Rentals

Documentaries

Fresh perspectives on familiar themes give a new relevance, as proven by our choice of the best in modern documentaries.

Documentaries can be as lyrical, expressive and experimental as any work of fiction while presenting different ways of seeing. What unites these choices is the themes of place and identity, focusing on the British landscape, its coastline and cities. History also plays a role thanks the expert use of archive footage from Penny Woolcock and Julien Temple.

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Who's Gonna Love Me Now? Who's Gonna Love Me Now?

Documentary 2017 86 mins Director: Tomer Heymann and Barak Heymann

A heartfelt exploration of one man’s struggle to reconcile with his Israeli family, while finding a new ‘family’ in London Gay Men’s Chorus.

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The Confession: Living the War on Terror The Confession: Living the War on Terror

Documentary 2016 96 mins Director: Ashish Ghadiali

A detailed, wide-ranging interview with Moazzam Begg, a British citizen formerly detained at Guantanamo Bay under suspicion of terrorism offenses.

Film: Fahrenheit 11/9

Currently unavailable

Fahrenheit 11/9 Fahrenheit 11/9

Documentary 2018 128 mins Director: Michael Moore

Michael Moore paints a fiery portrait of life in Trump’s America. Populist, provocative and piercingly captivating, this is Moore’s clarion call to action.

Film: McQueen

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McQueen McQueen

Biopic 2018 111 mins Director: Ian Bonhôte

In scintillating fashion, this compelling documentary explores the dark dreams that drove the brilliant, lamented designer, Alexander McQueen.

Film: Of Fathers and Sons

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Of Fathers and Sons Of Fathers and Sons

Documentary 2017 99 mins Director: Talal Derki

Syrian-born filmmaker Talal Derki travels to his homeland where he gains the trust of a radical Islamist family, sharing their daily life for over two years. 2019 Academy Award Nominee for Best Documentary Feature.

Film: Ryuichi Sakamoto: Coda

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Ryuichi Sakamoto: Coda Ryuichi Sakamoto: Coda

Documentary 2017 101 mins Director: Stephen Schible

A graceful, intimate study of the legendary Japanese musician, composer, actor, writer and activist.

Film: RBG

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RBG RBG

Biopic 2018 99 mins Director: Julie Cohen and Betsy West

Revelatory documentary on an unexpected hero - former U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

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Generation Revolution Generation Revolution

Documentary 2016 72 mins Director: Usayd Younis and Cassie Quarless

This urgent, impassioned documentary follows a new generation of Black activists as they fight for social and political change in London and beyond.

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The Hard Stop The Hard Stop

Documentary 2016 86 mins Director: George Amponsah

The story of Mark Duggan, who was shot and killed in Tottenham in 2011, is brought to the screen in this humane, thought-provoking and topical documentary.

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Grace Jones: Bloodlight and Bami Grace Jones: Bloodlight and Bami

Documentary 2017 115 mins Director: Sophie Fiennes

Grace Jones is laid bare in this intimate and electrifying insight into the fascinating world of a pop-cultural phenomenon.

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The Lovers & the Despot The Lovers & the Despot

Documentary 2016 98 mins Director: Ross Adam and Rob Cannan

Discover one of cinema’s strangest stories: a film director and his star are kidnapped by Kim Jong-il to make movies in the world’s weirdest state.

Currently unavailable

Love Is All Love Is All

Documentary 2014 74 mins Director: Kim Longinotto

A hundred years of love and courtship on the silver screen, with music created by celebrated Sheffield singer-songwriter-producer Richard Hawley.

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Hockney Hockney

Documentary 2014 108 mins Director: Randall Wright

A portrait of the beloved British artist, drawing on his own home-movie footage and with revealing contributions from his friends and colleagues.

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A Man's Story A Man's Story

Documentary 2012 98 mins Director: Varon Bonicos

A documentary charting twelve years in the career of Savile Row tailor Ozwald Boateng.

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Notes on Blindness Notes on Blindness

Documentary 2016 87 mins Director: James Spinney and Peter Middleton

James Spinney and Peter Middleton's highly original documentary uses cinematic interpretations and textured sound design to express a ‘world beyond sight.’

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The Man from Mo'Wax The Man from Mo'Wax

Documentary 2018 116 mins Director: Matthew Jones

The exhilarating, no holds-barred story of Mo'Wax records founder James Lavelle, one of the most enigmatic yet influential figures in British music culture.

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Robinson in Ruins Robinson in Ruins

Documentary 2010 101 mins Director: Patrick Keiller

The head of a research organisation arranges Robinson’s abandoned research on the English landscape to uncover the origins of capitalist catastrophe.

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Self Made Self Made

Documentary 2011 84 mins Director: Gillian Wearing

Artist Gillian Wearing’s ‘documentary’ observes seven people creating (fantasy?) identities in collaboration with a drama teacher. Raw and revealing.

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The Spirit of '45 The Spirit of '45

Documentary 2013 95 mins Director: Ken Loach

Ken Loach's stirring polemical history explores the immense forces that built Britain's Welfare State from the rubble of the Second World War.

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What Is This Film Called Love? What Is This Film Called Love?

Documentary 2012 81 mins Director: Mark Cousins

Mark Cousins’ cine-essay, inspired by Sergei Eisenstein’s 1930s Mexican odyssey, is a poetic meditation on memory, landscape and walking.

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Stockholm My Love Stockholm My Love

Drama 2016 84 mins Director: Mark Cousins

Neneh Cherry, director Mark Cousins and cinematographer Christopher Doyle's exquisite love song to the Swedish city.

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The Big Melt The Big Melt

Documentary 2013 71 mins Director: Martin Wallace

Jarvis Cocker and acclaimed director Martin Wallace's feature-length elegy to the men and women who toiled in Sheffield's steelworks is a hymn to Britain's proud industrial past.

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Project Wild Thing Project Wild Thing

Documentary 2013 80 mins Director: David Bond

Crowning himself as Marketing Director for Nature, a father aims to entice his kids away from TV, toys and technology.

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Dark Horse Dark Horse

Documentary 2015 86 mins Director: Louise Osmond

The inspirational, larger-than-life true story of how a group of friends in a poor mining village took on the elite 'sport of kings' and breed themselves a racehorse.

Currently unavailable

Deep Water Deep Water

Documentary 2006 89 mins Director: Louise Osmond and Jerry Rothwell

Riveting account of the disastrous attempt by novice sailor Donald Crowhurst to compete in a round-the-world, solo yachting race.

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The Epic of Everest The Epic of Everest

Non-Fiction 1924 87 mins Director: J.B.L. Noel

Premiere. A breathtaking and poignant account of the valiant 1924 British assault on the awe-inspiring peak, beautifully restored by the BFI.

Film: The Marvellous Mabel Normand: The Leading Lady of Film Comedy

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The Marvellous Mabel Normand: The Leading Lady of Film Comedy The Marvellous Mabel Normand: The Leading Lady of Film Comedy

Comedy 2018 78 mins Director: Leo McCarey, Mabel Normand and 2 more

Discover early Hollywood's irrepressible comic pioneer, showcased in this delightful package of short films in which she appears alongside fellow greats Charlie Chaplin, Fatty Arbuckle and Oliver Hardy.