British Urban Film Festival presents... The Buff Blog

BUFF Blog (January 2012)

2012-01-22T12:58:00.000-08:00

The first month of Olympic year in London has not failed to disappoint in terms of celebrating the best of British. At the time of publication of this blog came news that the network television premiere of ‘Sus’ – co-produced by and starring Clint Dyer attracted 600,000 viewers on BBC 1, dominating all TV viewing at the time of broadcast (which at 11.15pm is quite impressive). Previous BUFF blogs and the festival in general have championed the likes of films like ‘Sus’ and will continue to do so. For everyone involved in its success to date, there is satisfaction to be had from a UK independent film being appreciated by the mainstream. News of the film’s success came in the same week that the coalition government commissioned a panel to draw up proposals to increase audience choice and grow the demand for British films in the UK. The panel, chaired by former Culture Secretary Lord Chris Smith commented on how British film is currently going through a golden period: “A run of British-made and British-based movies has been taking audiences around the world by storm. But we cannot be complacent.”

Complacency is certainly not a trait you can lay at the door of this month’s guest blogger who, although is known to his peers and fans as an actor, is also immersing himself as a writer, producer, director and founder of his own acting school. In the first of a two-parter, Aml Ameen writes exclusively for the BUFF blog and gives us a rare insight into his own take on UK film & broadcast media and what he sees as the way forward. Part 2 will be published next month...

While in London, home for the holidays, and fresh off shooting my recent AmeenDream short film "12" The damaged race, (which is a short film about London in 2011), I attended a screening of The Naked Poet. This is a feature film, funded, starring, written and directed by a good friend of mine Jason Barrett. The screening was a success, and brought about much debate surrounding British films from an urban perspective; the stories being told; the way in which companies that are making urban films are debasing themselves for commercial success whilst lacking diverse creative story telling - in essence the state of this ever growing UK urban film industry. Let me be clear - when I say urban, I not only mean BLACK, but also the YOUTH of the UK which has become an amalgamation of so many cultures, and races, potentially a very multifaceted NEW generation of young people.

After the screening, as everyone was heading to the bar to indulge in free cocktail (me included), I ran into BUFF founder Emmanuel Anyiam-Osigwe, a graceful welcoming guy I had previously met several years back at an event, but never having held a full conversation. Early on last year while in the States, Emmanuel had gotten in contact with me, regarding two AmeenDream Entertainment short films that he'd heard of from my production company launch in April. "Special Delivery" a silent film, and the online favourite DRINKS DRUGS AND KFC (HYPERLINK "http://vimeo.com/23434756" \t "_blank" http://vimeo.com/23434756) written and directed by me.

Emmanuel screened both these shorts at the BUFF film festival. While in the halls we caught up on the film ‘The Naked Poet’, on my success across the pond, on my film making here in the UK, and then he posed the question to me, why did I not discuss my thoughts during the Q&A session? Why did I not share my opinion on why British actors are on an exodus to the states? Why are people not supporting different types of films from an urban perspective? What do I make of my peers in the UK essentially picking up a camera in frustration and creating work for themselves? “I'm sure people would be interested in hearing your opinion"...
I smiled at this man, with respect, and responded "I prefer to be active and be the change I personally wanna see" (sound corny?) perhaps, but very true for me.

I hate fucking complaining! Especially when I’ve seen a fair amount of success from the UK film industry; especially when I believe in my generation who are making world wide moves, and especially when I'm aware that I'm in the company of people where my opinion is valued. Emmanuel then smiled, and I could tell the cogs were working rapidly, as he then asked "Would you consider writing a blog for BUFF sharing you experiences and opinions?"...

(Smiles) So this is my attempt to do so, though I have written a blog before which I very much enjoyed. "AmeenDream Journey", which was about my experience in the States before signing on to “Harry's Law”, was very much to inspire any of the up and coming artists out in the UK. I suppose this blog will be about my opinions (which I very rarely share) on UK film; I'll discuss briefly why I left for the States and why I've turned down a few notable UK projects; Why I began AmeenDream Entertainment; The success of my peers in the UK independent film world and what I'm sure will be the controversial short film "12" when it is released.

Frustrations: (The future is Trans-Atlantic Business)

Being a Hollywood actor has always been the dream of mine from an early age. Growing up in the UK, there were very few "stars" that I could look up to, that looked like me from my home town. I would run to my mother upset, saying how was I going to make it as an actor speaking with a British accent. Thank God for Adrian Lester in the film Primary Colors, who gave me my first bit of hope. Fast forward 15 years and there are many people pioneering a generation of what is becoming known as British American Actors, (British actors that primarily work in the US), of all races. From a black perspective it’s getting better and people are making waves to allow future generations an easier leap over. The future to me is a trans-Atlantic career, and British actors having more of a presence as their British selves in America.

WHY is there a mass exodus to the U.S. is the question? To me, the quality of roles and variation of characters that are available for black British actors (particularly young black British) in Britain, in terms of collective narrative story telling, is nothing short of abysmal. To be blunt, the characterization of youth stories are damaging, limiting and very telling of the perception of the youth in our country. I have encountered a few opportunities to come home, and work (most of which I’d love to do) however the roles have either been revamped versions of characters I’ve already played or just degrading. I was a part of the movement and franchise that was Kidulthood/Adulthood. At the time when these films were made, there was a yearning for the tales of disgruntled youth to evolve from how terrestrial TV were portraying them. We (young people) wanted to see ourselves on screen; our language, our culture, our real life. I think that in no small part to the likes of Kidulthood, Adulthood & Bullet Boy and also with the commercialization of urban music, this has been achieved.

I personally am now FRUSTRATED that this is all we are seeing. Being clear on my point, I don't think gritty street films/TV shows should go away, on the contrary a great story is a great story but we (the audience) are not stupid; we can quickly identify the difference between an honest piece of entertainment and watered down, formulaic, "riding a wave" type films, that not only lack in quality content, but are there for pure commerce and rarely achieve that goal. Bullshit doesn't stand the test of time, quality does. It would be nice if more of our talent were in a position to refuse work that doesn't push the growth of our diverse culture. It’s quite possible that people are choosing to do exactly that and if so I stand corrected. It would be nice if the major channels supported a "changing of the guard" of the sort where we see less shows that are about the hardships of street life (for now), and instead perhaps (maybe) we start to watch dramedies, non- race specific action thrillers, or shows about relationships.

Where are our ‘young people’ films like The Goonies & Back to the Future? Where are our period pieces like The Wonder Years about a time in the 60's and 70's? Am I dreaming too big? A bit deluded perhaps to think these things are possible? Are there not people writing this kind of material? Or are they just being backed into a corner (much like young black British actors) having to perpetuate the same stories and being told "There isn't a market for it". Many of my friends and previous colleagues are working behind the scenes to change this, much like I am, so my words are not to discredit their efforts, or the efforts of others working to change this, or to downplay the recent success we've had in “Small Island”, “Luther”, “Anuvahood” (a comedic play on the street thing), but merely to re-awaken a much discussed and complained about issue - "developing the representation of black actors and urban youth in entertainment".

Growing up, films and TV shows were one of my first points of call to an education of the world outside of my sphere. Entertainment not only informs and shapes opinions, but plants seeds that help change the world. An example of this is President David Palmer in “24” played by Dennis Haysbert. The powers that be introduced the masses to the notion of an African American President, which in turn planted the seed for a future realisation of this, and that the idea of a black President was not obscene or an impossibility, but almost a projection of a time we were heading towards. To a lesser extent I remember receiving emails during my time at The Bill, where young black males were telling me that through my character Lewis Hardy, they could see themselves thinking about joining the Metropolitan Police - one young man even wrote to me saying he did indeed join the Met as a result. Entertainment is powerful, and I agree sometimes should be reflective of life, but at other times should be aspirational. Is it just me that feels this?

What good is coming out of this? The birth of the independent film maker - innovators who are using technology and the internet as an outlet for new material and for work to be shown. My hope is that these projects become more supported through finance and that production companies, and TV companies alike take a risk and support quality work, that can become commercial. Trust me I love commercial films as well as indies, I'm not a complete believer in art over commerce, I’m just saying can we not beat a dead horse, until all that’s left is the carcass, and that no one wants anything to do with "Street Films".

Buff Enterprises is the home of urban film coverage in the UK - keep up to date online at http://www.britishurbanfilmfestival.co.uk/. BUFF 2012 comes to London in October.

The BUFF Blog (December 2011)

2011-12-20T03:35:00.000-08:00

In keeping with the tradition of listening to a rather powerful woman just before you’re about to embark on what’s really important – or maybe you’ve already squashed Christmas lunch by the time your attention is perhaps swayed by a certain Elizabeth Windsor – its’ time we took note of another Christmas message – the one being brought to you by another powerful woman (Sheila Nortley) who is fast becoming a regular fixture on the urban independent film circuit. And before we hear from her, BUFF would like to thank all of this year’s guest bloggers who’ve graced these pages with their inspiring words including Anjela Lauren Smith, Wil Johnson and Kamara Bacchus – long may the passion continue. We leave you now with the December edition of the BUFF Blog, guest-written by Sheila Nortley…

This has been the year of who are you and who do you think you are. For many I have spoken to, a year of self reflection, growth, preparation and development. I find it hard to separate myself from my career, and I don’t really think this is a bad thing. Designed by the mind of the Most High and Most Near, I’d assume that we are complex and deep beings. And everything we do and say is as a ripple in the ocean, a butterfly effect. So my career, my family, my character, my talents, my mood, my prayers, my fasting, my being – all are very much related. This is why I nearly told Emmanuel that I didn’t want to write the blog and that I had nothing to say. The premise of having my 15 minutes doesn’t do much for me. I nearly told Emmanuel that I didn’t want to write this blog because it would be hard for me to write about my year, my career, my hopes, dreams, and aspirations without, in one way or another, writing about my thoughts, my opinions and thus my self. Thoughts are precious things to be valued and treasured and nurtured when productive – regardless of what Twitter tells us – and I didn’t just want to ramble on. Why would I? Like, who am I? And who do I think I am? This has been the year of who are you and who do you think you are.

I’m Sheila Nortley. Writer. Producer. And a Managing Director of Kingdom Entertainment Group. I am also a daughter, a sister, a friend, a niece, an aunty, a cousin, an enemy, a mentor, a mentee, a believer, an unbeliever, an entrepreneur, an employee, a contact, a fan, an ex, a partner, a memory of a smile from a random stranger passing, a sista, a human, a queen and a slave depending on the transcience of context and perception.

Here and now, in this context, on your browser, I’m assuming the honour of being the guest writer for the final British Urban Film Festival blog of 2011, yet it’s ironic that I’ve been asked to write this blog as I don’t really like to talk much. I’d like to think I’m of those who’d rather do. I do, until I have little time left to be. And then I be, and in that time I do not like to do. Whilst trying to find the balance between doing and being, what time is there really to talk? So, I was going to tell Emmanuel: “Brother. I’m sorry. I have nothing to say right now.” Who really cares anyway about the eccentric nuances and electric abstractions which dance around in the synapses of my mind? And even if suddenly everyone wanted to know – for some reason – what I thought and felt about my year, I rarely feel the compulsion to share such intimacies with a bunch of strangers when even good friends are hard to find these days. (I hope this doesn’t offend you – I know you know what I mean.) So yesterday, I was going to tell Emmanuel: “Sorry brother. I have nothing to say.”And then, Jacob ping’d me. His BB status said: “why am I fighting to live if I’m just living to fight”.

For those of you who don’t know, it was the conversation I had upon meeting Jacob in the park in summer 2010 that inspired me to embark on a venture which consumed my time, my mind, my resources, my energy and my heart throughout 2011. My film, Zion. We met by ‘chance’ in the park – what I know to be the undeniable poetry of the One who knows all things and His eloquence with time and destiny. Jacob was a sixteen year old boy with a seemingly broken hand, who was scared to go to the hospital because he’d seen so much death there. A boy who had been labeled with ADHD since he was 4, yet spoke with the softness of a broken boy with a gentle soul, or a gentle boy with a broken soul – one or the other. A young man who, when asked where he saw himself in 10 years time, said to me: ‘To be honest with you, Miss; I don’t.’ One day, 6 months later, a script was written, and a beautiful cast and talented crew produced a short film called Zion. Jacob was supposed to attend the premiere but he didn’t. He had community service and was so upset he couldn’t make it. I told Mr Elusive he should write something on the Facebook wall; told him I would mention him in every interview and that people would soon start to suspect if he’s even real. (He said he would, but he hasn’t yet.)

In light of the success of the night; the glamour, the inspiration, the buzz, the hype, the excitement of friends and family, supporters of and believers in, ladies and gentlemen, journalists and celebrities, thespians and socialites, speakers and thinkers, doers and dreamers, lovers and, dare I say, “haters” (cringe) despite all this magic on the premiere night of a film inspired by the conversation I had with him – here he was, on my BB, yesterday sad as ever. I could send you a screenmunch (screenshot of phone screen). His BB status said: “why am I fighting to live if I’m just living to fight.” I asked him what was wrong and he replied: ‘Had a madness. Dere’s guna b a prob dis tym tho…’ We spoke a bit more, and I felt so useless; I asked him if he could ask God for one thing what would he ask for and he said ‘To hurry up n end it. Big man ting. Jus feel 2 give up’.

This is a boy that on a dark night, if he rolled up to you on a pushbike with his hoodie down low, would frighten you – here he was telling me how vulnerable he is. I lament for all the victims, misrepresented as the villains – even those who become villains at the torment of their very nature. If you don’t see the value in your own life, or your purpose for living, the consequences could be dire – you don’t have to be a young black child growing up in the estates of South London to know this. We can all relate to this one way or another. At some point, we have all doubted our value, and deviated from our purpose [if we ever knew what it was]. Wow. He confided in me that he wished God would end it all. That hurt.

Then my thoughts turned to the inTOUCH youth event that the team behind Zion held just before our glittery premiere. It was set up for the young people to speak up and have an open forum with Ashley Walters, Jaja Soze, Rashid Kasirye, Dexter Simms etc, watch some films, and some performances and just vibe. Wow. What an unruly group we had. Some of them were so disrespectful, talking over speakers, talking over the films, fighting, arguing to the point that security had to get involved.

