The candid, surprising stories of a tower block’s residents emerge in the lift
Lift is a documentary with an unusually simple premise: what happens when a filmmaker sets up a camera in an average London tower block lift? The results are engrossing: as the project progresses, residents begin to confide in the filmmaker in remarkably personal and often amusing ways. With humour and candour, this film by the UK director Marc Isaacs touches on questions of trust, the way the camera can transform a situation, and the usually hidden lives of everyday people.
Director: Marc Isaacs
Producer: Belinda Giles
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History
In the face of denial, this film uncovers the hidden scars of Indonesia’s 1998 riots
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Love and friendship
What does it mean to say goodbye to a creature that doesn’t know you’re leaving?
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Life stages
Grief, healing and laughter coexist at a unique retreat for widows and widowers
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Consciousness and altered states
What do screens depicting serene natural scenes mean to those living in lock-up?
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Family life
A mother and child bond in an unusual prison visitation space in this poignant portrait
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Economics
A tour of New York’s gaudiest neighbourhood with the Marxist geographer David Harvey
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Personality
A ‘little thief’ turned career criminal recounts a life on the wrong side of the law
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Social psychology
What happened when a crypto scam swept over a sleepy town in the Caucasus
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Human rights and justice
Surreal, dazzling visuals form an Iranian expat’s tribute to defiance back home
10 minutes