2010

The BUFF Blog (December 2010)

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THE 2010 BUFF PRE-CHRISTMAS MESSAGE

Over the past 12 months, BUFF has invited filmmakers and journalists to offer their thoughts and experiences of the industry. Now its’ my turn. In what has been a year of exciting developments, BUFF was the first media outlet to announce the winners of the Film London Best of Boroughs awards – one of whom submitted their entry into the British Urban Film Festival only weeks before. The awards just happened to take place in the same week it was announced that the UK Film Council was to be abolished – arguably the biggest story of the year as far as the UK film industry was concerned.And so as the arts brace themselves for funding cuts – and regardless of the number of A-list actors and directors brought forward to argue the case against, regardless of the success of British cinema in the last 12 months, the way we see arts is about to change bigtime.

And as with anything connected with change, technology seems to be the undisputed driving force behind it all. Big screens have enabled events like BBC Proms in the Park to work for huge audiences; Internet streaming is beginning to make great events accessible to far wider audiences. We use Facebook to communicate with many more people and Twitter to react instantly to shared experiences. Everyone worth their salt has never had it so good in terms of being armed with these technological tools to get the word out. That said, it does need navigation.
Having been a festival director and programmer for nearly a decade, I’d like to think that I can identify quality material when it reaches my desk – week in, week out. And with so much that is out there, presented as ‘quality’, my role as a gatekeeper will have to adapt whilst maintaining my ability to organise, select and mediate the very best quality to audiences. For most people, the BBC is seen as a trusted guide as to what’s available in terms of the best quality and putting it out there on all their networks. It goes without saying that a world where only the BBC is seen as a trusted guide cannot be a healthy one. We are no longer constrained by broadcast networks (we are no longer constrained, period – thanks to Julian Assange).

Arts organisations should be collaborating, not only with the BBC but with other technology providers to create the richest possible offer for all. The demand for participation rather than passive observation, and for using technology in the process, is especially critical for a younger audience hence the increasing focus of cutting-edge arts venues like the Roundhouse in North London where the short film ‘Stick With Me’ (co-produced by BUFF) was screened earlier this year. The Barbican Theatre’s partnership with Theatre Royal Stratford East enabled “The Harder They Come” (starring Lateef Lovejoy) to bring in a whole new crowd earlier this summer. At the time of writing, “Fela” is wowing audiences at the National, thanks in no part to messyrs Jay-Z, Wil Smith & Jada Pinkett-Smith – the executive producers of the musical biopic.BUFF continues to screen some of the most iconic independent cinema produced by the UK’s finest including “Sus” (adapted from the original stageplay), “Adulthood”, “Hip-hop Opera”, “Rappin at the Royal”, “Disoriented Generation”, “N-Dubz: the way we were” plus the very best in short film talent from across the country. But you knew all that already didn’t you? Course you did…

You probably also knew that Dappy will be delivering this year’s alternative Christmas message on Channel 4. The N-Dubz rapper declared recently that his speech will be “real and relevant” to young people in the UK today. Since 1993, Channel 4 has broadcast a speech from a celebrity or political figure at the same time as the Queen’s traditional Christmas message. Previous speakers have included Ali G, Jamie Oliver, Sharon Osbourne and Marge Simpson. Dappy is reported to have said: “We thought it would be cool to do a special Christmas message to rival the Queen’s speech but I’ll be giving a very different take on things to Her Majesty. I’m going to be talking about things that matter to young people today, keeping it real and relevant.”

Keeping it real and relevant was behind BUFF’s decision to be a media partner in Manorlogz – the online poetry slam which was launched this summer as the UK’s answer to Def Poetry Jam, the HBO series produced by US entrepreneur Russell Simmons. Billed as “extreme spoken word”, the competition has secured broadcast rights on Sky and this year’s inaugural final will be shown on December 21st, 4 days before Dappy disrupts everyone’s Christmas dinner – needless to say, most people at BUFF tend to have their dinner after 3pm…

Dappy (or to give him his full name Costadinos Contostavlos) also just happens to feature in the BUFF 2011 promo which is currently doing the rounds on You tube and also on the new and improved BUFF website which recently announced its’ all important submission deadlines and festival dates for next year (Deadline: July 25th, Festival: September 3rd – 5th).

And so that has been the year that was. We’re all off to slap ourselves on the back (some more quietly than others), for one individual in particular, an open invitation to gorge on tap and knock back a few stiff ones before tackling the new year head on. We hope that as an organisation, BUFF continues to entertain and provide insight and understanding of the film business. And who knows, after the year we’ve had, we may even start our own PR agency… happy new year!

(c) BUFF Enterprises. All Rights Reserved.

The BUFF Blog (by Jessie Grace Mellor – November 2010)

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This month’s edition is guest-written by Jessie Grace Mellor, previously the resident film reviewer for The Daily Mirror and now director of ‘N-Dubz – The Way We Were’, one of this year’s BUFF UK premieres…

During this blog about my experiences with BUFF, I’m going to flit between a few different timelines. A time machine won’t be required but please bear with me. I’m gonna start in 2005.I had just finished my short mockumentary ‘Billy Blaze’ and was eager to get it into festivals and let an audience see it. Meeting Emmanuel Anyiam-Osigwe and the boys at their office in Stratford, I was impressed by their energy and enthusiasm for BUFF. I thought it was very cool that they had taken it upon themselves to celebrate low-budget, urban British film when a lot of the more high profile festivals still favoured entries from studios and the US.