…But wait, this is for you. Why is it so hard for you to accept this small gesture? Perhaps it is so unfamiliar to you that you do not know how to respond to love? If you don’t see the value in your own life, or your purpose for living, the consequences could be dire. If you don’t respect yourself, how are you going to respect anything else? InTouch was, to be honest, a bit of a nightmare – let’s keep it real – like, it was a nightmare. BUT this simply illustrated how much attention the youth crave and confirmed that the film was necessary. The Premiere event followed – I couldn’t have asked for more. The film was well received. Reviews have been excellent; better than I could have hoped. Who for a minute underestimated the minds of the masses and thought that spoonfeeding us mind-numbing rhetoric day in day out on mainstream TV, would cause us to forget the sweet delights of independent cinema, in all its’ rugged imperfect and beautifully raw glory? To every single person that came and understood the film, I thank you and celebrate you daily. There were so many people behind this production and so much inspiration drawn from so many more people.

And, as a self-confessed Ebenezer Scrooge who denies many of the festivities of this season, who else would I celebrate? I’d celebrate the writers whose plays this year moved my mood like the moon controls the waves; Arinze Kene and Beau Willimon. The people I’ve worked with all year; Najan, Duane, Abiola, Daniel Bailey (you know its a powerful brother when you can’t mention an individual without including the surname), Sebastian Thiel, Aisha of Red Pepper Agency. Thank you for putting up with the idiosyncrasies of a mad scientist – I hope I’ve made it interesting for you. And of course, Miss Kyle Frye and Shomari Brown: the future of black British cinema whose talent has found that perfect balance between refinement of the craft and raw talent. Ryan Samuda, my director and friend [thank God we’re still cool after this film] and the entire Zion team. I respect the inspirational entrepreneurs I’ve met this year like Dexter Simms, Ismael South, Raymond Douglas – inspired visionaries that build and strive day in and day out for the people and not just for material gain or status.

I respect people like my dear friends and mentors, Stephen Lloyd Jackson and Andy Mundy-Castle. I respect people like Richie Campbell, Sway and Ashley Walters who have managed to stay so grounded, down-to-earth and humble despite their massive success and achievements, actors and artists who have refined their art with mastery, and not at the expense of their sense of humour and good manners.

I respect people like Jahnoi Cranston and Alesha Pryce, who love their art and work hard to achieve their dreams and have an impact in whatever piece they are working on, and do so with a smile. I respect people like Kamara Bacchus and Dionne Reid and Anisa Kissoon, who are smiling high-achievers with such grace and elegance and inspiring other sisters to dream big and never lose themselves. I appreciate and love my mum and my dad who put up with this black sheep through thick and thin, in sickness and in health, and taught me to follow what I believe in. My family is the best and without their support, I’d have nothing to celebrate.

I would like to celebrate the British Urban Film Festival for providing a platform for us to present the fruits of our labour for public scrutiny, praise, constructive criticism and thought-provoking discussion. I was greatly humbled that this year I discovered by chance that I had 3 films I worked on accepted in the festival (David is Dying, Special Delivery, Drink, Drugs & KFC). Had Zion been ready earlier it would have been four, but I stubbornly refused to hasten the process, advised by wise words from Wil Johnson at the Screen Nation nominations launch by the bar. Emmanuel’s kind words and support for me this year have been so encouraging. Thank you Emmanuel and also to the stunning actress Anjela Lauren-Smith, who is often seen with him. Thank you Anjela.

And as we celebrate together we give all thanks and praise to the One to whom it all belongs. The final curtain is drawn as we enter the last few weeks of 2011 and the energy at the moment is buzzing with anticipation as the promise of 2012 draws closer. As the world gets crazier, some aspiring filmmakers are zealous with drive and passion, and others crazed with an unquenchable thirst for prestige and power, success and fame. With the social entrepreneurs building new doors to previously inaccessible pathways, and the game-changers marching into the brick wall (which used to seem so high and wide and solid before) brick by brick it crumbles away and the army begins to march through, together, to a triumphant fanfare. Together, as romantic as it sounds, seems to me to be the only way to progress. Competing with anyone would suggest that I think success is much more dependant upon my competence and determination than it really is. I’m not saying that I don’t work really hard, but I know Who gives and Who takes away. Everything is written. So I just do the best I can and try to trust Him. Yet, I have seen ego drive people to the point of loneliness, paranoia and writers block. The concept of all three frighten me. (You need to be open to bring anything into being) It’s nearly 2012.

Time has flown by like a jet-fighter and whether or not you entertain a conspiracy theory or two, or have any religious inclination indicating the dawn of a terrifying New World Order, then you will at least know this: by the time you have finished reading this you are closer to your death than you were before you started reading this, and let this undeniable fact encourage you to make the most out of every second and every opportunity to achieve true success in this life and the next.

So that was today’s message – just when you think you had nothing left to say, remind yourself of all that you are grateful for and give thanks for what you have been blessed to achieve so far. And just when you think you had nothing left to say, remind yourself of how much work we have yet to do and how much further we have to go to honour the struggles of those who came before us and prepare the way for those who are yet to come.
In the words of Kelis: Learn from losing, Cherish winning.

Happy New Year everyone.

The BUFF Blog (November 2011)

2011-11-20T16:51:00.000-08:00

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

Visit www.manorlogz.co.uk for the latest updates, follow us on twitter

http://twitter.com/manorlogz or visit our facebook page.

The BUFF Blog (October 2011)

2011-10-17T15:10:00.000-07:00

picture courtesy of www.alexwinn.com

“Charles Thompson is a Godsend. I’m fortunate to have started out in media under the tutelage of Charles almost a decade ago now. I was there when Screen Nation was in its infancy and I’m privileged to still be a part of it all albeit as a supporter of this year’s event where another of my mentors (Menelik Shabazz) will be rightly honoured also. I have a lot of time for Charles who in turn has shown a lot of time for me and for so many people in the film industry who would’ve taken great pride in hearing of his award of an MBE earlier this year. May you enjoy good health and continued success in everything you pursue”... Emmanuel Anyiam-Osigwe, British Urban Film Festival

And it’s with those sentiments (available with a whole host of others inside page 7 of the Screen Nation brochure) that we welcome you into the fold for another BUFF blog fresh from being wined and dined by one of this year’s festival partners at London’s showpiece Black History Month awards show. And whilst it was never going to be Sunday Night at the Palladium, it was a lively old affair for many of the great and good from film and TV who came together for the return of the Screen Nation Awards, the 7th in all and the 1st one making its’ bow at the rather plush Indigo at the O2 complex in Greenwich.

From the moment comedian Kevin J took to the stage to ‘warm up’ the crowd, the evening’s vibe was set in many ways, mainly that at various points if it wasn’t most of the awards winners (27 in total) then it was definitely a fair few of the awards presenters who took to the mic and enlightened the faithful with their lethal brand of head shaking humour (the TV highlights should make for interesting viewing). One of the big winners on the night was the movie ‘The Mirror Boy’, a film flagged up by this very blog back in February and which has gone onto amass critical and popular acclaim from fans and pundits alike. The film’s director, Obi Emelonye was at pains to remonstrate with BUFF as to why the film was not considered for the festival just over a month ago. Well it just so happened that the festival was onto a winner (also) with 'David is Dying' which, at the time of going to press, is currently impressing audiences once again, this time at the Chicago International Film Festival.

Another festival film which impressed audiences both at home and abroad was ‘Sus’ for which actor, writer and director Clint Dyer collected a thoroughly deserved award for best male performance in Film. Getting caught up with events (and the wine) at the O2 meant that there was a social media vacumn of sorts – one can only imagine what the twitterati and others would’ve made of events as they happened. And though premiership footballer Jay Bothroyd (Queens Park Rangers) and his missus were amongst those in attendance, the stories that we shared were certainly not going to make any back pages (or front), not unless you count going to the same school as Heartless Crew and former Arsenal legend Charlie George as ‘gossip’. From all accounts, Mr Bothroyd certainly fancies himself as an actor... well if it can work for Lonyo it can certainly work for the Holloway boy whose done rather good – watch this space as they say...

Speaking of which, a reminder that you can catch up with all the very latest post-festival coverage on our website www.britishurbanfilmfestival.co.uk where a visit to the press section will bring you all the interviews from the great and the good at this year’s British Urban Film Festival, the latest chunk coming from our friends at The Community Channel (Sky Channel 539/Virgin 233/Freeview 87) – check out the London 360 magazine programme http://communitychannel.mediatrust.org/video/tTpVMHqubo4/

Many thanks to the team down there: Jasmine Dotiwala, Alex Kann and Simon Constantine to name but 3, the latter of whom is an absolute dead ringer for broadcaster Michael Underwood so if for some reason, Michael’s wife (and mother-to-be) Angellica Bell needed ‘cover’ as it were, then look no further...

Anyway bringing it nicely back to the Screen Nation Awards (hosted incidentally by Michael Underwood and Angellica Bell) and other highlights on the night included honorary awards for the film 'Burning an Illusion', the comedy series 'The Real Mccoy', broadcaster Sir Trevor Mcdonald and the actor Clarke Peters who had the audience in the palm of his hand with his humbling acceptance speech – one of several little nuggets to be had from the evening which was rounded off by a rousing rendition of Omar’s signature track...

And that was the awards that was. Congratulations to all 27 winners, long may the passion continue in everything that you continue to do through your work. The same can be said for the boys and girls at Screen Nation (many of whom are friends of the festival) – long may such occasions continue.

Tis the season to be hibernating but fear not, for BUFF will be out and about on your behalf, scouting, on the lookout for the 16 buffest films for the 2012 festival which is only a year away... This month’s blog marks the official call for submissions for next year’s festival. Those of you who are familiar with BUFF will know that to be a part of it all as a filmmaker, then you’ve gotta show us what you’ve got. For all the details as to what’s required, when, why, where and all the rest of it, go to the website and click on BUFF Submissions 2012. We leave you with another chunk of buffness from the festival, courtesy of our friends at Vox Africa: http://www.voxafrica.co.uk/vod/videos/&v=0_96905i64&p=0_aknxkygp

The British Urban Film Festival 2011 (August Preview)

2011-08-18T16:53:00.000-07:00

Mr Geoff Small, Mr Stephen Lloyd Jackson, Mr Yves Brodsky, Ms Sonja Phillips, Ms Jane Sanchez-Gull, Mr Aml Ameen, Mr Cassius Matthias, Mr Lyndon Ives, Mr Harold Chapman, Ms Ida Akesson, Ms Beth Parkes, Mr Richard Bond, Mr Ben Miller, and Mr Paris Leonti.

Having saluted our 16 shortlisted filmmakers BUFF would like to thank all of those other talented filmmakers who’ve submitted their entries for festival consideration – it has been a privilege to watch them all. We would also like to thank the men and women who’ve worked so creatively behind the scenes to bring you the best festival we can. And so for the final time before the festival, from all of us at BUFF we wish all of you who are coming to watch this year’s sweet 16 – the buffest 3 days of your lives... This month’s edition of the BUFF Blog is devoted entirely to the official line-up and the programme for next month’s jewel in the crown. The woman tasked with polishing that jewel and announcing it to the world at large is our lead festival publicist Leigh Odimah...

The British Urban Film Festival 2011 comes to the heart of London’s entertainment district.
16TH - 17TH - 18TH SEPTEMBER 2011 Congress House 23-28 Great Russell Street London WC1

As London Fashion Week and the London Design Festival turns creative London's attention to fashion, style and design - for avid film goers the spot light shines on the capital’s film festival season. The 6th annual British Urban Film Festival is offering Londoners the opportunity to watch films made by some of Britain's most engaging and independent film-making talent in heart of the London’s West End.

BUFF Loves FREE film, and at absolutely no cost to watch, Londoners are invited to Congress House 23-28 Great Russell Street London WC1 to watch sixteen films made largely by British film directors and producers; a showcase of exceptional and unpredictable tales that challenge society's status quo; Tales that are heartwarming, touching, cheeky, funny, and at times difficult and unsettling to watch with film themes that cut across the grain including HIV, mental health, the benefits system, London's young adults, the socio-economic climate, relationships in crisis, the world of stand-up comedy, the UK justice system, romance and fated love.

Friday September 16 (Doors open 6.30pm - 11pm)
7.50pm: Special Delivery (dir Geoff Searle, UK, 7 mins)
8.00pm: David is Dying UK Premiere (dir Stephen Lloyd Jackson, UK, 91 mins)
9:30pm: Live Q&A with Henry Bonsu, Stephen Lloyd Jackson, Lonyo Engele & Isaura Barbe-Brown

Saturday September 17 (Doors open 5pm - 11pm)
5.45pm - 8.30pm: BUFF SHORTS UK Showcase (back-to-back screenings)
Juana (The Slave) (dir Yves Brodsky, UK/France, 3 mins)
The Pond (dir Sonja Phillips, UK, 16 mins)
Hitler & Henry VIII (dir Jane Gull, UK, 6 mins)
Drink, Drugs & KFC (dir Aml Ameen, UK, 27 mins)
The Entropic of Cancer - a trilogy of short films:
Holler (dir Cassius Matthias, UK, 11 mins)
The Public Benefits (dir Cassius Matthias, UK, 13 mins)
It’s a Serendipitous Thing (dir Cassius Matthias, UK, 11 mins)
Delphine the Baker’s Assistant (dir Lyndon Ives, UK, 12 mins)
Invisible (dir Harold Chapman, UK, 15 mins)
The Holiday (dir Ida Akesson, UK, 11 mins)
Special Delivery (REPEATED - dir Geoff Searle, UK, 7 mins)
Followed by live Q&A with the directors and Festival Director Emmanuel Anyiam-Osigwe

9.00pm: Damilola: Death of a 10 year old (dir Beth Parkes, UK, 60 mins)
Followed by live Q&A with panellists including Richard Taylor OBE, Gary Trowsdale (Damilola Taylor Trust), Dennis Gyamfi (Endz to Endz) and Andre Campbell (Enfuse Youth). Hosted by Henry Bonsu.

