:
HBO
Country of Production:
USA
Original Release:
2023
Synopsis
As the clock counts down to the dawn of the 21 st century, the world faces the largest potential technological disaster to ever threaten humanity. The problem is comically simple yet incredibly complex – a bug that could cause computers to misinterpret the year 2000 as 1900, sowing chaos throughout the world as electronic systems failed. Crafted entirely through archival footage, TIME BOMB Y2K is a prescient and often humorous tale about the power and vulnerabilities of technology. By re-appraising both the cooperative efforts and mass hysteria surrounding this millennial milestone, TIME BOMB Y2K explores how modern life has been dramatically transformed by the digital revolution.
Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie
Director:
Davis Guggenheim
Producer(s):
Davis Guggenheim / Annetta Marion / Jonathan King / Will Cohen
Footage Archive Producer:
Jackie Clary
Archival Sources:
WTTW / CBS Media Ventures / Universal Studios / Michael J. Fox and Tracy Pollan / Carson Entertainment Group
Production Company:
Apple Original Films / Concordia Studio
Country of Production:
USA
Original Release:
2023
Synopsis
Told in his own words with a mix of archival and scripted elements, STILL: A MICHAEL J. FOX MOVIE recounts Fox’s rise to the heights of stardom in 1980s Hollywood. The look at his public life unspools alongside his private journey including the years following his diagnosis with Parkinson’s disease.
Amor
Director:
Virginia Eleuteri Serpieri
Producer(s):
Gabriele Genuino / Edoardo Fracchia / Elena Filippini / Stefano Tealdi / Rasa Miškinytė
Footage Archive Producer:
Guglielmo Parisani
Archival Sources:
Cinecittà, Istituto Luce / Superottimisti
Production Company:
RAI Radiotelevisione Italiana / STEFILM / ERA Film
Country of Production:
Italy / Lithuania
Original Release:
2023
Synopsis
"When I see Rome I see my mother. It has been like this since she died".
A summer evening many years ago: the city is deserted, the World Cup final of the world football championship is underway.
A woman, Teresa, reaches the Tiber and lets herself go with its
current. The abyss swallows her and her daughter Virginia, in the darkness of the night, crosses Rome: he wants to find her and save her.
Virginia must cross the depths of the waters, of history, of myths, of misfortunes and the vital glow of a timeless Rome. So she can see again her mother emerge from the darkness of the Tiber to fly to Amor, 'the planet of the care' surrounded by water and where the streets, the squares, the fountains recall those of
Rome and the animals are free to roam.
JFK: One day in America
Director:
Ella Wright
Producer(s):
Charlotte Rodrigues / Sophie Dimitriadis / Henry Longden
Footage Archive Producer:
Margaret Beckett / Lisa Clayton-Jones / Alex Cowan / Jacqui Edwards
Archival Sources:
The Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza / The John F Kennedy Library and Museum / ABC News Videosource / Getty Images / Premium Archive Films: Editorial / NBC News / Texas Archive of the Moving Image
Production Company:
72 Films
Country of Production:
UK
Original Release:
2023
Synopsis
Secret Service agents and other key eyewitnesses give a powerful and emotional account of how President John F Kennedy was assassinated in 1963. From an enthusiastic reception on their arrival in Texas, JFK and Jackie travel to Dallas where President Kennedy is brutally shot while riding in the motorcade. A secret service agent narrowly misses the fatal bullet and at Parkland Hospital JFK tragically dies. America changes forever.
Résistances
Director:
Patrick Rotman
Producer(s):
Michel Rotman / Marie-Hélène Ranc
Footage Archive Producer:
Marie-Hélène Barbéris
Archival Sources:
INA / AP Archive / Atelier des archives / NARA / ECPAD
Production Company:
KUIV
Country of Production:
France
Original Release:
2023
Synopsis
- Résistances recounts the lives (and deaths) of around thirty women and men between 1940 and 1945, whose heroic, romantic and tragic itineraries form the puzzle of the Resistance
- Resistance traces a collective history through individual stories.
- Résistances shows the activities of the “army of shadows” throughout the war (intelligence, sabotage, coup de main, propaganda, newspapers, maquis etc.)
- Resistances reveals how the German services of the Abwehr or the Gestapo chased down the resistance fighters. How they sought, often successfully, to penetrate clandestine organizations through undercover agents.
- Resistances relates the history of the main clandestine movements and networks and traces the difficult path to unification which led from the Resistance to the Resistance.
