By Michael McNulty Bronco Bullfrog was the first of only three features directed by Barney Platts-Mills. He was 25 and working with a group of largely non-professional actors, some of whom were sourced from Joan Littlewood’s Theatre Workshop. Produced on a modest budget of £ 18,000, the film featured at Cannes as part of the parallel competitive section, Semaine de la Critique, where it picked up rave reviews. However, its distributors were unsure how to handle the film and it...

By Wyndham Hacket Pain Set in the ‘Vegas of the North’, Away follows Ria (Juno Temple) and Joseph (Timothy Spall) who have both escaped to Blackpool in an attempt to distance themselves from the problems in their lives. Ria is hiding from her abusive boyfriend, while Joseph is trying to cope with the death of his wife, and as the story progresses they form an unlikely friendship. The film is told in a split time frame in a poor attempt...

By Linda Marric Hope Dickson Leach’s brilliant first feature The Levelling is a fantastically accurate and highly authentic look into the flood-battered West-country regions. This beautifully acted film, not only manages to tell a touching story of despair and isolation in rural England, but also succeeds in making a valid social commentary about those who lost so much in the floods a couple of years ago. Last week I had the chance to meet with both Dickinson Leach and the...

Fidelity China's Dale Nicholls doubles investors' money in three years. Nicholas Bull, chairman, said "It is now increasingly accepted by investment professionals that China's sheer economic size, along with its record of delivering year on year growth, means that anyone building an investment portfolio should consider having an exposure to China. The end of the financial year also marked three years for Dale Nicholls as Portfolio Manager of Fidelity China Special Situations PLC and the Company's seventh anniversary. Dale has...

NextEnergy adds another 76.4MWp - 16.6MWp split among four operating plants and 59.8MWp in development projects. The three operating solar plants, acquired from one seller, comprise Barnby (4.99MWp, Nottinghamshire), Bilsthorpe (4.99MWp, Nottinghamshire) and Wickfield (4.90MWp, Wiltshire). All three plants were connected to the grid during March 2017 and are expected to be accredited under the 1.2 Renewable Obligation Certificate ("ROC") regulation. They also bought the Birch Community Interest Company (CIC) project, located in Essex, acquired from a separate seller, was grid connected in...

Duke Royalty river cruise finance paying off. Duke's inaugural royalty investment, successfully launched its maiden voyage for its third vessel, the Carmen.  Duke says that this marks a memorable day for Temarca and demonstrates the rapid progress made since Duke's EUR8 million royalty investment which was concluded in April 2017. In response to the growing demand from Temarca's customers, Duke is pleased to report that all three vessels are now sailing on the Rhine and Danube and each have sold...

By James McAllister Confronting us with the devastating divisions that helped provoke last year’s Brexit vote, here is a shatteringly sombre social-realist drama that moves away from the traditional inner-city environment regularly frequented by the likes of Ken Loach, and rests its focus on rural Somerset’s stark landscape. Set mere months after the winter floods that decimated the Somerset Levels back in early 2014, The Levelling follows Clover (Ellie Kendrick), a trainee vet who returns home to the family farm...

By Wyndham Hacket Pain Looking at the premise of Jawbone you’d be forgiven for sighing and thinking not another boxing film. In the last couple of years alone Bleed for This, Southpaw, Creed, Grudge Match, and Hands of Stone have all been released, with mixed success. Cinema’s love of the sport is evident but means that each subsequent release finds it more difficult be original. It can be hard to know what can be added to the genre when classic...

This is the moment PM May turned up at a man's door, but he was too scared to answer. the video taken, and the man in question, David Bryan, films the PM approaching his house, but simply didn't fancy chatting to her. Can't say I blame him, do you really want to hear "strong and stable leadership" again...and again? The video was taken today in the Southampton area. It is a shame though, as journalists have been trying to talk...