Sunday September 18 (Doors open 3pm - 11pm)
3.30pm: Tupac Assassination - part 1: Conspiracy or Revenge (dir Richard Bond, USA, 93 mins) introduced by Festival Director Emmanuel Anyiam-Osigwe
5.30pm: Huge - The Movie (dir Ben Miller, UK, 78 mins) introduced by the comedian Lateef Lovejoy
8.30pm: Mercenaries - UK Premiere (dir Paris Leonti, UK, 93 mins) introduced by Buff Board member Anjela Lauren Smith
Followed by live Q&A with Paris Leonti (dir) Luc Chaudhary (prod) lead actor Robert Fucilla and Vas Blackwood
Due to the explicit use of language in some of the films, viewer discretion is advised.

Book on-line now on http://britishurbanfilmfestival.co.uk
Contact BUFF Publicist Leigh Odimah for further details.
email: pressoffice@buffenterprises.co.uk
phone: + 44 (0)7961 332302
Facebook : http://www.facebook.com/buff.filmfestival
Twitter : @buffenterprises

BUFF 2011 will also be streaming 4 short films on its’ festival website starting on September 15. The 4 films that have been shortlisted are Get in the Picture, A Mother’s Tear, Sweep and Scratch. Keep up to date with the festival with regular updates on ‘The Daily BUFF’ (available via Facebook and Twitter).

The BUFF Blog (July 2011)

2011-07-17T15:20:00.000-07:00

Who would be a media mogul ey? The last few weeks and months has seen the likes of Simon Cowell and Rupert Murdoch become the story for the wrong reasons. For months, the press were told who was in and who was out in the game of musical chairs regarding this year’s X Factor judges. Eventually we said goodbye to Danni Minogue and Cheryl Cole and hello to Kelly Rowland and Tulisa Contostavlos (Peter Dickson, the voice of X-Factor will certainly have his hands full announcing her name in full every week). Eventually we got a date for the launch of the American X Factor which heralded the return of Paula Abdul (formerly of American Idol) and once again, the exit of Cheryl Cole. And then there was the furore regarding anonymous blogs and the tapping up of contestants in this year’s Britain’s Got Talent.

In January, the ex-footballer and Sky commentator Andy Gray was caught on camera asking to rate how buff a female lineswoman was. Other evidence then came to light which showed him to be even more cruder and it led to his sacking by Murdoch. His TV partner, Richard Keys also fell on his sword. And in the last few weeks there has been the issue regarding alleged tapping of voicemails, unethical payments made to police officers and the closure of the News of the World, a brand which stood for 168 years until it was deemed as toxic despite being Britain’s most commercially successful newspaper by its’ owner, Rupert Murdoch. And at the time of writing this blog, ‘hackgate’ has seen the demise of the Metropolitan Police commissioner, the arrest of Rebecca Brooks, and demands by the leader of the opposition to dismantle Rupert Murdoch’s vast media empire.

At the other end of the scale there are other moguls creating legacies and needless to say with stories to share though not quite as newsworthy or deemed as topical as those that have been highlighted thus far. That said, news outlets and news values are not restricted to your usual news at ten bulletin, your free edition of the standard or your 24 hour news channels. The BUFF Blog stands out more than most because of the unique range of voices and stories that have been shared on this platform since the first publication back in April 2009. This month’s edition is guest written by a mogul, an MBE, a mentor, a friend and someone for whom if it wasn’t for their passion then there may never have been a British Urban Film Festival let alone a BUFF Blog. In his own words, Charles Thompson MBE writes exclusively for BUFF (note to the press – there’s no scandal here!)

Keep your friends close and your frienemies closer still.. Now that’s a saying that was made for the movie business if ever there was one, but also one that I’ve never quite fully subscribed to as I would have thought that you should keep your friends closer. Maybe that shows I’m really a romantic at heart and besides it’s just a saying, a good one, but just a saying like the one that says ‘you are only as good as your last picture’. Now this one I subscribe to much more as it’s sometimes a reasonably good measure for producers when assessing whether to work with certain individuals in this business called show.

Fortunately for me after being ‘out of the movie-making game’ for a good few years, the last picture I was involved with as (Associate) Producer was a good one, the barnstorming new Nollywood African cinema production, The Mirror Boy (wri/dir/prod Obi Emelonye). For the many of you that have never heard about this picture, it’s a low budget (under $100K) movie shot last year in the UK & Gambia and starring British born Ugandan newcomer Edward Kagutuzi and two of Africa’s biggest movie stars, Genevieve Nnaji and Osita Iheme (popularly known as Pawpaw). www.themirrrorboythemovie.com

So why do I, as a grizzly veteran producer describe this picture as a good one, well because it’s a success, simple as that. For such a small independent African/UK picture to do as well as this one is doing in the highly competitive theatrical marketplace is something that I’m more than happy to shout about and be very proud of my contribution at the same time.
I won’t list all of its now historic schedule of achievements save to say that it was the first new Nollywood African movie to premiere at The Empire, Leicester Square, first movie of its type to be released across the UK on Odeon screens (opening at No.5 across Odeon London screens and 28 across all UK Box office on only 10 screens & still showing now 6 weeks later (1 screen), its been nominated and won awards across Africa, Europe and USA and is on course to possibly become the highest grossing of the recent crop of new Nollywood films, and earn the producers (including yours truly) some nice returns on our profit points.

The Mirror Boy has been released in Gambia and my home country of Ghana and will premiere in its natural home of Nigeria on 5th August and I wish it well on its journey of success around the world. Talking of success, it is especially pleasing for me to know that I can tie the success of The Mirror Boy opening weekend release with my own personal success of receiving an MBE for Services to the Global Black Film Industry in the 2011 Queen’s Birthday Honours List. What a weekend that was!

My own personal success aside, for me the honour I received also reflects recognition of the recent success of British urban cinema. I enjoy much of what is broadly described nowadays as the urban cinema genre, but some of it is also very weak and exploitative and as long as Gunslinger/Revolver have the market cornered in terms of production, financing and distribution not much is likely to change. But let me flip the script a little and say that having been in the game as long as I have, I see urban (aka mostly black British themed) cinema in a slightly different way, as for me its history goes much further back than say Kidulthood. That is a whole other conversation, but one I think the young guns should begin to have more with the OG’s, especially in this the 30th anniversary of one of the most seminal British ‘urban’ films, Burning an Illusion (wr/dir Menelik Shabazz).

For those that do not know, Menelik Shabazz is one the UK’s most talented and sorely underused film director’s (of the standard and peer of Stephen Frears) and with whom I’m proud to say I had the honour of co-founding the (now defunct) bfm International Film Festival and where I first encountered Emmanuel Anyiam-Osigwe, who would go on himself to found the British Urban Film Festival. I’d like to think that the experience that Emmanuel had with bfm Int. Film Fest during my tenure had much to do with him moving forward to create BUFF. Only he can really say.

What I can say is that my own experience leading the bfm Int. Film Fest for 4 years to become the UK’s leading black-themed film showcase and the 3rd largest in Europe, set me up for founding in 2003 the event I produce now, the Screen Nation Film & Television Awards aka ‘the black Bafta’s’.

With 6 editions under our belt and having taken a hiatus for the last 18 months, many readers will be happy to hear that the Screen Nation Awards will return in grand style at the Indigo O2 this coming October. For those that have never been before you can expect to mingle with the crème de la crème of the black British and urban media scene across film, television, music and new media and participate in a fun filled night of celebration of black British achievements. Anticipated guests for this year include most of the writers of this year’s BUFF blog plus talent as diverse as Idris Elba, Thandie Newton, Adam Deacon, Bunmi Mojekwu, Lenny Henry, Sir Trevor Macdonald OBE, Noel Clarke, Femi Oyeniran, Naomie Harris, Aml Ameen etc, etc.

It is talent at the level of those listed above that I’ve had the pleasure of working with for over 20 years as a producer and hopefully many more to come. Many of those people no longer operate in the UK or are at the autumn of their careers, but it’s on their shoulders that almost all of another kind of BUFF, the British Urban Film Fraternity now stands. Being someone with broad shoulders myself, not a lot of people know about my film & TV making history and certainly imdb doesn’t hold all my important credits. Something I should really try and change soon now I’ve been given a gong.

Its only when I think back that I realise that I have been fortunate to have a career that has weaved its way through the first films of many now established and outstanding British film and television makers, actors and professionals as well as many other important works that have stood the test of time.

In the very short term, what I look forward to now is hopefully soon moving into pre-production with one of my last UK pictures 10 Seconds, to be directed by Kolton Lee (Freestyle, Cherps) and written by the now Nigeria based Bafta winner Tunde Babalola. Talking of Nigeria it is there that I will be looking to make another of my next projects, a major disaster movie and where I plan to extend the Screen Nation brand onto the continent with the creation of Screen Nation Africa. I can’t wait!

With more and more exciting collaborations happening in the black British filmmaking scene, continued positive developments in urban television, both online and on satellite, plus the fantastic opportunities that digital distribution brings for black/urban media content, I hope when I’m next asked about my next last picture that I can confidently say that I’m still as good as the one I made last.

The opinions published in the BUFF blog are a copyright of Buff Enterprises Ltd © MMXI all rights reserved – and is available to view on a monthly basis via Facebook, Twitter, Blogger, Wordpress and Linkedin, plus other selected blogs and web pages. For more information about this year’s opening UK premiere – ‘David is Dying’ - visit www.britishurbanfilmfestival.co.uk

The BUFF Blog (June 2011)

2011-06-12T11:10:00.001-07:00

Online, on-air and in person, this is BUFF. And so said the voice of BUFF which greeted the masses of online followers with the May 31 announcement of this year’s opening feature. And though the dulcet tones of Ewan Allinson and DJ Elayne Smith will continue to form a cornerstone of the BUFF movement, things are going to be a little bit different round here. From September the 16th, the 2011 British Urban Film Festival will be coming at ya with a whole new look which means, finally, that the buffest film event of the year will be upon us. New films, New venue, same old BUFF – continuing to deliver the UK’s buffest films as it has been since 2005. And as it was back then - from ITV’s headquarters on the South Bank, to this year, from the TUC’s headquarters in Tottenham Court Road – the latest edition of the annual showpiece continues its tradition of reaching out to new audiences, year in, year out.

As part of last year’s 5th anniversary festivities, BUFF announced that it was going on tour, taking the festival to towns and cities across the UK. And as we enter the next 5 years, globalisation beckons. With British actors, directors and exhibitors making their mark in North America, the Caribbean, West Africa, and Central Europe, BUFF will be there at the heart of the action, reaching out to welcome more new audiences all the time.

This month’s edition of the BUFF Blog takes us back to last summer when the festival was contacted by Daniel Buckley, the curator of ‘C the Film’, part of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe - the world’s largest arts festival. First established in 1946 as an alternative to the Edinburgh International Festival, the Fringe takes place in Scotland's capital for four weeks every August.

The Fringe mostly attracts events from the performing arts, particularly theatre and comedy (which has seen substantial growth in recent years) although dance and music also figure significantly. The role of the Fringe Society (the organisers) is to facilitate the festival, concentrating mainly on the challenging logistics of organising such a large event. Ultimately, the society exists to honour the wishes of the participants, to promote them collectively to the public. Early administrators of the society were adamant that it did not come together so that groups could be invited, or in some way be artistically vetted. What was performed and how it was done was left entirely to each Fringe group. This approach is now commonly referred to as an unjuried festival, an open access arts festival or a fringe festival.

An exchange of emails soon transpired between BUFF and **C venues, a package was despatched north of the border and soon enough on August the 4th 2010, those that were fortunate enough to have attended the Fringe would have come across a selection of short films from the BUFF 2009 archive. And as this year’s Edinburgh Festival Fringe looms near, it seems as good a time as any to hear from Daniel about how it all went ‘up north’ – plus his take on the film industry. A reminder that the BUFF Blog is out monthly and the call for submissions continues until 5pm, July 25. Full details about our roster throughout the year can be found via www.twitter.com/buffenterprises - until next month, here's Daniel's take on the film industry as he sees it...

The film industry has, and I suspect always, will be a difficult beast. It at once screams big business – the establishment, Hollywood, obscene amounts of money – yet it is also traditionally considered to be politically very liberal; consider films like Milk and M.A.S.H. As well as this, film is considered, and has been since the ‘70s, an art form, just as worthy of study as poetry or painting.

Yet, even with this political and artistic diversity, genres are all too easily pigeonholed and formulaic, which can damage genres massively. It might be fair to say that this is becoming the case with ‘urban’ film as well. Yet urban life is nebulous, fluctuating from one extreme to the next. The British Urban Film Festival understands that it is this nebulosity that makes Britain’s urban sprawl such an exciting subject for film.

I first came into contact with BUFF while curating the C the Film festival at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in 2010 where we did special showcase days of other film festivals from around the country. I remember thinking I knew exactly what to expect when I sat down to watch the DVD Emmanuel had submitted, and as such I was surprised to see exactly what I had been given.

BUFF is unique in its specialist interest in urban filmmaking, and the films we showcased on their behalf took in everything from straight-up drama to social satire to science fiction, all the while never losing sight of the real world and its’ issues that the stories they tell sprang from. Having been snowed under with short films in the preceding weeks, I was also pleased to see a brave predilection amongst BUFF’s selection for longer form short films, a rarity for even the most accomplished amateur filmmaker. These films added a new, rawer dimension to the films on offer at C the Film, which already counted Cornish dance and Scandinavian comedy amongst its offerings.

I’ll try not to dwell for too long on what has gone before, but the best way to understand BUFF is through some of the films on show at Edinburgh last year.

