Join us for this celebration of documentary film exploring everything from German Asparagus Queens to Japanese singing detectives. Hosted by DOCLAB, a documentary development initiative run by Exeter Phoenix.

PROGRAMME

THE DETECTIVE’S DREAM
Dir. Ryushi Lindsay | 13 mins | Japan, UK
After forty years in Tokyo’s Metropolitan Police, Chief Takeshi Tsuchita should be enjoying his retirement. Instead, he toils for long hours on his farm, while also finding time to release two EPs of sentimental enka ballads. A meditation on the duality of hard masculinity and a meditative appreciation for beauty.

MOTHER COMPANY
Dir. Alexander Raptotasios, Konstantinos Thomaidis | 18 mins | Greece
Blending verbatim performance and choral music, Mother Company follows a children’s choir amidst an abandoned power plant in Northern Greece, role-playing as generations of workers of this de-industrialised area. A chorus of young voices reflects on environmental catastrophe, public health and economic depravation while a ‘Green Future’ is promised to save them.

WHERE THE HAND OF MAN HATH NEVER TROD
Dir. Oscar Fox | 9 mins | UK
Born in St Austell, Cornwall, Richard Elliot is the longest living letterboxer. Collecting his first stamp in the 1960’s, Where the Hand of Man Hath Never Trod celebrates Richard’s commitment to this fascinating community that place and search for these hidden treasures across Dartmoor, Devon. Searching for letterboxes with his friend Linda, the film follows the two walkers across the vast, rocky plains, accompanied with a dialogue of Richards reflections on his lifelong hobby.

ASPARAGUS DEAD, CHERRIES RED
Dir. Nina Moog, Elisabeth Wilke | 20 mins | Germany
Every year in Spring, the Schrobenhausen Asparagus Association in Bavaria elects an Asparagus Queen. During her one-year reign, she has one central task: to celebrate and embody the enticing power of this noble vegetable in Bavaria and beyond. Asparagus Dead, Cherries Red is a cheerful homage to the magical vegetable that never ceases to delight us. From harvesting to cultivation and consumption, this film captures the mythos of the white asparagus in a loving, unprecedented way.

A SIN DE FELLA STORY
Dir. Sheryn Yidi | 14 mins | UK
In this heartwarming observational documentary, we follow Christo “Sin de Fella,” mistress of a caravan community and the driving force behind YardArts. Leaving her conservative mining town roots behind, Christo embraced her identity and cultivated a safe haven for a community of travellers and artists from all different backgrounds in the heart of Kingswood.

MANASCHI
Dir. Peter Davies | 14 mins | UK
In the mountains of Kyrgyzstan, one of the world’s oldest oral storytelling traditions endures – the Epic of Manas. Legends and myths of Manas – the traditional founder of Kyrgyzstan – are carried from village to village by prophet-like figures called Manaschis. But as modernity encroaches, the tradition is threatened. We follow Omurbek – a respected Manaschi – as he grapples with the changes faced with this ancient tradition.

Venue: Studio 74, Exeter Phoenix

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