Documentary

The Way of the Morris

The Way of The Morris tells the story of Tim Plester, a country-turned-city mouse rediscovering his heritage via the power of Morris dancing. Expect bells, war stories and the occasional hilarious hat.

Into The Abyss

Since 1982 the state of Texas has executed 473 people, and is currently holding 334 people on death row. While California has the highest death row population in the US, it’s Texas that has the highest rate of execution – and it’s here that legendary filmmaker Werner Herzog travelled to make his mesmerising documentary, Into The Abyss.

When China Met Africa

When China Met Africa is a indepth documentary about China’s economic foray into Africa in 2006. Described as a “rare, grass-roots view into one of the most important economic challenges of our age” by The Times, it’s just as exciting as it sounds.

On Any Sunday

Upon its release in 1972, On Any Sunday, a low-budget documentary about the lives of motorcycle racers, immediately generated interest (perhaps largely due to the participation of Steve McQueen) and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Documentary. Now due to be re-released on DVD on the 12th of September, it’s our job to see how the documentary stands up against the test of time. And also Steve McQueen is in it. Did we mention Steve McQueen is in it?

The Interrupters

The Interrupters is one gang violence film that manages to avoid showing much in the way of gang violence. Set in areas of Chicago run by prominent local gangs renowned for fatal conflicts, the film captures a year in the lives of three “violence interrupters”, Ameena, Cobe and Eddie. They work for CeaseFire, an organisation which claims to treat violence as infectious diseases are treated: that is, to interrupt it at the source. Relevant much?

Project Nim

After the astonishing success of 2008′s Man On Wire James Marsh turns his documentary lens to the remarkable story of Nim, a chimp who became the centre of an experiment into whether language can indeed be acquired by animals. Without probing too much into the moral issues of such an experiment, Marsh presents this story with an extremely even hand, allowing us to be the judges of the characters, human and animal.

Countdown to Zero

If you have any interest in the history of the nuclear arms race and how it affects us today, go and see the new eye-opening documentary by Lucy Walker as it talks through the miscalculations and madness of nuclear bombs and politics in a film that educates, campaigns, and shocks.

Bomb It

“The writing’s on the wall for graffiti artists” – so reads the tired and predictable tabloid punch line. But despite years of media hysteria and clean-up operations, graffiti remains a part of urban life throughout the developed world. Jon Reiss’ documentary Bomb It proposes to explore not only the tremendous diversity of global wall writing but the wall itself – posing the question ‘who owns public space, anyway?’.

Interview with JIG director Sue Bourne

Best For Film Towers loves Jig, a mesmerising peek into the vivid and hugely disciplined world of the Irish Dance World Championship. Sue Bourne lets us into a world so secret you need to creep through a cupboard full of fur coats till you hit the lamppost in the back to gain entry to it.

Jig

The hair is piled high, the fake tan abounds and the rhinestones have been polished to within an inch of their lives; it’s time to melt into the ridiculously enjoyable world of Irish dance with Jig.