Virus (dir. Kole Onile-ere), was a surprisingly abstract sci-fi short about a dystopian future, expertly executed with a slow-burning sinister fear at its heart. Ominous Thoughts (dir. Tyrone De Grosvenor) was another sci-fi offering that had a terrifying air of inevitability as the characters hurtle towards a future that they cannot control. Colour Blind (dir. Amanda Baker), one of the funniest films on show, took a look at race relations with some very clever use of colour to visually portray racial stereotyping. The wittily titled Much Ado About a Minor Ting (dir. Jesse Lawrence) while more conventional on the surface, mixed edgy humour with heart-stopping action. Fresh Off da Boat (dir. Femi Oyeniran), one of the most accomplished films on show, managed to make the story of a young immigrant boy funny, heart-warming and sad, while Brothers (dir. Diane Musafiri) not only examined issues surrounding single parenthood, but also the emotional pain that can surround them.
Still Life (dir. Nelson Sivalingham) was a refreshing change of pace - a modern Asian ghost story that addressed the delicate subject of gang violence.

And as I think this little playbill shows, BUFF may well limit itself to ‘urban’ films, but there is literally no limit as to what ‘urban’ can mean. Urban can be sad. Urban can be funny. Urban can be exciting. Urban can be weird. Urban can be whatever it damn well wishes to be, and no one should try to tell it otherwise.

Daniel Buckley
Curator, C the Film

(c) June 2011

www.cthefilm.com

**C venues has a festival team of 180 people and is based in northwest London excluding July and August, when it is based at Adam House, Chambers Street, Edinburgh.

The opinions published in the BUFF blog are a copyright of Buff Enterprises Ltd © MMXI all rights reserved – and is available to view on a monthly basis via Facebook, Twitter, Myspace, Hi5, Ning, Blogger, Wordpress, Linkedin, plus other selected blogs and web pages. For more information about this year’s opening feature – ‘David is Dying’ - visit www.britishurbanfilmfestival.co.uk

BUFF Blog (May 2011)

2011-05-08T13:58:00.000-07:00

Pictures courtesy of Alex Winn.

From a spunky heroine to ‘the’ flashback, from ‘Babymother’ to ‘Sus’, Anjela Lauren Smith has graced British cinema for the best part of 2 decades and continues to adorn the big screen and the small screen. Behind the scenes, her versatility and passion for the industry shows no sign of abating either. The latest string to her bow was her recent appointment to the board of members at Buff Enterprises. We’re delighted that Anjela has accepted this position at a time where British actors and actresses are very much the flavour of the month both at home and abroad. The likes of Aml Ameen, Noel Clarke and Chiwetel Ejiofor are sprinkling some of their golddust to other disciplines with the three in question turning out to be pretty decent film directors aswell. And to paraphrase that often trotted out cliché, the world is indeed anyone’s oyster. For now though, Anjela’s focus is on this month’s edition of the BUFF blog – the blog written by those ‘in the know’...

HOW DID IT ALL START OFF?

My journey began at a very young age... I always had a hidden desire to perform when I was a child. There weren’t many of the drama workshops and classes that are so easily accessible to children now. My performing was limited to dance and singing shows at school. My love of film stems from the many VHS’s (that's what we had back in the day) that my dad owned of classic films and musicals; I would spend school holidays watching films over and over again.In my teenage years, I fell by chance into being a fashion model - it was either that or go to university at the time. I chose to give modelling a try as I thought it would be a good experience, it's as simple as that! Through modelling I then got to utilise my dance skills working on music videos, touring and travelling frequently - all the stuff my dreams were made of. Music videos were different back then; it was all about a performance, usually some narrative and not just shake your booty. I am very proud of those days - I met a lot of interesting, talented, creative people and for me it wasn't about being famed for my looks or being the best dancer, it was a time in the 90's that people were expressing themselves as they saw creatively fit and continue to do so. Many of the people that I worked with, partied with etc. are now my peers in the industry and I'm very proud of them... it was all about life experience – then and now. Experience in front of a camera helped me to learn about how any production works. I also worked in events management during that time… I will always give something a try, or challenge myself.

In my late teens - I made the decision to move away from fashion and music to explore my desire to act; I joined a youth theatre group (Second Wave) at the Albany Theatre in Deptford. I spent my days working as a booker in a character agency and as an assistant to a casting director, where I gained a lot of valuable insight into the business side of the film industry. I am a big fan of ‘learn at every opportunity’... the learning never stops whatever age or stage you're at in life. I also took classes that were Stanislavski based for 3 years at The City Literary Institute and Oval House Theatre - any drama workshop that could help me grow and build my confidence as an actor. I look at those days fondly, as I was very hungry to learn. It wasn't in a pretentious way… I worked very hard to prove myself at all junctures, as it is easy to fall prey to the assumption that because you were a former model it made it somehow made it easier. You spend years trying to prove that it didn't just fall off a tree! (No chip on the shoulder intended!)

My first film was very low budget and shot in and around Notting Hill - In ‘Respect’, I played a community activist called 'Angela', it was through a friend that I found out about the audition and pushed myself forward to get seen, as I didn't have an agent at the time. I managed to get my Equity card and a showreel together, which led me to meet my lovely agent Elaine Murphy. Within 3 months I was auditioning for the lead in a feature film, 'Babymother'... 10 weeks and 9 screen tests later, I was cast in the role of ‘Anita’. Playing Anita was a role that I had to fight for; at least 500 actresses, singers and dancers had auditioned. It was a year of beginnings and endings, as I gave birth to my son 7 months before being offered the role and my dad passed away - so spiritually I felt connected to the role in terms of being a young mother and also the loss of a parent. Both my agent Elaine Murphy and Michael Keane have always had belief in me which really helped me as a young actress, who had a lot to learn!

WHAT ARE YOU DOING AT THE MOMENT?

I've just been asked to be on the BUFF board of members which is cool! Thanks BUFF! I attended BUFF for the first time last year, as ‘SUS’ was launching the festival; SUS is a feature film starring Clint Dyer, Rafe Spall and Ralph Brown. It is a very powerful independent film that was shot over 2 weeks and has had a really amazing response. SUS has screened at many festivals worldwide, Clint has won many awards and it secured a cinematic release in the UK last year - all very positive and BUFF have been supporters of the film also.I am also working with a youth education company who do motivational work with young people - I've just started facilitating with them. Whatever help I can give to inspire young people on their paths, I will always do when I have the time. Acting wise - at the end of last year, I filmed a few episodes of a BBC teen drama - 'The Cut' - which was a lot of fun, albeit my character was part of a very sad storyline. THE CUT gave me the chance to play a character who was very vulnerable as ‘Carly’ is an agoraphobic.

I'm also amongst the cast in 'The Shadow Line', a noir conspiracy thriller starring Chiwetel Ejiofor, Christopher Eccleston, Rafe Spall, Lesley Sharp and many others. The first episode aired on BBC 2 on Thursday 5th May @ 9pm… It’s very stylish, with complex characters. I had a very enjoyable time filming and Hugo Blick (writer & director) is sheer brilliance. Even if I didn't have a moment in the series, it would be top of my list to watch as some of my favourite actors/actresses, whose work I've seen and have been inspired by, are in the episodes. It is also a genre that I love, so I’ll be watching the whole series (7 episodes).

I'm also writing - which has been a passion for over 10 years now - more to come on this later! It started with poetry and now I have a few things that I would like to develop: acting is my first love, but all across the board in the industry many performers are writing, producing, directing. It does seem like a natural evolution. There is no rush and by no means am I a seasoned writer, but I truly believe that we all have a few stories inside that we could tell...

WHAT IS YOUR INVOLVEMENT WITH THE FILM ‘SUS’?

I am ‘the’ flashback! (laughs) Without spoiling the film for those who haven’t seen it yet, I play the allegedly murdered wife of Clint's character, Leon Delroy. I have been talking people’s’ ears off about this film since last year - please note it isn't self promo. I am always grateful for every role that I am offered regardless of whether it is a lead or a supporting role, because I always feel very lucky to be able to do what I love - which is to play as many interesting characters as I can. SUS has historical relevance, it is a period piece. It's a film that is shocking, moving and educational - a portrayal of one man’s torment during a police interrogation, a victim of SUS. It is based on a true story, written by Barrie Keefe.

Playing ‘Georgie’ was purely a visual performance - but for me, that Clint and Robert Heath (Director) would want to include me in such an inspirational and important piece, I am eternally grateful! I know it sounds gushy, but truly I am happy that I still have interesting work after 21 years of being in entertainment in some shape or form. I have worked with Clint on a few occasions, he is a very special human being and multi-talented - there, gush again! Clint has been a huge support to me and many others in the industry, which I value. SUS will be screened on British television some time soon; it is also out on DVD so its’ journey continues.

WHAT DOES BUFF MEAN TO YOU?

BUFF represents a refreshing forum for the seen and unseen film makers in the UK & worldwide. It is a celebration of the passion, diversity and forward thinking in film. As a free to attend festival, it is inclusive and gives the audience a chance to see some unique styles. Many of the films are made on low budgets and most films make their premieres at the festival. BUFF has energy to it and it isn't ego driven.

BUFF is provocative, outspoken and supportive - hold on am I talking about BUFF, or the

director of BUFF?! Joke aside, the festival is growing and is definitely one to put in your diary.At a time when budgets are being slashed and arts funding is very selective, festivals like BUFF keep the line of hope there for all of us. There are a few surprises in store for this year’s festival, so keep an eye out on the BUFF website.

WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE TO BUDDING FILM MAKERS AND ACTORS?

Several come to mind, hard work and belief. Film making is a long process, a united effort and some may say a healthy risk as you don't know what the audience’s’ perception will be when you are creating... that is why belief in your talent, yourself and others - plus a thick skin - are needed. Hard work is never a negative thing - but for actors and film makers, they make something look effortless and natural which requires energy. Most of all enjoy, enjoy, and enjoy it! The social networks have definitely had an impact on the way some films are marketed now in addition to the profiling of actors; some prefer a more subversive approach but I feel it’s whatever works for you. Find like-minded people (I don't like the word ‘network’). Triforce Events (i.e. actors Fraser Ayres, Jimmy Akingbola et al.) are a good example of this - I have been to some great screenings, readings and nights out that they have put on - everyone is friendly, supportive, productive - and that organically produces results. I also attended the Ameen Dream Entertainment launch at BAFTA recently, which was both very uplifting and progressive.Every opportunity is an opportunity - gain whatever positivity you can from it.

WHICH ARE YOUR FAVOURITE FILMS?

Quite a few and of those I include the following: ‘The Imitation Of Life’, ‘The Godfather’, ‘Leon’, ‘Malcolm X’, ‘La Vita E Bella’ (Life is Beautiful), ‘The Knickerman’ (A short by Sonja Phillips), ‘Dirty Pretty Things’, ‘City Of God’, ‘American Gangster’ and ‘Dodgeball’ - I love comedy :) I still have a bunch of DVDs that need to be watched!

FAVOURITE ACTORS/ACTRESSES?

(in no particular order): Samuel L Jackson, Jodie Foster, Angela Bassett, Gary Oldman, Robert De Niro, Helen Mirren, Ray Winstone, Don Cheadle, Kerry Washington, Tom Hardy, Denzel Washington, Samantha Morton... This list could be very long so I'll stop. Acting requires guts, so I respect all actors!

FINAL WORDS?
'If life gives you lemons... Make lemonade’ (Norman Vincent Peale).

www.anjelalaurensmith.com

The BUFF Blog (April 2011)

2011-04-25T14:06:00.000-07:00

For many people, British urban cinema came into its’ own with the premiere of ‘Adulthood’ on June the 20th 2009. 2 years on, the genre has now spawned its’ first spoof with the cheekily titled Anuvahood. It was at the Adulthood premiere when BUFF first caught up with messyrs Aml Ameen & Kamara Bacchus. It wasn’t your standard red carpet interview. Such is the beauty of the English language that a word can mean so many things to so many people – let’s just say the word BUFF was used in a completely different context!!!

The next crossing of paths occurred just a few weeks ago. Its’ the launch of Ameen Dream Entertainment at BAFTA headquarters, Piccadilly London. Once again, BUFF was armed ready with its’ questions for messyrs Bacchus, Ameen, Nortley (Sheila Nortley) & Ward (Najan Ward) - otherwise known as the powerhouses behind this newest of film franchises. And having watched the 3 debut shorts on the night along with the film & TV actress (and newest member of the BUFF board - Anjela Lauren Smith) the temptation was there to ask a question about buffness given that all 3 films had something of the buffness about it. But no – this was a different atmosphere. In an audience littered with members of Aml’s acting school, fellow actors, actresses & peers, fans, observers, film directors & journalists – this was another watershed moment in British urban cinema – and naturally BUFF was there to see it happen. And to think that 24 hours previously, BUFF was in the very same building attending a Q&A which was headlined ‘Making a drama out of diversity’ - highlighting the supposed paucity in creative talent from the minority ethnic communities. Anyway, we’re delighted that for this month’s BUFF blog, Kamara has taken the time out to put together in her own words how Ameen Dream Entertainment has gotten to this point...

The Idea behind AmeenDream Entertainment had been a long-standing idea and dream of Aml’s for a while. It wasn’t really until ‘The Pick Up’ came about, that everything really started to fall into place. THE PICK UP was initially a script presented to Aml by a student of his drama school ASA (soon to be AmeenDream Entertainment). It was this script by Najan Ward (who went onto produce it) that really put the wheels in motion; it was exciting and vibrant - just the right tone of film that was needed to be our first project. And so Aml and Najan had many meetings regarding how it would work. I eventually came onboard one evening when we had the initial script breakdown at a restaurant called ‘Los Toreros’, and it was literally the 3 of us sitting in this Spanish restaurant secluded from the busy streets of London planning and plotting how we could make this film amazing and inclusive of all the best ideas we had. It was important to Najan that the film was supported by an upbeat club soundtrack - an element that was new to both Aml and myself.

Najan really educated us with this as he had successfully owned both a record shop and a record label (‘Lost my dog’). It was understandably important for Najan as a writer to keep this interest running throughout the film and marry his two worlds (music and acting) together. Neither Najan, myself or Sheila (Nortley) had been given roles at AmeenDream at this stage - we were all just kind of hoping for the best... Flash-forward a year or so and after many rewrites and Aml’s’ input and development of the story, the script was ready:

THE PICK UP Synopsis
THE PICK UP follows two 20 something socialites Jay (Najan Ward) and Adrian (Aml Ameen) on their quest to win the attention and possible one night-stand bed posts of feisty university club queens Roxanne (Elizabeth Kostantino) and Hannah (Amy Connery). The adventure turns sour when the boys’ squeaky- clean mate David (Sam Underwood) sticks his nose in. With fast-paced club action and slick dialogue set to the backdrop of popular House music, THE PICK UP is set to capture the magic of nightlife in London - the greatest city in the world.

