november

The BUFF Blog (by Adriel Leff – November 2013)

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And so it all begins again. We welcome you to the home of urban film coverage in the UK and another 12 months of insight from those in the know – telling it how it really is. So in time-honoured BUFF tradition, we introduce this month’s guest blogger and whilst he’s not yet a familiar face in the grand scheme of things, he will have been a familiar face to the 1400-odd people who came through the doors over the 4 festival days. Not many people can say that they attended every event and saw every film which was screened at this year’s British Urban Film Festival – but this man did (and why not?) So here to give his considered take on the festival that was #BUFF2013 is the writer and director of the award-winning boxumentary @BloodyLip and honorary member of the famed BUFF alumni, it’s Mr Adriel Leff…

 

I first met BUFF founder Emmanuel Anyiam-Osigwe in November of 2012 when he attended an industry screening of my debut film.  I’m ashamed to admit that at that time I had precisely zero experience of attending (let alone participating in) film festivals – which sadly is the case with a large proportion of the British public.

To my delight, Emmanuel asked to include my film in the 2013 British Urban Film Festival.  After talking at length with him I found the concept, and the man behind it, to be both fascinating and seemingly a perfect fit for my film, so naturally I enthusiastically agreed to be a part of the festival – and what a festival it turned out to be…

Before the film screenings began there was a day of free events at the Channel 4 building.  This included well-received live readings of the winners of BUFF’s inaugural scriptwriting competition (of which I was fortunate enough to be on the judging panel), an informative discussion on film distribution in today’s ever-changing digital world, and most notably an extremely lively and relevant debate about the portrayal of the black community in film and television.  

This was a topic that clearly the majority of those present cared very deeply about and the palpable energy in the room as the subject was explored in an open, eloquent and intelligent manner was testament to the fact that this was an extremely necessary and worthy debate and one that felt like it very much needed to happen.  Needless to say I’m sure all the participants are very thankful to BUFF that it did, because I can’t think of another arena where such an event would have been possible.  When time ran out and the debate came to an end there was an audible groan of disappointment from the attendees who I’m sure could have quite willingly carried on with the fascinating discussion all day.

The screenings themselves couldn’t have kicked off in better style than with “Calloused Hands”, which turned out to be my own personal favourite film of the festival.  Screened in the plush surrounds of the Odeon Leicester Square, I found it to be the most enjoyable cinematic experience I can remember having in a long while.  The film itself was funny, exciting, and moving – but most importantly the audience was clearly engaged and responsive.  

Usually someone sitting in a neighbouring seat talking throughout a film is a real annoyance, but when it’s an audience member struggling not to vocalise their response to the emotional journey they’re being taken on it is hard not to view it as anything other than a compliment to the film and the environment in which it is being shown – and when you’re aware that your own work will soon be included in the very same festival this has to be taken as an extremely encouraging sign.

The Q&A session following “Calloused Hands” was equally entertaining, with the director and stars all proving very generous with their time and anecdotes, and an afterparty at a nearby club proved to be a fitting end to a very successful and promising opening night.

The highlight for me of the following day’s screenings was “Latvia”, a cautionary tale about the British criminal underworld – a theme that of course we’ve all seen time and again, but the wholly original twist here was that, instead of the usual high-octane, glamorising approach to the genre, the film highlighted the mundaneness and zero-purpose of living a life comprising of nothing more than ending other people’s existences while waiting for someone to end your own.  I found it very refreshing to see the restrained performances and obvious moral standpoint that we are simply not used to witnessing in the majority of our homegrown films.

Next up was the shorts block.  My expectations were high as I was fortunate enough to have had my film featured in festivals in New York and LA this year and I’d seen some very impressive short films at both, but one characteristic I couldn’t fail to notice at the American festivals was a lack of consistency – there was a feeling of “if you don’t like this short film don’t worry, there’ll be another one along in a few minutes”.

However I can honestly say that out of nearly a dozen shorts featured at BUFF, there wasn’t one that I didn’t thoroughly enjoy, which I see as a huge endorsement of not only the talented filmmakers who submitted their outstanding entries but also of the board’s insightful judgement when it comes to film selection.

Of course I had my favourites, but it was the overall quality on show that really surprised and delighted me.  It is also worth noting that, whereas the American shorts blocks had featured films from all over the world, each of the BUFF shorts was British-made – testament to the often maligned fact that we really do have a huge amount of domestic talent in our country that desperately needs to be nurtured.

