Be of good behaviour

The LFF 2024 Showcase Works-in-Progress projects

Documentary

Directors/writers: Giulio Gobbetti, Jan Stöckel; Producers: Giada Mazzoleni, Giulio Gobbetti, Jan Stöckel; Cast: Andy Morris, David Breakspear. Production company: Paguro Film.

 Giulio Gobbetti is a UK-based director and editor. He has directed several short documentaries and his latest project, Neptune, screened in Giornate degli Autori at the 79th Venice Film Festival. Jan Stöckel is a director and cinematographer. With a background in visual anthropology, he directed several observational documentaries. Ancora is his most recent short. In a co-directing partnership, Giulio and Jan made the documentary No Island Like Home, which was selected for the Visions du Réel Media Library and the Sheffield Doc/Player and then had a successful festival run. 

Andy is a racial equality campaigner and Dave is a criminal justice reform activist. Both have spent long years behind bars ‒ Dave has been entangled in the prison system since the age of 10, while Andy served 13 years due to a controversial piece of legislation. 

The film begins on the day they walk out of prison, capturing their challenging journey toward rehabilitation. With strict conditions to meet and constant scrutiny, one misstep could land them back in jail.   The law demands that they “be of good behaviour,” but the definition of “good” is often vague and elusive.  Through moments of joy, frustration, and despair, Andy and Dave show us the complexities of starting anew as the film looks at what it truly means to reclaim one’s life after incarceration