Henry Ford, l'inventeur du siècle américain (The dark side of citizen Ford)
Director:
Nicolas Glimois
Producer(s):
Samuel Kissous / Fabrice Frank
Footage Archive Producer:
Karim Kamrani Ghajar
Archival Sources:
Critical Past / NARA via Atelier des archives / Atelier des archives / The Henry Ford / Periscope Film
Production Company:
Pernel Media
Country of Production:
France
Original Release:
2023
Synopsis
Henry Ford is more than just a charismatic industrialist who revolutionized the world of cars and work. He was also an anti Semitic megalomaniac who put his weight behind delusional commercial projects and became one of Adolf Hitler’s greatest inspirations. This archived documentary reveals the complex life of a man with wild and controversial ambitions who would go on to invent the 20th century and change the face of America and the West.
Out of Control. Reports on the Atomic Bomb
Director:
Beatriz Caravaggio
Producer(s):
Beatriz Caravaggio
Footage Archive Producer:
Beatriz Caravaggio
Archival Sources:
CriticalPast / Los Alamos National Laboratory / National Archives and Records Administration / National Archives of Australia / Prelinger Archives
Production Company:
ArsVideo Producciones
Country of Production:
Spain
Original Release:
2023
Synopsis
Since the horrific bombings over Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945, the United States, the Soviet Union, the United Kingdom, France, China, India, Pakistan and North Korea have conducted more than 2,000 nuclear tests.
Governments systematically filmed these tests, amassing thousands of audiovisual archives. They were filmed in order to study scientifically the development of the detonation, just as hundreds of classified reports were written, dissecting the entire nuclear operation. Nothing was left undocumented in these reports, in which human beings, animals and life itself were little more than formal objects of analysis and intervention, and everything related to the domain of ethics and the preservation of life was expelled from the scope of consideration of these pages.
The precision and control of these nuclear tests have led to enormous stockpiles of weapons of mass destruction, the consequence of an unstoppable arms race.
Agentur Karl Höfffkes / RGAKFD / Bleed & Geluid / KOBE Planet Film Archive / Australian War Memorial
Production Company:
Agat Films / ARTE France
Country of Production:
France
Original Release:
2023
Synopsis
In Prague, on May 27, an attack against Reinhard Heydrich, one of the most terrifying servants of the Hitler regime, has just been carried out by Jan and Josef. Two Czechs, parachuted in January, to assassinate the blonde beast. Vladimir, the doctor on duty at the Prague hospital, has no idea what trouble awaits him. On June 4, Reinhardt Heydrich took his last breath. If the butcher of Prague dies, the fact remains that the persecutions against the Jewish people continue. The final solution is accelerating. In Paris, Francine discovers that she is not a little girl like the others, it is written on her chest. In Belgium, before their deportation, Adrien's parents entrusted their little boy to Brouwer's family. Adrien, hidden among the children, learns to live in a foreign family. For the survival of his wife and daughter Marie, Icek volunteers to work for the Germans.
Jan and Josef are nowhere to be found. Hitler in rage, little Vaclav will pay the high price of Nazi anger. Meanwhile, Johann-Paul Kremer, in Auschwitz, enjoys the dancing dog shows.
UKRAINIAN STORYBOX - Voices of War
Director:
David Belton
Producer(s):
Regina Bouchehri / Gunnar Dedio / Roman Martynenko / Olga Serdyuk / David Belton / Bjørn Johnson / Marie Pilhan / Eric Gonzalez
Footage Archive Producer:
Manuel Heller
Archival Sources:
Private Archives on Phones and Social Media / Screenocean / AP / Ukrainian State Institutions / Progress Film
Production Company:
LOOKSfilm / Yard44 / One Planet / MMDPRO
Country of Production:
Germany / UK / France / Ukraine
Original Release:
2023
Synopsis
Since Russia invaded Ukraine on 24 February 2022, Ukrainian men between the ages of 18 and 60 have been prohibited from leaving the country. Many women however have fled and continue to flee, while others remain – with their children, while the men are at the front. In this film, Ukrainian women tell us what they are experiencing and what they are suffering: the female perspective on an ongoing war. For an entire year, our film team has been travelling through Ukraine and other countries in Europe, asking Ukrainian women to tell their stories – in a wooden video booth designed specifically for the film, the storybox: no filter, no interviewer, no time limit.