Again, I have to mention the audience who were without doubt the best crowd I have ever seen at any cinematic event – laughing so loud at the comedic moments that at times I’m sure secondary jokes were missed, while maintaining an attentive silence when a dramatic piece required it, and of course freely showing their appreciation with generous applause after every gratifying short.

I could single out several shorts for special praise (as Emmanuel insisted I did on the night!) but to do so would be a disservice to each I neglected to mention, as I would recommend any and all of them to everyone.  I understand that a small sample will be broadcast by Channel 4 at some point, but I sincerely hope that those not lucky enough to be selected will be available for public viewing in some other manner.

As Day Four of the festival arrived I had a bittersweet mix of excitement (as my film was due to close the festival) but also a touch of sadness that the event was coming to an end.  It really had been a memorable and enjoyable experience and I had met so many lovely and interesting new people – both participants and attendees, within the industry and beyond.

The final day began with “The Fade”, an informative and fun documentary focusing on four hairdressers – from Britain, America, Ghana, and Jamaica.  It was a simple concept executed perfectly, highlighting the differences and similarities of both the men’s work and their fascinating personal lives. 

The Q&A with the film’s director and cinematographer that followed featured an unusually large amount of audience interaction, reflecting the degree to which that the film had both gripped and intrigued its viewers who clamoured to find out more about the subjects and their documenters.

The film also looked fantastic and, after the screening, I felt the need to ask the cinematographer a question myself – whether he had done much work in post-production to bring out the vivid colours, especially evident in the film’s African and Caribbean locations.  In fact, he told me, if anything he’d had to tone the colours down, such was the natural vibrancy of the florid environment.

Following “The Fade” was “Traveller”, a world premiere featuring both David Essex and his son, drawing a very large audience comprised in the main of an unusual mix of Essex fans and members of the traveller community, with both disparate factions receiving the film very well.

Finally it was time for the UK premiere of my own film, “Bloody Lip”, a comedy mockumentary revolving around a struggling boxer in the build-up to the biggest fight of his life.  It was a fantastic experience to see my work presented in such a professional and yet inclusive environment, with the relaxed audience being so receptive and responsive, laughing heartily throughout and reacting with genuine warmth to the film’s unexpectedly uplifting conclusion. 

Ending the proceedings was a Q&A session with myself and some of the actors which proved to be a great opportunity to give a few insights into the production and creative process behind the film, as well as to hear feedback from the audience who were very quick to put forward their universally positive comments and insightful questions.

Such was the feeling of good humour and playfulness in the room that the Q&A even featured an impromptu boxing lesson from one of the stars of the film (a real-life boxing trainer), much to everyone’s enjoyment.  Without wishing to sound like a gushing voiceover on a TV advert for Disneyland, it truly was a magical evening.

One serious point that I felt obliged to make during the Q&A was that without BUFF none of the audience would have been able to sit there and enjoy my film, just as I wouldn’t have had the pleasure of being able to show it in such fantastic surroundings.  The festival is all about celebrating films and filmmakers and it is only natural for an audience to focus on what they are seeing on screen – but it is equally, if not more important to remember that none of us would be experiencing these wonderful films if it wasn’t for the festival and its generous organisers’ hard work behind the scenes.

To me, this is an equally poignant thought not only due to how much we owe to people such as Emmanuel and those behind BUFF for selflessly dedicating so much time and effort to such a worthy endeavour, but also because of the sad fact that if they didn’t do what they do, nobody else would.  Outside of festivals like BUFF there simply isn’t a platform or arena supporting public screenings of the sort of films that really should be available to everyone but simply are not – and that’s a fairly sobering thought.

The latest Hollywood blockbuster plays in every cinema, on every internet streaming site, you can buy it at your supermarket and, soon enough, watch it on broadcast television.  But most of the films that BUFF shows – well, miss them and you may never get another chance to catch them again.  And if perhaps you are indeed lucky enough to, it certainly won’t be in as friendly and stimulating company, or such exceptional and historic circumstances; by definition, a premiere can of course only occur just one time.

I began this blog by saying that before I made a film myself I had no experience of film festivals.  If I had only known what I was missing then I would’ve done something about that poor state of affairs – so I now feel that it is my duty to let other people know what they are missing, and I hope you will do the same. 

