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Private Notes
A look at the world of online pawnbroking through Borro founder Paul Aitken and those who come to him to pawn their most treasured possessions. (dir: Kirsty Garland) (NEW SERIES)
Kevin and Kate Rattray's passion for rats knows no bounds. This First Cut film charts their adoration of their 27 furry friends for whom they throw birthday parties. (dir: Jenny Popplewell)
The life of a cabbie is never dull. On a Friday night in Romford, the drivers of A1 Taxis get all sorts of people in the back of their cab: a young couple on the way back from their "wedding on the cheap"; a man found lying in the middle of the road; a couple who have just met on the internet; jealous couples; reunited couples; couples who cannot wait to get home; desperate young men and lonely old men. The two-camera split-screen technique shares the simultaneous, real-time reactions of the cabbies and their passengers.
Father Ray is an Anglican priest who's been stationed in a central London parish for three years. Ray is gay and believes now is the time to come out. See how he deals with the fallout from the sermon in which he reveals his homosexuality. (dir: Anna Llewellyn)
Cooper & Stollbrand is one of the last clothing factories in Salford. Three years ago, James Eden left his lucrative job in the City to buy a stake in the business, and he has dragged the factory out of the doldrums and into the 21st century, developing a business that produces garments for high street retailers and premium designer labels. See the factory floor in the run-up to Christmas. (dir: Satnam Authi)
At Impact, an alternative school in Liverpool, pupils with behavioural issues are encouraged to work with unwanted horses, who need taming at the Shy Lowen Horse and Pony Sanctuary before they can be reintegrated with their herds. But these teenagers must first confront their own difficulties before addressing those of the horses. (dir: Lucy Kaye)
In Asian culture, it's customary for family members to look after the elderly. Aashna House in London, one of Britain's few residential care homes for Asian OAPs, offers a home to Asians whose busy families can't look after them. One is Mr. Sen, a former film extra who has photographs of himself alongside Roger Moore and Harrison Ford. Now he's seeing out his days in an old folks' home, when he might have expected better. (dir: Fozia Khan)
Three individuals struggle against planning regulations. While a 76-year-old woman witnesses her extension being ripped down, a man who decided to live in a house he'd made of straw bales wins his epic four-year campaign. The locals objecting to some lion gateposts, meanwhile, don't bother waiting for the planners, taking matters into their own hands, along with a large hammer. (dir: Melody Howse) (postponed from 21 January)
A new run of the First Cut strand.
David De Gale, a schoolteacher, awaits trial for attacking a pupil who relentlessly taunted him about his age, appearance, and dying wife. In a monologue, he slowly comes to understand that his best efforts will always be defeated by deliberate cruelty. Fictional drama based on actual incidents. (writer/director: George Kay, guest star: Phil Davis)
Prompted by an email from a childhood friend not seen for 16 years, Michael Ogden returns to the Wythenshawe estate in Manchester to explore his past as a closeted gay teenager in the 1990s. Then he played football and dated girls while secretly lusting over posters of Ryan Giggs. Nowadays his life seems so different, but is it? For Ogden, filming becomes an opportunity to confront past and present. (postponed from 11 March)
"419" is the number in the Nigerian penal code that describes obtaining money by false pretenses, and in Lagos it's a full-on cottage industry. This film speaks to two women who were taken in by Nigerian men using fake identities on internet dating websites. In one case, divorcee Brenda ended up losing 60,000GBP. (dir: Barney Lankester-Owen)
Across Britain, a small and secretive band of men are donning comic book style costumes and taking to the streets to fight crime. This film for Channel 4’s First Cut strand tracks down and follows some of these self-proclaimed ‘superheroes’ to find out what they’re doing and why.
Insightful and witty, Superheroes of Suburbia looks under the masks to try and understand the people behind the ‘superhero’ personas.
Attempting to film both their home and ‘crime fighting’ lives, we aim to uncover the everyday challenges of ‘superhero’ life. What’s it like to be married to a ‘superhero’? And should the public welcome them, or fear masked vigilantism? What’s really motivating these people?
A year in the life of a paediatric nurse and mother of two who's been diagnosed with early-onset Parkinson's. Forty-year-old Vicki Williams attempts to come to terms with her condition, battling not only the debilitating effects of the disease but also the side effects brought on by the medication such as compulsions for sex, shopping, drinking and partying, which threaten to pull her family apart.
In 1991 the bodies of Trevor Buchanan and Lesley Howell were found in a car in Castlerock, Northern Ireland. It was believed they had formed a suicide pact, devastated by the discovery of an affair between their spouses. For their surviving spouses, Colin Howell and Hazel Buchanan, life slowly returned to normal. But in January 2009 Colin contacted the police and told them that he and Hazel had killed their respective spouses. (dir: Judy Kelly)
Best friends Maria, Kelly and David have dedicated their lives to rescuing Britain’s most mistreated ferrets. The three of them run 2nd Chance Ferret Rescue in Bristol, a refuge for traumatised and abused ferrets. But Maria, Kelly and David don’t just rescue troubled ferrets, they rehabilitate them to stop them biting and find them a new home. For Kelly, ferrets mean more to her than just pets; they are her therapy and a lifeline. (dir: Becky Lomax)
Laura Buckingham, Nicola Hillary, and Jo Ward found out they were all being taken in by serial cheat and fraudster Simon Reid, but working together, the trio confronted their seducer. This film charts Reid's trail of deception across the UK and the US, climaxing with the women's own footage of the con man's comeuppance.
The chicken is the most common bird on the planet, but there are many breeds on the brink of extinction. Having been helped through depression by the poultry on his family's farm, Australian Mark Tully set off on a journey spanning five states to find and protect the survivors of endangered rare breeds. (dir: Randall Wood)