The contributors tell a very subjective narrative about the war of personal experiences and memories. This approach is also reflected in the use of archive material. The majority of what we sourced is not from agencies or TV archives, it wasn't recorded by journalists, but by the very people we talked to.
Loch Ness They Created A Monster
Director:
John MacLaverty
Producer(s):
John Archer
Footage Archive Researcher:
Liga Gutane
Footage Archive Producer:
Joanna Taylor
Archival Sources:
BBC Scotland / Freemantle / Dinsdale Archive (private) / Scottish Television / Nippon TV
Production Company:
Indelible Telly / Hopscotch Films
Country of Production:
UK
Original Release:
2023
Synopsis
There’s another story about the Loch Ness Monster- one that you don’t know.
It’s a tale of monstrous egos, of rivalry, flipper fraud, petrol bomb attacks and sex in caravans.
All is revealed in the hilarious and wild - Loch Ness They Created a Monster, which takes a deep dive into the golden era of Nessie hunting, and uncovers the real monsters.
In the supernatural nineteen seventies, the famously deep Highland Loch attracted monster hunters from America, Japan, England and across the world. Everyone who wanted to make a name for themselves came to Drumnadrochit with a camera and wellies ( and on a few occasions, a submarine)
But capturing Nessie, proved frustrating. And as months turned into years - facing reputational ridicule - some of the expeditions started getting ‘creative’ - supplying newspapers with plesiosaur portraits and fake flippers. Those seeking scientific credibility despaired and debunked, causing bad blood at the Loch. By the early eighties, violence erupted between competing camps.
This documentary turns the cameras around - and focuses on the Monster hunters themselves - revealing the unbelievable story, behind the unbelievable story.
Meeting Zelenskyy
Director:
Liev Schreiber / André Singer
Producer(s):
Rhodri Lowis
Footage Archive Researcher:
Rhodri Lowis / Masha Chelova
Footage Archive Producer:
Halyna Demydova
Archival Sources:
Kvartal 95 / Getty / AP / Suspilne Ukraine / International Commercial Television and Radio Company (ICTV) [Ukraine]
Production Company:
STILLKING 23 / Spring Films / Boat Rocker / Illuminated / Organisation of Ukrainian Producers
Country of Production:
UK / Canada / USA / Ukraine
Original Release:
2023
Synopsis
Until 2019, he was an entertainment super-star and mega successful businessman. Then in a remarkable move, Volodymyr Zelenskyy turned his attention to politics at a time when corruption and economic struggle at home were rife, and the shadow of a sword-rattling neighbour was falling increasingly heavily over Eastern Ukraine. Following a landslide election victory, he found himself Ukraine’s President, and soon after that the Russian threat exploded into a full-scale invasion. Putin expected a quick and easy victory but he miscalculated - the comedy President turned out to be a skilled and determined adversary. Suddenly, the world wanted to know more about this enigmatic man. This film answers those questions - unearthing his story from childhood under USSR domination to the heady days of show business stardom, always surrounded and supported by devoted friends, family and colleagues. Through an extended and personal in-depth interview with actor-filmmaker Liev Schreiber, we gain new insights into one of the most extraordinary characters of our age.
U-96, la véritable histoire de «DAS BOOT» / U-96, THE TRUE STORY OF ‘DAS BOOT’
Director:
Raphaël Millet
Producer(s):
Nocturnes Productions / Girelle Production / ECPAD / Phish Communications
Footage Archive Researcher:
Raphaël Millet
Footage Archive Producer:
ECPAD
Archival Sources:
ECPAD / BUCHHEIM MUSEUM DER PHANTASIE / BAVARIA MEDIA GmbH / Private colelctions of Luc Braeuer, Gerrit Reichert, Jost Vacano, Enrique Lehmann-Willenbrock / Colin Grimshaw
Production Company:
Nocturnes Productions / Girelle Production / ECPAD / Phish Communications
Country of Production:
France / Singapore
Original Release:
2023
Synopsis
The international success of the film Das Boot by Wolfgang Petersen made the U-96 one of the most famous submarines in cinematic history. But the true story of one of Hitler’s most fearsome U-boats and its crew goes far beyond fiction. For the first time, this documentary sheds light on the reality behind the fiction through exclusive interviews with the makers and actors of Das Boot, as well as the last survivors of the time. In doing so, this documentary explores how Hitler’s propaganda images may have influenced the visual and narrative force of Das Boot.
