This documentary explores and provides new insights into the life and writing of British author Robert Aickman (1914-1981), with special reference to his celebrated 'strange stories' - modern ghost stories - his two volumes of autobiography and his campaigning work for the restoration of the British canal system. The film includes rare footage, recordings and photographs of Aickman, interviews with his friends and with writers Jeremy Dyson and Reggie Oliver, and dramatized excerpts of his stories.
With access to family, neighbours and professionals who knew Michael Donovan, this is the story of the man who abducted 9-year-old Shannon Matthews in 2008 and kept her in his flat for 24 days before she was found in a dramatic rescue by the police.
Narrated by Linda Hunt, this documentary examines the life of the late author and gay rights activist Paul Monette. Born in 1945 to a well-off Massachusetts family, Monette grows up unable to accept his homosexuality, for years hiding it from his loved ones while struggling to develop as a writer. In 1978, Monette publishes his first novel, which allows him to come out to his parents. After losing one lover to AIDS in 1986, he becomes a ferocious advocate for awareness of the disease.
This documentary is a chronicle of the journey through the most important sites of the life of venezuelan writer Francisco Massiani who reveals the details of his work and the love of his life.
Short interview with Clive Barker about Midnight Meat Train, his artistic process, and his paintings. Includes a tour of his painting studio.
A year in the company of Scottish writer Irvine Welsh, as he publishes a new novel, launches a record label, works on two television series and adapts his most famous work Trainspotting into a West End musical.
Having to prove the existence of God to an atheist is like having to prove the existence of the sun, at noon on a clear day. Yet millions are embracing the foolishness of atheism. “The Atheist Delusion” pulls back the curtain and reveals what is going on in the mind of those who deny the obvious. It introduces you to a number of atheists who you will follow as they go where the evidence leads, find a roadblock, and enter into a place of honesty that is rarely seen on film.
Filmmaker Rodney Evans embarks on a scientific and artistic journey, questioning how his loss of vision might impact his creative future. Through illuminating portraits of three artists: a photographer (John Dugdale), a dancer (Kayla Hamilton), and a writer (Ryan Knighton), the film looks at the ways each artist was affected by the loss of their vision and the ways in which their creative process has changed or adapted.
Fighter pilot, inventor, spy - the life of Roald Dahl is often stranger than fiction. Through a vast collection of his letters, writings and archive, the story is told largely in his own words with contributions from his last wife Liccy, daughter Lucy and biographer Donald Sturrock.
A visit to the extravagant house where Victor Hugo spent his exile in Guernsey between 1855 and 1870, the Hauteville House, entirely designed by the writer. This documentary also looks at a little-known aspect of Hugo: his talents as a decorator, architect and designer.
Acclaimed actors draw from five of Douglass’ legendary speeches, to represent a different moment in the tumultuous history of 19th century America as well as a different stage of Douglass’ long and celebrated life, while famed scholars provide context for the speeches, and remind us that Frederick Douglass’ words about racial injustice still resonate deeply today.
Intimate documentary exploring how Paul O'Grady's creation, Lily Savage, took mainstream TV by storm. Unravel the real story of Lily with insights from Paul's daughter and famous pals.
Solomon's Temple in Jerusalem, reputed to be the source of the most esoteric knowledge in human history-has fascinated scholars, seekers and dreamers for centuries. For generations, scholars and researchers have tried in vain to discover the fabled Temple of Solomon, only to be confronted by one problem after another. Gnosis weaves a tale that is both profound and precise.
A documentary about the production of From Dusk Till Dawn (1996) and the people who made it.
A young aspiring screenwriter takes a ride along to research his script. But this is no ordinary ride along: he’s researching for a gangster film. And he may have bitten off more than he can chew.
In the mountains of Transylvania, ancient beliefs in the supernatural can still be found. These beliefs are quickly dying out as the world modernizes around the tiny villages of the Carpathians.
Documentary about Kathy Acker where she talks about her writing and her life in New York.
Portrait of Marceline Loridan-Ivens, a writer and filmmaker who survived the Holocaust.
A documentary on the "Slovak Solzhenitsyn" Rudolf Dobiáš (*1934), political prisoner during the Communist era.
Bosnian Croat writer Miljenko Jergović and Serbian writer Marko Vidojković replace one another by the steering wheel of Yugo, a symbol of their common past while driving on the Brotherhood and Unity Highway that stretched across five of six republics of Yugoslavia.