As summer approaches, Barnes opens its door to art, culture and entertainment once again.
Running from 16 to 22 June, the Barnes Film Festival returns in 2022 with an array of
diverse, unique, inspiring projects.
In anticipation of this year’s edition, here is a summary of the films that will be screened
throughout the Festival.
OLYMPIC STUDIOS EVENTS
Location: Olympic Studios, Church Rd, London SW13 9HL
FUTURE FORECAST SCREENING
FRIDAY 17 JUNE, 6:20PM
SUNDAY 19 JUNE, 3:30PM
The Last Mechanic
Director: Director Jonathan Cross
In 2051, a charismatic but lonely mechanic invites us into his garage and talks us through the
ups and downs of the past 30 years. It didn’t go the way that you think.
Down
Director: Director Guy Harvey
A hole in London lures people to jump inside, growing larger, deeper and seemingly more
unstoppable with each victim.
You From the Future
Director: Director Tim Bunn
Daniel and Mary are a twenty-something couple with their lives stuck on pause… that is until
two very familiar-looking visitors from the future appear to hit fast-forward.
Talk To The Can
Director: Director Jordan H. Elliott
When Dave, a control freak, discovers that the home devices he uses to make his life easier
have actually been secretly recording everything, he must change in order to survive.
SHOWCASES – FRIDAY 17 + WEDNESDAY 22 JUNE
All the showcases are 30 minutes long and can be booked individually.
12:00PM -12:30PM
Sylvain’s Hunt
Director: Theo Cohn
Sylvain’s Hunt is a surreal depiction of something familiar. Miniatures, prosthetics, sightless
driving mountain shots, puppets, gore effects, all serve to make a traditional Son and Father
rite-of-passage hunting trip into an uncanny vision of maturation and masculinity.
Thanks For the Harmonica
Director: Jemimah Mensah Coker
A moving story about how Celeste, a curious hotel receptionist, helps a guest deal with his
grief with a random act of kindness – a gift of a harmonica.
12:45PM- 1:15PM
A Little Bit of Paradise
Director: Andrzej Cichocki
Under the Forest of Dean a community of people continue the ancient practice of
Freemining: a traditional way of mining for coal and iron ore in small scale mines passed on
by oral tradition. This documentary is a snap shot of three of the last operational mines in
the Forest, and the people that work them.
Under the Forest
Director: Ryan Powell
1:30PM- 2:00PM
Eric
Director: David Yorke
Joshua finally gets to meet Eric, the beloved dog of a girl he’s been dating. As the evening
evolves, Josh begins to get a sneaking suspicion that Eric isn’t your typical house pet.
Artistic Character
Director: Vasily Chuprina
When a quiet artist spends his time daydreaming of his muse, he inadvertently sets in
motion a series of actions that he has no control of. A quiet life upturns at each event with
consequences.
2:15PM- 2.45PM
Geisha L.O.V.E.
Director: Mike V. Derderian
A day in the life of a graffiti artist and her robot protector set in 2155. A tough, no nonsense
renegade graffiti artist in a dystopian world, where graffiti is punishable by death.
Total Eclipse (of the heart)
Director: Nicola Jane Francis
A woman in love makes an unexpected connection during a solar eclipse.
Mama I’m Through
Director: Emma Morgan-Bennett
After the death of her 102-year-old great-grandmother during BLM protests, Emma seeks
advice from her three friends about Black motherhood. Their words, paired with a montage
of family archive creates a film that examines the lines between racial violence, resilience,
and afrofutures.
3:00PM- 3:30PM
Love Letter to the Dream I had
Director: Yoni Ben-Haim
A recounting of a summer filled with love and adoration. By the agency of her dreams,
moments of a time is relived by the narrator filled with heightened raw emotions.
Jackson
Director: Emma Miranda Moore
Teenager Amira avoids a haunted house visit using her unique imagination. ‘Jackson’ is a
rainbow-hued onion of memory and invented story – the layers of which are revealed by
someone who wouldn’t have thought of telling you anything is wrong.