A huge section of the public, and especially young people, who could be getting a great amount of enjoyment and inspiration from seeing these personal stories, these pieces of art, these exciting adventures, are not doing so, simply because they aren’t aware that film festivals exist, or have a sadly misconstrued opinion of what they involve.  And no one is going to make an effort to inform them otherwise, besides film festival organisers and those, such as yourselves, who have already discovered this unfortunately often neglected world.

So if you attended BUFF this year then tell someone about it – not just on Facebook or Twitter, but face to face.  Tell them how much you enjoyed it.  Tell as many people as you can.  And tell them they should come along themselves next year, because if they don’t they’ll be missing out on being included in something unique and momentous and very special.  We, the audience, should be the ones promoting these festivals and their films – not the festival organisers or filmmakers. 

And if you saw one film this year then next year go see two.  Or three.  Or do what I did and just watch them all – after all, you never know when you might have another opportunity to see them again in the future.  Chances are, quite possibly never.

 

(c) Adriel Leff/BUFF Enterprises. All Rights Reserved.

The BUFF Blog (by Jesse Lawrence – November 2012)

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With the exception of Kate Herron, Ugo Onwutalu & Nadia Denton, 6 board members have guest-written the BUFF Blog in the 3 or so years since its’ inception in April 2009 which, at the time, lauded the film ‘Adulthood’ as a watershed for urban independent cinema. A lot has happened since then…

@buffenterprises sent out its very first tweet in April 2009, 3 ½ years on @SpikeLee no less is retweeting BUFF NEWS ALERTS. Also back in 2009, @NoelClarke was still churning out films, Arsenal still hadn’t won a trophy and Chelsea had an interim manager in charge though he’s the only one (Gus Hiddink if you must know) who walked away from Roman Abramovich as opposed to being fired. And being fired (or at least being reminded of it) crops up on more than one occasion in the blog you’re about to read – only in the BUFF Blog will you see Roman Abramovich and Noel Clarke co-exist in a parallel universe – welcome to the world of BUFF!!

And in doing so, please extend that welcome to BUFF’s newest member of the British Urban Film Festival board and this month’s guest writer of the 30th BUFF Blog (post the Leveson Inquiry), Jesse Lawrence…

Having recently directed my feature debut – romantic comedy ‘The Knot’ – Emmanuel kindly asked me to be guest writer for November’s edition of the BUFF monthly blog. I foolishly agreed, forgetting how much like school homework this would be. Remember the homework that you put off until the very last minute and so nothing but a final 24-hour-Dostoyevsky surge of madness can save you from missing that deadline? Well this time I was saved from that particular type of pain by the fact that I did keep a loose diary on ‘The Knot’, chronicling my experiences from day dot when I was lobbying to be the director, right through production, culminating with its’ eventual theatrical release.

This two and a half year journey has felt long but is actually nothing compared to the years many filmmakers sacrifice to get their debut off the ground – check Lawrence Coke’s entertaining yet sobering account (BUFF Blog – August 2012).

Anyhow, I think the best way of approaching this blog is to revisit one of my diary entries and fatten it up for public consumption. It should be one that gives a little flavour of the business as well as highlighting some of the typical anxieties experienced by a first time director. Okay here goes…

6th August 2010

So here I am sitting in a swanky restaurant in a swanky central London hotel. It’s breakfast time and I nurse a bitter pot of green tea and wait for a well-known trans-Atlantic actress. She’s late. Thirty minutes late. She’s thirty minutes late even though we’re meeting her at her hotel. You know, where she’s staying and stuff. All she has to do is skip down those marble steps and voila! here we are. Or, if she’s not in the mood for skipping, she could saunter into the art deco elevator and have elevator man press the Ground floor button for her. What can she be doing? Getting ready I suppose. Powdering her nose.

Until a couple of days ago I’d barely heard of her – but this means nothing. If you’re looking for someone plugged into up-to-the-minute popular culture, it’s not me. But yes even I can comprehend the magnitude of this meeting. She’s big; basically a star and it would be a real result if we bagged her.

Securing stars or ‘named actors’ was an important part of ‘The Knot’ recruitment process; important because they lifted the profile of the brand which, in turn, had knock-on benefits like unlocking a missing piece of investor finance or attracting other stars to the project or making it easier for the wardrobe department to secure designer dresses for example. But mostly, stars were important because they shouted out to the world our mainstream intentions – that this film was a full fat, bona fide commercial one.