Billy Blaze went down so well at BUFF they showed it twice! The round of applause I heard on the opening night when Billy’s credits went up confirmed what I’d already suspected when we’d had a dream shoot – over three days a few months before – that Billy Blaze was a character everyone could laugh at and relate to. But my high point happened in the insalubrious surroundings of the Genesis cinema’s toilets when two young ladies laughed amongst themselves and heaped praise on Billy and his antics. I didn’t let on that I was the director but it was a wonderful moment.

Fast-forward to 2010 and I contacted Emmanuel to let him know I was on my way to finishing ‘N-Dubz – The Way We Were’. I was excited when Emmanuel agreed to put it into this year’s festival as I knew it was the most apt home for a film about N-Dubz as teenagers starting out.

So let me rewind quickly to 2002 when I met N-Dubz, who were then known as ‘The Lickle Rinsers’. Hardly the catchiest of names but it wasn’t their moniker I was impressed with – it was their raw, untapped talent. Under the guidance of the late Uncle B – Dappy’s dad – the enthusiastic trio had already been slogging their little hearts out, writing, producing and recording British rap and garage tracks. I was introduced to them by my mate Donna Dee, a respected producer and one of the innovators of Two Step. Along with Uncle B, she’d been co-producing and co-managing Tulisa, Dappy and Fazer, and was particularly close to Tulisa. Donna asked myself and Arlene Dignam, my filmmaking partner, to film the three teens, ostensibly as a promotional type video for Uncle B to use when trying to get them a record deal.

Filming took place over one day and we tried to do ‘a day in the life’ piece – with some observational stuff and interviews, conducted by yours truly. The filming was mainly ‘behind the scenes’ stuff of them in their studio, being interviewed in a car and performing at their second ever gig – supporting ‘More Fire crew’ at a non-descript sports hall somewhere in the suburbs (forgive me for forgetting where, it was eight years ago!). The cheery, open youngsters charmed and impressed us but seeing them perform at the gig to a bunch of pre-pubescent teens who fancied them but didn’t really get them, I knew they were a bit ahead of their time.

In my opinion, they were too young themselves to wow an audience of adults doing PAs at raves but their lyrics were too sophisticated and rude for the babyish crowds they were performing for. So I suppose it was only natural that ‘The Lickle Rinsers’ themselves needed to grow up from being the feisty fourteen year-olds I’d met before a record company could snap them up at eighteen or so and turn them into rich, slick chart-friendly fare, complete with expensive videos boasting designer clobber and private jets and with an over-reliance on wind-machines and flashy graphics.They are perfect fodder for young adults who want a touch of parent-friendly rap with their pop, but personally, I felt it a crime that they’d lost the lyrics about politics and streetlife along the way.

Technically, the film we produced and edited for Uncle B in 2002 was a bit rubbish, but Arlene and I have honed our talent a lot since then and it was as if the footage was meant to be stored for eight years and unearthed only when me as a filmmaker and N-Dubz themselves were worthy for it to be made into something more special.

And the over-riding memory I have of that time is getting goosebumps when Fazer and Dappyfreestyled for about 10 minutes in their studio.

Fast forward to late 2009 and N-Dubz as they were now known were basking in chart success. I decided to wait for a few months before unearthing the two hours plus raw footage we’d accumulated in case they were a flash in the pan. Then weeks later I was in a cab and the driver put on Radio One and I heard them pulling off an impressive performance on Live Lounge and I thought then that N-Dubz might be around for some time tocome.

Then it was a matter of finding the footage, which Arlene and I both swore the other had and which eventually was found hiding in box in my study, so sorry Arlene. Once I’d checked the footage and discovered it, in its unedited state, it was actually rather good (especially, as I’d remembered, the long freestyle rap in the studio); And so started the weeks of indecision. Should I contact the record company through the contacts a mate of mine at the Sun had passed on and see if they wanted to come on board and participate in a retrospective look at N-Dubz? Or should I just put some stuff on You Tube, guerrilla style? Either way, I wanted to use it to bolster the filmmaking image Arlene and I had been busy building in the interim. The only thing I was sure about was that I wanted it to be shown at BUFF.

So getting a 20 minute edit ready for that became the priority and it was shown at the massive Cineworld in Ilford in September. Those who saw it liked it and everyone touched upon the possibility of doing so much more with it and I felt privileged that it was shown alongside the excellent ‘Bad Day’, directed by Ian David Diaz. After the screenings, Ian and I were grilled on stage by Emmanuel who asked us about our experiences in making our films and also the state of the British film industry.

As a former reviewer for a national newspaper and a wannabe (paid) filmmaker, I felt able to give my two pence worth and mainly spoke out about the fact that the government need to support our industry a lot more. It seems obvious when I saw it out loud, but in places like France, if you go to any cinema at any given time you will see one or two Hollywood blockbusters alongside a whole host of indigenous films, because French people want to see French films and the government, distributors and exhibitors support this. Here, you’ll be lucky to see anything British or low-budget in anywhere else but ‘arthouse’ cinemas and until British films get the proper support from all of the above and the publicity and advertising they need to be seen, people will still pay money to see a ‘Clash of the Titans’ over a ‘Looking For Eric’.

British filmmakers also need to stop trying to copy Hollywood (because we don’t have their money or weather but we do have amazing talent) and make intrinsically British films. But Ian and I both agreed, that these films need to be commercial or entertaining – or preferably both.

On a more positive note, I also touched upon the fact that it has never been easier to make films – even with friends – for little money. And the internet and festivals like BUFF are on hand to get these films seen. I’ve never had any problems making films with mates, as people are still attracted by the magic of movies. And bringing us bang up to date, thanks to BUFF and a lot of persistence and utilising of contacts of mine post BUFF, it seems I will finally be getting paid for my art as a production company has agreed to put money in to making N-Dubz into a 70 minute music documentary to be released early next year.