3:45PM – 4:15PM
Man Up In Lockdown
Director: Ruicheng Liang
Exploring non-binary identity, Man Up in Lockdown follows Richard Energy, a provocative
digital drag king born in the pandemic. Timely and moving, this film examines what it means
to be an artist, driven by creativity and a desperate need to perform.
Cinema Now
Director: Louis Holder
A montage of closed cinema images during lockdown in London, captured on Super 8mm
film. A short, observational documentary that creates a capsule of a turbulent period in all
our lives – the COVID-19 pandemic.
4:30PM – 5:00PM
Don Vs Lightening
Director: Big Red Button
All Don wants is a quiet life in the Scottish Highlands. Unfortunately, the universe has other
plans.
Lilian
Director: Cathy Tyson
The first black woman in the Royal Air Force, Lilian Bader, challenges the history books. Both
she and her husband fought in WW2 yet there aren’t any pictures of the contribution of
black servicemen and women. Fifteen years after the war, Edith, a person she had tried to
help, arrives at her door and brings new challenges. Why is she there? and why now?
5:15PM – 5:45PM
Find the Light
Director: Abdullah Khan
Zak Anwar, a young Pakistani boy, is continually victimised and sees no reprieve. Battered
from his latest attack he decides to end the suffering and attempts to drown himself, only
for the critical moment to reveal a purpose worth living for.
Bainne
Director: Jack Reynor
In the last year of The Great Famine in Ireland, a stoic farmhand survives working for the
local landlord. When he encounters a ghostly figure stealing milk his morality is questioned,
and is beguiled on a journey of faith.
WOMEN’S WORLD SCREENING
FRIDAY 17 JUNE, 8:50PM
SATURDAY 18 JUNE, 5:10PM
MONDAY 20 JUNE, 2PM
Irani Bag
Director: Maryam Tafakory
Using excerpts of films produced between 1990 and 2018, Irani Bag is a split-screen video
essay questioning the innocence of bags in Iranian cinema.
Everybody needs some(dead)body
Director: George Mills
After a lonely housewife’s dead husband returns from the grave unexpectedly, she finds
herself in a love triangle with her deceased spouse and her new boyfriend.
All these men that I’ve done
Director: Lorraine Nolan
Four women explore the constructs that have helped shape their sexual confidence.
Deep Clean
Director: B Welby
Maddie is tasked with cleaning the house of a hoarder, an old woman who recently died. As
she starts to become increasingly paranoid that she is not alone, Maddie has to face the
horrifying reality of what her life might become.
Planted
Director: Nicola Jane Francis
A woman is obsessed with her house plants. One day, she takes it too far.
Love Ya Like Poison
Director: Max Azulay
Twenty-something Louise returns to NYC after university abroad. Reunited with her
firecracker of a Jewish mother, Nadine. While Nadine wants her back for good, Lou is
desperately trying not to get too comfortable, when she reveals news of her engagement.
ON THE EDGE OF REASON SCREENING
SATURDAY 18 JUNE, 2:50PM
SUNDAY 19 JUNE, 4:30PM
Nice to Meet You All
Director: Guen Murroni
Stylish and witty, “Nice To Meet You All” is a light hearted insight into a woman with
Dissociative Identity Disorder who has survived human trafficking rings in the US.
Milk
Director: Adam Etheridge
A single Mum collects her teenage son from hospital following a suicide attempt, but quickly
finds herself trapped between the medical advice she receives, and her fundamental
instincts as a parent.
The Fourth Wall
Director: Mahboobeh Kalaee
Home and family, relationships, desires, wishes and everything is summarized in a kitchen.
The stuttering boy is alone there, playing with his imagination.
She
Director: Matt Greenhalgh
A frantic young woman struggles against an unforgiving inner voice that battles against all
logic, rhyme or reason… compelling her to endure a physical, mental journey that takes her
right to the very edge.
We Are Here
Director: Doménica Castro & Constanza Castro
An audio-visual portrait of what it’s like to be an undocumented immigrant in the US. The
voices you hear people who grew up in the States but are undocumented as their parents
were illegal immigrants.
