Documentary
Between the Lines Follow-Up Event: Which Way is the Front Line from Here – The Life and Time of Tim Hetherington + Q&A
This is an external event taking place at The Lexi Cinema. Colleague and co-director of the Academy Award-nominated documentary Restrepo, Sebastian Junger thoughtfully portrays Tim Hetherington’s life and work. At a time when greater numbers of journalists are losing their lives covering conflict, the film also addresses the high risks taken by war journalists. The screening will be followed by a Q&A with producer James Brabazon.
Five short films from Syria
By Laura Hughes While the world watches the unfolding crisis in Syria, on Friday 13 September the Frontline Club hosted a special series of short films made in and around the conflict zone. Through the lens of each filmmaker, the selection of five short documentaries explored the different ways in which the choices they make, […]
BBC Storyville Preview: Philby – The Spy Who Went Into the Cold + Q&A
Veteran director George Carey captures the extraordinary story of the double agent Kim Philby, who served as head of the anti-Soviet section of MI6. Several people who knew him well – in London, Beirut and Moscow – talk frankly about his character, and the weaknesses in the British establishment that made his double life possible. The screening will be followed by a Q&A with director George Carey moderated by Nick Fraser.
Preview Screening: The Engineer + Q&A
Israel Ticas is the only criminologist working in one of Latin America’s most dangerous countries, El Salvador. He owes his nickname, “The Engineer”, to his combination of forensic skills and his background in system engineering. The screening will be followed by a Q&A with directors Mathew Charles and Juan Passarelli moderated by Stephen Jukes.
Ten Years in Documentary Filmmaking
To mark the Frontline Club’s tenth anniversary, we will be looking back on ten years in documentary filmmaking. Moderated by Hot Docs’ head of programming Charlotte Cook, producer John Battsek, controller of BBC One Charlotte Moore and producer Christopher Hird will be exploring the major developments that have taken place over the past decade.
Screening: Shorts at the Frontline Club – Between the Lines Special
Join us for our next evening of short documentaries, showcasing films from different parts of the world, covering a wide range of topics. This month’s edition is part of a series of Between the Lines Follow-Up Events and will focus on ‘filming the unfilmable’. Followed by a discussion on how to document events that that are difficult to access with French independent multimedia journalist Adrian Branco, canadian filmmaker Jason Lee and director Tim Travers Hawkins.
Physical Nostalgia: Rewind This! + Q&A
By George Symonds VHS or Betamax? Is video rental a good idea? Should the public even be allowed to have physical access to films? On Tuesday 3 September, these were some of the era-defining issues raised at the Frontline Club’s screening of Rewind This! Directed by Josh Johnson, Rewind This! beamed the audience into a […]
Preview Screening: Which Way is the Front Line from Here – The Life and Time of Tim Hetherington + Q&A
Colleague and co-director of the Academy Award-nominated documentary Restrepo, Sebastian Junger thoughtfully portrays Tim Hetherington’s life and work. At a time when greater numbers of journalists are losing their lives covering conflict, the film also addresses the high risks taken by war journalists. The screening will be followed by a Q&A with director Sebastian Junger and producer James Brabazon.
Screening: Pussy Riot – A Punk Prayer + Q&A
On 21 February 2012 Russian feminist punk group Pussy Riot performed a 40 second ‘punk prayer’ on the altar of Moscow’s most esteemed cathedral. Pussy Riot: A Punk Prayer closely follows the trial that followed, where three members stand accused of “hooliganism motivated by religious hatred”. Through incredible access to the legal system, they show the courtroom where Nadia, Masha and Katia sit incarcerated in a small booth, articulately defending their actions. The screening will be followed by a Q&A with directors Mike Lerner and Maxim Pozdorovkin.
