John Mister

The Six

The story of the six Chinese survivors of the Titanic disaster was written out of history. In The Six, we learn how these remarkable men beat the odds to make it off the ship alive, only to be singled out for expulsion from the US within 24 hours of their arrival. We track down their descendants for the first time. And we trace their extraordinary journey from Southern China to becoming silent witnesses to one of the twentieth century’s most infamous and intriguing events.

Childhood Lost

Waad, 12 years old, lost both her legs when she was hit by shrapnel in her village in South Lebanon. Samir, 24, joined the militia when he was 9 and now has trouble falling asleep without the sound of shelling. Ahmad, 12, lost his mother and was abandoned by his father. Katia, 17, and Pascale, 16, watched helplessly as their male relatives were massacred. Rabih, 6, was part of a criminal street gang at age 4, and now lives in a Beirut orphanage. Through the eyes and voices of these Lebanese children and adolescents of various backgrounds, their experiences are relived. They demonstrate how they have coped, how war has colored their view of the world, how their hopes have been raised or dashed, along with their dreams and their prospects for the future.

Magic Medicine

In 2012 a team of medical researchers asked themselves, "what would happen if we gave psilocybin (magic mushrooms) to people suffering from severe depression"? It took them three years to get the necessary permissions to find out.

Lost in Vagueness

It's a music documentary that tells the story of Roy Gurvitz, who created Lost Vagueness, at Glastonbury and who, as legendary founder, Michael Eavis says, reinvigorated the festival. With the decadence of 1920's Berlin, but all in a muddy field. A film of the dark, self-destructive side of creativity and the personal trauma behind it.

Born to Be Free

BORN TO BE FREE is a revelatory investigation by three intrepid free-diving journalists, Gaya, Tanya and Julia, into the global trade in wild sea mammals. Their journey takes us to the most remote corners of Russia and witnesses, for the very first time, the shocking treatment that whales, dolphins and walruses are subjected to and discovers the corruption at the heart of this cruel international business.

The Divide

The Divide tells the story of 7 individuals striving for a better life in modern day US and UK - where the top 0.1% owns as much wealth as the bottom 90%. By plotting these tales together, we uncover how virtually every aspect of our lives is controlled by one factor: the size of the gap between rich and poor.The film is inspired by "The Spirit Level" by Richard Wilkinson and Kate Pickett.

In the Shadow of War

The compelling stories of four young people as they struggle to survive a war that ended nearly 20 years ago. The physical conflict is over - but its psychological impact continues. Can they break the cycle of violence?

The Dark Matter of Love

Eleven year old Masha Kulabokhova is about to be adopted into fourteen year old Cami Diaz's family. Masha grew up in a Russian orphanage; Cami was born and raised in Wisconsin and has been the exclusive focus of her parents' love her whole life. The process of Masha becoming part of the Diaz family is going to change both girls forever. The Dark Matter of Love follows Masha as she leaves Russia to the spend her first year as part of the Diaz family, who have also adopted five year old twin boys Marcel and Vadim. When the reality of bonding with children who have grown up in institutions turns out to be more difficult than they ever imagined, the Diaz's hire two of the world's best developmental psychologists to help them build their new family - through science. Sometimes hilarious, sometimes heartbreaking, The Dark Matter of Love melds the story of the Diaz family learning to love, with rare archive footage of science experiments exploring parent-child love.

The Sound of Mumbai: A Musical

For one emotional night, a group of slum children in Mumbai, India, get a chance to experience a different world as they perform The Sound of Music with a classical orchestra, fostering hopes that it could change their lives forever.

Shooting Robert King

Director Richard Parry's gripping, in-the-trenches documentary chronicles the experiences of freelance war photographer Robert King, from his early years in Bosnia, to his groundbreaking work in Chechnya and contemporary coverage in Iraq. Fifteen years in the making, the film tracks King's transformation from a naïve twentysomething set on winning a Pulitzer Prize to an accomplished and wise war photographer.

Bullet Boy

Ricky is just out of a young offenders institute, heading home to Hackney and determined to go straight. Instead, he heads straight for trouble when he becomes involved in a street confrontation, siding with his best friend Wisdom against a local rude boy. The trouble escalates into a series of tit-for-tat incidents that threaten to spiral out of control. Ricky's 12-year-old brother Curtis, hero-worships Ricky, though he appears smart enough to know he doesn't want to follow his example. Yet, despite the stern warnings from his mother and support from her friends in the community, might Ricky's bad boy allure be too attractive for Curtis to resist?

Hot Money

Three women, Bridget, Liz and Jackie, embark on a plan to steal thousands of pounds of banknotes that were due to be destroyed at the Bank of England's incinerating plant in Essex. Fictionalised account of a real-life case.

The Billy Elliot Boy

Recording Jamie Bell's progress from unknown schoolboy to award-winning star of "Billy Elliot".

Help! War Child

The story of the 1995 charity compilation album, "Help!", released to raise funds for the War Child charity.

Shinjuku Boys

This documentary is set in the New Marilyn night club in Tokyo, Japan - where the hosts are transgender men. They can only make their living as hosts in a nightclub with other wannabes like them. The young women who come there often have relationships with them but the underlying fear is whether such a relationship can withstand the pressures on a girl to get married and have children. All three boys deal with this in different ways. These three hosts, the Shinjuku Boys, take us into their lives.

Carlo Levi Stopped Here

The deep North-South divide in Italy is explored through the eyes of northern anti-fascist writer and painter, Carlo Levi, who is exiled by Mussolini to a remote village in Southern Italy. Levi falls in love with the ancient traditions of Southern peasant culture and becomes a passionate advocate, fighting for justice for the impoverished South.

Driving Me Crazy

Broomfield's behind-the-scenes document of the making of a musical becomes a ceremonious unmaking-of as egos, budgets and general calamity conspire to ruin the best efforts of all involved in the New York rehearsals for an extravagant, glitzy production.

Ten Years in an Open Necked Shirt

A portrait of Salford-born poet, storyteller and comic, John Cooper-Clarke. His poems, a satirical blend of humour and social comment, are delivered at a fast pace, often with musical backing. His style, and that of his contemporary Linton Kwesi Johnson, have influenced a generation of younger poets involved in a revival of popular poetry in Britain.

Soldier Girls

A documentary about women's basic training in Fort Georgia.

Steel 'n' Skin

Peter Blackman, founder of Steel 'n' Skin, talks about this pan-African group, which takes African culture to British schools. The film follows the group during a ten day workshop in Liverpool.