Obsessed with Light
Director:
Sabine Krayenbühl / Zeva Oelbaum
Producer(s):
Zeva Oelbaum / Sabine Krayenbühl
Footage Archive Researcher:
Lewanne Jones / Jennifer Latham
Footage Archive Producer:
Judy Aley
Archival Sources:
EYE Museum / Gaumont / University of South Carolina / Lobster / BFI
Production Company:
Between the Rivers Productions / ARTE / ZDF / YUZU Productions
Country of Production:
USA / France / Germany
Original Release:
2023
Synopsis
"Obsessed with Light" is a meditation on light and the enduring obsession to create. It is about a trailblazer who disrupted the prevailing notions of dance and the imagined limits of the human body.
The film pulls back the curtain on Loïe Fuller, a wildly original performer who revolutionized the visual culture of the early 20th century. The American creator of modern dance, Fuller (1862–1928) invented a completely new kind of spectacle which combined dance, fabric and movement. She pioneered the ingenious use of electricity for the stage, even building a glass floor so she could be lit from below. Fuller shot to international stardom after performing at the Folies Bergère in Paris in 1892. She inspired some of the most important artists and thinkers of her era including Auguste Rodin, James Whistler, Stéphane Mallarmé and W.B.Yeats.
Creating a dialogue between the past and the present, our film delves into the astonishing influence Fuller's work has on contemporary artists like Taylor Swift, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Bill T. Jones, Shakira and William Kentridge, among others. In the process, the film explores the creative process and uncovers commonalities that connect these luminaries to Fuller and to each other.
Stasi FC
Director:
Daniel Gordon / Arne Birkenstock / Zakaria Rahmani
Producer(s):
Erik Winker
Footage Archive Researcher:
Vanessa Christoffers-Trinks
Footage Archive Producer:
Stephen Maier
Archival Sources:
Progress / Deutsches Rundfunkarchiv (DRA) / Bundesarchiv / Stasi-Unterlagen-Archiv / Rundfunk Berlin-Brandenburg (RBB) via RBB Media / ZDF via ZDF Studios
Production Company:
Corso Films / Fruitmarket / Phiphen Pictures / Embankment Films
Country of Production:
Germany / USA / UK
Original Release:
2023
Synopsis
Dresden, 1978: A musty-smelling locker room. The Dynamo Dresden players celebrate their outstanding victory in the GDR championship. But their laughter stops when Erich Mielke storms in. He has not come to congratulate them, but to make it clear that this will be the last championship celebration for the popular club for the time being. From now on, his team, BFC Dynamo Berlin, would take over the GDR league. And so it was: in the following ten years, Erich Mielke's favourite club won ten championships with the help of dubious refereeing decisions, forced player transfers and cunning manipulation. The Stasi's influence on the national football league - which is said to have triggered a government crisis - even went so far as to plot the murder of an East German footballer who had gone to the West. For football fans in East Germany, the choice of their favourite club was often also a political statement and therefore had far greater significance than in West Germany. While BFC Dynamo received every conceivable kind of state support, it was much more difficult for Union Berlin to achieve success.
The Eichmann Trial
Director:
Elliot Levitt
Producer(s):
Elliot Levitt
Footage Archive Producer:
Jessica Berman-Bogdan
Archival Sources:
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum / NBC (via Getty Images) / BBC (via Getty Images) / UCLA Film & Television Archive / CBC
Production Company:
Banality, LLC
Country of Production:
USA
Original Release:
2023
Synopsis
In 1961, history was on trial…in a trial that made history. Just 15 years after the end of World War II, the Holocaust was already considered ancient history. Barely taught in high school or college courses, the attempted extermination of the Jewish people had been largely forgotten outside of Israel. All that changed on May 11, 1960 when Adolf Eichmann, a former Nazi officer hiding in Argentina, was captured and whisked to Jerusalem to stand trial. Over the course of a nearly four-month proceeding, filmed in its entirety and broadcast worldwide on television, many learned for the first time about the extent and horror of Nazi atrocities. During Eichmann’s fiery cross-examination, a debate over disobedience to orders and the banality of evil began which continues to this day.
Told entirely through archival footage of the trial itself and contemporaneous news coverage, The Eichmann Trial documents the most shocking trial in history, and the birth of Holocaust awareness and education.
