Scottish Documentary Institute

A remote and wild island on the west coast of Scotland is home to a small group of people that live in deep connection with the land, the sea and the weather. For different reasons, they left their city life to escape their inner demons and to live as eco-friendly and sustainable as possible.

Bill Drummond, once the most notorious man in pop music, now travels around the world baking cakes, building beds and shining shoes as part of a twelve year World Tour which is his final art project. This film follows him as he does his work in India and the United States.

In post-revolution Libya, a group of women are brought together by one dream: to play football for their nation. But as the country descends into civil war and the utopian hopes of the “Arab Spring” begin to fade, can they realise their dream? And is there even a country left to play for? Freedom Fields is a film about hope and sacrifice in a land where dreams seem a luxury. Through the eyes of these accidental activists we see the reality of a country in transition, where the personal stories of love, struggle and aspirations collide with History.

When a Palestinian filmmaker based in Scotland unearths a rarely-seen Scottish film archive of Palestinian wild flowers, he decides to reclaim the footage. This tender film essay questions the role of image-making as a tool of both testimony and violence when connected to entanglements between people and the land.

A palpably rendered audiovisual essay draws together the distinct sensibilities of filmmakers Peter Mettler (The End of Time) and Emma Davie (I am Breathing) and philosopher David Abram (The Spell of the Sensuous) to forge a path into the places where humans and animals meet.

In the Suburbs of a Scottish Town, the life of a family quietly revolves around one of their sons’ passion for football. 13 year old Darren plays youth football for a professional club but his annual ‘Review Night’ is approaching and the family are uncertain if he will remain signed. Mum, Yvonne, struggles with her son’s future and the impact that it will have on her family’s ritual of supporting him play every Sunday, their time, energy and countless hours standing in rain, snow and sunshine, and beyond. A beautiful and funny portrait between a mother and her teenage son.

In her documentary, the Scottish-Syrian director tries to reconcile the two worlds in her head: her fond memories of visiting relatives in Damascus and what has happened in Syria since then. She confronts her cousin, who fled from there, with her recordings from then - and thus calls back memories that were buried under trauma.

How has science impacted on our perception of God?

Fitting explores the relationship between the director, an amputee, and her prosthetist, by their contrasting experiences during the making of a prosthetic leg. It asks what it means for to create an extension to someone else’s body, and the impact this has on both maker and amputee. The film demystifies this unfamiliar space and experience for the viewer, and questioning stereotyping and prejudice widely seen within our society's consideration of body image.

A look at the day to day job of the Tooth Fairy.

A young Ugandan goat herder dreams of being able to read and write but must oppose his elders.

A portrait of America as told by three old men fishing on a frozen lake.

The relationship of a mother and daughter is strained when the daughter converts to the religion of her mother's former captors.

Soon after her ‘big break’, Italian actress Nadya Cazan disappeared. Ottica Zero follows Nadya from her rejection of the monetary-based system to find an alternative way of living. It is a journey which takes us from Rome to Venus, where social innovator and futurist, Jacques Fresco, proposes a solution.

Anne Wallace once had a dream to help Glasgow's street working women. Soon after, a double-decker bus materialised along with the Ministry of Salt and Light.

A filmmaker goes on a personal journey of discovery after an old letter reveals her grandfather's secret life.

Sheila Stewart is the last in the line of the Stewarts of Blair, and is fighting to ensure her culture of travelling and storytelling lives on.

An intimate insight into the lives of deaf people, navigating a society built for the 'fully abled'.

Old friends, Mohand and Sophie, rehearse their new play about Sudan. Navigating the country’s politics and culture the unlikely pair use comedy and the joy of creativity to tell a very personal narrative about Mohand’s longing to return home and his inability to do so. As the UK government increases its hostile legislation towards refugees this film focuses attention on issues of representation and more immediately how we make a dream of home a reality.

Jodie lives and breathes motorcycling. But the road to reaching the top is paved with difficulties, if it wasn't for her dad's unwavering support.