We are thrilled to announce the exciting line-up of films we will be presenting at our first online short film festival. Hosted on our Knowledge Hub, developed with the support of Bloomberg Philanthropies Digital Accelerator Programme, the festival will run from 23 September to 6 October.
We are proud to showcase a gripping range of films which navigate stories of:
Anna Herrmann, Artistic Director of Clean Break: “We chose these films believing that they offer an eclectic range of voices, perspectives and styles, wanting the experience to be broad and dynamic as a collection... I am so proud of this programme and all the terrific filmmakers we are championing. We trust that you will find something that moves you, challenges you and inspires you.”
Clean Break’s Film Festival 2024 is proud to present:
Adra Ni Y Môr (Our Home The Sea) - from filmmaker Mared Rees
After Time – from Kestrel Theatre Company, directed by Dorothy Allen Pickard
Buddleia: The Unchained Story – directed by Tracy Kiryango
Boiling Frogs (More Than One Story film series) - from Cardboard Citizens, directed by Chris Sonnex
Dues – from Synergy Theatre Company, directed by Esther Baker
Home – from filmmaker Nia Childs
Hope – from Clean Break, directed by Kirsty Housley
Smart Justice: animated video series – from American Civil Liberties Union and Neon Zoo
No Comprendo – from filmmaker Bukola Bakinson
Sandwiches: More Than One Story film series - from Cardboard Citizens, directed by Chris Sonnex
Snakes and Landlords: More Than One Story film series - from Cardboard Citizens, directed by Chris Sonnex
Sweatbox - from Clean Break, directed by Anna Herrmann
Violet Gave Willingly – from filmmaker Claire Sanford
Wings – directed by Billy Boyd Cape, written by Sonya Hale
Without Walls – from filmmaker Clare Richards
Booking for Clean Break's first online Film Festival is now open!
Unlock Clean Break's full programme of films by purchasing a Film Festival Pass.
We also have a range of films which are available to watch for free. Simply create a free Knowledge Hub account to start watching.
All films will be available to watch on our Knowledge Hub from 9am on 23 September until the end of 6 October 2024.
Trailer by Tea Films
Image: still from Home by Nia Childs
Get ready to explore Clean Break’s first online film festival, celebrating the intersection of film and theatre.
The festival will run from 23 September to 6 October, and will be hosted on our Knowledge Hub, which has been developed with the support of Bloomberg Philanthropies Digital Accelerator Programme.
Clean Break is excited to showcase short films which raise difficult questions, inspire debate, and help to effect profound and positive change in the lives of people who are criminalised, or who are at risk.
Discover a diverse and gripping programme, from a talented selection of filmmakers. We are proud to showcase authentic stories of struggle, survival and healing from a range of unique perspectives.
Watch short films that navigate stories of...
Moving image has always played a crucial part in Clean Break’s artistic practice. From Killers in 1984, to more recently Sweatbox and Hope, film compliments our on-stage work and allows us to share stories of women and the criminal justice system to audiences beyond the theatre walls.
Theatre and film have a rich shared history, having influenced each other since the birth of film in the late 19th century with the early silent films of the Lumière brothers.
In the 20th century, the rise of stage-to-screen adaptations influenced cinema’s three-act narrative structure and dramatic character arcs, as well as the stagecraft elements such as set design and lighting.
Today, we see cinema’s influence in theatre, with the use of digital projection and sound design being commonplace in on-stage productions.
We are excited to continue this legacy by putting film in the spotlight on Clean Break’s Knowledge Hub this autumn.
You will be able to unlock Clean Break's full programme of films by purchasing a Film Festival Pass.
We also have a range of films which are available to watch for free. Simply create a free Knowledge Hub account to start watching.
All films will be available to watch on our Knowledge Hub from 9am on 23 September until the end of 6 October 2024.
Keep your eyes peeled for our programme announcement!
