Your Honour selected for 2023-2024 Close Up Initiative

We are delighted to announce ‘Your Honour’ has been chosen for the 2023-2024 Close Up Initiative.

Close Up provides a training and development program that runs for 8 months for documentary filmmakers from Southwest Asia and North Africa. They support filmmakers from diverse ethnic, religious and cultural backgrounds.

Set in turbulent Turkey after historic elections, 'Your Honour' follows Efruz, a pioneering trans student completing her law degree. Guided by an "imaginary judge," she embarks on an emotional journey, questioning if her dreams are worth the battle against a country plagued by injustice.

The documentary is directed by Bircan Birol, a documentary filmmaker based between Scotland and Turkey.

'Your Honour' is funded in development with Screen Scotland.

Bircan said:

"I am so happy to be part of this year's Close Up cohort. Creating a feature documentary is a lengthy journey, particularly when it's your first time and initiatives like Close Up are there to help you every step of the way.

"I can't wait to meet with the fellow filmmakers from the region and the Closeup team!"

Further information

You can find out more about Your Honour here.

Bombito founder Reece Cargan heading to PFM with feature 'Always Crashing in the Same Car'

Bombito founder Reece Cargan will be heading to PFM next week with director Paul Sng from LS Films.

The Production Finance Market (PFM) is the annual two-day financing event for film. Run by Film London in association with the BFI London Film Festival, they will be pitching feature film ‘Always Crashing in the Same Car’.

When a disgraced, alcoholic doctor meets a pregnant teenager suffering domestic abuse, they embark on a relationship which could lead to redemption, but at devastating cost to them both.

Written by Dorothy Jane Stewart, ‘Always Crashing In The Same Car’ follows the story of Yvonne and Cheryl, two lonely and damaged people trapped in very different situations, who find hope, solace and redemption in each other.

The script of the project won the prestigious WScripted Cannes 2023 Screenplay List - in association with Mubi for the best unproduced screenplay by a woman or non-binary writer.

You can find out more about ‘Always Crashing in the Same Car’ here.

Clean featured in the New York Times

Bombito is excited to announce a second collaboration with the New York Times. Documentary ‘Clean’ is available to view on the New York Times Op Docs section, along with an opinion piece penned by director Miranda Stern.

The opinion piece, titled ‘A Final Goodbye to Opiates’, sees Miranda discuss what the documentary means to her personally, and why its subject matter of recovery - as well as how we perceive it - is so important.

Clean on the festival circuit

‘Clean’ has had an incredibly successful run so far, having screened at this year’s Galway Film Fleadh and Palm Springs International ShortFest, as well as winning the Scottish Short Film Award at the 16th edition of the Glasgow Short Film Festival.

The documentary will be screened at three more festivals this year, with its next screening being at the 2023 Indie Street Film Festival on Saturday the 16th of September.

‘Clean’ will also be screened at the 11th edition of DOX RUHR in October and at the BAFTA qualifying Aesthetica Film Festival in November.

The film

A short and personal female-centred documentary about addiction and long-term recovery from it.

Miranda weaves together observational and lyrical elements to take us into the challenging, deeply personal and relatively unknown world of recovery – along with the processes of care that follow in the years after a period of active addiction.

This is one couple’s journey together as they negotiate the world of recovery and how to plan for a future with so much uncertainty in it.

Further information

• Directed and Edited by Miranda Stern

• Cinematographer: Julyan Sinclair

• Producer: Reece Cargan

• Executive Producer: Sue Bourne

• Composer: Rotem Frimer

• Edit Consultant: Emiliano Battista

• Colourist and Online Editor Karolina Matela

• Sound Designer: Alina Ushakova

• Dubbing Mixer: Joseph Russell

Developed, supported and executive produced by the Scottish Documentary Institute's Bridging the Gap programme and Screen Scotland.