La Shoah des ghettos (Ghettos in the Holocaust)
Director:
Barbara Necek
Producer(s):
Samuel Kissous / Fabrice Frank
Footage Archive Producer:
Christine Loison
Archival Sources:
AKH - Agentur Karl Hoffkes / Yad Vashem / The Bundes Archiv / National Center Jewish (Brandeis) / Bednarski Eric
Production Company:
Pernel Media
Country of Production:
France
Original Release:
2023
Synopsis
Unlike a widely held belief, the extermination of Jews was not decided during the Wannsee Conference in January 1942. This idea had been haunting the minds of the German leaders since 1938 without having been formulated directly. The regime’s high dignitaries chose to accustom their subordinates to this funereal idea in a progressive way, first by taking a series of anti Semitic laws, then deciding to temporary lock them up in ghettos. But they went far beyond… The 1 000 ghettos will be part of the logic of the genocide. This film allows us to consider the ghettos in a new light: these spaces have been an integral part of the Holocaust and its macabre process from the beginning.
HATTON
Director:
Daniel Dewsbury
Producer(s):
John McKenna
Footage Archive Researcher:
Peter Scott / John Smith
Footage Archive Producer:
Cristina Miro
Archival Sources:
Top Rank Boxing / AP Archive / ITV Archive / Insurgency Films / Krafty Entertainment
Production Company:
NOAH MEDIA GROUP / SKY
Country of Production:
UK
Original Release:
2023
Synopsis
British boxer Ricky Hatton incredible journey from Manchester Council estate to fighting in Las Vegas. Also explores themes of celebrity and mental health, acting as both a celebration of talent and cautionary talent.
Race to the Summit
Director:
Nicholas de Taranto / Götz Werner
Producer(s):
David Tryhorn / Max Dobbyn
Footage Archive Researcher:
Alessandra Berti
Footage Archive Producer:
Andres Aristizabal
Archival Sources:
SRF / Don Bowie - personal archive / Mammut / Docmine Productions / Helliventures
Production Company:
Pitch International
Country of Production:
UK
Original Release:
2023
Synopsis
Race to the Summit unfolds the intersecting narratives of two Swiss alpinists, Dani Arnold and Ueli Steck, whose lightning-quick ascents of the Alps’ most perilous north faces captured the world’s attention and opened up a controversial new frontier in the ancient pursuit of mountain climbing.
Mountains like the Eiger or the Matterhorn take an accomplished mountaineer a day or more to scale. Dani and Ueli soloed them in less than three hours - with no ropes or safety equipment. But this high stakes duel came with unintended consequences and led both men to discover where their limits lay.
Featuring never-before-seen archive and interviews with those closest to Ueli and Dani, including legendary climbers Alex Honnold and Don Bowie, Race to the Summit is Europe's answer to award-winning climbing features such as Fourteen Peaks and Free Solo. The Daily Mail declared it, ‘a breathless, vertigo-inducing documentary about the drive to be the best.’
Bill Russell: Legend
Director:
Sam Pollard
Producer(s):
Reuben Atlas / Martha Spanninger
Footage Archive Producer:
Helen R. Russell / Andrew Mayz / Jim Podhoretz
Associate Archival Producer:
Zach F. Williams
Archival Sources:
NBA Entertainment / Fox Archives / Northeast Historic Films / Special Collections Research Center, Temple University Libraries / AP Archive
Production Company:
High Five Productions, LLC
Country of Production:
USA
Original Release:
2023
Synopsis
Bill Russell: Legend captures the remarkable life and legacy of an NBA superstar and civil rights icon. This two-part film from director Sam Pollard (MLK/FBI) features the last interview with Russell prior to his passing in 2022. Russell’s story is told in his own voice through original and archival interviews as well as excerpts from Russell’s memoirs read by actor Jeffrey Wright. With archival footage as the film’s backbone, Russell’s story spans history from the 1930s - 2020s. On the court, Russell led every team he played on to championships -- two NCAA titles, a gold medal at the 1956 Summer Olympics, and eleven NBA Championships in thirteen years as a Boston Celtic, his last two as the first Black head coach in NBA history. Off the court, Russell was a force in the fight for human rights - marching with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., and leading boycotts in the NBA and local communities over racist practices and segregation — efforts which earned him the 2010 Presidential Medal of Freedom. From his humble beginnings in Louisiana to the top of the sports world, Bill Russell: Legend illuminates how Russell stood tall in every sense of the word.
