Adam Thomas

DURATION: 85

Amid China’s introduction of a new national security law that restricts certain words, images, books, slogans and songs, director San San F Young examines the internal struggle of those who choose to fight to protect the creative freedoms of the residents of Hong Kong. Young’s own personal story is interwoven with those of different artists, from rappers to stunt collectives and everyone in between as they are forced to contend with the new authoritarian stranglehold and whether or not they are willing to risk their freedom for their art.

World Premiere Hot Docs 2023

Scottish Herald’s pick of the Glasgow Film Festival ‘does a fantastic job of chronicling the change in Hong Kong’s mood. This change in mood is aided by the film’s elegant style, with gorgeous yet foreboding shots of the city coupled with more extravagant pieces of visual flair.’

In cinemas and fetivals now. Follow on instagram @hong _kong _mixtape for updates on screenings and more.

Director: San San F Young

Producer: Nikki Parrot

DURATION: 85'

Over the last four years Kisilu, a Kenyan farmer, has used his camera to document the life of his family, his village and the impact of climate change. Over the years he has documented floods, droughts, storms but also the more human impacts of climate change - kids are sent home from school when school fees can’t be paid; men are moving to towns in search for jobs; and family tensions rise.

But refusing to give up, Kisilu initiates a plan to bring his community back together, mitigate against the changing climate and save his family. It takes him all the way the UN Climate Talks in Paris.

"Mastery in the art of filmmaking " - One World Media.
More about the film

World Premiere CPH:DOX 2017

In Competition: Hot Docs, Sheffield Doc Fest

One of The Guardians 15 must-see films about the climate crisis

Director: Julia Dahr

Producer: Hugh Hartford

Executive Producer: Sabine Bubeck-Paaz

DURATION: 90

A tight-knit crabbing community in the U.S. fights for a sea wall to save their beloved island from vanishing into the Chesapeake Bay. Despite many of them not believing in man-made climate change, they engage in conversations with three filmmakers who do. Shot over four years, Stayers sparks self-reflective journeys on opposite sides of the climate debate.

The film explores universal topics such as why we feel so attacked and provoked by people who disagree with us, especially at a time of increasing polarization. Anchored in a collective search for common ground and solutions, the film explores what it takes to listen and create meaningful conversations across the divide. Turns out, it’s harder than we think, but hearteningly possible.

IN POST PRODUCTION

Director: Julia Dahr

Co-directors: Hannah Jayanti & Julie Lunde Lillesæter

Producer: Natalya Sarch

DURATION: 25’

The survivor of a brutal honour killing in india testifies against her parents in the murder trial of her lower-caste husband.

In March 2016, Kausalya and her husband Shankar were brutally attacked on a crowded street in southern India.

Shankar, who came from a lower Dalit caste, died of his injuries. Kausalya survived and accused her parents of orchestrating an honour killing.

This film, for Al Jazeera’s Witness strand, follows Kausalya as she fights for justice through the courts, testifying against her parents in a trial where they face the death penalty.

International EMMY 2019 nominated

Best Current Affairs Film, New York Festivals TV and Film Awards 2019 winner

Best Biography/Profile Film, New York Festivals TV and Film Awards 2019 winner

Best Human rights Film, New York Festivals TV and Film Awards 2019 winner

IDA Awards, Best Documentary shortshortlist 2018

SIMA awards, Best Documentary Short, 2018 nominated

Director: Sadhana Subramaniam

Producers: Anna Murphy, Harri Grace (Grain Media)

DURATION: 14’

Celebrating the imagination and resourcefulness of young children across the UK by understanding the outdoor games they invent, inherit and play. The documentary was shot before Covid-19 changed their lives, and shifts from rural Wales to post-industrial Teesside and inner-city London. What challenges will these young people face in the aftermath of brutal funding cuts to youth services? How can their optimistic energy strengthen their resilience in these challenging times?

Director: Charlotte Regan

Producer: Theo Barrowclough

Full film and more at The Guardian

DURATION: 20’

Mark, a 60 year old fledgling storm chaser recently diagnosed with lung cancer, sets out across the Midwest with his friend's nephew in search of a tornado before the two month season comes to an end.

The film was in competition at Tribeca Film Festival 2018. It won the Jury Prize at Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival putting it on the Oscars long list for Best Short Documentary.

Director: Liam Saint-Pierre

Producers: Liam Saint-Pierre & Ross Williams

Full film and more at The New York Times

DURATION: 29’

To date at least 20 British nationals, some with no previous experience of combat, have travelled to Syria to fight Isis on the frontline. Eight of these Brits have lost their lives. This film follows the journeys of parents as they investigate why their children went to join the Kurdish army in their fight against Isis. What led these young Brits to risk everything, travelling thousands of miles from home to wage war against the world’s most feared terrorist organisation, fighting someone else’s war?

Directors and Producers: Tom Huntingford, George Cowie and Martin Armstrong

Executive Producers: Charlie Phillips, Jacqueline Edenbrow and Mustafa Khalili

More at The Guardian

DURATION: 24'

Chalk Girl: a protester at the heart of Hong Kong’s democracy movement. Two years since her arrest made her an accidental infamous hero of the pro-democracy umbrella movement, the 16-year-old must decide whether to rejoin the battle alongside the 'localist' youth. As elections loom, Chalk Girl is torn between wanting to respect her family, who are concerned about the risks of her activism, and standing up to Chinese interference. Young localists see themselves as being in a fight to save their beloved city, and in the middle of it all, Chalk Girl is just a teenager wanting to feel part of something bigger.

Director and Producer: San San F Young

Editor: Adam Thomas

More at The Guardian

Duration: 25’

Airin and her friends are rooftoppers in Hong Kong. They refuse to play by the rules and sneak to the top of the city's soaring skyscrapers. But their high-rise antics are not just for thrills. Two years after the pro-democracy 'Umbrella Movement' was cleared from the streets, many young people are in a state of despair. They're anxious about their futures - from unaffordable housing and wealth inequality to the growing influence of Mainland China. Airin believes their defiant stunts can inspire others to stand up against powerful elites. Will they mobilise Hong Kongers to fight for change, or just land themselves in a lot of trouble?

Director and Producer: San San F Young

DURATION: 25'

Sun Hua, an award-winning Chinese investigative journalist for the 'Jinan Times', knows just what he can and cannot get away with and how best to persuade his bosses to allow him to continue his work. Balancing a Dream explores 21st century China as it is challenged by a changing world, pushed by free-thinkers such as Sua Hua and an ongoing struggle for increasing freedom of expression.

Mail On Sunday, ‘TV Pick of the Day’

Directors: Ling Lee & Ying Chui

Producer: Rodrigo Vazquez

DURATION: 25'

Egyptian poet Ahmed Fouad Negm is outspoken, irreverent and controversial - a living legend in the Arab world famous for not holding his tongue. In this rare, intimate portrait he seeks his place in the revolution, and the inspiration to write again.

Dir: May Abdalla

Editor: Adam Thomas

DURATION: 25'

Some 50,000 mainland Chinese people obtain one-way permits to move to Hong Kong each year. 

They then have to wait a further seven years before gaining residency and, in the meantime, have no status whatsoever and no access to healthcare, education, or public housing. 

They suffer routine discrimination, even from other migrants who have already gained residency, and live in pitiable and squalid conditions - for example, a family of five can often live within a space of 100 square feet.

For some, this raises problems of mental as well as physical illness, and their only help comes from the New Women Arrivals League, which lobbies on their behalf and supports them however they can.

Director: San San F Young

Editor: Adam Thomas