The Reason I Jump
Feature Documentary / Director Jerry Rothwell / Produced by Met Films /
An immersive cinematic experience of nonspeaking autistic people across the world, The Reason I Jump is based on a book written by Naoki Higashida when he was just 13. The film follows a young Japanese boy on a journey through an epic landscape. As a maelstrom of thoughts, feelings, impulses, and memories affects his every action, he gradually discovers what his autism means to him, how his perception of the world differs from others’, and why he acts the way he does—the reason he jumps.
Fusing Higashida’s revelatory insights with intimate portraits of five remarkable young people, the film opens a door to a magnificent constellation of divergent ways of experiencing reality. Impactful moments in the lives of the characters are woven together with passages from Higashida’s writing, creating a sensually rich tapestry.
“The Reason I Jump will change how you think, and how many films can say that?…Camerawork is beautiful, but in the service of the piece, not beauty itself.” Screendaily
“ A work of cinematic alchemy… DP Ruben Woodin Dechamps deploys macro and ultra-wide lenses in addition to off-kilter framing, it manages to evoke the sensory distortion, intense focus and literally different way of seeing for people on the autistic spectrum. Aptly enough, it's a work that enlightens and informs but that is also ravishing to behold.’’ Holywood Reporter
Emmy Outstanding Cinematography Documentary Nomination 2022
Grierson Best Documentary Award 2022
BIFA Best Documentary Award 2021
In Competition Cameraimage 2020
Premiered at Sundance 2020 / Winner of Audience Award: World Cinema Documentary
SXSW 2020
CPH Dox 2020
Hot Docs 2020
Vancouver International Film Festival 2020/ Winner of Audience Award & Impact Award
London Film Festival 2020
If You Knew
Documentary Short / Director Stroma Cairns
After months of fighting and no communication, two teenage twin brothers come together to spend a day in Canvey Island. The brothers have a unique connection and shared passion for bikes. Whilst both being born with a hearing loss they have experienced challenging situations and been involved with gangs. Today marks a fresh start for the boys, with Lewis being a new father and Conner putting family first.
Best Short Doc Grierson Award 2020 Nomination
Premiered at Sheffield Doc Fest 2019
Open City Docs Best Short 2019
BFI London Film Festival 2019 Best Short Doc Nomination
Until the tide creeps in
Documentary Short / Director Jessi Gutch
Trapped behind a crumbling sea wall and within a deadly chemical hazard range, a group of islanders gather evidence of corporate manslaughter for the disaster they fear is inevitable. History repeats itself in this hybrid documentary; playing with fiction, time and trauma to imagine the future disaster potentially set to befall Canvey Island - again.
selected festivals:
Aethetica Film Festival 2022 - Best of the Festival 2022 & Best Documentary
Edinburgh Film Festival 2022
Granny Project
Documentary Feature / Director Balint Revesz
How does memory work? How can experiences be handed down from generation to generation? How does the act of narration change the experience? Three young men and their grannies go on a quest for their historic and personal legacy. There’s the British spy with a bone-dry sense of humour, the Hungarian communist who survived the Holocaust and the German dancer whose look back turns out to be the most difficult.
selected festivals:
Leipzig Documentary Festival 2017 - MDR Prize
Tapei TIDF 2018 - Next Generation Award
Minsk Listapad 2018 - Audience Award
CPH: Dox - 2018
Torronto Hot Docs- 2018
Prague One World - 2018
Zagreb Zegrebox - 2018
If the streets were on fire
Documentary Feature / Alice Russell
In a landscape decimated by austerity measures and plagued by rising knife crime, a community called ‘Bike Life’ has sprung up in the void, providing one of the last safety nets for at-risk young kids. Through the lives of our protagonists, the film weaves a rich tapestry documenting the realities of street life in London at this unprecedented moment.
selected festivals:
Premiered at BFI London Film Festival 2022
Manchester Film Festival 2022
Human Rights Watch Film Festival 2022
BBC Storyville 2023
BIFA Best Documentary Award 2023
BIFA Maverick Award 2023
A Second World
Documentary Short / Director Oscar Hudson & Ruben Woodin Dechamps
AN OLD SERBIAN MAN COMMUNICATES WITH COMMUNIST ALIENS WHILST A SERIES OF FUTURISTIC YUGOSLAVIAN WAR MONUMENTS STAND ABANDONED & CRUMBLING ACROSS A NON-EXISTENT STATE. NOSTALGIA FOR THE UNREALISED & THE UNREAL SIMMERS IN THESE PARALLEL VISIONS OF YUGOSLAV UTOPIA LOST.
Cameraimage International Festival 2016
‘Monumental’ exhibition Getty Research Institute 2018-2019
Short Waves / Urban View 2016 Winner - Audience Award & Jury Prize
Interfilm Berlin Short Film Festival 2017
London Short Film Festival 2017
The Enfield Poltergeist
Documentary Series / Director Jerry Rothwell / Apple TV
Four part TV mini series on the story of the Enfield Poltergeist case through original audio recordings made inside the house as the events unfolded.
Road Enraptured
Documentary Short / Director Nathaniel Kochan
Meditation and the autobahn, speed and consciousness, caffeinated pupils and motorway churches. An artist film by Nathaniel Kochan looking at the role of long distance driving in our society and the motorway churches of southern Bavaria. 'Road rapture' is a multi-dimensional exploration of the motorway, the physical network integeral for supporting society. Constructed as a car journey between churches built for Bavarian Autobahn users, it attempts to unravel how spaces order our personal experiences and through the cinematic lexicon reveal the psychic reality manifested in the motorway environment.
I am town
Feature Documentary (additional photography) / Director Mischa Richter / DoP Richard Stewart
A meditative portrait of Provincetown and its unique residents, a free spirited community Mischas artist family has called home for nearly 100 years—through conversations with its resilient and at times eccentric inhabitants, from pilgrims and fishermen to drag queens and spirit guides. Shot on 35mm.
Premiering at Doc Fortnights MoMa 2020
Subello Cuba
Short Documentary Series / Director Savannah Leaf