Baracoa Pictures is the partnership between long-time collaborators Justin Doherty and Neil Fox, who since 1999 have been active in the creative areas of film, film festivals, theatre, comedy anD education.
Their long running festival FILMSTOCK, was one of the UK's front-running indie festivals between 2000-2009, and brought together their love of celebrating classic and lost cinema alongside the programming of new short, feature and documentary work from around the world.
Before Baracoa, there was a decade of creative output including short films and documentaries, a live comedy sketch show that ran for 6 years and did the circuits in London and the Edinburgh Fringe, and at the heart of it a company that supported emerging artists and freelancers with space to work and projects to work on at their Luton studio 'The Old Shop'.
They closed Filmstock in 2009, the 11th and final festival (they were always going to do 11) and retired all other joint creative projects to concentrate on the future of their film work. In 2010 they produced 'IT'S NATURAL TO BE AFRAID', a short film that went on to play at 27 film festivals and receive 7 awards. Though a slate of features has always been nurtured, 'WILDERNESS' is their first ultra-low budget feature, and was completed in January 2017. It went on to receive 13 awards at film festivals worldwide.
In the intermediate years, life has happened, doctorates have been done, jazz clubs have been built, but that's almost a film in itself. Justin and Neil remain committed to making more films together, but all in good time.
Photo by Ian Nancollas
NEIL FOX
Somehow he has ended up living with his dog by the sea in Cornwall, teaching film, with a doctorate in tow.
He writes about film for a number of websites including The Quietus and The Big Picture and publishes academically on film education and music documentaries. He runs a successful film podcast called The Cinematologists with a colleague and friend and tries to watch a film a day where possible.
He loves teaching film at university and is committed to keeping the lines between fan, student, critic and maker as blurred as possible for himself and his students.
He loves to swim in the sea (though doesn’t do it as much as he would like and should) and is relieved that his insane coffee consumption didn't thwart his chance to raise a family with his partner Beth.
JUSTIN DOHERTY
Life is currently divided between a full-on freelance career as a filmmaker and running The Bear Club; a jazz and blues speakeasy he built in the ground floor of his studio.
Freelance since the age of 19, he either works solo, or at the helm of a crew on a variety of documentary and commerical projects for personal, corporate or broadcast consumption.
Still keeping his hand in the film festival game, he is a regular juror at the Indie Memphis film festival, amongst others.
He lives and plays house in Luton with wife Kate, daughter Isabella and son Ethan.
When the time can be found, there's the odd stage appearance as an actor, or as the lead singer in a fifties rock 'n' roll band.
BARACOA PICTURES
c/o 78 BUTE STREET / LUTON / LU1 2EY