Mark Cavendish: Never Enough
Director:
Alex Kiehl
Producer(s):
David Tryhorn
Footage Archive Researcher:
Andres Aristizabal / Finn Cotter
Footage Archive Producer:
Kirsty Asher
Archival Sources:
ASO / Pro Cycling Team / Dimension Data / Nick Poole & Decolef LUX (Quick-Step) / WEDU / UCI
Production Company:
Pitch International
Country of Production:
UK
Original Release:
2023
Synopsis
On July 2nd 2016, British cyclist Mark Cavendish won his 27th Tour de France stage. The first British rider ever to wear the Tour’s green jersey now donned the coveted yellow jersey for the first time in his career. Three more stage wins followed that summer, bringing the great Eddy Merckx’s 41-year-old record of 34 stage wins within Mark’s grasp.
Mark needed four more stage wins to cement his legacy as cycling’s greatest-ever sprinter. He got five agonising years of injury, illness and depression instead.
By the spring of 2021, he was struggling to find a team. He hadn’t added to his tally of 30 Tour de France stage wins; nobody imagined that he would.
With exclusive access to Mark, his wife Peta, his team-mates, and his coaches, Mark Cavendish: Never Enough charts the rise, fall and resurrection of a genuine sporting great and the wiliest, most effective, and most confrontational cyclist ever. Raw and honest, this feature-length documentary is an uplifting profile in resilience and self-belief that reveals the inside story of one of the most inspiring and unexpected comebacks in sporting history. The Times stated, ‘even if cycling isn’t your passion, this film is edge-of-your-seat-stuff.’
Mei Lanfang's Artistic Impact Abroad 梅兰芳的中国文化走出去
Director:
Yu Weihong
Producer(s):
Wang Min
Footage Archive Producer:
Yu Weihong
Archival Sources:
Shanghai Audiovisual Archives of Shanghai Media Group / Russian State Documentary Film and Photo Archive / University of South Carolina Libraries
Production Company:
Shanghai Audiovisual Archives of Shanghai Media Group
Country of Production:
China
Original Release:
2023
Synopsis
Mei Lanfang was a great pioneer in promoting Chinese culture to the world. Throughout his lifetime, he committed himself to inheriting and promoting excellent Chinese opera art. Introducing and disseminating Chinese culture to the world through external exchanges was a crucial experience in his artistic career. In 1919, Mei Lanfang, a rising star in the Chinese opera industry, embarked on his first overseas performance tour to Japan, with cultural similarities to China, with his innovative ideas and broadened horizons. In 1930, Mei Lanfang departed from Shanghai to visit the United States, where his Eastern art caused a sensation during his six-month tour. During this time, he filmed his first sound film, Fei Chen-o and the "Tiger" General, and was awarded honorary doctorates in literature from two prestigious American universities. In 1935, he led a delegation to visit the Soviet Union, engaging in profound artistic discussions with Soviet artists. His representation of Chinese art also garnered high praise from Stanislavski, Meyerhold, and Eisenstein. Eisenstein filmed a sound film of Mei Lanfang performing the Peking Opera "Rainbow Pass." Via these endeavors, Mei Lanfang took Peking Opera art to the world, fostering profound friendships with internationally renowned artists through artistic exchanges.
LEVI’S 501 EXPERIENCE - SAN FRANCISCO
Director:
RUFFMERCY aka Russ Murphy
Producer(s):
Jamie Clark
Footage Archive Researcher:
Jared Brown
Footage Archive Producer:
Hazel May
Archival Sources:
Getty Images / Film Supply / Kino Library
Production Company:
My Accomplice / Hazel May
Country of Production:
UK
Original Release:
2023
Synopsis
In honour of its 150th anniversary, Levi’s threw several interactive showcases with music, art and, of course, jeans all around the world, from London to Kuala Lumpur.
RUFFMERCY was asked to collaborate on the Levi’s 501 Experience at the Armoury in San Francisco. His animated video was featured at the exhibition’s entrance.
The “501 Experience” opened with a DJ set by Anderson .Paak, accompanied by Grammy Award-winning trumpeter Maurice “Mobetta” Brown, as well as an appearance by Mayor London Breed in a red floor-length dress and Levi’s denim jacket. It featured historical exhibits, including the oldest pair of Levi’s jeans from the 1870s.
