Unorthodocs

The fifth annual series of Unorthodocs celebrates documentary at its most remarkable, innovative and provocative. The series of award-winning, internationally acclaimed feature documentaries is curated by Somerset House based film producers Dartmouth Films. This year’s line-up includes, among others: The Work, following a four-day group therapy retreat with convicts at Folsom Prison; Machines, observing workers’ struggles within a gigantic textile factory in Gujarat, India; and 2016 Sundance Film Festival hit Gleason, charting former NFL football player Steve Gleason’s chronicle of life with ALS and his creation of a video journal for his unborn son.

All films are followed by a discussion and Q&A involving directors, producers, commissioning editors or others connected to the film’s subject matter.

Being Blacker

12 March

19.00-20.30

After a ten-year absence, acclaimed filmmaker Molly Dineen’s feature documentary Being Blacker is an intimate, 90-minute portrait of Jamaican-born reggae producer, businessman, father, son, and community pillar, Blacker Dread. 40 years after featuring in Dineen’s first film, Blacker invites Dineen to film his mother’s funeral, opening the door to his life at a time of great personal crisis. As the story unfolds, and Blacker faces his first prison sentence, he reflects on the issues that have dogged his last 40 years in the UK: inequality, poverty, crime, and racism. Made with intimacy and warmth, the film takes the viewer deep into Blacker’s world and offers a rarely-heard perspective on life in the UK today.

This screening will be followed by a Q&A with Director, Molly Dineen.

Lost in Vagueness: The Ultimate Untold Glastonbury Festival Story

26 March

19.00-20.30

The film (which will be released in cinemas later this year) focuses on Roy Gurvitz, who invented the Lost Vagueness area at Glastonbury and whom Michael Eavis credits with reinvigorating the festival. The dark, self-destructive side of creative talent and the personal trauma behind it is exposed. The film also retraces Britain’s sub-culture history and reveals how a band of troublesome, new-age travellers came together to create Lost Vagueness: a place of opulence and decadence, but all in a muddy field.

This screening will be followed by a Q&A with Director, Sofia Olins.

The Work

9 April

19.00-20.30

Set inside a single room in Folsom Prison, the film follows three men from the outside as they participate in a four-day group therapy retreat with level-four convicts. Over the four days, each man in the room takes his turn at delving deep into his past. The raw and revealing process that the incarcerated men undertake exceeds the expectations of the free men, pulling them from their comfort zones and forcing them to see themselves and the prisoners in unexpected ways. A powerful and rare look beyond the cinder block walls, steel doors and the dehumanising tropes reveals a movement of change and redemption that transcends the ways society thinks of rehabilitation.

This screening will be followed by a Q&A with BBC Storyville’s Commissioning Editor Mandy Chang.

Machines

23 April

19.00-20.30

Moving through the corridors and bowels of an enormous and disorientating textiles factory in Gujarat, India, the film offers a sobering glimpse into a dehumanised place of physical labour and intense hardship. In his thought-provoking yet intimate portrayal, director Rahul Jain observes the daily life of the workers, the suffering they endure and the environment they feel powerless to escape. With strong visual language, memorable images and carefully selected interviews of the workers themselves, Jain tells a story of inequality, oppression and the huge divide between rich and poor.

Winner - Grierson Award for Best International Documentary, 2017

The Cinema Travellers

21 May
19.00-20.30

Cannes prize-winning The Cinema Travellers is a journey with the travelling cinemas of India, which bring the wonder of film to faraway villages annually. Seven decades after its beginning, as the lorries and cinema projectors crumble, and film reels become scarce, their audiences are lured by slick digital technology. Filmed over five years, The Cinema Travellers accompanies a shrewd exhibitor, a benevolent showman and a maverick projector mechanic who bear a beautiful burden: to keep the last travelling cinemas of the world running.

Ends

For further details, please contact Somerset House Press Office: press@somersethouse.org.uk / 020 7845 4624.

Notes to Editors:

Dates: 12, 26 March; 9, 23 April; 7, 21 May 2018

Opening Hours: All Unorthodocs screenings begin at 19.00

Address: Screening Room, South Wing, Somerset House, Strand, London WC2R 1LA

Admission: £10/£8 concession

Transport: Temple, Embankment, Covent Garden,  Charing Cross, Waterloo, Blackfriars

Somerset House public enquiries: 020 7845 4600 | www.somersethouse.org.uk

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About Somerset House

Inspiring contemporary culture

A unique part of the London cultural scene, Somerset House is an historic building where surprising and original work comes to life. From its 18th-century origins, Somerset House has been a centre for debate and discussion – an intellectual powerhouse for the nation. Somerset

House is today a key cultural destination in London in which to experience a broad range of artistic activity, engage with artists, designers and makers and be a part of a major creative forum – an environment that is relaxed, welcoming, and inspirational to visit while providing a stimulating workplace for the cultural and creative industries. 

Since its opening in 2000, Somerset House has built up a distinctive outdoor public programme including Skate, concerts, an open-air film season and a diverse range of temporary exhibitions throughout the site focusing on contemporary culture, with an extensive learning programme attached. In October 2016, Somerset House launched Somerset House Studios, a new experimental workspace connecting artists, makers and thinkers with audiences. The Studios provide a platform for new creative projects and collaboration, promoting work that pushes bold ideas, engages with urgent issues and pioneers new technologies. Somerset House is also one of the biggest community of creative organisations in London including The Courtauld Gallery and Institute of Art, King’s College London Cultural Institute and over 100 other creative businesses. It currently attracts approximately 3.4 million visitors every year.   www.somersethouse.org.uk

About Dartmouth Films

Dartmouth Films are pioneers in Britain of independent documentaries – finding new ways of funding, making and distributing films which have impact. They work with a wide range of directors helping to raise money for their films from foundations, private investors, philanthropists, film funds, broadcasters, distributors and through crowd funding appeals. They work with cinemas, broadcasters, online providers and civil society and community groups to get their films seen. And they  provide editorial and line producing support to make sure the films are made. Sometimes they are with a film from the beginning, sometimes they join as it gets into production and sometimes they only get involved when it is ready to be released. They enjoy supporting new and emerging directors and working in partnership with other companies. www.dartmouthfilms.com