My name is Sonita Gale and I’m a film director and producer based in London. My debut documentary feature Hostile premiered at the Raindance Film Festival in 2021, and I’m thrilled whenever their annual lineup is released because I’m always certain to see a wonderful mix of fresh voices and new work from filmmakers I admire.
I have found the work of certain female filmmakers (Kim Longinotto, Ava Duvernay, and Penny Woolcock, to name a few) especially compelling and inspiring when it came to the development of my own career. This year, I’m happy to see a strong representation of women at the festival. Some films I’m looking out for include Inna Sahakyan’s Aurora’s Sunrise, Katherine Propper’s Lost Soulz, and Carol Morley’s Typist Artist Pirate King. The documentaries Another Body and Red Herring both also promise to be insightful journeys into topics I am especially interested in, and I look forward to catching them at the festival.
Storm by Erica Calmeyer
storm-trailer from Norwegian Film Institute on Vimeo.
Q&A with the director
Nominated for Discovery Award and Best Screenplay (Johan Fasting, Erika Calmeyer)
On a fishing trip with her two young kids, single mother Elin’s world is torn apart as her son falls into the river and drowns. Struggling to get their life back together, rumours begin to circulate in the small community that his sister pushed him. What really happened that day?
Sweet Sixteen by Alexa-Jeanne Dubé
Nominated for Best International Feature
Content Warnings – discussion of rape, drugs, and violence
Sweet Sixteen presents eight 16-year-old girls that unveil themselves through their bittersweet monologues. All highlighted in an evocative and poetic setting, the characters deliver on different themes; self-image, eating disorders, anxiety, their first love, their first kiss, friendship, sorority, sex, rape, incest, social media, social and political revolts.
Lost Soulz by Katherine Propper
Lost Soulz trailer from Katherine Propper on Vimeo.
Nominated for Discovery Award
Content Warnings – Adult Language/Drug Use
Propper’s debut feature is a story about grappling with shame and overcoming hardships in pursuit of one’s dreams and inspired by true aspects of Sauve’s life, a young rapper who leaves everything behind and embarks on an odyssey of self-discovery, music and friendship in the heart of Texas.
Long Distance Swimmer – Sara Mardini
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.
La Singla by Paloma Zapata
Nominated for Best Documentary Feature
The heart-breaking story of flamenco dancer Antonia Singla who was born in the suburbs of Barcelona. Having become deaf shortly after birth, she learned to dance in silence, achieving great success in Germany. Revolutionizing the world of flamenco, she disappeared from the stage forever before she turned 40.
Aurora’s Sunrise by Inna Sahakyan
Aurora’s Sunrise – Trailer from CAT&Docs on Vimeo.
Nominated for Best Documentary Feature
The true story of a teenage refugee turned Hollywood star. At 14-years-old, Aurora lost everything during the horror of the Armenian Genocide but with extraordinary courage she escaped to New York, where she became a media sensation and the face of the largest charity campaign in American History.
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!
Sonita Gale is a Writer, Producer, and Director. Elevating the stories of marginalised communities is at the forefront of her work.
Her producing debut Andrew Carnegie: Rags to Riches, Power to Peace – narrated by Golden Globe-winner Brian Cox – premiered at the Edinburgh Film Festival in 2015.
Sonita’s directorial debut, Hostile, is an award-winning, BAFTA and BIFA-longlisted documentary exposing the ‘hostile environment’ for migrants in the UK. Hostile premiered at Raindance in 2021, has screened at cinemas across the country, and has been selected for several international film festivals.
As Producer, Sonita is currently collaborating with the Emmy award-winning Director Geeta Gandbhir.