Lady luck is shining on me as I also have a producer on board for ‘One Love’, my feature about the rave and pirate radio scene in 1990, set in our beloved London, written by myself and Arlene. Imagine a film opening on the roof of a high-rise towerblock as two DJs repair a broken transmitter, with ‘You Got The Love’ by The Source, featuring Candi Stanton, blasting out and you get the idea.

Thanks BUFF for giving me a platform, expanding my contacts book and bolstering my belief in my own abilities as a filmmaker. You’re already on the list for the ‘One Love’ premiere.

ends.
(c) Jessie Grace Mellor/BUFF Enterprises. All Rights Reserved.

The BUFF Blog (by David Trumble – October 2010)

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This month’s edition is guest-written by David Trumble, director of ‘The Shift’, one of this year’s BUFF UK Shorts…

 

BLOG BEGINS: I have never guest-written for a blog before, so one thing you should know about me right off the bat: I ramble. Emmanuel very kindly asked me if I could write up my impressions of this year’s British Urban Film Festival, and I was only too happy to. This is the first film festival my short film The Shift has been selected for, and I can’t think of a better place to make our debut, the home of the passionate, the hard-working, the uncompromising, the different. And our entry, the tale of a cantankerous, flame-haired ambulance technician called Damon, was certainly different. We’re currently preparing to attend our third festival with “The Shift” in November, but my experience of BUFF still remains the fondest, because of the atmosphere created by it’s organizers. This was an environment that encouraged interaction between it’s film-makers, conversation, debate, laughter and a looser, more intimate style of doing things. We were not simply watching films in a darkened room, the floor was opened up. This blog may be a little scattershot, because that was how I experienced BUFF, a stream of thoughts and ideas that still come back to me now. A lot of silent “wows” to myself. Wow, that shot of the henchmen pulling out their badges in Adventures of a Supernigger blew me away, Wow, it’s Saskia Reeves from Luther and she THINKS she’s met me before, Wow, that poetry was lovely, Wow, Ralph Brown’s a legend, Wow, I would not in a million years be able to pull off the suit Lateef Lovejoy was wearing….And wait a minute. The tickets are FREE, you say????

At a time where our government no longer even PRETENDS to value the film industry, festivals like BUFF stand resilient and continue to cultivate and encourage new talent. And in the case of this lowly film-maker, it also provided some hot food and a place to sleep! A little bit of context first…Leave it to a guy with a dozen trusted friends in London to show up on the weekend that they are all off working on another short film and unable to let me crash. Worse than that, my trusted lead actor Greg Lock, who originated Damon’s story with me and would have been at BUFF with bells on, was in the middle of a gruelling sponsored walk from Fort William to Inverness to raise money for the London Air Ambulance, and so was also a no-go. Curse you, Greg and your altruism! So when I arrived on the Saturday, I was pretty sure that some kind of Travelodge or B & B was on the cards, and as I resigned myself to that fate, BUFF came to my rescue!There I was on the Saturday night, after the screening of “SUS” (Excellent) finding myself sat in the BUFF main office talking into the wee hours with Emmanuel and Bernard, eating take-away courtesy of Emmanuel, laughing a lot, and discussing everything and anything. Dinner and a show indeed, the full BUFF treatment. Although the less said about our impromptu viewing of the first ten minutes of Shortbus the better.I’m not sure, but i think it was halfway through our conversation we discussed who would make a good black Doctor Who (My vote: Adrian Lester, the man doesn’t age!) that I realized something about Emmanuel and all the people who made BUFF a reality: This is not a job to them. It’s all for the love of it.

It reminded me of the actors and crew who turned up to make The Shift for free, the members of the Oxfordshire Community Foundation who took a chance on our film to open their charity premiere, the kind people at TLO Film Studios who gave us a subsidised price for the ambulance, my legendary editor Zack who let me sleep on his bedroom floor for a fortnight during post production…Making films is very counter-intuitive, and to an outsider who doesn’t get it the whole process seems like an unfair deal. Give your all and get only a little back, if at all. Pulling together an independent short is an uphill struggle for a young director, requiring no end of personality flaws and obsessions. It all appears very masochistic, and…okay, I can’t lie, it is very masochistic. It’s kind of like being the child who jumps into the water in his clothes and then keeps doing it no matter how many times he is told not to. And every time you do your parents despair and cry “WHY WOULD YOU DO THAT AGAIN? YOU ONLY JUST GOT DRY!” Will we ever learn? Well…of course not. At least that’s the way I see it. You have to love film to keep making it, and your crew have to love you to make it with you, if you don’t get something out of it then you’re not going to last. The secret those-who-don’t-get-it miss: We’re most unhappy when we’ve dried off, the moment we’re back to normal again we can’t wait to jump back into the water. We hate being dry, being dry sucks.

The joy of watching the BUFF Shorts was not only seeing that level of insanity and dedication in the films I watched, but also in the faces of the film-makers I met there. Three names worthy of special praise were the guys I shared the Q & A with, Rohan Green (dir. Physical Education, loved the steadicam shots and well-judged score) Tarun Thind (Dir. English, gorgeous tracking shots and compositions, a great eye) and Mawaan Rizwan (dir. Paperboy, endearing and less-is-more to perfect effect). I spent a relatively short time speaking to them each in person, but it was a flurry of back and forths, which Canon did you use, where did you film that, can I get your actor’s details, what’s your favourite lens? (For anyone who cares, mine’s the 50mm!) Best thing of all was that never once did I feel like I had to ask them WHY they wanted to direct, why they were making these films. It was just obvious and unspoken, why WOULDN’T we? I love that mentality, and why should we have to explain it? In fact, that’s what was so interesting about the Q & A. It was anything but a stinted question and answer session, there wasn’t a divide between us and the audience, we were just people talking and sharing. I found myself very moved by a very emotional question about the race representation of the black bully in Physical Education, which allowed not only the film-makers but also other members of the audience to get in on the debate and give their personal views. That was pretty special.