Image credit: Eloise Dorr
This year Clean Break is celebrating 25 years in our Kentish Town studios with an event, Women’s Spaces: Landmarks on the Journey, part of this year's Being Human Festival. The event will take place on 7 November 2024. There are two time slots to chose from, from 2pm - 4pm or from 4:30pm - 6:30pm, both at Clean Break's building.
This event is part of Being Human Festival, the UK’s national festival of the humanities, taking place 7 – 16 November 2024. Led by the School of Advanced Study, University of London, with generous support from Research England, in partnership with the Arts and Humanities Research Council and the British Academy. For further information please visit the Being Human website.
The theme of this year's festival is Landmarks, to celebrate the landmark 10 year anniversary of the festival. We couldn't think of a better theme to acknowledge the anniversary of Clean Break's building, which has been a landmark of community, healing and creative discovery for hundreds of women over the past quarter-of-a-century.
At Women’s Spaces: Landmarks on the Journey, join Clean Break Members, Artistic Director Anna Herrmann and Dr Shona Minson from University of Oxford's Centre for Criminology, for an exciting day of creative engagement. Expect a screening of our film Sweatbox, an exhibition of Clean Break-inspired artworks by Laura Dean, insightful discussions and more.
Together, we will be exploring the importance women-only spaces hold for those with experience of the criminal justice system, and asking how a physical space can become a site of healing and liberation.
Come and celebrate this landmark anniversary with us, and explore what else Being Human Festival has to offer.
Clean Break are taking part in PROCESSIONS a mass participation artwork which celebrates 100 years since the Representation of the People Act, a bill which allowed some women to vote for the first time. Clean Break will be joining 100 organisations and communities who will create banners to celebrate the centenary.
As part of the march one hundred women artists have been commissioned to work with these groups and we are delighted to announce that we will be working with the brilliant and inventive Miriam Nabarro.
Miriam is a London based artist, theatre designer and photographer. Her theatre practice is often politically and socially engaged, including Palace of the End (Royal Exchange/ Traverse, Winner of the Amnesty International Freedom of Speech Award 2009), The Great Game: Afghanistan (with Pamela Howard) for The Tricycle/US tour, Dr Korczaks Example (Royal Exchange, Best Studio Production 2008), and most recently The Broke’n'Beat Collective and The Welcoming Party (both TheatreRites), and the critically acclaimed I Told My Mum I was Going on an RE Trip (Contact/ BAC/ 20 Stories High/ BBC Live), Black, She’s Leaving Home and Tales from the MP3 (all for 20 Stories High, where she is Associate Artist). Miriam has worked extensively as a community artist and aid worker, running creative arts programmes for children affected by conflict in DRC, Sudan, Eritrea, Kosova, Syria and Georgia. She is the first Artist in Residence at SOAS, University of London, and continues her practice as visual artist, theatre practitioner and educator.
PROCESSIONS takes place on 10th June and will see women and girls in Belfast, Cardiff, Edinburgh and London walk together as part of this celebratory mass participation artwork. Wearing either green, white or violet, the colours of the suffrage movement, the PROCESSIONS will appear as a flowing river of colour through the city streets.
PROCESSIONS is commissioned by 14-18 NOW, the UK’s arts programme for the First World War centenary and produced by Artichoke. With support from the National Lottery through Arts Council England and the Heritage Lottery Fund, and from the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport.
Clean Break is pleased to be taking part in B!RTH Festival, a global festival of theatrical provocation and debate.
The festival will present an exciting and varied programme at the Royal Exchange over the four days of B!RTH from 19 - 22 October, 2016. Headlined by 7 commissioned plays from 7 leading female playwrights from across the globe (Kenya, India, China, Syria, UK, USA and Brazil) the festival will also host a series of debates with experts from the world of science, art, academia, politics and charities, as well as an incredible programme of supporting events.
Clean Break is excited to contribute a rehearsed reading of These Four Walls by Laura Lomas on 20 October. The play examines what it's like for mothers who are in prison, and deals with their experiences of separation, loss and loneliness with sensitivity and humour. It will be followed by a panel discussion featuring Mahala McGuffie, Governor of HM Prison Styal, and chaired by director Roisin McBrinn.