Caught
Director: Fred Kelly
Caught is a dark comedy. Jay visits Rita’s photographic studio seeking revenge on an abusive
partner. Energetic and Witty with a sharp surprise at the end.
MODERN FAMILIES SCREENING
SATURDAY 18 JUNE, 6:25PM
SUNDAY 19 JUNE, 2PM
MONDAY 20 JUNE, 3:30PM
A Little Bit of Paradise
Director: Andrzej Cichocki
A documentary story from the borderlands of realism and fairy tale, A Little Bit of Paradise is
a film about a Silesian family. In an out-of-the-way corner of a metropolis, they reveal their
world to the watcher and share moments from their lives, which are inextricably bound up
with the nature around them.
Sunday Roast
Director: Lukas Steinmaier
The Wheldon family sure loves to celebrate their holy Sunday. As for the family tradition,
the parents Frank and Molly are preparing a splendid roast chicken. But their daughter
Laura knows all too well that this is just their way of settling their differences. As the food is
served and the alcohol flows, the seemingly civilised lunch quickly descends into a
downright war.
The Cost of Life
Director: Maryam Bahaari
A poignant and poetic look at the lives of young Afghan immigrants told by themselves. The
hardships of leaving their own country and families behind in search of jobs and a more
peaceful life in Iran.
The Clearing
Director: Daniel Hope
In a desperate battle with his ballooning ego, Bill struggles in vain to re-woo Deb with his
below-par outdoor skills and, quite frankly, shocking behaviour, until their last-ditch
camping trip takes a VERY sinister turn.
Dalja: Cinema and Oblivion
Director: Arturo Dueñas Herrero
Life is going on in Dakhla, one of the Sahrawi refugee camps in southern Algeria, forgotten
for 45 years. The arrival of a film festival, the Fisahara, breaks the monotony, but once it’s
over life (and oblivion) continues.
MEN’S MATTERS SCREENING
SATURDAY 18 JUNE, 3:20PM
TUESDAY 21 JUNE, 4:35PM
Point 5
Director: Sam Turner
A nervous upper-class banker trying to impress his girlfriend, reluctantly gets dragged into a
hostile transaction with an extremely unorthodox drug dealer.
Another Father
Director: Joe Lueben
A young father hopes to avoid repeating the pattern of paternal anger as he cares for his
four-year-old son. A delightful and moving portrayal of best intentions.
Sylvain’s Hunt
Director: Theo Cohn
Sylvain’s Hunt is a surreal depiction of something familiar. Miniatures, prosthetics, sightless
driving mountain shots, puppets, gore effects, all serve to make a traditional Son and Father
rite-of-passage hunting trip into an uncanny vision of maturation and masculinity.
Just Like You
Director: Sebastien Rabas
A poignant documentary portrait of an ex con handyman as he seeks to understand his
opiate addiction by exploring inter-generational trauma in his family and trying to break the
cycle before it affects his young daughter.
Dash
Director: Rory Fleck Byrne
A small town stable man struggles with his femininity amidst a rugged rural landscape. As
his favorite horse is set to be euthanised at the end of the week he is forced to make a
decision. Will he continue to live like this?
Mani Pedi
Director: Marlene Goldman
Raymond, a young immigrant from Laos, who learned to fight in the refugee camps has his
overbearing sister enlist him to work at her nail salon. In short order, the salon reveals itself
to be an equally toxic female “ring”.
There is Exactly Enough Time
Director: Oskar Salomonowitz
Oskar Salomonowitz, the 12-year-old son of filmmakers Anja Salomonowitz and Virgil
Widrich, had drawn 206 frames of a flip book when he died in an accident. Using the
remaining blank sheets, his father continued drawing the film.
RIVERSIDE STUDIOS EVENTS
Location: 101 Queen Caroline St, London W6 9BN
Many more events will take place at the iconic Riverside Studios thoughout the week,
including exclusive premieres, Q&As, tutorials and a number of Ukrainian features.
Head over to https://barnesfilmfestival.com/competition/festival-tickets-timetable/ to see
the full timetable and for more information on how to purchase tickets, or call the Box
Office on 020 8912 5161.
Looking forward to seeing you there!
written by Serena Orano