So where to next? For the British Urban Film Festival, another year, their sixth, and for me, a music video in Oxford, plus a new short film that was actually devised within the walls of BUFF itself! “Sofa”, a short film that will be written, directed and performed by collaborators Liam Dempsey, Matt Brothers, and myself, was devised whilst waiting to go into the screening room for the BUFF shorts, as the three of us were sitting on, yes wait for it, a sofa. Inspiration can come from anywhere, and at BUFF, sometimes you’re sitting on it.

The British Film Industry is not dead, despite what people may have you believe. Film can never really be killed in this country, we have too much passion and drive for it. The loss of the UK Film Council is a blow, like our fragile economy we’re in a tailspin, but like economies, this is a cyclical thing. The difference between now and the last British New Wave is that the methods of film-making are getting cheaper all the time, a young film-maker can pick up a digital stills camera and make something that looks stunning, the internet allows for maximum exposure at minimum cost, creativity is now overwhelmingly interactive, people can become their own studios, their own marketers.

Watch the BUFF online shorts and see the many walks of life their directors and subjects come from. This is an exciting era for those who are just beginning, the landscape is rapidly evolving. For those who want it badly enough, the opportunities are there. But all of that hard work, all that begging, borrowing and stealing needs to find it’s audience, which is where the major road-blocks are being thrown up. The problems this country is facing certainly do not help make a competitive market any easier to break into, but then…that’s why places like BUFF are so very important. You could be a graduate, an award winner, a first-time director, but if you have something to say then there are people who want to listen.

As I looked alongside the other film-makers I was sitting shoulder to shoulder with, I realized we were all from very different backgrounds, and had each come to this moment by different ways, which ultimately gave me hope when it was my turn to answer the question (in characteristic rambling form) of how I feel about the state of film-making in this country. There really is no one way to make it. If one avenue closes, you find another one. The one thing you don’t do is stop.

So to all film-makers, film-lovers, or anyone who wants to see British film-making alive and well in 2011, I say to you…Come forward, if you think you’re BUFF enough!

 

(c) David Trumble/BUFF Enterprises. All Rights Reserved.

The BUFF Blog (August 2010)

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Who would be a film festival director ey? It was always going to be a chaotic period once the deadline for submissions closed on Sunday July 25 at midnight. It was even extended to 5pm the next day. Add to that filming with Lateef Lovejoy for the festival and the debut of ‘Buff on Tour’ in Cricklewood at 7.30pm the next day also – and the phrase ‘killing hours’ comes to mind, a phrase which embodies the amount of energy being exhausted – and shared in equal measure by this year’s festival sponsors Gabriel Media International – that are being put in to deliver the buffest film event on the calendar. That said, if the events of Monday July 26 were anything to go by then the buffest film event on the calendar may well be one of the very few in years to come after the revelation that the UK Film Council is to be abolished.

This very blog was only just reporting last month on the demise of BFM (how long for remains unknown) and the general mood of similar organisations reported both in public and private who seem to be facing an uphill task in delivering to the public. One would assume by default that a film festival like BUFF’s – free to the public and currently without public and corporate funding – would be one of the early casualties in this era of austerity and streamlining, far from it. More of that later but to the main story at hand and the decision made by the culture secretary to disband the UK Film Council, seemingly without warning.To be fair, BUFF first heard rumours about this just over a year ago when it was refused repeat funding for the British Urban Film Festival (In 2008, BUFF was one of the first beneficiaries of the council’s’ Black Film Exhibition Publicity Fund). Founded in 2000 under a Labour government, the state-sponsored film agency has pumped over 15 million pounds into UK films. In the intervening decade that followed, more than 4.5 billion pounds has been pumped back into the economy, supporting around 100,000 industry jobs with 75% of the money invested in London and the South-East. Within hours of the decision, online petitions to reverse it attracted 15,000 signatures and counting (if it can work for BBC 6 Music – why not?).

Needless to say the shadow culture secretary has called the decision short-sighted, ill-considered, counter-productive and devastating. BUFF caught up with actor Wil Johnson who was of the opinion that dependency on handouts and a lack of creative freedom (traits usually associated with the Film Council) were crippling genuine film-makers and their art, both new and establishing. Actor Clint Dyer was talking in a similar vein when BUFF first caught up with him at a preview screening of ‘Sus’ back in April (Sus was co-produced by Clint Dyer).

Justin Marciano at Revolver Entertainment makes the point that without the additional funding support, ‘Kidulthood’ would not have been able to reach out to audiences across the UK as extensively as it did. He goes onto say that the success of that one film meant that the talent involved got the chance to make bigger films and build proper careers, all of which goes back into sustaining the industry. That said, the UKFC has funded films like ‘Nowhere Boy’, directed by Sam Taylor-Wood who had previously never directed a film. Readers of this blog over the past 18 months will have detected a decent amount of coverage being attributed to ‘Kidulthood’ and the almost two-tier industry which exists in the urban bubble – i.e filmmakers who resist the urge to model their films on ‘Kidulthood’ and those who do.

