MA Documentary Film 2014

 UAL's MA Documentary Film 2014 postgraduates

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Graduation film screening events

Postgraduates MA Documentary Film 2014

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Invitation MADF2014 screening event documentaries of postgraduates MA Documentary Film at London College of Communication For more info and subscribe to the event: https://www.facebook.com/events/354982611337122/?notif_t=event_description_mention

Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/MADOC2014

MA Documentary Film is part of London College of Communication, University of Arts London. For more info: arts.ac.uk/lcc

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Heliopolis

Heliopolis - Louis Leblique

‘Heliopolis’, a small island marooned off the coast of the French riviera, is home to Europe’s only community fully dedicated to Naturism. Founded by the Durvilles brothers in 1931, the village was envisioned as a lush garden where people of all origins could come live in health of body and mind, far away from the “artificial civilisation of cities”. By giving voice to the different individuals of the community, my film sketches a portrait of life on the island in 2014.

I’ve always been fascinated by communities that chose lifestyles that are at odds with what most of us would consider normal, so Heliopolis immediately seemed to me like a captivating subject. The story of how the Durvilles first founded the island and the radical ideology that drove the project seemed like it belonged more to a work of fiction rather than to real life. As I set foot on the island, I wanted to meet the extraordinary people who lived there, as well as explore how the island had evolved since the 1930s and if the tenets set out by its founders were still present today.

I think that seeing the manner in which the inhabitants of Heliopolis live can lead us to question the choices we make in our own lives. What we consider normal, the social norms and structures that we know, that we are born into… Are these things truly what are best for us as individuals? Instead of floating along with the current, the inhabitants of Heliopolis felt compelled to chose a different life for themselves. I also think that the island is an interesting study of how history and ideology shapes peoples’ lives and the different ways individuals chose to interpret the past.

Heliopolis trailer from Louis Leblique on Vimeo.

MA Documentary Film is part of London College of Communication, University of Arts London. For more info: arts.ac.uk/lcc

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A Thousand Miles

A Thousand Miles - Hannah Yuanming Zhu

In China, 60 million children are suffering the pain of being separated from their parents. Most see their parents once a year or even less. What is the reason? In this film we hear from the children and parents.

What motivated you to realize this project?

The motivation for making the film is my elder sister, who had been left behind by our parents for few years when she was very little as our parent’s had decided to find a better job in the city but couldn’t afford to bring my sister along. I know the experience of being left by parents has a big negative influence in children’s personalities and lives, so I decided to make this film to raise people’s awareness of the issue. How did the process develop (any issues, great experiences, …) ?

The greatest thing during shooting was having children around us all the time. They were very cute, so filming with them was really pleasant. However, they also posed a bigger problem when filming as they always ran and played around, too energetic and never stayed quiet or still. What do you aspire that this documentary will realize?

Like I said, I made this film in order to publicise the serious impact separation has on children, which is a very big problem in China. I hope either the government or NGOs start looking at the issue. Even if there are organisations already making an effort to help, it’s still far from enough.

  A Thousand Miles Trailer from Hannah Zhu on Vimeo.

MA Documentary Film is part of London College of Communication, University of Arts London. For more info: arts.ac.uk/lcc

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Logically Policed

Logically Policed - Damiano Petrucci

Nature, said Galileo, is a book written in the language of mathematics.

 Fast-forward 400 years and mathematics has become the essential tool for driving human progress and innovation.

From a stand up comedian to a professional juggler, going through street performance, this film puts together science communicators who you would not expect to be your typical maths teacher and, along with University professors, they talk about our relationship with mathematics, unveiling the reasons for which we don’t like numbers but cannot do without them.  

  Logically Policed (trailer) from Damiano Petrucci on Vimeo.

MA Documentary Film is part of London College of Communication, University of Arts London. For more info: arts.ac.uk/lcc

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Fields of Immersion

Fields of Immersion - Matthew Szechenyi 

Fields of Immersion is a short documentary that focuses on Korean minimalist sculptor named Sungfeel Yun. His geometric style, repetitive patterns and simple forms represent art, science and religion. We get an intimate behind the scenes look at Sungfeel’s work while we dive into his mind to explain the technical process and philosophy through voice over. By utilizing materials such as electromagnets and steel powder his work tells us life is interconnected and nothing is fixed or permanent therefore all things in the universe affect each other. The film is a poetic, romantic representation that features electronic music and carefully composed images.

I made this film to give the artist Sungfeel Yun a voice and to break the traditional style that I had seen at the Tate Modern. I wanted to avoid the interview and to tell the story by utilizing voice over and not have a talking head. This technique is wast to temporarily be inside Sungfeel's head where a lot of artist spend most of their time. The goal is to communicate the philosophy of Sungfeel's work but also to try and match the artists polished style by using fiction film techniques such as tracking shots, slow motion and carefully composed images. What I have done is employed constructed immersion to create a unique experience and LCC has given me the tools to achieve that.

