Emma Matthews

D is for Distance

A film essay montage of contemporary footage, archive and cinema history, about the age of post-truth and how one young man’s childhood epilepsy became representative of the woes of the world and how he triumphed against adversity.

D is for Distance

A film essay montage of contemporary footage, archive and cinema history, about the age of post-truth and how one young man’s childhood epilepsy became representative of the woes of the world and how he triumphed against adversity.

Frankenstein: A Modern Myth

From Boris Karloff to Mel Brooks - Frankenstein has fired the imagination of generations of artists who have created their own interpretation of this Gothic masterpiece. Frankenstein: A Modern Myth looks at some of these depictions, including Danny Boyle's sell-out hit at the National Theatre. The film has exclusive access to rehearsals and interviews with Benedict Cumberbatch and Jonny Lee Miller - who alternate the roles of Victor Frankenstein and the Creature - and with Danny Boyle. It also features cult film director John Waters: "I'm sympathetic to monsters, and this was the first one I came across as a child".

Into the Limelight: Tribute Bands

An affectionate look at what goes on behind the scenes of the Limelight Club in Crewe, where for ten years tribute acts to the likes of Jimi Hendrix, Kurt Cobain and Phil Lynott have been providing a post-industrial town the chance to hear some legendary live music. In the Limelight, a converted Methodist church, the spirit of rock is alive, along with Jimi Hendrix, Kurt Cobain and Phil Lynott - in reality John, Keith and Wayne. The posters on the club walls display more than a decade of tribute-band entertainment by the likes of Pink Fraud and Stairway to Zeppelin. Arena reveals the characters offering locals the opportunity to hear their favourite music performed live.

Feast of Death

A documentary about James Ellroy and his fascination with unsolved murder cases, especially those of his mother, and the similar, infamous, Black Dahlia murder.

Deep Freeze

Michelle's father has left her his super deluxe refrigerator. Its unexpected arrival at the apartment she shares with Ron puts the deep freeze on their love.

Radio On Remix

A re-edit of Petit’s Radio On (1980)

The Falconer

Chris Petit & Iain Sinclair's liminal, laminal tribute to underground filmmaker Peter Whitehead, featuring image manipulation by Dave Mckean & reminiscences from various countercultural characters. A fitting epitaph for an English margin walker.

Maggid Street

A vagrant is taken in by a south London surgeon, who subjects him to a series of violent procedures, in the hope of recovering the inner daimon, the spark of light.

Chutney in Yuh Soca

An arts documentary examining the phenomenon of "chutney soca", a musical hybrid from Trinidad & Tobago which blends the traditions of the islands' two biggest ethnic groups - Indian and African. As much political as musical, "chutney soca" seems to offer a way for the two cultures, often perceived as being mutually antagonistic, to come together in a new exciting fusion of sounds. (Synopsis by Karen Martinez)

A Family Called Abrew

Director Maureen Blackwood harnesses the distinctive style of the Sankofa Film Collective to sketch the Abrew family tree. The achievements of the unique showbiz family are celebrated using rich archive material, including footage of family members in supporting film roles alongside Paul Robeson and intimate fireside-style testimony. The existence of Black British communities before Windrush is foregrounded, with insights into the Abrews' imprint on British culture beginning in 19th century Scotland.

Inbetween

A semi-autobiographical account of a move from Sri Lanka to Britain, which explores "being inbetween East/West, mother/father, male/female". The filmmaker was born in Sri Lanka and brought up in the traditions of European culture and Roman Catholicism. He moved to England to live and work, and the film, which combines drama and documentary, is a personal account of his "negotiation of his personal history".