Screening: Brotherhood & Courage – The Men of Washm Station + Q&A
The Washm Station in central Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, is the city’s oldest and busiest fire station. Through unrestricted access behind the scenes of the Washm fire station, director Tom Roberts offers an intimate portrait of life in Saudi Arabia. He conveys the intensity of the experience and the danger that the firefighters face every day, as well as the camaraderie that is forged in these harsh conditions. The screening will be followed by a Q&A with award-winning director Tom Roberts and executive producer Christopher Mitchell.
Between the Lines Follow-Up Event: Salma + Q&A
This is an external event taking place at Rich Mix. Growing up in South India, Salma spent most of her childhood under house arrest. She poured out her anguish writing poetry which she sneaked out of the house. Against the odds she became one of the best known Tamil poets and her newfound fame helped her start on the path to freedom. The screening will be followed by a Q&A with Kim Longinotto’s long-term editor Ollie Huddleston.
Screening: In the Shadow of a Man + Q&A
In the wake of the Egyptian revolution, four women speak of their fight for the future and what it means to be a woman in Egypt. Although Wafaa, Suzanne, Shahinda and Badreya are each from vastly different backgrounds and generations, they are deeply connected by the current changes in Egypt. The screening will be followed by a Q&A with director Hanan Abdalla, moderated by Yasmin El Derby.
Preview Screening: Pretty Village + debate
Pretty Village tells the harrowing story of the 1992 Kevljani massacre and its continuing effect on the lives of survivors. Using home movies and personal testimonies of the villagers, director David Evans visits a pre-war world where Serbs, Croats and Musilms lived in a complex web of mutual support systems and shared values.
This screening will be followed by a debate with director David Evans, protagonist and producer Kemal Pervanic and journalist at ITV News Penny Marshall. Moderated by Ed Vulliamy, writer for The Guardian and The Observer.
Screening: Shorts at the Frontline Club Syria Special
Join us for a special edition of Shorts at the Frontline Club, bringing together moving, striking and compelling stories, with a special focus on Syria. All films have been made in or around Syria since the uprising began in early 2011. This selection not only illustrates the complexity on the ground, but also shows the challenges reporters, journalists and filmmakers face when trying to grasp the situation.
Screening: The Pirate Bay – Away From Keyboard (TPB-AFK)
The largest and most famous torrent website in the world, The Pirate Bay, quickly became one of many antagonists of the entertainment industry. The three Swedish founders face $13 million in damage claims by the media establishment.
TPB-AFK chronicles a historic drama beyond the copyright debate and tells a human story torn by cyberwar. Director Simon Klose tells the inside story of how a cluster of hacktivists built the internet’s largest filesharing site, challenged the entertainment industry and helped shape the debate about intellectual freedom.
Screening: Rewind This! + Q&A
Home video changed the way the world consumed films. For the first time, small independent production companies could operate on an even playing field with the major film studios. Through the rise and fall of VHS, Rewind This! discusses media consumption, zero budget filmmaking, unchecked global piracy and an exploding film industry where everything was possible – developments that laid the foundation for today’s digital culture. The screening will be followed by a Q&A with director Josh Johnson via Skype.
Screening: The Human Scale+ Q&A
The screening will be followed by a Q&A with director Andreas M. Dalsgaard.
The Human Scale: it’s a ticking time bomb. In the next 40 years the number of people living in cities will nearly double. There is not enough time to build the necessary infrastructure to accomodate all of us. According to revolutionary Danish city planner Jan Gehl, even the largest of megacities must be re-thought, re-designed and re-sized to the human scale.
Screening: Google and the World Brain + Q&A
In Google and the World Brain, director Ben Lewis connects the central story of Google Books with fundamental issues related to the Internet – privacy, copyright, data-mining, downloading and surveillance. Through interviews with experts from across the world we learn about the implications of one of the most ambitious and simultaneously controversial projects ever conceived on the Internet. The screening will be followed by a Q&A with director Ben Lewis.
TFN Film Funding Event 4 July
On Thursday 4 July, 6pm-9.30pm the first TFN Film Funding Event, a joint BRITDOC Foundation and The Funding Network (TFN) initiative, will take place at the Frontline Club.