Everything was a bit of a blur from this point on, there were many casting sessions, I think they saw in excess of 100 actresses for the roles of Roxanne and Hannah - it was crazy!! It was literally a case of divine intervention during the later stages as everything kind of fell into place by accident. Elizabeth Konstantino was a favourite for Roxanne from pretty early on; Amy Connery was a wild card that came in right at the end shortly before filming - their chemistry just lifted everything off the page. The same can be said with Sam Underwood - he rose to the challenge and was an actor that Aml had spotted in another short previously. Sam subsequently would sign up to play David - with ease and style as it turned out – and just like Aml thought he would. Looking back, the cast of THE PICK UP was very impressive and diverse, and gave AmeenDream a group of actors and perhaps more importantly, access to a group of willing and lovely human beings who we would continue to work with throughout the next three projects. One of these amazing human beings as it were, was Sheila Nortley - an award winning short film producer (‘The Hydra’ - BUFF 2008) who humbly came on board as an assistant. I guess I worked with Sheila the most on THE PICK UP as we both were running around trying to keep everything in place. We had in excess of 250 supporting artists who all came down for nothing, just to be there... amazing (There are so many people that need thanking on this journey). Ok, so after the successful shoot on THE PICK UP, the team was pretty much established: Aml - at the head of AmeenDream; Najan as his resident producer plus Sheila and I who would go on to claim roles as co-producers, working closely with Najan.

With THE PICK UP in the edit we were all still reeling (literally) from the experience so we decided to strike again… this time it would by my script – SPECIAL DELIVERY - in the spotlight. SPECIAL DELIVERY was a film I wrote about a postwoman, which surprisingly was a very organic story for me. I just wanted something beautiful with a romantic element to it - that I would be able to star in also…

SPECIAL DELIVERY Synopsis
SPECIAL DELIVERY is the story of a postwoman (Kamara Bacchus) who is bored of her life, and trapped in a mundane routine in which she wants out. When the possibility of a new route arises, this changes her path, and she finds herself led on a journey of adventure and an unusual love affair. This short film, written by and starring Kamara Bacchus (‘Dr Who’, ‘The Bill’), and directed by Geoff Searle (‘Madness in the first degree’), is a truthful insight into the sometimes monotony of life and how one moment or decision can change everything.

SPECIAL DELIVERY was the only one out of the 3 films we would go onto make, that was written with the director in mind. I wrote the film all the time thinking that it HAD to be directed by Geoff Searle (‘Madness in the first degree’). He is just a genius and I knew that in order to get all of the shots I had written (and specifically envisioned) – we had to use Geoff. I mean there was a shot in particular where the camera goes through the letterbox and, continuously, into the film – with no cut - and Geoff just said ‘Yeah I can do that’ and there was no problem. So I sent him the script, he was excited and confident about the writing, and so I got more excited. Najan and Sheila organised everything in a day. Aml took on the other acting role and there we were on the set of our second film – SPECIAL DELIVERY.

With the confidence of two shorts under our belt, Aml had this idea that whilst he was in America that we had to make another one… This would turn out to be the most ambitious of all the projects. ‘Drink Drugs and KFC’ was initially a feature film script that Aml had written a few years back. This script was now to be adapted into a short with Aml ready to direct on his return from America - over Christmas! There were so many challenges involved in scheduling a film over the Christmas break but it all worked out – and more than perfectly.

DRINK, DRUGS AND KFC synopsis
DRINK, DRUGS and KFC explores the dynamics of friendship between a group of young boys growing up in London. Comical, yet heart-warming and real, we watch young Nathan and his friends Max, Derek and Skipper head to an under-18 rave. Cue drama, jokes and fights all in the name of teenage bravado and hopes, impressing the most popular girl at college - the beautiful Montana. The night takes a turn for the worst when Skipper's ticket goes missing and in their desperation to get into the club they end up pocketing the ticket of Gamu Simpson, the younger sister of two local bullies Jimmy and Jason Simpson.

As an introduction to the feature film, 'DRINK, DRUGS & KFC' sets the pace for the fun and often humourous fond memories young people share growing up in London. Initially Aml and I were both based in America - Aml was working on his show ‘Harry’s Law’ and I had gone out there to follow up on auditions and meetings. Long story short I came back to London and helped Najan and Sheila with the task of producing the film. We really wanted to cross new boundaries with this film and we used it as a way of learning how to make a feature as the film was running at about 25 minutes long. It was a long casting process - we had 7 lead roles to fill! Not to mention a number of minor roles to cast - we ended up auditioning actors for a total of 7 weeks - 6 hours at a time. Without going into too much detail, we ended up with such a stellar cast. Everyone gelled and worked hard. We looked into other areas on this project - we had PR companies wanting to work with us and propel things further (with just the 3 of us in London at the time)- going to meetings and producing the film, casting the film, catering the film, interviewing DOP’s and editors etc. Essentially it was all the work of a feature film in a short. I mean it was such a testament to us 4 as individuals and our strengths of character - obviously real life was still co-existing alongside this particular film. We had to encounter sicknesses in our families in addition to life testing situations - but the show has to go on because there’s no one else - just us 4.

I think its’ this attitude that we’ve all put in to our work at AmeenDream that has shone through – especially at the pre-press screening we organised at BAFTA (which we are still reeling from). To be honest the amount of work that went in to it was just like another film… it would not be wrong to say that the screening should earn the title of our fourth film!

The dedication, hard work and love that the 4 of us have for each other - is so real because we’ve lived each others’ lives throughout all the projects. We have produced successful work - and I say that boldly and confidently because I know that we started as outsiders; as just actors with a bit of knowledge. We have turned ourselves into a machine – we work hard, we seek to learn what we do not know and we provide opportunities for new and established actors alike to be part of a fun community. We actually filmed another short the weekend before the screening (though we had all agreed to rest). I just came onboard as an actor on this occasion, and it was great. So it’s something else to look forward to as well as the 2 feature films we already have planned for the summer - and so it starts again!
We would like to take this opportunity to thank absolutely EVERYONE who has supported us with all of our current and future endeavours
Contact us at

info@ameendreamentertainment.com for any enquiries

From the desk of Kamara Bacchus
http://www.spotlight.com/interactive/cv/1/F99029

Kamara Bacchus (c) April 2011
The opinions published in the BUFF blog are a copyright of Buff Enterprises Ltd © MMXI all rights reserved – and is available to view on a monthly basis via Facebook, Twitter, Myspace, Hi5, Ning, Meetup, Blogger, Wordpress, Linkedin, Flickr plus other selected blogs and web pages. For more information about Buff Enterprises visit www.buffenterprises.co.uk For more information about film submissions to the British Urban Film Festival visit www.britishurbanfilmfestival.co.uk

The BUFF Blog (March 2011)

2011-03-22T14:56:00.000-07:00

Some people call it a newsletter, most delete it from their inbox, others try to emulate it, and for the rest of you – well, going online isn’t quite the same until you’ve received it... its’ the BUFF Blog!!!

Until recently, most BUFF blogs were written by the BUFF ghostwriter. In the 2 years since the advent of the UK’s 1st ever film festival monthly blog, a variety of voices from the world of film and TV have been invited to offer their own unique voice on the industry by which they make their name and their living. This month’s edition is guest written by an Oscar award winner no less (albeit by association) and arguably one of the busiest men in the business. It was during the FIFA World Cup last summer when BUFF was fortunate enough to have asked actor Wil Johnson when would be his next day off such was his demand at the time – and continues to be. The day in question just happened to be that very day itself – a day England football supporters would rather forget – and sure enough, that match was soon forgotten and in next to no time, we were discussing Wil’s ideas to pen a script for a cop drama whilst tucking into some delightful king fried prawns.

The next time BUFF met Wil was the day before the Notting Hill Carnival only this time we were in situ at the Bernie Grant Centre in Tottenham putting together the final preparations for the British Urban Film Festival. It was during this juncture that Wil mentioned another script which had just been finished by actor Adam Deacon which he was very excited about – the script was billed as an urban comedy in which I was told to imagine as a cross between Adulthood and the film Friday which was written by and starred Ice Cube. That was August the 28th 2010 and so fast forward to March 2011 and the UK premiere of Anuvahood. High time we hear from Wil Johnson himself – in his own words...

Ok people!
Wil Johnson here...
Greetings! This is my first blog! Never written one before, but as they say, there's a first time for everything. What an interesting last six months people, lots of changes, developments and potentially really interesting projects on the cards!!! I first met Emmanuel, the man behind BUFF a few years ago and found him to be a sound brother with integrity...Something that is very rare in this business. A person prepared to go out on a limb and make a difference...For that I salute him. I approached Emmanuel with a film that I had co-produced and starred in called 'DISORIENTED GENERATION' which he very kindly screened at the BUFF festival back in 2009...Since then I supported and attended various screenings of the BUFF Festival in 2010.

Right! What's been happening with me since then???? Fortunately quite a lot....
2010 was a brilliant and busy year filming WATERLOO ROAD, WAKING THE DEAD, ANUVAHOOD and the provocative new feature THROW OF A DICE hitting our screens later this year! Phew!
WATERLOO ROAD was well received and went onto win the NATIONAL TELEVISION AWARD for Best Drama series 2011, WAKING THE DEAD is being aired to huge appreciation nationwide, and to cap it all, a Danish feature I shot in Kenya 2009 Directed by Susanne Bier called IN A BETTER WORLD went onto win the GOLDEN GLOBE and OSCAR for Best Foreign Film 2011!!!! Not bad for a boy from Tottenham eh????

Currently, I'm co-producing another feature with my business partner, Writer, Director, Producer Christian Ashaiku called AMINA starring the brilliant and multi talented Nollywood Actress Omotola Jalade, Ghanian Star Van Vicker and Myself...A powerful drama about a woman who after suffering a series of traumas in her life, has a breakdown and ends up in a mental instituition under the careful guidance of Dr Johnson (Played by myself) Amina begins the slow road to recovery but not without powerful discoveries along the way...We're in pre production and start shooting next month...
I don't want to come on this blog and bemoan the challenges that our industry faces, but celebrate our achievements and potentially what's to come...

MIRROR BOY had an amazing Premiere at the Empire Leicester Square, ramming out the venue to capacity, further displaying the need for more African stories told through the medium of cinema..yaaaaay!!!! Long may the films success continue...
ANUVAHOOD, the British urban comedy opened last Friday and was the number one film across London over the weekend...

Right across the board film makers young and old are opening up their laptops and writing!!! Getting things together...Young blood Ashley Chin has a feature coming up this year - VICTIM - hopefully we'll see this film hit the cinemas this year. Q, a legend, released the very brilliant DEADMEAT on dvd this month and is in post production on his current feature - FEVER - which judging by the teaser clips I've seen so far is gonna be cooking with gas!!!!
Well people, slowly but surely with the demise of the UK film council, independent companies are springing up and people are hiring those RED 1 cameras and CANNON cameras and getting out there and shooting!!!!!

Looks like BUFF is gonna be busy this year with features flooding their gates....
Until the next time people I'm out...
Pre Production calls...

Blessings
Wil Johnson (c) March 2011

The opinions published in the BUFF blog are a copyright of Buff Enterprises Ltd © MMXI all rights reserved – and is available to view on a monthly basis via Facebook, Twitter, Myspace, Hi5, Ning, Meetup, Blogger, Wordpress, Linkedin, Flickr plus other selected blogs and web pages. For more information about Buff Enterprises visit www.buffenterprises.co.uk For more information about film submissions to the British Urban Film Festival visit www.britishurbanfilmfestival.co.uk

BUFF is an official media partner of The ACLT Manorlogz Xtreme Fundraiser featuring Wil Johnson. Watch the video at www.manorlogz.co.uk

The 2011 British Urban Film Festival - BUFF Blog (February 2011)

2011-02-13T17:50:00.000-08:00

This month’s blog is guest written by Janice Charles, newly appointed social media strategist for BUFF Enterprises.

Well first of all, I don’t want to be seen as a guest because I actually work for BUFF Enterprises. I was actually given permission to hijack Emmanuel’s email accounts and write whatever I liked which in my opinion would continue to get the word out regarding BUFF. Now we all know that Emmanuel could speak for England when it comes to BUFF so I actually offered to put a few things out there on his behalf (and mine whilst I’ve got the opportunity) – needless to say, he reluctantly agreed. Between you and me I think he wanted Valentine’s Day off to make himself useful – whatever making yourself useful means on Valentine’s Day. Of course I wouldn’t know anything about that because I only work for Emmanuel anyway that’s far too much information for a blog of this repute!!!

So here we are then, another month down the line, another blog with which to inform, educate and hopefully entertain the fans and followers of the British Urban Film Festival. As a social media strategist it would be unremiss of me not to acknowledge the fact that this blog is not a one-way street which is what blogs tend to be. This blog should always be about feedback, response and debate from you lot – so please, after you’ve digested this month’s BUFF blog, get in touch and let us know what you think: email us: info@buffenterprises.co.uk, post your comments on the facebook wall, or tweet us: @buffenterprises. In fact, whichever social network you’re reading this blog – please feel free to get in touch accordingly – we’d love to hear from you. So what do I want to talk about from the confines of Pretoria in South Africa? Well let’s talk about the BAFTA’s shall we and for a moment during last night’s ceremony there was the distinct possibility that if the publicity-shy Banksy had won the BAFTA for outstanding debut then he would’ve had to have outed himself in public. Though given the choice, if Banksy wins the OSCAR he may have no choice but to come out of hiding. That said, he could rely on Jaimie D’ Cruz, producer of the nominated documentary ‘Exit through the Gift Shop’ to do the honours or better still take the credit, why not? As it turned out, the BAFTA went deservedly to writer/performer Chris Morris for ‘Four Lions’. The thing that makes Morris stand out for me anyway, is his ability to infiltrate the system and disrupt it with what I can only describe as Morris’s unique subtlety if there is such a thing. One look at Morris’s track record would seem to suggest that there is – and long may it continue. Congratulations also to David Fincher who won best director for ‘The Social Network’ which also won best adapted screenplay and best editing. ‘The King’s Speech’ won 7 out of the 14 awards it was nominated for including best actor, supporting actor and supporting actress. ‘The King’s Speech’ is a bittersweet victory for the British Film Industry because by the time we come to the giving out of the Oscars, the film will have made over £125 million pounds at the box office – all great PR collectively but with the UK Film Council now little more than another victim of the UK recession one has to ask where do we go from here?

