Hi, this is Laura here – Academic Administrator at Raindance Film School and budding filmmaker! Films that give a voice to social issues and movements are some of the most influential in our society – see the change and be the change by watching these incredibly powerful features in the Artist’s for Change at Raindance, and help these daring and inspiring filmmakers be that voice by getting your tickets!
From Indigenous tribes, the secret books of Hitler, sex trafficking, the horrors of deepfake pornography, personalities within womxn institutions, and two films which follow the lives of two extraordinary women, this strand is full of must-sees.
Maya
– Vue Piccadilly @6pm 30th Oct
When 15-year-old Maya, raised in a household stricken by addiction and violence, seeks an escape from her alcoholic mother’s abusive boyfriend, she’s lured into a sex trafficking scheme by a man she met online. Will Maya be forever lost to the dark world she has fallen prey to?
Website | IMDb | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Tiktok
Long Distance Swimmer – Sara Mardini
– Curzon Soho @6.20pm Mon 30th Oct
Nominated for Best UK Film
Shot over a period of three years, the film follows Sara’s fight for justice and journey of self-discovery, illustrating Europe’s biggest shift in the last decade: from being a place that welcomed refugees to an environment hostile to those who dare pull drowning people out of the sea.
Sisters Interrupted
– Cuzon Soho @ 6.20pm Wed 1st Nov
Nominated for Best UK Film
Content warning – flashing images. The filmmakers have purposefully and thoughtfully included visual and auditory warnings so anyone affected will have due time to cover their eyes, our hope is that these sensory interruptions will provide a sense for those without epilepsy of the reality for sufferers in their day to day lives.
Get tickets for Sisters Interrupted HERE
We Are Guardians
– Genesis @6pm Sat 28th Oct
Nominated for Best Documentary Feature
As the Indigenous forest guardians of the Tenetehara fend off the incessant encroachment of illegal loggers and invaders, a global story erupts entwining the science of the Amazon Rainforest and its role in global climate stability, the economic drivers of deforestation and ultimately it’s fate.
Clashing Differences
– Genesis @6pm Mon 30th Oct
Nominated for Best International Feature
In order to avoid being canceled, the House of Womxn association changes up their proposed panel to satisfy a diversity checklist. The resulting summit of personalities, brought together to prepare for the international women’s conference, threatens to destroy its public image entirely.
Get Clashing Differences tickets HERE
Another Body
– Vue Piccadilly @6pm Thu 26th Oct
Nominated for Best Documentary Feature
Content Warning – Blurred depictions of deepfake pornography
Another Body follows a college student’s search for answers and justice after she discovers deepfakes of herself circulating online. Through candid video diaries, synthetic media, and 2D and 3D animation, the film takes you into Taylor’s online and offline worlds, humanizing a vast social issue in a compelling personal story.
Website | IMDb | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram
The Books He Didn’t Burn
– Vue Piccadilly @3pm 29th Oct
Nominated for Best Documentary Feature
American historian Timothy Ryback examines the remains of Adolf Hitler’s private library which was home to 16,000 books at the end of his life. Many of these were bestsellers long before the Nazis took power in 1933 and are filled with ideas that paved the way for Hitler.
Get tickets for All The Books He Didn’t Burn
Want to Walk a Red Carpet?
Opening Night Gala: Day of the Fight + Party
Fresh off of Venice, Jack Huston’s directorial debut tells the story of a once-renowned boxer who takes a redemptive journey through his past and present on the day of his first fight since he left prison.
The film stars Michael Pitt alongside a cast including Ron Perlman, Joe Pesci and a cameo from Steve Buscemi which leads us right into our star-studded Opening Night Party.
Red carpets, literal icons, a 1920s swing band and an open bar – what’s to miss?
Limited tickets are available for our Opening Gala, now on sale at an early bird price. Snag them while you can!
Laura studied at Raindance Film School on the HND in Filmmaking course, moving on to the MA in Filmmaking (Negotiated) with distinction. Since then, she has worked freelance on many short-form, corporate, web series and feature film projects. Laura also has her own production company, CodeSpirit Productions, in which she has made award-winning narrative and documentary short films, with her short films screening worldwide.
