This film is part of Rentals
Tish
An essential portrait of a major photographer whose work provides a key record of lives lived on the margins of 1980s Britain.
Director: Paul Sng
Overview
Paul Sng, the BIFA-winning director of Poly Styrene: I Am A Cliché and Dispossession: The Great Social Housing Swindle, crafts an intimate portrait of Tish Murtha, a working-class photographer from the North East, whose work demands to be rediscovered and rightly recognised. Tish Murtha used documentary photography to capture and embrace her surroundings, and the people who occupied them. It ranged from the Newcastle working class community she grew up in to Soho sex workers in 1980s London. Despite receiving early acclaim for her work, she struggled to make a living from her talent.
In Paul Sng’s documentary, Tish’s daughter Ella opens up her mother’s archive and traces her life through previously unseen images, artefacts, letters and diaries, along with conversations with those who knew her. Narration from Maxine Peake brings Tish’s own words to life in this fitting tribute to an artist whose photography feels more vital than ever – a rallying cry against austerity Britain. Tish was made with the support of the BFI Doc Society Fund, awarding National Lottery funding.
brief sexualised nudityRelated
Four Daughters Four Daughters
Drama-documentary 2023 103 mins Director: Kaouther Ben Hania
The mother-daughter relationship is explored to cathartic effect in this complex and poignant hybrid documentary about a woman and her missing daughters.
Occupied City Occupied City
Documentary 2023 251 mins Director: Steve McQueen
Steve McQueen’s cinematic commemoration of the Holocaust offers a multidimensional experience full of gravity and sublimity.
Your Fat Friend Your Fat Friend
Biopic 2024 96 mins Director: Jeanie Finlay
A powerful and moving documentary exploring body image, diet culture and anti-fat bias through the life and work of Aubrey Gordon.
In the Company of Men: The Brotherhood In the Company of Men: The Brotherhood
Documentary 1995 60 mins Director: Molly Dineen
This third and final film in Molly Dineen’s three-part series builds towards the ‘The Prince of Wales' company of the Welsh Guards’ symbolic victory parade in Brussels.
In the Company of Men: Commander In the Company of Men: Commander
Documentary 1995 59 mins Director: Molly Dineen
The first episode of Molly Dineen's three-part series follows Major Crispin Black as he considers the course his life could have taken if he hadn't joined the army.
Sound Business Sound Business
Documentary 1981 57 mins Director: Molly Dineen
Molly Dineen’s directorial debut presents a fascinating look into sound system culture, as well as an important document in the history of Black British music.
20 Days in Mariupol 20 Days in Mariupol
Documentary 2023 94 mins Director: Mstyslav Chernov
Vivid and harrowing account of life under siege, Ukrainian journalists try to fulfil their mission to capture what later become defining images of the atrocities of the 2022 Russian invasion.
Smoke Sauna Sisterhood Smoke Sauna Sisterhood
Documentary 2023 89 mins Director: Anna Hints
A remarkable and award-winning documentary exploring female solidarity through a soothing ancient tradition.
On the Adamant On the Adamant
Documentary 2022 110 mins Director: Nicolas Philibert
French master documentarist Nicolas Philibert takes an empathetic, celebratory in-depth look at a floating mental care centre and its regulars.
This Blessed Plot This Blessed Plot
Documentary 2023 105 mins Director: Marc Isaacs
Lori, a female Chinese filmmaker, visits the historic English village of Thaxted where she finds the dead and the living curiously entwined, in Marc Isaacs playful mix of documentary and fiction.
Your Fat Friend Your Fat Friend
Biopic 2024 96 mins Director: Jeanie Finlay
A powerful and moving documentary exploring body image, diet culture and anti-fat bias through the life and work of Aubrey Gordon.
Occupied City Occupied City
Documentary 2023 251 mins Director: Steve McQueen
Steve McQueen’s cinematic commemoration of the Holocaust offers a multidimensional experience full of gravity and sublimity.
Poly Styrene: I Am A Cliché Poly Styrene: I Am A Cliché
Documentary 2021 96 mins Director: Paul Sng and Celeste Bell
The death of punk icon and X-Ray Spex frontwoman Poly Styrene sends her daughter on a journey through her mother’s archives in this intimate documentary.
Late Night with the Devil Late Night with the Devil
Horror 2023 93 mins Director: Colin Cairnes and Cameron Cairnes
Like Ghostwatch reimagined as a cheesy 1970s chat show, this deviously clever found-footage horror has scares to spare.
Drifter Drifter
Drama 2023 79 mins Director: Hannes Hirsch
A scintillating portrait of a young man coming to terms with life, love, sex and relationships in contemporary Berlin.
Boys on Film 24: Happy Endings Boys on Film 24: Happy Endings
Anthology 2024 174 mins Director: Jason Bradbury, Jesse Ung, Diego Alvarez Parra, Itai Jamshy, Fabia Martin, Alejandro Sandoval Bertín, Sara Larrota, Benjamin Belloir, Jeremy McClain and Arthur Cahn
A compilation of new gay short films showcasing unashamedly positive stories of love, sex and romance to move, inspire and uplift.
Four Daughters Four Daughters
Drama-documentary 2023 103 mins Director: Kaouther Ben Hania
The mother-daughter relationship is explored to cathartic effect in this complex and poignant hybrid documentary about a woman and her missing daughters.
Her Last Affaire Her Last Affaire
Drama 1936 68 mins Director: Michael Powell
Michael Powell's 'society drama’ involving suspicion, clandestine romance and presumed murder, and glorious comic double-act from Googie Withers and John Lurie.
She Will She Will
Thriller 2021 96 mins Director: Charlotte Colbert
In Charlotte Colbert’s strikingly gothic film, an ageing actor recovering from a mastectomy taps into a mysterious power at a remote Scottish retreat.