Another potential victim of the UK recession is the African-Caribbean Leukaemia Trust. I say potential because its’ still in our hands so to speak. I know that over the past few months that Emmanuel has been working in his capacity as a co-producer for 4front Films, the company behind the online poetry slam ‘Manorlogz’ which has thrown its weight behind the ACLT and supporting it with the concept of a charity manorlog – a poem specially commissioned with the ACLT in mind and performed by numerous actors, artists, and other high profile names in showbiz and entertainment who have come together in a relatively short space of time and given up their time to take part. The poem will launch via the 4front i-player service from Tuesday March the 1st and will be widely available on all of the main social networks (www.4fronttv.com). At the time of writing, there are ongoing talks with other media outlets and an announcement will be made shortly regarding when and where you’ll be able to watch the ACLT Manorlogz Extreme Fundraiser featuring amongst others Wil Johnson, Ashley Walters, Terri Walker, Henry Bonsu, Kwame Kwei-Armah, Akala, Ty and Judith Jacob. It is hoped that audiences who will watch the manorlog will be encouraged to donate to the charity as a result. By the time of the next BUFF Blog we will get some idea as to whether Britain’s best known black healthcare charity will be in a stronger position to raise the £80,000 pounds it needs to survive (www.manorlogz.co.uk).

By the time of the next BUFF blog we will have witnessed what’s been reported as the UK’s biggest Nollywood film event with the Leicester Square premiere of Obi Emelonye’s ‘The Mirror Boy’ (www.mirrorboythemovie.com). Emelonye has certainly come a long way from his debut movie ‘Echoes of War’ back in 2003. 2003 was also the year when London audiences were 1st introduced to Melvin Cartright – otherwise known as the self-deluded narcissist who milked everyone in his midst with no apparent ounce of remorse in his body. From that description one may question quite rightly why they would want to spend good money immersing themselves with such a lowlife character (I couldn’t help myself at this point but Emmanuel doesn’t bear any resemblance to this character at all LOL!!!). I digress... Here at BUFF we like to think that we have the answers to most questions and for this particular one look no further than the man behind ‘Melvin: Chronicles of a Player’, award-winning director Lawrence Coke, the latest filmmaker who has just launched a scheme designed to create associate producers who will be encouraged to invest in the movie which is currently nearing completion (www.indiegogo.com/melvinthemovie).

You could do worse like say invest in certain PR agencies but let’s not go there shall we?? I’m sure that as long as Emmanuel is still breathing, there will have to be one blog devoted to PR agencies. Until then, I hope you’ve enjoyed my 1st proper contribution to BUFF (famous last words)... Whatever you’re watching this month, long may the passion continue…

Janice Charles (find me on facebook)

The opinions published in the BUFF blog are a copyright of Buff Enterprises Ltd © MMXI all rights reserved – and is available to view on a monthly basis via Facebook, Twitter, Myspace, Hi5, Ning, Meetup, Blogger, WordPress, Linkedin, Flickr plus other selected blogs and web pages. For more information about Buff Enterprises visit www.buffenterprises.co.uk / For more information about film submissions to the British Urban Film Festival visit www.britishurbanfilmfestival.co.uk

BUFF is an official media partner of Manorlogz – the UK home of extreme spoken word.

The 2011 British Urban Film Festival - BUFF Blog (January 2011)

2011-01-19T10:11:00.000-08:00

No matter how many times BUFF ventures down to Soho to get entertained, the result is always the same. And no matter how you dress it up, January is almost invariably a month-long period of attrition, angst and apathy. So it seemed perfectly reasonable to expect a good time to be had when yours truly was invited down to Soho on a cold and wet Friday evening for a preview screening of ‘David is Dying’ – the debut feature-length drama penned, and produced by Stephen Lloyd Jackson and Andy Mundy-Castle. Needless to say, Friday nights in Soho rarely disappoint.

It has to be said that there’s nothing like watching a really, really good film ‘in secret’ so to speak. The sensation that one gets coming away from the screening and wanting to bang on about how transfixed they were by the whole experience – whether it be the acting, the writing, the direction, the lighting, choice of music etc. For most people, these attributes should be a given. The one thing that stood out after watching 2 hours of raw, unadulterated, mental torture – both beautifully told and shot – was the authenticity of the main character and the sense that BUFF was amongst friends with this tortured soul. The tortured soul in question is played by Lonyo (yes, that Lonyo) whose music can also be considered an acquired taste. As for Lonyo Engele the actor and the film tells the story of David Brown, a very confused and tormented man, haunted by his past, in which, as a boy he fell in love with his mother. She was a beautiful woman and a courtesan who entertained men for money. She eventually dies from a drug overdose in David’s arms. In his adult life, David finds a woman (Carla), who is identical in appearance to his mother. He falls deeply in love and plans to marry her. However, through an intense therapy session with his psychiatrist, we observe how David tirelessly attempts to control and possess Carla as a replacement for the love he so yearned for from his mother – cue the fireworks… One is reminded of similar experiences having recently seen Tyler Perry’s ‘For Colored Girls’ – a film which beautifully portrays its characters who all are ultimately f***ed up. Some people compare ‘Precious’ to ‘For Colored Girls’, ‘Precious’ is a better film. The labour of love that is ‘David is Dying’, though not quite in the same genre but very much geared at a female audience, is a quality film and carries more kudos in that although the plot is not entirely original, there is a freshness about it – and besides, the other 2 films are American and are based on adaptations.

Previous BUFF blogs have observed the strategy, flexibility, diversification, call it what you will, of musicians and performing artists making the seamless transfer over to cinema and to that you can add our man Lonyo to the list. Lonyo dominates the screen as does his impressive female lead Isaura Barbe-Brown and in keeping with recent BUFF screenings – think ‘Sus’ just last year – we truly have another british urban classic on our hands. Without wanting to pre-empt the choices of the BUFF viewing panel – September the 3rd can’t come soon enough!!!
One was reminded of ‘Sus’ recently when the nominations were announced for this year’s BAFTA’s. BUFF had high hopes of Barrie Keefe’s adapted stageplay making it onto the shortlist but alas, no cigar. Having seen Oscar-winning Danny Boyle’s latest, ‘127 Hours’, students of cinema will have noticed striking similarities if you’ve been fortunate to have watched both films – and yet ‘127 Hours’ is up for several BAFTA’s. And Sus? Well at least we have the network television premiere on the BBC to look forward to. And off the back of that, BUFF will be putting together a special programme featuring interviews with Clint Dyer, Ralph Brown, Anjela Lauren Smith, Rob Heath and Barrie Keefe. Watch this space for further details. BUFF can also announce that last year’s chosen online screenings which formed part of the festival – can now be seen in full via the BUFF website – many thanks to the filmmakers for their patience and support – it has been a while. That said, we’re delighted that audiences can now get a chance to see the depth and breadth of UK film talent that was on show at BUFF 2010 in addition to the other films that were showcased last September.

This time a year ago, ‘Precious’ was the most talked about film in the industry, the year before that it was ‘Slumdog Millionaire’. On both occasions the hype was justified and they both duly obliged to pick up some very big prizes. At the time of writing, BUFF has yet to watch ‘The King’s Speech’ – and from all accounts, the people behind this will be making a fair few more in the weeks and months ahead if the Golden Globes are to go by, the Golden Globes being the self-appointed indicator as to what wins the big prizes at the Oscars. We’re not quite at the end of January but already, the die is cast for the year ahead. BUFF predicts that Justin Timberlake will walk off with an Oscar for his part in ‘The Social Network’. The Social Network was a big winner at the Golden Globes though Colin Firth did pick up best actor.

One cannot complain being in the seasoned position of watching films both for business and pleasure and its’ going to be an interesting night on February the 27th. Just who will get what? Its going to be an interesting blog next month – so much to talk about, and that’s before we get around to passing comment on the Oscars of which BUFF has no vested interest, well not yet anyway. And if you must know, Lonyo (also known as Comme Ci Comme Ca) was a 2-step producer and MC. He had a hit in 2000 with the single, ‘Summer of Love’, which reached number eight in the UK Singles Chart. The follow up ‘Garage Girls’, released in April 2001, peaked at number 39. He later joined forces with fellow producer, Kevin McPherson and released a single record under the moniker of Bon Garçon, (‘Freek U’) in 2005. Whatever you’re watching this month, long may the passion continue…

http://www.buffenterprises.co.uk/ For more information about film submissions to the British Urban Film Festival visit http://www.britishurbanfilmfestival.co.uk/

BUFF is an official media partner of Manorlogz – the UK home of extreme spoken word.

Manorlogz 2010 Xtreme Spoken Word - Finals

2010-11-29T09:36:00.000-08:00

Manorlogz TV schedules announced

2010-11-29T09:26:00.000-08:00

4front TV has confirmed plans to join Showcase 2 as an official broadcast partner for Manorlogz Extreme Spoken Word - the UK’s first extreme spoken word championships.

Under the agreement, the online TV station will share transmission with the award-winning Sky Digital broadcaster of the inaugural Manorlogz launch highlights show on Tuesday December 7 at 10pm. The deal also includes coverage of the semi-finals on Tuesday December 14 and the Christmas grand final on Tuesday December 21.

Manorlogz was launched earlier this summer as the UK’s answer to Def Poetry Jam - an HBO television series produced by hip-hop music entrepreneur Russell Simmons.

The series presents performances by established spoken word poets, as well as up-and-coming poets, the latter of whom feature in an online poetry slam voted for by the public at www.manorlogz.com

Bernard Kordieh, executive producer of Manorlogz, said: "We consider ourselves fortunate to have two committed television partners who are able to reach both new and established audiences throughout the UK. This agreement was successful in both establishing a long-term partnership and adding a new dimension to our multiplatform coverage."

The actor & comedian Lateef Lovejoy will anchor 4front's Manorlogz coverage starting from December 7 and continuing with the semi-final broadcast on December 14 with the grand final climax on December 21. The lineup of acts performing at the launch feature Indigo Williams, Polar Bear & Floetic Lara - one of this year's competition judges alongside former Daily Mirror journalist Jessie Grace Mellor and Tshaka Campbell – a household name on the spoken word circuit.

A spokesman for 4front TV said: “Manorlogz is a unique and entertaining series which will help define the direction of online TV and through Extreme Spoken Word will change the way audiences in the UK watch poetry on television”.

The free-to-air satellite coverage will be available to all Sky Digital subscribers on channel 203.

Tickets are available to attend the TV recordings of the semi-finals and the final on Saturday December 4 in Bethnal Green. More details can be found at http://manorlogzlive.doattend.com

Ends

Notes: 4front TV will launch its new online TV channel www.4fronttv.com on December 7 with a simulcast of Manorlogz in addition to the UK short film drama ‘Stick With Me’.

For all enquiries regarding 4front TV please contact the following:
VJ Davidson (Series producer): vj@manorlogz.co.uk
Juanita Rosenior (Co-producer): nita@manorlogz.co.uk
Yvonne Ossei (Marketing & Press): info@manorlogz.co.uk

The 2010 BUFF pre-Christmas message

2010-11-29T03:26:00.000-08:00

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 share 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!

Emmanuel Anyiam-Osigwe

BUFF teams up with Islington Council to stage anti-bullying screening on December 1

2010-11-23T13:19:00.000-08:00

In its’ highest profile screening to date, BUFF On Tour – part of the British Urban Film Festival’s outreach programme – will be premiering its’ latest short film (co-produced by Buff Enterprises) at Islington Town Hall on Wednesday December the 1st. In association with the Homes for Islington project, BUFF has teamed up with award-winning filmmaker Lawrence Coke to produce ‘Stampout’ – a short docu drama which examines the issues of bullying and anti-social behaviour in the London Borough of Islington. The screening, which is free, will be followed by a facilitated question and answer session with a panel of leading experts and practitioners.

Speaking ahead of the launch for the new BUFF film festival website, the founder of BUFF, Emmanuel Anyiam-Osigwe said “Through its commitment to the industry, BUFF has played a key role in the promotion and growth of urban independent cinema in the UK and i’m looking forward to extending that commitment over the next 3 years”.

It was also announced that next year’s British Urban Film Festival will take place on the weekend of September the 3rd, 4th and 5th. The call for submissions is already open to filmmakers and companies who wish to showcase their latest work at the annual London showcase.

The Stamp Out event will take place at the Assembly rooms in Islington Town Hall on Wednesday 1 December 2010 and will start at 10.30am. There will be a facilitated panel debate with Q&A, stalls, hot food and refreshments. For more information email stampout@ymail.com or call 07956 445 490

www.homesforislington.org.uk

The BUFF blog - November 2010

2010-11-15T08:49:00.000-08:00

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.

The Buff Blog - October 2010

2010-10-10T17:07:00.000-07:00

Picture courtesy of Alex Winn (c) MMX

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!

David Trumble.

The 2010 British Urban Film Festival - the review

2010-09-12T05:31:00.000-07:00

Pictures courtesy of Andrea Siegl (c) MMX. All rights reserved.
At the time of going to press, a woman in China has sued a cinema and the distributors of the movie ‘Aftershock’ for wasting her time with adverts. According to the Xinhua news agency, Chen Xiaomei claims the Polybona International Cinema and film distributors Huayi Brothers Media Corporation should have told her of the length of the pre-movie commercials. Chen, a lawyer, accused the Xian-based picturehouse and the distributors of violating her freedom of choice and wasting her time. The claimant is seeking a full apology, a refund for her 35 yuan (£3.30) ticket, another 35 yuan in compensation plus one yuan for emotional damages.