To be clear, stars do not audition. They are offered (the part). If they accept, all that is left is to negotiate the details of their fee and schedule and this is when the producers put their serious face on. But this is really about the agents – and the agents are in pig heaven. This is their opportunity to demonstrate their clout and the best ones will play poker; feign disinterest, make a counter offer, invite you to bid with a competing project and any other play that secures the most advantageous contract for their client. Then the papers are signed and that is that. Mostly. Sometime, before an agreement is reached, the star will want to meet. They’ll want to meet the team behind the project. They’ll want to meet the director.

The risk here is that this meeting can turn into a kind of audition – not for the star of course but for you the director. What is your vision for the film? But I saw it this way don’t you think this way would be better? How are you going to shoot this? How are you going to light me? How do I know that your first film is not going to be some amateurish bullshit where my skin looks bad and my career takes a nosedive?

All valid questions of course and ones I’d prepared for.

A director, especially a ‘hired gun’, which essentially what I was, is not really going to get fired for one bad meeting, for one scoffed opportunity. “Don’t worry man, the chemistry wasn’t right. It wasn’t meant to be. It’s probably for the best anyway.”

But filmmaking, directing in particular, is often about perception. Are we in a safe pair of hands? Is he competent? Yeah he made a couple of good shorts but this is different. When the shit hits the fan will he crumble? Does the man helming this actually know what the fuck he is doing?!!

So yes, one bad meeting is not going to get you fired – but it will taint you. It will open doubts in the minds of decision makers, doubts that you don’t really want them to be entertaining. One more bad meeting, a wobbly first shooting day and that’s it. You are out, relieved of your position. Fired. I’ve seen this happen. If you’re directing a script that you don’t own then it’s the law of the jungle. It’s political. It’s about diplomacy, relationships, alliances. Things might be just fine, ‘hunky-dory’ as they say, before the sudden arrival of a new character upsets the equilibrium. They have influence. They want their mate in the director’s chair. They scheme and await their chance. In the bush, yellow eyes watch your every move, each set with a different agenda. Meanwhile you are out in the open, butt naked up there on the hilltop, a target for every jackal and joker to take pot shots at.

So these are my fears as I sit here sipping this now cold beverage. Actually they are not just my fears – they are Noel’s too.

The most singularly powerful player in the production, Noel Clarke, is in my corner. I think he likes me. He saw something in my shorts, he saw talent and potential, the glimmer of something special and he wants this to be my coming out party. He wants this to be my big break.

But before we get too sentimental, make no mistake, Noel has calculated all the angles, all the plays and all the repercussions. He has the most riding on this venture and if he decides, for whatever reason, that I am jeopardising this venture, I will be dropped in a heartbeat.

Noel was taking this meeting very seriously. Earlier, when we’d met up, there was probably something about my Hawaiian shirt and unflustered disposition that alerted him to the fact that I was failing to appreciate the full gravity of the task at hand. So he decided to force my appreciation and he did so in quite a clever way.

After joking about my weight, “are you sure you can squeeze through there?,” when he stood up at Bar Italia to let me pass, he became grave.

“No nervous giggling,” he warned. I was to “take the lead” and impose my “vision” on the meeting. This was actually music to my ears and I was more than happy for Noel to take a back seat. Noel was still driving his point home though.

“I mean I can take the lead bruv, I can talk but I’m not the director…”

“Yeah, yeah of course,” I conferred. “Don’t worry, I get it. It’s about reassuring her, letting her know that she’s in safe hands and that, you know, we’re serious.”

Noel nodded vigorously.

“Exactly.”

Then Noel did his clever thing. He recounted a meeting he’d had recently with a major Hollywood studio. Things had been going well.

“They were like, great, like the script, like the project, let’s just have a quick meeting with the director. And you know what he did bruv?”

“What?”

“He fucked it.”

I laughed out loud as I am prone to. Noel wasn’t laughing.

“It would be funny if it wasn’t tragic.”

By now we were strolling up Greek Street towards a member’s club and strolling is the correct description as our lead producer, Enrico Tessarin, was literally pushing a stroller with one hand and Blackberrying with the other. I’ve been conditioned not to bring kids to meetings but here was Enrico rolling with his tiny bambina like it wasn’t anything. If this was how they roll in Italy then they’d definitely won a fan in me. But as Enrico later put it, “I’m hiring you (the star) and you’re gonna tell me I can’t bring my child to a meeting? You can fuck off.”

