COMPLETED WORK
Hostile
2021, Feature Documentary
Writer/ Producer/ DirectorSonita Gale
Executive Producers
Nitin Sawhney and Charlotte Fisher
DOP
Neil Harvey
Editor
Alex Fry
Hostile is a feature-length documentary focusing on the UK’s complicated relationship with its migrant communities. The film reveals the impact of the evolving ‘hostile environment’ - a term used by the UK government in 2012 to illustrate the atmosphere the government wanted to create for migrants in the country, with the intention of provoking migrants to leave the country of their own accord. After decades of hostile immigration policies, Britain has reached a crisis point.
The film explores how the lives of international students, members of the Windrush generation and ‘Highly-Skilled Migrants’ have been affected. Personal stories are interspersed with views of NHS workers, academics and politicians. They provide historical context on the ‘hostile environment’.
What does it mean to be British? What does it feel like to be told you don’t belong? This film seeks to hear these voices and inspire viewers to take action to create long-term change. With Brexit and the new points-based immigration system is already taking effect on international and EU migrants, the film asks once the ‘hostile environment’ has targeted all migrants in the country, who will it extend to next?
KEEP UP TO DATE
You can keep up to date with the film on Twitter at @hostiledoc, Instagram @hostiledoc
Book tickets for upcoming screenings and find out more information via the website www.hostiledocumentary.com
AWARDS AND FESTIVALS
**BAFTA 2022 Longlisted – Outstanding Debut By A British Writer, Director Or Producer**
**BIFA 2021 Longlisted for three Awards – Best Debut Director, Best Documentary and Raindance Discovery Award**
**Winner – South London Film Festival – Best Documentary Feature**
**Official Selection – Cambridge Film Festival 2021**
**Official Selection – Raindance Film Festival 2021**
**Official Selection – London Migration Film Festival**
TRAILER
TESTIMONIALS
“I’ve written music for about 70 films and television shows but I’m probably proudest of my involvement in this because it’s incredibly important and it’s the most salient thing out there right now” Nitin Sawhney, Award-winning Musician and Executive Producer of Hostile
“An important and revealing film with critical questions and revelations about UK society in the 21st Century.” Jon Snow, Former Presenter at Channel 4 News
“Thank you Sonita for making this film, it broke my heart, it made me angry…We are a society that’s inclusive. It’s not our natural thing to be divisive. Thank you for making a film that will make us think about these things and hopefully give us some optimism for change as well as breaking our hearts.” Ursula Macfarlane, Award-winning Film and Television Director
“Hostile is an extremely powerful film that showcases and highlights the very important stories which are hugely affecting our community. It is a film that will amplify the voices of many people who often are left unheard. Congratulations to Sonita Gale, her team and all the people involved who shared their stories.” Kyriakos Georgiou, Founder of The South London Film Festival
Happy Epidemic
2020, Web Series
ProducerSonita Gale
Director
Jonathan Jude
Happy Epidemic is a comedy web series set against the backdrop of the coronavirus pandemic.
Each episode – which we hope will provide relief during these strange and difficult times – is written, filmed and edited at home, and with special guest appearances from all over the world.
Following events in real time, we start with a blank page and it takes around 7 days to make it to the screen. It’s all done in self isolation on phones, cameras or whatever is lying around.
We are supporting Age UK, and have created a JustGiving page which you can donate to here.
The film industry is closed until further notice but the world still needs to laugh… Happy Epidemic is here to help.
You can find all the hilarious episodes here: www.happyepidemic.tv
You can also stream the full series on IndieFlix, Discover Film, and Youtube.
Follow the series on our socials to stay up to date!
**Official Selection - Montreal Independent Film Festival 2021**
International Health Service
2020, short film
ProducerSonita Gale
Director
Ursula Macfarlane
Cinematographer
Neil Harvey
Editor
Luke Flight
International Health Service is a short film we made with the Emmy and BAFTA-nominated documentary filmmaker Ursula Macfarlane. It is a thank you to the NHS and its migrant workers after this very long and difficult year.
You can view the film here: youtu.be/hr0k7fGmJss
In 2020, the NHS truly showed the country how essential they are to the health and well-being of this country. Unfortunately, they are not always valued in a way that reflects this, and given the fact that many of their staff come from outside the UK, their contributions to our country have been further minimised - indeed, this short was filmed during a period when an anti-immigrant narrative continued to grow in the UK.
International Health Service celebrates the international character of the organisation, and is a way for us to express our deep gratitude to the thousands of health care workers who put their lives at risk to help us on a daily basis. Please watch the film and share it on your social media using the hashtag #internationalhealthservicefilm.
**Grand Jury Award Winner, Oniros Film Festival New York 2021**
**Official Selection, Lady Filmmakers Festival 2021**
**Official Selection, Global Peace Film Festival 2021**
You can follow the film on our socials here:
Twitter: @intNHSfilm
Instagram: @internationalhealthservicefilm
Andrew Carnegie: Rags to Riches; Power to Peace
2015, documentary
ProducerSonita Gale
Director
Vicky Matthews
Narrator
Brian Cox
Andrew Carnegie: Rags to Riches, Power to Peace charts the story of a poor Scottish immigrant who sailed to America in the 1840s, and by the end of the century would be the richest man in the world.
Criticised for the harsh business practices that allowed him to dominate the iron and steel industries, and praised for quest to give all his money away, Andrew Carnegie is undeniably one of the most fascinating and contradictory figures in modern history. His name is synonymous with the modern philanthropic movement, and the libraries and educational institutions he established thrive almost a century after his death.
From his Scottish highland retreat, Skibo Castle, Carnegie spent his retirement masterminding a plan to use his wealth and influence to get Theodore Roosevelt, Kaiser Wilhelm II and King Edward VII to create a framework for world peace in the run up to the Great War. This documentary reveals the untold story of a man with incredible vision, whose dream of a world without conflict ended in tatters and led him to die a broken man.
Narrated by Brian Cox, this film premiered at the 2015 Edinburgh Film Festival and was broadcast on BBC 2.
Available to stream on Amazon Prime and Kanopy
Festivals/Screenings:
2015 - Premiered at Edinburgh Film Festival
2015 - British & Irish Film Season - Screening in Luxembourg
2016 - United International Film Festival - Best Documentary Winner
2016 - Pittsburgh Independent Film Fest - Best Feature Doc Winner
2016 - Available for screening on the Sheffield Doc/Fest Marketplayer
2019 - West Haven Public Library - Free Screening
Broadcast:
2015 - BBC Scotland
2015 - BBC iPlayer
DVD available at:
Amazon
Dunfermline Birthplace Museum
Carnegie Trust
Carnegie Club Gift Shop
Reviews from viewers:
"An informatively engaging biography of a man with singular vision through a great deal of sheer will and self belief with the ability to see the end goal & mechanisms in which it may be achieved"
"An extraordinary man in every way. If only those of today with self created wealth continue the same vision then there should be hope for mankind"
Twenty8k
2012, thriller
Executive ProducerSonita Gale
Producer
Martin Carr
Directors
David Kew & Neil Thompson
Writers
Paul Abbott & Jimmy Dowdall
A gang member is gunned down outside a London club, a young girl dies in a hit and run, and a teenage boy stands accused of murder.
Determined to clear her younger brother’s name of the killings, Deeva returns to her childhood home to fight for his release and finds herself caught up in an underworld of police corruption, media manipulation and gang violence, where the stakes are ever higher and trust is all too easily misplaced.
Twenty8k uncovers the secret power players of the ruling establishments, from the gangs of gritty East London to the centre of government.
The film had its premiere at the 2012 East London Film Festival.