What Took You So Long? – Talking Strategy with the Guerrilla Filmmakers
By George Symonds From Somalia to Iraq, Haiti to Columbia and many places in between, filmmakers What Took You So Long? do not only make films – they explore, connect and collaborate with communities worldwide. Ahead of their distinguished Guerrilla Filmmaking Workshop at the Frontline Club, we caught up with the team for an exclusive Q&A: […]
Screening: Shorts at the Frontline Club + Q&A
Join us for an evening of short documentaries, from different parts of the world, covering a wide range of topics. Shorts at the Frontline Club showcases moving, striking and funny films, exploring the different faces of documentary.
Screening: Side by Side
For almost one hundred years there was only one way to make a movie – photochemical film. Over the last two decades a digital process has emerged to challenge photochemical filmmaking. At a moment when digital and photochemical filmmaking coexist, Side by Side explores what has been gained, what is lost, and what the future might bring.
Screening: Smash & Grab – The Story of the Pink Panthers + Q&A
In Smash & Grab – The Story of the Pink Panthers, director Havana Marking gets some of the members to reveal the gang’s networks, history and approach. They talk about sealed-tight safes, robberies that are years in the making and constant physical transformations. The screening will be followed by a Q&A with director Havana Marking.
Preview Screening: We Steal Secrets – The Story of WikiLeaks + Q&A
The screening will be followed by a Q&A with director Alex Gibney.
In 2010, WikiLeaks and its sources used the power of the internet to usher in what was for some a new era of transparency, and for others the beginnings of a new information war. In We Steal Secrets: The Story of WikiLeaks, Academy Award winner Alex Gibney explores how this enormous trove of classified US data was leaked and the impact the documents have had on international events.
Between the Lines Follow-up Event: The Act of Killing + Q&A at the ICA
This is an external event taking place at the ICA: the screening will be followed by a Q&A with director Joshua Oppenheimer.
In this chilling and inventive documentary, produced by Errol Morris and Werner Herzog, the unrepentant former members of Indonesian death squads are challenged to re-enact some of their many murders in the style of the American movies they love.
El Gusto: the “people’s music”
By Ratha Lehall On Tuesday 4 June, The Frontline Club hosted a screening of El Gusto. Despite a 6-hour flight delay and a broken ankle, director Safinez Bousbia made it up to the Frontline Club just in time for a lively Q&A. The film follows Bousbia on her journey to reunite a group of around 30 Jewish and Muslim Chaabi musicians, […]
Meet the Director: Safinez Bousbia and El Gusto Orchestra
By Nick Dyson Filmmaker Safinez Bousbia describes El Gusto as “the story of a group of musicians – Jews and Muslims – torn apart by history and brought together today by music”. In reality it took more than music alone to bring these musicians back together; rather the director’s own extraordinary efforts over a two […]
Screening: The Network + Q&A
Unique, uplifting and heartbreaking, The Network tells the story of Afghanistan’s first independent television network – TOLO TV – and the people behind it. With over 800 Afghans employed producing news, current affairs, drama, comedy, music, and lifestyle programmes, the whole team face their biggest challenge with the impending withdrawal of foreign troops. The screening will be followed by a Q&A with director Eva Orner.
Screening: El Gusto + Q&A
Chaabi music used to be the heart and soul of cosmopolitan Algiers, uniting Muslim and Jewish traditions. By the start of the Algerian War of Independence in 1954 the two communities were no longer allowed to work together, the music stopped and friendships were forced apart. Half a century later they got together again for an extraordinary concert and the start of a new musical career. The screening will be followed by a Q&A with director Safinez Bousbia.
One World Echoes in London
One World Echoes in London is a series of human rights film screenings supported by by the Czech Centre London. Celebrating the 15th anniversary of One World, Europe´s largest human rights film festival established in Prague in 1998 by the Czech NGO People in Need. This series offers a selection of extraordinary documentary films exploring societies and […]