We paused outside a nondescript door. I was keen to know how the director had fucked the big studio meeting.

“Shit what did he do?”

We got buzzed through and Noel continued.

“He was stammering, he was nervous. He was interrupting himself to take a glass of water. He was like…”

Noel proceeded to act out the director in question stuttering and mumbling before taking a long pause to down an imaginary glass of water with shaky hand. It was a funny impression but it had the desired effect. I suddenly started to feel nervous. You could say that I began to appreciate the full gravity of the task at hand.

“No pressure,” Ros winked at me.

Ros is Noel’s reassuringly down to earth personal assistant. She’s also one of the producers on The Knot.

We settled down on sofas.

“Get your shit together,” Noel advised before disappearing upstairs with Enrico to hold a conference call with a key investor.

Fast-forward 90 minutes and here we all are, waiting in this swanky hotel. My shit is together and our star is thirty minutes late. Her chair sits unoccupied between Noel and myself. Around the marble table Enrico sits to my right and feeds bambina while Ros sits besides Noel checking something out with the obligatory iPad.

Noel swills freshly squeezed orange juice from a wine glass and breaks Enrico’s balls regarding a financial transaction that has failed to materialise. The banter is playful and Enrico takes it in his stride, weighing the options the tax credit may or may not have on delayed investment. There are details but behind the technicality is a general sense of frustration at the ‘nailing jelly to a plate’ exercise that is securing private equity.

Enrico and his partner Junior Quartey have done a fine job raising money, performing out of their skin to get us this far.

But six weeks away from production and we find ourselves about to propose to a major Hollywood actress without actually having the budget to afford her. This is not a good look. We risk looking like a bunch of jokers – Noel most of all.

But Noel is looking past Enrico now – and doing his best attempt at a smile. I turn and follow his gaze. Yep, here she comes striding towards us. Here comes our star*

* Note from the editor: the alluded to star does not relate to the final cast of ‘The Knot’.

 

(c) Jesse Lawrence/BUFF Enterprises. All Rights Reserved.

The BUFF Blog (by Bernard Kordieh – November 2011)

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From Top Boy to Wuthering Heights, the much vaunted and much celebrated prominence of cultural diversity in British film and TV shows no signs of abating and continues to rouse and excite cinema buffs both here and abroad. In a month which has already seen Sket, Demons Never Die & Death in Paradise entertain the masses, there is much to take in – including yet more awards for David is Dying; introducing the newest member of the BUFF board, journalist and filmmaker Jessie Grace Mellor; and not forgetting the latest James Bond title as the year draws to a close.

Much has already been said about Top Boy – most of it true. Ultimately, one does feel that with each re-invention of the wheel, there must be other kinds of stories that can do the job of re-inventing the wheel much more potently. For the million or so viewers who stuck with it over those 4 nights of primetime, it will be very much a case of ‘same again’ with news this month of Channel 4’s re-commission of the drama in 2012. Perhaps the answer lies back to the future as seen with Andrea Arnold’s re-invention of the Emily Bronte vehicle Wuthering Heights. Comfort can be taken in the case of David is Dying and Sus – 2 films to name but a handful for whom ‘re-inventing the wheel’ has paid off with a raft of awards and critical acclaim to boot. Needless to say, BUFF has always been at the forefront in terms of re-inventing the wheel and championing the very best in urban independent cinema. In addition to awards for messyrs Stephen Lloyd Jackson & Clint Dyer, the last 18 months has also seen success for other BUFF filmmakers including Wil Johnson, Mawaan Rizwan, Ida Akesson and Rohan Green.
Over the next 12 months, whilst we will be talking about Top Boy (again), BUFF’s cards have already been marked with a whole raft of potential BUFF titles from festival filmmakers past, present and future. And that was before the call went out officially for submissions for the 2012 festival earlier this month. The bar’s been raised (to paraphrase from a certain guest blogger) – buffness awaits… go to www.britishurbanfilmfestival.co.uk and click on ‘BUFF submissions 2012’ for more information as the countdown begins in earnest…
Now about that guest blogger for whom ‘raising the bar’ has become his mantra ever since BUFF first crossed paths with him on November 29 2001. Yes its’ been 10 years since BUFF met Bernard Kordieh as a young, brash, 22 year old aspiring TV presenter in Northern Ireland. 10 years on, the youthfulness and the brashness remains in tact however his passion for the camera (as it turned out) now lies behind it. Bernard has been known to tell a few stories and where better to tell a few stories than on the BUFF Blog… so in his own words BUFF presents to you another of its’ board members and fellow entrepreneur, filmmaker and friend of the festival – Bernard Kordieh…