Had that been applied to BUFF (for which it could do on so many levels) those who were in attendance on the opening night of this year’s festival would’ve missed exclusive previews of ‘Tupac Assasination’ (approaching the 15th anniversary since his death), 'The O’ Twins' (Nigeria’s answer to ‘The Simpsons’) and Manorlogz (Poetry’s answer to ‘The X Factor’) – and that was to name but 3. Add to that the 250-odd people who were amongst the acknowledgements thanking them for their support of BUFF over the past 5 years and one would be hard pushed to say that the pre-show was anything but enlightening.

Its safe to say that the British Urban Film Festival 2010 ticked a lot of boxes for a lot of people and yes, there was a fair bit of box-ticking during the festival. And though the Mayor of London, Boris Johnson was formally invited, the festival didn’t quite tick ‘Bojo’s’ box. Overall, the festival continues to reach new audiences young and old, far and wide, online, on-air and in person – a mantra taken to its logical extension with the advent of the festival sponsors’ Gabriel Media World Television (otherwise known as GMWTV) – not to be mistaken with the now defunct GMTV – though it was a new beginning or ‘a new dawn’ as actor Ralph Brown puts it so vividly in the festival’s opening feature film – ‘Sus’. A veritable array of actors and filmmakers duly converged at the 3 festival venues over the course of the weekend, stretching into the Monday. In addition to the aforementioned Ralph Brown (and his suitably dapper hat), BUFF was graced with the presence of the debonair Wil Johnson, the delightful Clint Dyer, the dashing Anjela Lauren Smith, not forgetting the commander in chief, Lateef Lovejoy and the impressive list of filmmakers who took part in some fascinating question and answer sessions.

Since we’re on the theme of all things dapper and the like, there was talk that Dappy, Fazer and Tulisa otherwise known as the group N-Dubz would be gracing the festival with their appearance – which would’ve made for an interesting contrast to the final day’s UK premiere of the documentary ‘N-Dubz – the way we were’ i.e. the way they were, aged 14. Directed by Jessie Grace Mellor, this marked the first time a filmmaker has had their film chosen for selection twice in the 5 year history of BUFF. The first time around, ‘our Jessie’ brought ‘Billy Blaze’ to the public’s attention. Not only will you find Billy Blaze knocking around on Youtube but you’ll also find a fair few of this year’s ‘chosen few’ for the festival online aswell. Not for the first time, the likes of Youtube and Vimeo (with its obvious attractions) are becoming an outlet for filmmakers to not only showcase their talent to the public, but to monetise their content also.

This will become the battleground in the next few years, given that the UK film industry is now in a perpetual state of hiatus with the abolition of the UK Film Council. It will also be a challenge for festivals like BUFF who although offer free tickets for all its’ screenings will have to offer value for money so to speak when it comes to putting on premium content – fortunately the festival was able to secure 2 exclusives this year. BUFF is already in co-production on a number of films working with the likes of Islington Council and 4front Films – and submissions are already coming in for BUFF 2011 and we’re not yet in October. The future’s bright...

And whilst we’re on the subject of submissions, BUFF Shorts UK brought together some of the UK’s finest filmmaking talent on the middle day of this year’s festival with 4 of the directors taking part in the question and answer session. It made for some electric banter with the audience certainly getting their money’s worth (so to speak) getting to know a little bit about what makes these half-psychotic... ok quarter-psychotic... individuals tick, the subjects in question being Rohan Green (dir. Physical Education), still living off the trappings of his Best of Boroughs audience award earlier this year, from Oxford (via an overnight stay at BUFF’s expense) the charismatic David Trumble (dir. The Shift), and then completing the line-up the gracious Tarun Thind (Dir. English) and the talented rookie, Mawaan Rizwan (dir. Paperboy). Also present were Casserley Cielo, writer and star of Je Suis Naive Tu Es Cruel plus Kamran Assadi and Randy J Lewis (directors from this year’s festival sponsor online screenings ‘Stalker’ and ‘Magical Michael’ respectively).

Other festival highlights included the closing movie Bad Day (dir. Ian David Diaz) with lead actress Claire Goose shooting everyone that got on her wrong side (the phrase ‘hell hath no fury than a woman scorned’ couldn’t be more apt). BUFF was also graced with Floetic Lara’s poetic tribute to actor Gary Coleman and recording artists Sugar Mynott and Guru – all of whom passed away earlier this year.

Over the course of the last 5 years, the British Urban Film Festival has been brought to audiences at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, Cricklewood Broadway, Stratford Picture House, Tottenham, Mile End, Redbridge, Bethnal Green, Whitechapel, Waterloo... and still counting.

In the immediate future, the festival will be going on tour, across the country, presenting audiences the very best in British Urban Film. Watch this space as they say to find out when BUFF will be coming to a cinema near you. The festival season is now in full swing with British cinema shouting from the rooftops not just at BUFF but also at the Toronto Film Festival, the Venice Film Festival, the Portobello Film Festival, UrbanWorld, Raindance and of course the London Film Festival. And with so much on offer (and more besides), one would be mistaken for thinking that the British film industry isn’t in such a bad state after all – it is in a bad state compared with other countries. BUFF has already started to sing for its supper with a number of pre-release deals on the verge of being tied up with several filmmakers. The film submissions continue to pour in and the countdown has already begun to the BAFTAS, the Golden Globes and the OSCARS and then before you know it the British Urban Film Festival 2011 will be upon us – what price the movie ‘Sus’ picking up one of those coveted awards? Long may the passion continue...

For full details of BUFF on Tour or for how to submit your films to BUFF 2011 visit our spanking new buff website – www.britishurbanfilmfestival.co.uk

10 days to go until BUFF 2010 - the countdown is well and truly on...

2010-08-23T18:20:00.000-07:00

The British Urban Film Festival 2010

4th, 5th, 6th September

For immediate release

Chairman's formal announcement

The British Urban Film Festival returns.

The annual 3-day event which is free to all ages kicks off on Saturday 4th September at Tottenham’s Bernie Grant Arts Centre – named after the black Labour politician who was MP for the area for over a decade. The stage play-turned-movie “Sus”, starring Clint Dyer, Rafe Spall & Ralph Brown, will be screened on the opening night of the festival which will also feature a Q&A with the cast. The festival will have its’ first ever female poet with a live performance from Floetic Lara.

Highlights on day 2 include the first-pick of this year’s short film submissions from British filmmakers at Bethnal Green’s Oxford House plus the UK premiere of “Last Train from Silver Street”, a raw and powerful drama in which loyalties are tested to the ultimate on the estates of Edmonton. The final day features ‘never before seen’ footage of the infamous UK hip-hop group N-Dubz - starting out at the age of just 14. The festival climaxes in association with The London Borough of Redbridge with the Cineworld Ilford screening of “Bad Day” starring Claire Goose, Robbie Gee, Sarah Harding and Donna Air.

Since its’ inception 5 years ago, the festival has been supported by national bodies including ITV, UK Film Council, Film London and the NHS. In the last 3 years the ‘British Urban Film Festival’ (BUFF) has staged over 50 screenings across various East London locations from where thousands of adults and young people have taken advantage of its’ free admission policy. In teaming up with event sponsors ‘Gabriel Media International’ (GMI) BUFF is excited at the prospect of thousands more being entertained not just during the festival but throughout the year – with the sponsors’ creation of © ‘Buff – On Tour’ first staged in July formally introducing further screening events across the country.

“There will be no bigger film event in the capital in September and BUFF will be at the forefront of the action bringing audiences an exciting weekend of ‘live’ British Urban film festival entertainment with 16 top quality screenings at 3 venues across 3 London Boroughs for 3 days in addition to online screenings and interactive coverage throughout the event thanks to our sponsorship deal with GMI”.

This year’s event is sponsored by Gabriel Media International (GMI) who has also struck a deal to be on-line media partners streaming exclusive footage from the festival on GMWTV featuring internet broadcasts showcasing short films plus clips and footage from the © ‘Buff archives’. The opening night live show will be presented by actor and comedian Lateef Lovejoy, fresh from his recent star turn in the musical The Harder They Come.

BUFF 2010 has been commissioned for Buff Enterprises by Emmanuel Anyiam-Osigwe. Project management, marketing and business consultancy is being handled by event sponsors: Gabriel Media International.

Free tickets are now available for BUFF 2010 by calling 08712 885 785. Full listings can be found at http://www.britishurbanfilmfestival.co.uk/ – lines close midnight Wednesday September 1st (no emails will be accepted as reservations). Those who wish to book must leave their name, contact number, email address and choice of timeslot.

For all press, marketing and broadcast enquires please contact:
Lorraine Gabriel on: +44 7941 143 412 hq@gabrielmediainternational.com
GMWTV can be accessed at: www.gabrielmediainternational.com

Emmanuel Anyiam-Osigwe, festival director and founder
www.britishurbanfilmfestival.co.uk
info@buffenterprises.co.uk
+44 (0) 7801 548754

© Buff Enterprises Ltd 2010

ENDS

The British Urban Film Festival - August Blog

2010-08-08T02:39:00.000-07:00

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

30 days to go to BUFF 2010

2010-08-03T21:39:00.000-07:00

Welcome to the official countdown for BUFF 2010 - the British Urban Film Festival. 15 shortlisted films, chosen from nationwide and international submissions, will be screened in the capital, free of charge to audiences young and old during the first weekend of September. The festival celebrates urban independent cinema and grassroots film-making talent both here in the UK and abroad and will be presented by actor and comedian Lateef Lovejoy. Run by Buff Enterprises and sponsored this year by Gabriel Media International, BUFF 2010 offers limited free tickets to the public to attend the screenings. A panel of representatives from the BUFF board have selected the 15 screenings which can be booked in advance by calling 08712 885 785. The British Urban Film Festival 2010 is supported by Gabriel Media International, The London Borough of Redbridge, Cineworld, Catch a Vibe, Just Productions and Knowledge Fountain. The full line-up can be seen at www.buffenterprises.co.uk

The official press release will be published later today.

Emmanuel Anyiam-Osigwe, founder & chairman of the British Urban Film Festival.

The 2010 British Urban Film Festival - July Blog

2010-07-11T00:27:00.001-07:00

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 out 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. One would presume that the deadline for submissions is fast approaching – in which case here is a last reminder that a DVD screener, EPK, plus a non-refundable entry fee of £25 is applicable to film-makers and film-making institutions wishing to submit a short film, documentary or feature-length movie. All cheques are to be made payable to ‘Buff Enterprises Ltd’. Please send all materials plus a cover letter to: British Urban Film Festival 2010, Buff Enterprises c/o 4 front Films, 27 Ithica House, Romford Road, London E15 4LJ. More details can be found at www.britishurbanfilmfestival.co.uk – submissions close midnight, Sunday July 25.

The 2010 British Urban Film Festival - June Blog

2010-06-11T07:24:00.000-07:00

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 – http://www.britishurbanfilmfestival.co.uk/

BUFF 2010

2010-05-31T08:40:00.000-07:00

2010-05-31T00:27:00.001-07:00

Buff Enterprises has launched its’ biggest ever call for submissions for British Urban Film Festival 2010 – bringing together independent filmmakers from across the nation, to submit their own films. Buff Enterprises launched in July 2005 with the aim of providing a healthy alternative to the showcasing of urban independent cinema in the UK. Since then there has been a concerted effort by the UK film industry to address this imbalance in the cinema landscape both on and off screen. As a result of its’ key pledge to screen films free of charge, Buff has played its’ part in developing and attracting audiences who have shown a keen interest in being part of this movement. The annual British Urban Film Festival is the only festival of its’ kind in the UK and has become a trusted source for film fans keen to tap into one of the fastest growing creative sectors in the UK.

A DVD screener, EPK, plus a non-refundable entry fee of £25 is the requirement for filmmakers, production companies and voluntary organisations wishing to submit a short film, documentary or feature length movie. All cheques should be made payable to ‘Buff Enterprises Ltd’. Please send all materials plus a cover letter to British Urban Film Festival 2010, Buff Enterprises c/o 4front Films, 27 Ithica House, Romford Road, London E15 4LJ. More details can be found at http://www.britishurbanfilmfestival.co.uk/

British Urban Film Festival announces Sus as its' opening feature film

2010-05-16T02:36:00.000-07:00

Organisers of the British Urban Film Festival have confirmed that the hit stageplay-turned-box office movie Sus will be the opening feature film for its’ annual showpiece later this summer. It marks the second year in succession that actor Clint Dyer has featured at the event having starred in the Channel 4 documentary ‘Rappin at The Royal’ which showed at the 2009 British Urban Film Festival. At a time where films like Avatar cost the same as a small country’s GDP, SUS rebuffs (pardon the pun) the mutli-million pound approach to movie-making with a sense of vigour, verve, intensity and a mission to ‘make some noise’.

SUS takes place in 1979 and uses the historic elections that saw Margaret Thatcher’s Conservatives in power for the first time as the back story to explore the contentious SUS laws at the time. SUS laws allowed police to stop and search people on mere suspicion and the controversy came from the fact that blacks were disproportionally stopped more.
For our man Delroy (played with some passion by Clint Dyer) the consequences of getting caught up in the system, on this night of all nights, become all too apparent as he comes face to face with Detectives Karn and Wilby played respectively by Ralph Brown and Rafe Spall (son of actor Timothy). Suspected of murdering his pregnant wife, Delroy is taken into the police station to witness not just institutional racism at work but evidently the social racism prevalent in Britain at the time, where being black was in some respects a hazard.

SUS 2010 has made the effortless transition to screen from the original stageplay of 1979 (based on a true story) by Barry Keefe and it is that essence of the theatre that not only comes through in the film but what ultimately defines the film. Filmed in a police cell, the undoubted sense of claustrophobia allows the audience to buy into the pain, fear and confusion that Delroy feels as he is interrogated, abused, and ultimately physically attacked.

