2025 PROGRAMME

Come See Me in the Good Light is a poignant and unexpectedly funny love story about poets Andrea Gibson and Megan Falley facing an incurable cancer diagnosis with joy, wit, and an unshakable partnership. Through laughter and unwavering love, they transform pain into purpose and mortality into a moving celebration of resilience.

Followed by a Q&A with director Ryan White, Producer Jess Hargrave, and Megan Falley. Moderated by Beadie Finzi, Doc Society Foundation Director
 

The Bend in the River chronicles five close friends over nearly fifty years. Starting in 1978, director Robb Moss documents his friend's outdoor rent-free life during one clothing-optional rafting trip through the Grand Canyon. In 2003, he filmed his friends again coming to terms with their transition from being young and carefree to responsible and middle-aged. Now, in 2025, Moss finds his friends in their 70s grappling with the choices they’ve made as individuals and as a generation. The film interweaves moments from the distant past with those of the recent present, taking viewers back-and-forth through time and inviting personal reflections on the inexorable flow of aging and the unfinished project of living.

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Followed by a Q&A with director, Robb Moss.

Ben Stiller tells the story of his parents, comedy icons Jerry Stiller and Anne Meara, exploring their impact both on popular culture and at home, where the lines between creativity, family, life, and art often blurred.

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Followed by a Q&A with director, Ben Stiller.

A Night We Held Between 

Noor Abed | Palestine | 2024 | 30 min

Myth, ritual and longing at Palestinian sites intertwine with archival songs and photos. Landscape holds cavernous memory, grief, and strength.

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I Signed The Petition
Mahdi Fleifel | UK, Germany | 2018 | 11 min

A conversation between two friends about the effectiveness and implications of publicly supporting the cultural boycott of Israel. 

Palencorecore
Dana Dawud | 2024 | Palestine | 6 min

A hypnotic fusion of dance, archival footage, and internet-circulated videos that collapse past and present into a visceral portrait of Palestinian life

The Flowers Stand Silently, Witnessing
Theo Panagopoulos | Palestine, UK | 2024 | 17 min
When a Palestinian filmmaker based in Scotland unearths a rarely-seen Scottish film archive of Palestinian wild flowers, he decides to reclaim the footage.

UNDR
Kamal Aljafari | Palestine, Germany | 2024 | 15 min

A poignant found-footage essay film about an otherworldly landscape charged with history and potential that has become an eerie site of surveillance and incursion.

Terry Kennedy, an ex-Hell's Angel, once formed an unlikely bond with a giant manta ray named Willy. Now he makes one final dive expedition to a remote island, hoping to reunite with his extraordinary ocean friend.

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Followed by a Q&A with Producers, Randy Gebhardt and Chris Gebhardt.

Seeds is a portrait of centennial farmers in the geographical south. Using lyrical black and white imagery, this meditative film examines the decline of generational black farmers and the significance of owning land.

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Followed by a Q&A with editor, Mailika Zouhali-Worrall. Moderated by Shanida Scotland, Head of Film at Doc Society.

In this intimate documentary, actor Oscar Isaac takes on the complex task of portraying Shakespeare's Hamlet at New York's prestigious Public Theatre. Filmed by his wife Elvira Lind, through her deeply personal lens, we witness a pivotal time in Isaac's life as she captures both their shared joy, and private struggles, offering a unique perspective as both filmmaker and partner experiencing these moments firsthand. The film takes us on a deep dive into theater’s creative process and allows a rare glimpse into the fragile moments and the life back stage that quickly absorbs everyone involved.

Shot over the course of a decade at a sun-drenched villa in Provence, Vacances follows 'Granny', a bohemian Austro-Hungarian countess, as she imparts wisdom by the pool and looks for a successor among her descendants. Wearing swimsuits, the younger family members navigate her complex world, regressing under her scrutiny and resisting her advice. As summers pass and Granny's influence fades, her heirs reassess her arcane teachings. They start to separate the valuable from the vexing in her legacy, readying themselves to move beyond the villa after the film's final summer.

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Followed by a Q&A with director, Victoria Hely-Hutchinson.

Indigenous chief Juma Xipaia fights to protect tribal lands despite assassination attempts. Her struggle intensifies after learning she's pregnant, while her husband, Special Forces ranger Hugo Loss, stands by her side.

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Followed by a Q&A with director, Richard Ladkani. Moderated by Alice Aedy, Co-Founder of Earthrise Studio.

A filmmaker documents the final days of a crumbling cinema in Jordan, revealing personal stories during regional upheaval, and a quiet reflection on loss, memory, and resilience amid larger collapses.

From the Oscar-nominated director of ‘Honeyland’ comes a poignant and visually arresting story set in the heart of rural Macedonia. Nikola, a farmer grappling with the harsh realities of new government policies, finds himself unable to sell his land or crops. When his family leaves in search of a better life abroad, Nikola takes a job as a landfill attendant, where he encounters the injured white stork Silyan. As he nurses the bird back to health, an unlikely bond forms between man and animal. The result is a deeply moving film that touches on climate change, economic migration, resilience and the quiet power of connection.

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Followed by a Q&A with director, Tamara Kotevska and cinematographer and producer, Jean Dakar. Moderated by Emma Jones, BBC Talking Movies, broadcaster and film critic.