 

In November 2001, 3 ambitious young Londoners embarked on a special mission. They had each been shortlisted from thousands of talented young applicants to take part in a first-of-its-kind UK initiative bringing together some of the hottest young creatives in film and television.
The destination – Belfast, the initiative – The Cinemagic Unlocking Talent Awards – a unique 4 day boot camp consisting of masterclasses conducted by the industry elite. Think Big Brother, meets The Apprentice with a dash of The X Factor.
All the candidates had one objective in mind – to win an award in their category. For the majority of hopefuls – this was not only their first taste of ‘Hollywood’ but a real opportunity to stand out from amongst the crowd and be noticed by the people who mattered.
And if ‘being noticed’ was a special category on the final awards night, each of the Londoners would have been nominated. From special appearances on the regional news to opinionated discussions in hotel receptions, positively getting your point across became a London thing.
I remember witnessing a celebrated film producer at a full capacity Q & A session being probed about why his film (which was shot in West London) did not include any ethnic minorities.
Alas, no awards went back to London on that visit, instead, lessons learnt, pacts were made, and a lot of free alcohol was consumed. 10 years down the line one of the Londoners is the founder and director of the British Urban Film Festival – the definitive festival for the best in UK Urban Film. The other 2 are creating shock waves in film and television.
I remember Emmanuel calling me several months after our Belfast experience to tell me that he was the festival Director at the bfm (Black Filmmaker Magazine) International film festival. He asked me if I wanted to help out. I asked him how much he was going to pay me. He replied ‘I’ll pay for your petrol’. And that was pretty much the beginning of a beautiful working relationship.
To be honest, it was never about the money and for someone who initially wanted to work in front of the camera, being introduced to film via the bfm international film festival was truly a defining moment in my career.
What does it take to be a festival director? Total commitment to the cause and real passion for film. I’ve had the privilege of working with Emmanuel from his early days at bfm to his current at BUFF. He is undoubtedly one of the most focused and driven individuals I know in the game so when we sat in my car that evening 7 years ago, going through countless acronyms (BIFF, BAFF, BOFF, BAFF) I never had any doubts about the British Urban Film Festival soon becoming a reality.
I’m proud to say I was there at the Eureka moment.
I’m proud to say I’ve been there to watch the festival grow to become a major highlight in the UK film calendar.
I’m proud to be the first person to ask that most frequently asked question: ‘Bruv who’s going to pay for it if it’s free?’
Last but not least, I’m proud that through all adversity, BUFF 2011 was the biggest and most successful festival to date.
As a film-maker, I’ve been on the receiving end of the BUFF hospitality when my film ‘Stick With Me’ premiered on the opening night of BUFF 2009. As a BUFF board member I know about the hard work that goes into making each festival happen year after year so I have to give props to the dream team for the way the festival was executed this year.
They say sometimes in order to move forward you must look back. Well 10 years ago, 3 ambitious young men from London shared an experience which positively encouraged them to shout even louder to be noticed. And It’s in this same vein that BUFF continues to reach out to film-makers all across the UK to bring to you the best offerings in Urban Independent Cinema.
BUFF has showcased close to 100 films (and counting) and has created a viable platform for UK Urban Cinema. And with technology becoming more and more accessible, and more film-makers producing great independent films, its’ even more important for festivals like BUFF to keep doing its’ thing.
So what’s next for me in 2012:
If you haven’t heard of Manorlogz, check it out. The UK’s premier Spoken Word Showcase will be making some big boy moves in 2012.
Look out for the launch of my new show Quality Control – A ground breaking music show with a twist.
Look out for the launch of 4frontTV – our new online entertainment platform.
On a personal note, I’ve always said to Emmanuel that with the amount of time he spends watching films, isn’t it time he made one himself? ????
Just a thought bro.

Bernard Kordieh

Executive Producer
Manorlogz Xtreme Spoken Word
(C) Bernard Kordieh/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.