FIELDS OF IMMERSION (TRAILER) from Matthew Szechenyi on Vimeo.

MA Documentary Film is part of London College of Communication, University of Arts London. For more info: arts.ac.uk/lcc

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Collective Bargaining by Riot

Collective Bargaining by Riot - Alex Hopley

  Collective Bargaining by Riot looks at what it meant to be a Luddite in the 1800s and what it means to be a Neo-Luddite now.

  What motivated you to realise this project?

 A fascination with the concept that not all technological development is good for humanity and a desire to understand a commonly misunderstood part of British history.

  How did the process develop (any issues, great experiences...)? Recording all the moving parts of a restored eighteenth century framework knitter was fascinating. It’s mechanical and logical, but you need an intimate percussive understanding of the machine for all the moving parts to work in the correct order to create a garment. Each machine has its own rhythm.

  What do you aspire that this documentary will realise?

Above all, I want people enjoy it. Beyond that, perhaps someone who hasn’t previously done so, questions who controls our technology.

                                                                                               Trailer: Collective Bargaining by Riot from Alex Hopley on Vimeo.

MA Documentary Film is part of London College of Communication, University of Arts London. For more info: arts.ac.uk/lcc

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Be The Change

Be The Change - Uzma Hussain

Uzma Hussain, Documentary Filmmaker and Video Journalist

My background is in news journalism.  I lived and worked in Venezuela and Spain reporting on themes around social inequalities.  What motivated you to realize this project? I was in Barcelona when the Indignados movement occupied Puerto del Sol in Madrid and later Placa Catalunya in Barcelona. During that year I filmed many protests, rallies and even riot police firing rubber bullets during the clear out of Placa Catalunya.  Three years later, the formation of the Podemos Party (We Can) was truly a bolt out of the blue in terms of the party’s reach and instant popularity. In less than four months and from money raised through a crowd funding website Podemos wins 1.2 million votes and 5 seats in the 2014 European Elections. Here in the UK there was little news about the success of Podemos so I thought it would be interesting to tell a story about how change was being made in Spain and show what Ukip had done on the right was being matched on the left too. Director Ken Loach had a similar idea and invited Podemos and the Greek party called Syriza to speak at a Left Unity Party event in central London.  How did the process develop (any issues, great experiences) ? I initially wanted to do a poetic lingering film away from the didactics of current affairs which I had done for a while. But once in the middle of the Andalusian punishing summer heat I couldn’t linger for more than thirty seconds in the  daytime!  Taking cover in my subject’s homes offered some respite, so the film tended to evolve from spaces where I could get some shade!  I like a lot of Sean McAllister’s work and felt the documentary would instead naturally take the look of his films particularly ‘Working For The Enemy’, a raw account of real people talking about what was happening to them and what they wanted from life.  Observational films take a while to grow, so I will be going back to finish the film off properly to see if Alejandro ends up leaving Spain for work and love in the UK, will couple Juan and Marlene leave a developed nation to be able to live with dignity in Peru? Lets see….   What do you aspire that this documentary will realize? I hope this documentary inspires ideas.  Power and change is possible but every action always starts off with a single thought - what change should we think about?

  Be The Change - Trailer. from u hussain on Vimeo.

MA Documentary Film is part of London College of Communication, University of Arts London. For more info: arts.ac.uk/lcc

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Grey

Grey - Sara Anna Nadalini

Valeria was born in a border town between Estonia and Russia. As grey lies between black and white, she lingers between two States, trapped seeking for her own identity.

What motivated you to realize this project?

I did my undergraduate in Tallinn, Estonia, one of the small, enigmatic Baltic States. The integration of the Russian-speaking population and their relation with the Estonian society is a very controversial, contemporary issue, still affecting the cultural and political scenario 25 years after the dissolution of the Soviet Union. I started carrying out a personal research through interviews with Estonians and Russians; consequently, I learned about another category of residents: the stateless, people who are neither Estonians, nor Russians. I pursued this research prompted by the political and personal reasons that caused such a situation and intrigued by how these people are called: aliens, holders of a grey passport.

 How did the process develop (any issues, great experiences, etc.)?

I started with a personal research, carrying out interviews, becoming more structured as the project took shape and my knowledge of the topic deepened. Later, my interest in the subject and the relations with people I had met helped me cross paths with more individuals with an alien passport. Sadly, during this process, I realized that the painful memories of the Soviet occupation were still vivid in my Estonian friends’ minds: as I was digging deeper into my research, I was often obstructed and challenged.

As much as I tried to remain neutral and impartial, my feelings towards the people I met and their reasons also started to feel controversial as I often did not understand or disagreed with their choices.

When I interrupted the research to concentrate on my dissertation, I promised myself that I would not leave this project unfinished and that I would give justice to the people I had met. In light of this, I undertook a new trip with a different attitude during my postgraduate studies in London.

 What do you aspire that this documentary will realize?