Black History in 2 Minutes (or so) - "The Origins of Black Basketball"
Director:
Kelsi Lindus
Producer(s):
Robert Smith / Henry Louis Gates, Jr / Dyllan McGee
Footage Archive Producer:
Megan Graham / Jade Edwards-Lovell
Archival Sources:
Getty Images / Pond5 / The Black Fives Foundation / Solomon Sir Jones Films. Yale Collection of Western Americana, Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library / Newspapers.com
Production Company:
McGee Media / Hidden Empire
Country of Production:
USA
Original Release:
2023
Synopsis
Bill Russell; Michael Jordan; LeBron James. Black athletes have at times been synonymous with the sport of basketball, but it wasn’t always that way. Invented at the turn of the 20th century, basketball was initially played in segregated leagues — that is, until the exceptional talent and contributions of a few standout Black teams, including the New York Renaissance, became impossible for the newly formed NBA to ignore.
In this episode of Black History in Two Minutes (or so) hosted by Henry Louis Gates, Jr. — with additional commentary from author and filmmaker Nelson George and author and historian Claude Johnson — we explore the origins of Black basketball, including a heated championship match-up that helped shift the trajectory of the sport. Black History in Two Minutes (or so) is the new way to immerse yourself in Black history. The digital video series features dozens of condensed, engaging, and factually accurate videos about important historical events and people who have shaped Black history, from the African continent to the foundations of the United States to contemporary freedom struggles.
BBC Motion Gallery / Abkco / KinoLibrary / Radio Whistledown / AP
Production Company:
BBC Studios
Country of Production:
UK
Original Release:
2023
Synopsis
The Rolling Stones Chronicles series, co-produced by BBC Motion Gallery and ABKCO consists of six documentary shorts, each featuring a different ‘60s-era hit song by The Rolling Stones as its soundtrack. The music combines thematically relevant interview clips from the band and contemporary historical figures, interspersed with historical documentary footage of related world events.
Episodes are based around the seismic cultural shifts between 1965 and 1969, of which The Rolling Stones themselves were emblematic.
BoyleSports Rain (English Language Version)
Director:
Dom Goldman
Producer(s):
Hanna Davies
Footage Archive Researcher:
Jared Brown
Footage Archive Producer:
Hazel May
Archival Sources:
IMG / Race Course Media Group / At The Races / Jason Neff / New Zealand Rugby
Production Company:
Collective Studios / Hazel May / Stalkr
Country of Production:
UK / USA
Original Release:
2023
Synopsis
RAIN. DOESN’T. CARE.
The film acts as an ode to rain, taking an unusual angle on sports betting and the impact weather plays and its indifference to the outcome.
The TVC explores how inclement weather might impact the outcome of a sporting event whether its horse-racing, F1 or football. While rain doesn’t care about who is playing what, the person placing the bet should care and that’s “why they should choose wisely.”
Tide "You're Gonna Need More Tide"
Director:
Traktor
Producer(s):
Dani Stoller
Footage Archive Researcher:
James Bernal/Lauren Wackell / Brandi Self / Jeffrey Harland / Jen Tam
Footage Archive Producer:
George Alvarez
Archival Sources:
Jukin / Rumble / TikTok / Home Video Licensing
Production Company:
STALKR / Saatchi & Saatchi
Country of Production:
USA
Original Release:
2023
Synopsis
Tide marks the release of their new Power Pods with this self-aware, conceptually brilliant and very funny spot which informs the viewer that ‘You’re Gonna Need More Tide.’ The ad celebrates the meme-culture that has made Tide an internet phenomenon over the years, whilst also cleverly reframing some of the most messy, viral videos thanks to the digital inclusion of Kumail Nanjiani. From collapsing ceilings and a baby covered in peanut butter, to exploding watermelons, Nanjiani’s trademark charm reinvents these grimy meme-worthy moments, sourced and cleared by STALKR, as the perfect opportunity for Power Pods to do what they do best.
The New York Times: More of life brought to life
Director:
Mackenzie Sheppard
Producer(s):
Kyla Bridge / Patrick Wood / Harit Muttreja Muttreja / Jana Reinermann
Footage Archive Producer:
Julia Alisson
Archival Sources:
UGC
Production Company:
New York Times / Droga5 / Bonaparte / Kurator
Country of Production:
USA / Germany
Original Release:
2023
Synopsis
Following the threads of our interests and passions — wherever they take us — is exhilarating. That’s why Times journalism not only reports on the issues that matter but illuminates how they’re connected. In our new ad, we demonstrate how our journalism helps bring your interests to life.
