Quintessence Films is an independent production company based in the South-West. Established in 1987 by film-makers Matthew Lingard and Robin Toyne, we are strong believers in the enduring power of stories - and how people who perceive themselves to be ordinary often have extraordinary stories to tell.
Our work covers a broad range of genres including observational documentary, history, wildlife, food, education, drama, corporate communications, community productions and much more.
The ground-breaking span of the first Severn Crossing earned British engineers a reputation as world leaders in bridge design. Half a century on, a dedicated team battle the elements to maintain the iconic steel structure and keep traffic flowing, no easy task when you’re suspended above the dangerous tidal currents of the River Severn. Our film on the bridge that linked Wales and the West, co-commissioned by BBC Wales and BBC West, is being transmitted on the 50th anniversary of the bridge’s opening…
German Concentration Camps Factual Survey, Sidney Bernstein’s seminal film about Nazi death camps received its first theatrical screening at the BFI in 2015 and has subsequently been shown all over the world. Quintessence produced two accompanying films shown before and after the documentary to provide a context and rationale for the emotionally challenging content. The films recently won a Special Award at the Focal International Film Awards and are due for DVD release via the BFI later this year.
Making it as an actor is tough... Quintessence has been behind the scenes at the renown Bristol Old Vic Theatre School, following 'the class of 2015' through their last four months at drama school. Their story is told in the documentary "On Stage at... the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School" was transmitted on BBC1 West on November 9th 2015.
Ever thought of sticking insulation on the outside of your house? That's what householders are trialling in Bristol, European Green Capital, 2015. Bristol City council commissioned Quintessence to produce a short dcumentary-style film showing the benefits of this innvative environmental scheme.
As part of national dementia campaign, we were commissoned by Southern Brooks charity to work with a group of year 7 pupils at Patchway Community College in Bristol to produce a short film about dementia awareness. Initially, we did a series of filmmaking workshops with the students who then filmed their meetings with a group of people with dementia at a local memory cafe. The film shares the expereinces of students and dementia sufferers and has been screened at number of events and on the web.
"...a very good watch. Entertaining, funny and you also learn from it. Not always easy to achieve when making a film about a politician"
We have been commissioned by BBC West to produce a 30' documentary on our year of adverse weather: "2012 - A Year of Crazy Weather." For the first time ever we're hoping for bad weather on shoot days!
Film-making is an ideas-driven, collaborative process. We welcome approaches from other people and are open to collaborations with other individuals or production companies.
If you like what you've learnt of us and have an idea or production project that you would like to team up on, please do not hesitate to get in touch.