My aim with this documentary is to encourage audience reflection on the meaning of identity while raise awareness of an issue rarely discussed. Optimistically, the possible usage by an NGO that deals with related issues will also increase attention of the peculiarity of Valeria’s case and put pressure for a policy change in Estonia.

GREY from Sarino on Vimeo.

MA Documentary Film is part of London College of Communication, University of Arts London. For more info: arts.ac.uk/lcc

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Beyond Memories

Beyond Memories - Olivia Ge Song

  Mary Robinson has been diagnosed with Alzheimer's Disease for over seven years. Her husband, Robbie, was a musician who moved to UK from Jamaica some years ago. He and his grandson Ryan, a rapper and a lyricist from South London who performs as Ragz-CV, were inspired to collaborate on an EP from which 50% of all profits are donated to the Alzheimer's Society to help other families who are in a similar predicament. Mary's memories maybe fading away but what she receives from her family is proof of a deeper connection beyond those memories.

  What motivated you to realise this documentary?/What do you aspire that this documentary will realize?

  In the UK, more than 500,000 people are living with Alzheimer's Disease. Their families are facing the reality that this non-curable disease is slowly taking away someone who is closest to them. In this grievous situation, most families have little idea what to do. This film bases itself around one such family who are facing this situation and follows them over the course of several months. It shows how this family copes with the difficult situation they find themselves in and how they pull together in love and support for each other. The aim of the film is to start a dialogue around circumstances that increasing numbers of families are finding themselves in. 

BEYOND MEMORIES (TRAILER) from Olivia Ge Song on Vimeo.

MA Documentary Film is part of London College of Communication, University of Arts London. For more info: arts.ac.uk/lcc

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Are You A Rohingya?

Are You A Rohingya? - An-Sophie Fontaine

The Rohingya's are a muslim minority in Myanmar (formerly Burma) who are being persecuted by the government's Buddhist military. Despite the Rohingya's support for the opposition democratic party, its leader Aung San Suu Kyi has shied away from their plight.  Through the testimonies of survivors rescued by the UNHCR, ‘Are You A Rohingya?’ - a question commonly asked by the military - exposes the hidden atrocities, mass killings, deportations and bribes suffered by the Rohingya minority.  

While adapting themselves to their new home in the UK's northern city of Bradford, memories of those left-behind children, family and places is haunting. Nonetheless, the youth’s confrontation with new and exciting possibilities leads to the inevitable interrogation of traditions and the reinvention of the Rohingya identity. 

What motivated you to realise this documentary?

Via the Belgian press, I first came across this unresolved and barely unknown issue of the ongoing persecution Rohingya people face in Myanmar. Everyday, media channels inform us on stories about the atrocities in Syria, Israel, Ukrain,.. yet the ongoing fate of this muslim minority remains almost absent from the daily information flow of media channels, and little people are aware of the existence of Rohingya people. This motivated me to get in touch with university doctoral researchers of King's College London and the English Rohingya muslim refugee community in both London and Bradford in order to listen to people's personal stories and get to know more about this unresolved, ongoing issue.

I've met wonderful families and children who carry so much hope, aspirations, human warmth and solidarity within them, despite the mental and physical scars they still carry with them, and I hope that via this documentary film more people will not only become aware of the ongoing persecution in Myanmar but also will be able to perceive these people as men and women with human warmth who do not deserve it to be dispersed, denied citizenship, have restrictions on the freedom of their movement or on child birth, bribed, murdered, tortured, ...

What do you aspire that this documentary will realise?

The act of the identification of the word Rohingya with an individual human being can lead to severe implications in Myanmar, simply because of the culturally determined connotations attributed to this word, which determines the public perception. If you affirm your Rohingya identity, you risk becoming a victim of the Myanmarese policies of persecution. I hope that this documentary will engage people to think differently about our perceptions of other cultures, minorities, ... and in more specific, establish a new, positive perception of the Rohingya population. For as the way we think about others, determines the way we act towards them.

TRAILER "Are You A Rohingya?"

MA Documentary Film is part of London College of Communication, University of Arts London. For more info: arts.ac.uk/lcc

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The Unsung Rice Story

The Unsung Rice Story - Champ Rittikorn Mahakhachabhorn

Discover how Thai rice farmer Thongmoh Jamjaeng and his family avoids poverty unlike many of his counterparts. The film hears his successful rice farming story through his perspectives and philosophies.

What motivated you to realise this project?

Although rice farmers are the backbone of Thailand, most have faced poverty for decades. It is sad to see this happen in my hometown and I want to be a hand to help them get throughout the issue.

What do you aspire that this documentary will realise?

How one farmer dedicated his life to inspire others to see farming as an honorable profession. It’s also a chance for Thai farmers to have a better quality of life and hope, so they’ll continue growing rice for the people.

  MA Documentary Film is part of London College of Communication, University of Arts London. For more info: arts.ac.uk/lcc