Philippe Ciompi

Director Andrew Kötting and writer Iain Sinclair sail a swan-shaped pedalo from Hastings to Hackney in London in the build-up to the 2012 Olympic Games.

Two old Chinese communists visit run down England. The man who lost his voice scribbles his comments: "Water is so good in the West." "Flowers are long dead on Karl Marx's grave." His wife has no doubts : Back home is much better.

‘You have no choice about being here, you’ll have no choice about when you leave’ proclaims a woman in Xiaolu Guo’s latest film, a documentary about the personal and physical journeys of the people of London’s East End. Herself an immigrant to the area, Guo’s sensitive character studies hint at an affinity with the push and pull of feelings of alienation, a theme she has previously explored as a filmmaker (She a Chinese, LFF 2009) and novelist (A Concise Chinese-English Dictionary for Lovers). This empathy is also apparent in her playful stylistic approach that layers Warhol-esque news reports, archival material and a soundtrack including Linton Kwesi Johnson and Fela Kuti, to comment on the human cost of capitalism. The resulting film is both a penetrating portrait of a frenetic place that feels deeply authentic, and a powerful piece of protest film.