Documentary
Black filmmaker John Akomfrah believes that, for too long, being English has meant being white. In an attempt to show Englishness from the point of view of mixed-race English people, he visits Liverpool, one of England's oldest multicultural communities.


Himself

British director Terence Davies reflects on his birthplace of Liverpool - his memories of growing up there and how it has changed in the years since - in the process meditating on the internal struggles and conflicts that have wracked him throughout his life and the history of England during the second half of the 20th century.

Intrepid reporter Daniel Farson makes the journey from London to Liverpool to discover why this “hard-drinking, hard-fighting” northern enclave has become the epicentre of the 1960s music scene. His whistle-stop tour takes in all the Merseybeat landmarks, most notably the celebrated Cavern club where youngsters twist and swoon to the likes of Gerry and the Pacemakers and Rory Storm and the Hurricanes. Close-up shots of the musicians and revellers together with evocative street scenes, courtesy of cameramen Ron Osborn and Peter Povey, capture the vitality of this defining moment in Liverpool’s cultural history.

This powerful and disturbing documentary covers the outcry approaching the release of Robert Thompson and Jon Venables, the two 10 year old boys who killed 2 year-old James Bulger in 1993. Re-telling the tragedy, the film presents the protests against their release from an institution, delves into the backgrounds of the killers, their terrible violent act and the impact it caused in UK. It also explores claims that their punishment has been a sham, as reporter Deborah Davies investigates how inmates at secure units are treated and interviews experts to learn whether eight years has been sufficient time to successfully rehabilitate the pair.