The hiatus which will now exist as a result of the end of this quango will certainly challenge an industry which is already facing challenges on a creative, economic and technological scale. For the last 5 years, it has always been a survival of the fittest as far as BUFF is concerned – those who purport to be truly creative will have their work cut out and only the smartest will prevail. For those who aren’t afraid of help, it seems that the industry may have to welcome corporate sponsorship on an even greater scale than it has done previously – BP could do with a charm offensive…In amongst all this news was the debut of Buff on Tour. Held on the edge of town at the Heritage Inn in Cricklewood, the first fruits of Buff’s sponsorship came to being with the opportunity to showcase at ‘Film & Cabaret on the Broadway’ – a mixture of short film screenings and ‘live’ performances, anchored by Paulette Harris Germain, bringing the arts to the people of Brent who played host to the first ‘Buff-On Tour.’ For the lucky ones in the audience, there was a chance to see once again previous BUFF shorts including Diane Musafiri’s ‘Brothers’, Jane Thorburn’s ‘The Family Legacy’ and Jason Nwansi’s ‘Pavement Poetry’ with the man himself providing healthy debate after the screenings. At the time of going to press, Buff on Tour is currently screening shorts from last year’s festival at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and will soon be showing more from its’ vast archive across other parts of the capital and beyond. Watch this space as they say…

And so to Wednesday and the Film London Best of Boroughs awards at BAFTA. On the way to the ceremony, actor Rafe Spall was plastered double-page in that evening’s edition of the Evening Standard. For the uninitiated, Rafe is the son of actor Timothy Spall of ‘Auf Weidersen Pet’ fame and countless other TV dramas, films and commercials. One look at Rafe’s year to date and it seems that the apple doesn’t fall very far from the tree as far as our man Rafe is concerned – who can be seen currently in Channel 4’s new Friday night comedy ‘Pete versus life’ – as well as starring as Detective Wilby in ‘Sus’, showing on the opening night of this year’s British Urban Film Festival – the man is everywhere…

Affectionately known as the Bobs, The Film London ‘Best of Boroughs’ awards returned on Wednesday the 28th of July for a third consecutive year to celebrate grassroots film-making talent in London. Anybody looking for further dirt on the axing of the UK Film Council 48 hours previously may have felt shortchanged as it was business as usual at BAFTA where a total of 16 shortlisted films from across the capital went head to head for the coveted Jury and Audience Awards. East London featured prominently in the main shortlist with no less than 6 boroughs represented and it was no surprise when Evan Creevy, director of ‘Shifty’ announced that ‘Physical Education’ by Newham’s Rohan Green duly won the audience award for his 8 minute school bullying drama. Many of the winning films as well as the shortlisted titles have been picked up by several of the capital’s film festivals including the British Urban Film Festival and the London Film Festival – needless to say, the BUFF selection process was made a little bit easier by the success of ‘Physical Education’ having received the film as a festival entry 2 weeks prior. It was an evening of success on many levels for those involved with BUFF and to cap it all off, BUFF somehow managed to get starstruck whilst bumping into Andrea Arnold, director of ‘Fish Tank’, and could only manage for the most part to keep reminding her about her other claim to fame – the ITV kids show ‘No.73’.

The last few days of the month saw an unwelcome hacking of BUFF’s wikipedia page, a radical overhaul of the BUFF website (which will be music to quite a few people’s ears), and a frantic last-minute rush of late submissions (deadline guys!!!) to the British Urban Film Festival including entries from serial auteur filmmaker Wayne Saunders and also from Daily Mirror journalist Jessie Grace Mellor – if only there was time to go into detail the conversations that took place that very evening as the final selection was being finalised and ripped apart for what seemed liked hours upon hours on end… Regrettably (and probably wisely) there isn’t any time (for now anyway). And all of these events, since Sunday August 25th, happened in just 1 week… who would be a film festival director ey?

And so to August and all roads lead to Tottenham which is where the juggernaut that is The British Urban Film Festival 2010 will pitch up from Saturday September 4 at the Bernie Grant Arts Centre, the talking will soon be over… To book for your free ticket to be part of the experience, see the line-up* in full at www.buffenterprises.co.uk

*subject to change

 

(c) BUFF Enterprises. All Rights Reserved.

The BUFF Blog (July 2010)

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If it feels like the frequency of buff blogs are being stepped up, the signs are that the festival is getting nearer. This year’s event marks the 5th annual gathering of filmmakers, the media and the general public to the British Urban Film Festival, now widely accepted as the first stop for urban films. As the late Michael Jackson quotes in one of his songs ‘it don’t matter if you’re black or white’, the festival acts as a tool to highlight, to showcase and to champion the growth of urban film, a relatively new genre which has become a staple diet for audiences since the late 90s. The diet seems to have bulged in the last 12 months with a whole host of films, filmmakers and film festivals, cashing in on the urban concept. The British Urban Film Festival was the 1st and remains the only film festival of its’ kind in the UK – passionate in its’ brief to deliver the best urban films free without charge. Happy birthday Buff, many happy returns.

The rumours were in the air as far back as January and after many off the record conversations it has been put on record that the Black Filmmaker Magazine International Film Festival (BFM) has announced that it has cancelled this year’s event, citing “lack of financial resources.” Many of the people who work on Buff first cut their teeth at BFM which can rightly take the credit for launching the careers of hundreds of filmmakers, screenwriters, actors, actresses, producers, directors and certain film festival directors…

They are not the only festival to cancel 2010 festivities – Kush Films (whilst not having cancelled any festivities for 2010) seem intent on leaving the scene in 2011, thanks in no part to the disillusionment with the way the industry is run. No doubt the global economic crunch will have made its mark on matters also. Colourful Radio’s resident film buff Emerson Forde makes the observation that certain sectors of the business & film community are all but ambivalent to the Black community as a whole. Add to that ‘a new government who are highly unlikely to be funding this type of project’.

