The Spirit of Hulme is a whistle stop tour through 70 years of Hulme's history. Focusing on some of those who fought for better housing conditions and the right of the community to be consulted on what replaced the system-built housing that had largely failed within seven years of construction.
In January, 2015, American rock climbers Tommy Caldwell and Kevin Jorgeson captivated the world with their effort to climb The Dawn Wall, a seemingly impossible 3,000 foot rock face in Yosemite National Park, California. The pair lived on the sheer vertical cliff for weeks, igniting a frenzy of global media attention. But for Tommy Caldwell, The Dawn Wall was much more than just a climb. It was the culmination of a lifetime defined by overcoming obstacles. At the age of 22, the climbing prodigy was taken hostage by rebels in Kyrgyzstan. Shortly after, he lost his index finger in an accident, but resolved to come back stronger. When his marriage fell apart, he escaped the pain by fixating on the extraordinary goal of free climbing The Dawn Wall. Blurring the line between dedication and obsession, Caldwell and his partner Jorgeson spend six years meticulously plotting and practicing their route. On the final attempt, with the world watching, Caldwell is faced with a moment of truth.
Beautiful Things is a journey into our obsessive consumption. The many objects we accumulate and we believe to be essential begin their production journey in silent secluded industrial and scientific sites. The film describes the hidden mechanical liturgy within four different remote locations where bordeline men work in complete isolation without any interference from the outside world. These men trigger, unconsciously, the long chain of creation, transport, commercialization and destruction of the objects feeding our bulimic lifestyle. They are monks inside temples of steel and concrete. They repeat the same liturgy every day. And we don't even know that they exist.
Shot in the real-life contemporary art world, Female Human Animal is a psychothriller about a creative woman disenchanted with what modern life - and modern men - have to offer her. When writer Chloe Aridjis curates the Tate retrospective of the surrealist Leonora Carrington, an elusive, brooding man appears, seeming to offer more. Enabled by the artworks' defiant mystery, Chloe pursues him. But as she descends into a world of obsession, is she hunter or hunted? A darkly romantic enactment of a woman going beyond societal norms, it puts on screen the lurid unconscious of our new sexual politics.
One of the world's most prolific classical recording artists, Daniel Hope has over 25 albums to his name and numerous prestigious awards won. He is music director of the Zurich Chamber Orchestra and artistic partner of the New Century Orchestra San Francisco among other roles.
The Sound of Life tells his and his family's story - one of flight and exile, of identity and history. It is a portrait of a virtuoso musician for professional and aspiring musicians and music lovers everywhere.