A collection of short documentaries that explore the power and politics of return. They question what it means to make a film in a state of emergency, and to return to a place or a moment in the past to seek answers and find ways forward.
– Flore Cosquer, Scottish Documentary Institute
Curated by Scottish Documentary Institute.
The Flowers Stand, Silently Witnessing
When a Palestinian filmmaker based in Scotland unearths a rarely-seen Scottish film archive of Palestinian wild flowers, he decides to reclaim the footage. This tender film essay questions the role of image-making as a tool of both testimony and violence when connected to entanglements between people and the land.
World Premiere. Director: Theo Panagopoulos. Documentary. United Kingdom. 2024. 17min. English, Arabic with English subtitles.
Headland
A nature reserve on the English Channel is a place of wonder and solace, shaped and haunted by violence. A sensitive look at life on a pebble beach reclaimed from the ocean, Headland interweaves the age-old tradition of sea rescues with contemporary Channel crossings, as witnessed by the last of the Dungeness fishermen.
World Premiere. Director: Mariana Duarte. Documentary. United Kingdom. 2024. 15min. English.
Seeking
Reeling from the sudden death of her husband, Julie Hussain finds solace in a local psychic medium, sparking her own journey into the supernatural. Driven by a desperate need for reconnection, Seeking delves into the world of grief and the lengths we go to process unspeakable loss.
World Premiere. Director: Ciara Flint. Documentary. United Kingdom. 2024. 15min. English.
Roll Down the Window
Filmmaker Lipa Hussain interrogates a neurological condition she has experienced since childhood and the parallels with her own religious and racial struggles. Alice In Wonderland syndrome causes the sensation of shrinking and losing bodily control. The film explores the idea of utilising AIW to confront an enemy from Lipa’s past.
World Premiere. Director: Lipa Hussain. Documentary. United Kingdom. 2024. 10min. English.