The man behind BFM and distinguished filmmaker himself, Menelik Shabazz echoes these thoughts in a statement released by BFM last month: “As the founder of the festival I am naturally disappointed that we are not able to continue as we have worked hard over the years to keep the Festival going with only token support from the UK film industry. Year after year we have relied heavily on tremendous volunteer support, to keep the festival going, which is ultimately not sustainable.”

“…The BFM International Film Festival was created with a vision of ‘bringing the unseen to light’ and this is our legacy. I hope that this is not the end and that a way will be found to keep the festival alive in the future…”

From one departure to another and the world cup has come and gone and African football was firmly in the spotlight thanks in no small part to the exploits of the ‘Black Stars’ who look set to dominate the sport in Africa for at least a decade. There was a time when Nigeria held that mantle. The years 1994 through to 1996 saw Nigeria qualify for the world cup, become champions of Africa and Olympic champions. Kanu was an instrumental and inspiring figure at the heart of all things successful with the ‘Super Eagles’. His substitution against South Korea on June 22nd 2010 signalled the end of a long and distinguished career for Africa’s most decorated sportsman. Kanu’s personal story is the stuff of legends and many attempts (including one by Buff no less) have been made to bring the lionheart’s highs and lows to the big screen – its’ not as if Kanu hasn’t got any spare time on his hands – watch this space as they say…

The last time Buff met Kanu in person was at Brentford FC when Nigeria were trounced 4-1 by Ghana in a friendly. At the time, one did feel that there was a changing of the guard after the events of that night – the events of the last 5 weeks have shown that Ghana can only get better whilst for Nigeria it can’t get any worse than getting expelled by FIFA after attempts by the president to get its’ house in order – by withdrawing from all international tournaments.

The next time the buff blog is published, the line-up of films will be revealed for this year’s festival which Buff can reveal will be hosted by the stand-up comedian and actor Lateef Lovejoy. Over the next few weeks GM World TV (part of Gabriel Media International) will be screening exclusive online coverage of the festival featuring news, interviews and official previews. Buff is delighted to team up with one of the most dynamic PR agencies in the business to bring you unrivalled coverage of the buffest film event of the year. Its’ already been announced that Sus starring Clint Dyer will be the opening feature film for this year’s event….

 

(c) BUFF Enterprises. All Rights Reserved.

The BUFF Blog (June 2010)

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This time 5 years ago, Noel Clarke was playing Billie Piper’s screen boyfriend in Doctor Who. Since then, our man Noel not only starred in ‘Kidulthood’ (recently screened again on BBC3), he went onto write and direct its’ sequel, ‘Adulthood’ – collecting a Bafta along the way. He has since starred in ‘Heartless’ and ‘Centurion’. He also starred in ‘Doghouse’ with Stephen Graham, Danny Dyer and Terry Stone, and has just released ‘4,3,2,1’ – considered by some to be the UK’s answer to the film ‘Set it Off’ – considered by others to be the 3rd instalment of the ‘Kidulthood’ trilogy. Why? Well most of the cast in 4321 featured in Adulthood – Shanika Warren Maitland, Ashley ‘Bashy’ Thomas, Adam Deacon and Benjamin Ballance ‘Plan B’ Drew. Recent reports from Variety Magazine have suggested however that Noel’s production company, Unstoppable Entertainment, are developing ‘Hood3’ as part of a development deal with Mel Gibson’s Icon Entertainment. The irony in the name of Noel’s company seems lost on the Evening Standard newspaper when one of its’ journalists recently said in a review of 4321 that the popularity of London’s urban culture – as seen through film or music – has caught some by surprise. 10 days later, the very same newspaper (whilst reviewing the film ‘Streetdance’) was quoted as saying that “London’s urban culture is becoming one of our most profitable exports”.

There is a body of opinion which is of the view that Clarke’s body of work behind the camera is much of a muchness, the impression being that Clarke is one dimensional though the same can be said for Gurinder Chadha OBE who recently released ‘Its’ a wonderful afterlife’ and was the brains behind ‘Bend it like Beckham’ and ‘Bride and Prejudice’. In an interview with the Independent recently, Clarke, 34, admits that he dislikes it when people say that he shouldn’t both act and direct: “In America, the more things people can do, the happier they are. You can do everything there. Over here they’re like, ‘What? Let me sit down and have a sip of whisky. You write, you act and you – direct?’ “I can’t understand that. You have to apologise for doing more than one thing. That bugs me. A lot.” The sentiments are shared as far as the powers that be at Buff are concerned, to the extent that Buff not only produces the film festival, it also produces films, reality shows and TV programmes.

Last month, ‘Stick With Me’ (co-produced by Buff Enterprises), the opening film for last year’s British Urban Film Festival, secured another screening, this time at the London Filmmakers Convention at the Camden Roundhouse, organised by the Portobello Film Festival – the film is also due to be shown in Germany later in the year. The multi-tasking doesn’t stop there – Sway has been approached to pen a new Buff anthem, scripts are about to be penned for future short films in the next 12 months, a major new entertainment project – Manorlogz xtreme spoken word – is in the offing with 4front Films and completion funding is almost in place for the long awaited ‘Melvin – Chronicles of a Player’, directed by Lawrence Coke.

