At any one time the Company has a number of important documentary film projects in development.
You would not expect the Company to share all of these ideas, some of which are confidential, but
here are some of the ideas presented by the Company at its promotional events which took place between September 2003 and January 2004.
1. Kindred Spirits - A Cuban Homeland: taking as its subject the life and poetry of celebrated Cuban
poet Regino E Boti this film will also be a piece of visual poetry in its own right, celebrating the rich
culture of eastern Cuba and the important part that poetry can play in all our lives. The film is an
official co-production with ICAIC, the Cuban National Film Board;
2. Sheron's Way: a series of 3 films in which leading contemporary dance star Sheron Wray of
JazzXchange explores the origins of her art in the music and dance cultures of West Africa,
Cuba and New Orleans. Combining travelogue with music and dance, the films will be shot in
a visually original way, with Sheron stepping into the personae of local dancers in each location;
3. Billy Boston: a biopic of the greatest of all Rugby League players, renowned for his strength,
speed and skill. Billy, a black player, rose to the top of the sport in the 1950s at a time when
Rugby League was all white, and became a hero and a role model for young players in his
home town of Wigan. Raw, emotional and with great archive footage;
4. Drum Transformation: An exploration of the power and significance of the drum through the
experiences of talented drummers from around the World and ordinary people who come together
once a year in a remote corner of Norfolk. Sound and image combine to convey the power of the
drum. A series of overlapping stories explore the importance of the drum in different cultures and
different lives, from Africa and Brazil to Ireland and the home counties;
5. The Last Living Epic: Presented by Isabel Hilton of "Nightwaves" (BBC Radio 3). Already the
subject of a radio programme, this is the extraordinary story of "The Gesar of Ling", a rediscovered
Tibetan epic poem, 25 times longer than the Iliad, which embodies the great history and will to
endure of the Tibetan people. The poem is a living epic, only recently written down, and is still
chanted and sung by professional singers, often in a trance like state. Stunning images of Tibet,
haunting music and a story of cultural survival against the odds;
6. Lennon in Cuba: a short film about the impact of John Lennon and his music on Cuba, focusing
on the Cuban obsession with the Beatles, on Lennon's status as a Cuban icon, on the permutations
of Beatles music produced in Cuba, and on the story of the recent statue of Lennon erected in a
public square in Havana. This will be a quirky, odd and charming film.
Of course, not all of the projects that the Company has in development will come to fruition and we
shall sometimes have to make difficult decisions about which projects will be made and which will not.
Ideas are cheap. The Company and those associated with it are a veritable
mine of great ideas. The important thing is to convert these ideas into a reality, up there on television
and cinema screens.
Whichever documentaries it makes, the Company is committed to producing work of the highest
possible quality which will reach out beyond the normal audience for documentaries, to interest
other wider audiences in its subject matter.