Its’ safe to say that the group of actors and other film talent associated with Adulthood have also raised their game and continued to blaze their own trail. Buff were one of the first film festivals to screen ‘Fresh off da boat’, the 2009 debut short directed by ‘Moony’ aka Femi Oyeniran who confirmed recently at the 4321 premiere that plans are afoot to develop his short into a feature-length movie. Plan B has taken his moniker to heart and has introduced a new softer and soulful side to his music in 2010. In addition, Plan B has just had his debut feature film project ‘Ill Manors’ greenlit by Film London and BBC Films. Bashy was last seen in ‘Shank’ (and ‘Freestyle’ if you look hard enough) and looks as if he is set fair to join the long list of artists who make the transition to acting. Adam Deacon has kept himself busy, seemingly moving in the same circles as Bashy and Plan B both on and off screen. Buff has had the pleasure and fortune to meet all these young moguls in the flesh – the top dog however remains elusive despite the blanket coverage that this blog has given Clarke over the years. That said, the last word for the moment, must go to Clarke whose been quoted as saying that the urban audience is now the mainstream audience: “…that whole world is more accessible and my films made it more accessible”…

Staying with the theme of multi-tasking and one is reminded of the most recent string to the bow, mainly an article, commissioned by prominent entertainment blog Catch a Vibe, in which South African Cinema was given the soundbite treatment, skimming through the last 7 years in which you could count the number of prominent films associated with South Africa or ‘Sollywood’ on the back of 1 hand. The article was part of Catchavibe’s South Africa June edition – in recognition of the biggest sporting, media and culturally significant event of the year, the World Cup. Call it fortuitous timing, but in amongst the pre-World cup releases of 4321 and ‘Sex and the City’, award-winning Ghanaian filmmaker Baff Akoto has secured a limited cinema release for his African-based soccer documentary, ‘Football Fables’ – a film first touted for Buff way back in December 2008. Buff recently met up with Baff at Bafta (had to get that line in) to get the lowdown on how a 30 second promo (as it was then) became a major news story on CNN and has since gone onto premier in New York and collect awards at the Palermo International Film Festival.

Essentially, the ‘rags to not quite riches’ tale explored by Akoto is an expose on the shady inner workings of the African football transfer market using the streets of Ghana as its setting. One would like to think that, a la programmes like 7up, the audience gets an opportunity to revisit our chief protagonist (perhaps at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil why not?) and see whether he gets the chance to write his future.

As for Akoto’s future, well there’s a potential franchise of Football Fables type films, why stop at Africa? The UK has many, many rags to not quite riches stories, waiting to be unearthed – for as one Wayne Rooney is discovered, so there shall be 100 who don’t quite make it that far. And whilst it looks like Noel Clarke has got it sussed, whose coming through the ranks in the UK film industry? Its’ not quite answers on a postcard, though submissions continue to be welcomed for this year’s British Urban Film Festival. The call has officially gone out and the festival waits to hear from filmmakers far and wide, speaking of which, much gratitude to a recent filmmaker whose film arrived from New Zealand no less. For more information, go to the website – https://www.britishurbanfilmfestival.co.uk/

 

(c) BUFF Enterprises. All Rights Reserved.

The BUFF Blog (May 2010)

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With the election imminent, it is widely assumed that out of the 650 odd MP’s who represent their various constituencies up and down the UK, half of them will have to find new employment after the electorate have had their say. There will be a fair few MP’s doing their utmost to hold on to their jobs, those who are not tainted by the expenses affair to name but 1 plague on all the MP’s houses (in some cases, literally). And whilst issues such as housing, immigration, jobs and the economy will be key to the winning of votes, it is unlikely, though not rare for new MP’s to be elected on local issues.

The east London borough and Olympic borough of Waltham Forest is the birthplace of Alfred Hitchcock, David Beckham and Black Filmmaker Magazine no less. It also holds the unenviable mantle of being the only London borough without a cinema. Cinemas are seen as the primary cultural lifeblood of a community, an outpost for individuals and families to indulge in ‘escapism’ from the trials and tribulations of everyday life. The recession has put pay to a lot of things (including a certain magazine if rumours are to be believed) but for the local MP to oversee the only London borough being without a cinema should generate far more commotion, both within the film community and beyond. Former conservative leader and MP for Chingford & Woodford Green, Iain Duncan Smith has recently lent his support to the campaign to save Waltham Forest’s only cinema.

The Mcguffen society (who include Alan Davies among their patrons) are also spearheading the campaign to re-establish the EMD as a pre-eminent cinema venue in London. The Grade 2 listed building in Hoe Street, Walthamstow, was designed by Russian theatre director Theodore Komisarjevsky, who was married to actress Dame Peggy Ashcroft. The cinema was sold in 2003 to the UCKG church who plan to turn it into a place of worship. Earlier proposals were rejected by Waltham Forest council. How the campaign could do with Alfred Hitchcock chipping in or more realistically (though not improbably) David Beckham – we’ve seen what the power of 1 scarf can do. The month of March also saw the power of protest in all its’ glory as the BBC announced plans to streamline its’ output including the closure of the Asian Network and 6music radio stations in its’ current form. Whilst over 100 people including Shilpa Shetty added their name to a petition to save Asian network, at least 10,000 people have added their name to a petition to save 6music, not forgetting the various campaigns running on Twitter and Facebook. It remains to be seen whether the die is cast on the various closures that have been mentioned in this blog. The 1st time this blog became aware of the Peckham rapper Giggs was when award-winning filmmaker Teddy Nygh previewed his documentary Clashadatight1’s a year ago (a film which later went onto be screened by BUFF).

Since then, the rapper has gone onto win Best UK artist at America’s BET awards, has been signed by XL Recordings (also home of Dizzee Rascal) and is also on the BBC’s Sound of 2010 shortlist. His forthcoming tour was cancelled on police advice over concerns about potential risks to the event. On a previous occasion, Giggs was banned from a Lil Wayne show at Stratford Rex in 2008, again at police insistence. His subsequent response, a freestyle rap ‘ Banned From Lil Wayne’ generated a new mass of fans, both listeners and followers on Twitter and Myspace. Having served time for firearms offences, Giggs has since and continued to be closely scrutinised by Operation Trident who not only have tipped off music venues against working with the artist but other music labels who’d expressed an interest in him. On top of that, Giggs feels that he’s being persecuted for talking about subjects that people don’t want to hear about. He insists that his lyrics and subsequent vision of Peckham is not pretty because its’ palpably not pretty. In an interview with Time Out magazine, Giggs re-iterates this fact going onto say that “people are scared of the truth. Some people just don’t wanna know…”

The same can be said for many films and TV programmes over the years which have been shown or otherwise for various reasons. Films about police deaths in custody (‘Injustice’ by Ken Fero) and the 7/7 London bombings (‘The Homefront’ by Thomas Ikimi) have never seen the light of the day in a UK cinema nor on TV. The gangster movie ‘Triads, Yardies and Onion Bhajees’, based on the former Southall gang The Holy Smokes was banned in cinemas in 2004 and is about to be released on DVD. A film based on events which led to the death of Jean Charles De Menezes is about to hit UK cinemas later this year. Its’ been said that Thames Television (remember them?) lost its’ ITV license to Carlton (who once employed David Cameron) over the broadcast of a documentary which smeared Margaret Thatcher’s then conservative government. What price free speech in today’s day and age?

 

(c) BUFF Enterprises. All Rights Reserved.

The BUFF Blog (March 2010)

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The phrase ‘joined at the hip’ springs to mind immediately when it comes to the argument that winners at the Golden Globes then go on to double up at the Baftas before claiming the hat-trick at the Oscars…suffice to say that only 1 person achieved the hat-trick on a what turned out to be yet another watershed Oscars…

70 years ago, Hattie McDaniel made history by becoming the 1st black actress to win an academy award for her role in ‘Gone With The Wind’ – 70 years on, and as predicted, Monique Imes Jackson collected her Oscar, to add to the Bafta and the Golden Globe she collected in January and February. It was widely expected that Mo’nique would win given the numerous other accolades she’s received for her critically acclaimed portrayal of dysfunctional lone parent Mary Jones in the film Precious. 12 months ago, the film was without a distributor (as was the case with Slumdog Millionaire) and it completes a remarkable triumph for the team behind the film which also collected an Oscar for best adapted screenplay – a shot in the arm for those who say that black people can’t write film scripts…

As it turned out, the marmite film Avatar, the biggest box-office film since records began, collected a hat-trick of Oscars for art direction, cinematography and visual effects. Again one is tempted to say that these were widely expected given the hype surrounding James Cameron’s masterpiece which ultimately lost out to Kathryn Bigelow’s The Hurt Locker – a timely film given the political climate. What does it say though about award ceremonies that the biggest box-office film of all time is not recognised as best film? In another hollow irony, Sandra Bullock collected a Razzie for her role in the film All About Steve and 24 hours later, collected the Oscar for best actress in The Blind Side – yet to be released in the UK.

Another film yet to be released in the UK is Sus, due to be released in time for the forthcoming general election. In Britain, the Sus law was the informal name for a stop and search law that permitted a police officer to act on suspicion or sus alone. Based on a true story, the film is set in 1979 and it’s election night. The stage is set for high drama, literally, as actor-come-producer/director Clint Dyer takes the stage play of the same name and turns it into a gripping piece of cinema which speaks out against institutional racism and the depiction of a corrupt system that fails the very people it should protect – one to watch as they say…

Believe it or not there are 5 film festivals in the world with the name Buff in them. 2 of them are based in London. The Buffalo-san black and Asian short film festival is the brainchild of filmmaker Wade A Jacks, a man of northern roots with an eye for showcasing short film talent. One would like to think that Buff and Buffalo-san are neither joined at the hip or indeed duplicitous in meeting the expectations of audiences but rather further evidence of the plethora of choice that is available to filmmakers seeking that all-important exposure on the London scene.

Currently Buffalo Sans is seeking submissions for its’ forthcoming short film festival, the 8thannual coming together of British and international films, filmmakers and assorted industry types looking to strike a deal…

OK that’s enough free advertising and hip references (well maybe 1 more) and Idris Elba is a man frequently name checked as not only hip, but buff aswell. Needless to say, the man is extremely talented – his latest offering Legacy was premiered at the Glasgow Film Festival last month. And whether it be Channel 5’s Family Affairs or the film One Love, our man Idris is one of the hardest working men in the business. Indeed, not only has Idris starred with Beyonce and produced music for her husband, he’s also a DJ and has been strongly tipped to be the 1st black James Bond  – the coup de grace for many industry observers as evidence that cinema is re-inventing the wheel and shouting it from the rooftops in terms of colour-blind casting. Other actors in the frame are reputed to be Freestyle’s Colin Salmon and Cat on a hot tin Roof’s Adrian Lester. The current incumbent, Daniel Craig is a fine representative of the UK’s most famous secret agent (aren’t secret agents supposed to be secret?) – it remains to be seen who will fill these famous shoes in the months and years ahead…

 

(c) BUFF Enterprises. All Rights Reserved.