Brown and Spall are deliciously bad as they continually up the ante in trying to extract a confession from Delroy who is still in a state of shock. At times the intensity reaches breaking point as the three actors deliver a triumvirate of top notch acting. Having been released nationally the day after the general election, this is a film that warrants attention demonstrating that cinema can be impressive without the massive budgets. Furthermore, with three actors on their game, and the film already playing to capacity audiences in the West End and across London, SUS is raw, timely, dynamic and a legitimate candidate for best British Film of the year.

Semper Azeez-Harris

www.myspace.com/britishurbanfilmfestival

The 2010 British Urban Film Festival - May Blog

2010-05-01T11:04:00.001-07:00

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 actor 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?

£25 is the price that one must pay along with their film submission if they are to take part or partake in this year’s 2010 British Urban Film Festival. Filmmakers usually have something they really want to say and film as an art form, is one of the strongest currencies with which to get their particular message across, either literally or subliminally. Whatever the message, within reason the British Urban Film Festival would like to hear from you – get in touch at www.britishurbanfilmfestival.co.uk

Buff Blogcast - April 2010

2010-04-01T06:39:00.000-07:00

British urban film is a new genre and everyone’s excited by what’s happening in urban music. It’s been a great year and there’s that same sense of excitement in film – it’s our time. And whilst one is always looking for that opportunity to blow its’ own trumpet, those opening remarks were quoted by Mo Ali, the director of recently released Shank, the futuristic drama starring Adam Deacon (Adulthood), Ashley Thomas (aka Bashy) and Kaya Scodelario (Skins). Recent Buff blogcasts have marked the cards of audiences far and wide to the conveyor belt of films hitting UK cinemas in 2010 - on a scale not seen perhaps ever. With Noel Clarke’s 4,3,2,1 on the future horizon, Disoriented Generation, makes its’ cinema bow this month having first captured the attention of audiences at Buff 2009. The film’s star, Wil Johnson (who also co-produces) recently agreed that British urban film has earned its’ place at the high table of British cinema. And whilst it is easy to label British urban film, new genres are by definition open to interpretation.

Not since the late Gene Anthony Ray burst onto our screens 30 years ago will there be such a fervour for dance at the movies when Streetdance is released later this summer. Over the years, audiences have been spoiled by the likes of Dirty Dancing, Billy Elliott, Step Up, Save the Last Dance and Beat Street, the last of which was screened by the Cannes Film Festival in 1984. British TV audiences have been spoiled too with the likes of Strictly Come Dancing and Dancing on Ice in recent years and this year BskyB have joined in with Got to Dance, not forgetting the BBC’s other dance competition – So you think you can dance? It remains to be seen whether the winners of Got to Dance and So you think… can achieve popularity on the scale achieved by Diversity and George Sampson, the last 2 winners of ITV’s Britain’s Got Talent.

The company Vertigo Films, who previously served up the uk’s 1st hip-hop musical in 1day are now behind the uk’s first film to be shot in 3D in collaboration with the UK Film Council and BBC Films. One look at the Streetdance link on the BBC films website makes for interesting observation as to what constitutes British urban film.

The first thing that springs to mind upon hearing the words amateur filmmaking is a sense that the best these people can do is to create home movies about domestic life which would only interest the filmmakers themselves, films that are technically flawed and which are shown in private places (presumably because someone deemed the material as not worthy for a bigger and more critical audience).

Youtube recently celebrated its’ 5th birthday and has done more than most to catapult digital filmmaking into the spotlight. TV programmes like ‘You’ve been framed’ also did their bit though the brief was merely to entertain and not just to educate, entertain and inform (as the BBC would say). And as for Nollywood, well look no further…
One could say that digital filmmaking is not what you would call ‘easy on the eye’, i.e. not buff to look at. In many ways, Buff can be seen as an antidote to the whole glitz and glamour of traditional Hollywood and certain british fayre, and has come to transcend these values not only by providing filmmakers with a platform but by screening films at venues one wouldn’t normally associate with multiplexes – and its’ all free of charge.

Snobbery is extremely prevalent in the film industry and one of the many charges that has been brought against the British Urban Film Festival is that only a certain type of film will get shown at these types of events because its’ free and because its’ urban. This has been perceived to mean that because the audience is not encouraged to pay to see a film that they’re going to be shown ‘any old stuff’ and also, that all the films are made by or about black people – which excludes 60-65% of the potential audience available. Wrong on both counts. Somewhere on Youtube, there’s a film called ‘Billy Blaze’ – one of the 1st films received for festival consideration. Simply put, Billy Blaze is a self-deluded rap singer from Newcastle who believe’s he’s got talent. The film was directed by a Daily Mirror journalist who heard about Buff at the Notting Hill Carnival. The film was subsequently reviewed by The Guardian and quoted it as ‘very funny’ – about as far removed from a black film festival as one could ever imagine (Rod Liddle eat your heart out).

As has been stated on previous occasions, in the 5 years since Buff came to pass, the festival has been vindicated in its’ approach to showcasing a unique brand of cinema. For every Adulthood there’s a Harry Brown, for every Disoriented Generation there’s a Fish Tank. Amateur filmmaking has moved on a bit, and the economies of scale as well as the recession has led to more creativity in how films are shot, edited and marketed. Paranormal Activity was a recent case in point of a film which was made for under £10,000 and went onto to gross over 100 million.

Speaking of Notting Hill and one never tires of telling the story about one of the reasons Buff was created in the first place. It was at an event in Belfast in 2001 when a young, brazen, fledgling filmmaker of Pakistani descent stood up and asked Duncan Kenworthy OBE “why weren’t there any black people in your film Notting Hill?” Mr Kenworthy was speechless and one fails to recollect the answer he eventually gave having been consumed by the sheer audacity of the question and the shock in the room that this young twentysomething – who has since had his films screened by Buff – had caused such a commotion. The rest as they say is history. They also say that history has an uncanny way of repeating itself and so it has proved as Channel 4 has announced that its’ to replace Big Brother by commissioning a docu-soap based on Notting Hill. It was 15 years ago when Richard Curtis’s film of the same name was released – omitting any references to Carnival or indeed black people. Does one expect to see more of the same now that the chance to showcase Notting Hill is in the hands of Channel 4 – created by government to serve minority interests. We shall watch with baited breath (those of us that are bothered enough to care anyway).

Have we not mentioned our call for submissions yet? Go to our website www.britishurbanfilmfestival.co.uk

DE-JA-VU FOR FILM BUFFS AS BRITISH URBAN FILM FESTIVAL RETURNS

2009-09-14T02:09:00.000-07:00

For immediate release:

After the success of last year’s event, organisers of the 2009 British Urban Film Festival (BUFF for short) are to once again offer free tickets to the public in what’s been dubbed ‘credit crunch cinema’, part of its’ strategy to capitalise on the growing interest in urban independent film and making it accessible to the public at large.

Launched last December when the credit crunch began to hit people financially, over 400 people took advantage of free tickets (and alcohol) and were introduced to a new crop of independent film-makers reflecting their own experiences of the nation’s inner cities and suburbs.

The last few years has seen the likes of Noel Clarke, Greg Hall, and even Manchester United captain Rio Ferdinand bring urban independent film to the fore with high-profile movies such as Adulthood, The Plague and Dead Man Running. And with organisers promising a bigger event this year, capacity attendances are expected as the festival strives to be noticed in what is already a crowded market of film festivals in the capital with the likes of Raindance, Portobello and the London Film Festival dominating the landscape.

The line-up of films for this year’s event is headlined by the UK premiere on Friday October 2nd of ‘Stick With Me’, a debut drama directed by Bernard Kordieh – a former UEL student, an institution which can also lay claim to having unearthed film director Ken Russell and grime artist Tinchy Stryder. Also headlining will be ‘Disoriented Generation’, a romantic drama produced by actor Wil Johnson who also stars in the lead role. Also on the bill is ‘Fresh Off Da Boat’, marking the directorial debut of Adulthood actor Femi Oyeniran and Teddy Nygh’s ‘Clashadatight1’s’ a feature-length documentary celebrating the heritage of UK and international hip-hop music. Organisers have also confirmed that a Michael Jackson tribute will be screened on the opening night.

The Stratford Picturehouse in East London is the setting for the opening night's festivities on Friday October 2nd. Then its' onto Oxford House in Bethnal Green for 12 hours of screenings including Disoriented Generation - part of 'Super Saturday' on October the 3rd. The festival ends in nearby Whitechapel at the Brady Arts Centre on Sunday the 4th of October. Once again, members of the public can get their hands on free tickets by calling a special festival hotline. The number is 08712 885 785. Lines close at midnight on Thursday October the 1st.

Full listings can be found at www.britishurbanfilmfestival.co.uk

Editor's notes:
The British Urban Film Festival is organised by and is the property of Buff Enterprises Limited and is used under license. More information can be found by visiting www.buffenterprises.co.uk

The festival is supported by the London Boroughs of Tower Hamlets and Redbridge and by The NHS Sicklecell and Thalassaemia screening programme. The festival is also supported by Knowledge Fountain magazine, Just Productions and other partner organisations in the London Boroughs of Newham, Redbridge and Hackney (4front Films, Gabriel Media International and Ewav Works).

To find out more about the festival visit:
www.knowledgefountain.co.uk

www.towerhamletsarts.org.uk

www.myspace.com/britishurbanfilmfestival

www.facebook.com/britishurbanfilmfestival

www.gabrielmediainternational.com

Press Contact:
Buff Enterprises (Press Office)
+00 44 (0) 8712 885 785

BUFF blog (5)

2009-08-03T11:51:00.000-07:00

Has it really been just over a month since the death of Michael Jackson. Such was the coverage that even the other memorial ceremony that took place on 7/7 (in London's Hyde Park) was barely mentioned. Speaking of 7/7, it was on that very day that Buff Enterprises was supposed to have been incorporated. Needless to say that some of us involved with the festival are indeed very fortunate and privileged to be able to bring it to you.

Unfortunately, we were unable to secure the rights to screen 'The Homefront', a documentary directed by Thomas Ikimi which has its' own take on 7/7. You can see the documentary for yourself online and make your own judgement. Needless to say, Thomas is blowing up in Hollywood, teaming up with man-of-the-moment Idris Elba (him off Family Affairs on Channel 5 amongst other things of course...). Watch this space for news on 'Legacy', currently in production.

Also in production is 'Stick With Me' - a film which we can confirm will be making its' premiere at the 2009 British Urban Film Festival. Shot on location across East London, Bernard Kordieh writes and directs his debut mini-feature, a timely tale about peer pressure and the consequences that come with it when fatal choices are made. We can also confirm that Buff Enterprises will be screening exclusive behind-the-scenes footage from the film at the festival. Actually, some of the footage is too exclusive for public consumption - don't worry though, you will be entertained still...

One film which is in the can is '1 DAY' is the first ever British hip hop musical and a very, very bad day in the life of hustler, Flash. Entirely street cast and featuring original hip hop and grime tracks from young rappers in Birmingham, this hard hitting film gets under the skin of guns, gangs and life on road. Those of you who attended BUFF 2008 will have seen 'Hip-Hop Opera', part of the successful Don't Trigger campaign headed up by Raymond Stevenson of Urban Concepts. If anyone can advise what the difference is between an opera and a musical please get in touch.

I could go on with the list of films that are currently in production and about to blow the UK soon - we'll save that for the festival. Speaking of lists, the Guardian newspaper have recently listed Mr Adulthood - Noel Clarke - as the 83rd most influential person in their annual hitlist of the UK's top Media 100. According to Media 100, the Bafta award-winning actor, writer and director has more influence than the current controller of Sky1, the head of E4, the executive chairman of ITV, Miley Cyrus and Johnathan Ross. Food for thought...

BUFF blog (4)

2009-06-30T16:12:00.000-07:00

The gospel truth is that the theme for this BUFF blog was going to be entrepreneurship and the challenges and internal struggle that we all go through day in day out – I can personally vouch for that after the events of the past month. As it turned out, the month started with the final of the Apprentice and the potential end of Gordon Brown. It ends with the death of Setanta Sports and Michael Jackson.

In terms of media stories, each had its merits but when we come to talk about THE story of the year, barring the death of the Queen or Barack Obama, the death of Michael Jackson is probably the biggest news story of the 21st century. On Thursday June the 25th, Jackson was at his LA apartment preparing for his musical comeback, 50 concerts at London’s o2 arena when he suddenly stopped breathing and never regained consciousness. And with that, the end of an era in popular culture. Arguably the world’s greatest entertainer, his influence more powerful even in death then when he was alive. On that same day I had just woken up from a rather long siesta and ended up watching the BBC’s Question Time and rather ironically, its’ presenter David Dimbleby was announcing that Jarvis Cocker would be on next week’s panel. As you maybe aware Jarvis and Jackson have previous if we are to recollect what happened at the Brits. And then came the newsflash…

Spent most of the night getting over the initial shock thanks to Dotun Adebayo MBE on BBC Radio 5 live and then started to brainstorm (as most entrepreneurs do). I had more reasons than most to brainstorm given that in an earlier life, yours truly was part of the ‘Nights to Remember’ film festival, a cross between This Is Your Life without the guest and Big Brother showing you your best bits. In amongst the brainstorming I shared my thoughts with several peers and acquaintances including Quincy Jones jnr (QD3), son of Quincy Jones, synonymous with the success of Michael Jackson in the glory years. So there I was, delaying my grief for Michael Jackson (and still am), and putting my energies into organising a tribute. Watch this space for further updates including whether I’ll actually go ahead with the tribute.

Lest we not forget about the festival – many thanks to all those who have submitted their film entries, keep them coming in. We apologise for the confusion regarding the address. Naturally, as the organisation continues to grow, so do our resources. For the moment, we are teaming up with 4front Films who are helping us process the films. Please go to the website http://www.buffenterprises.co.uk/ where you’ll find full details about how to enter and where to send your film entries to. You can also keep up to date with the latest buff tweets at www.twitter.com/buffenterprises

You can also find us at www.myspace.com/britishurbanfilmfestival

The 2009 British Urban Film Festival - Call for Submissions

2009-06-04T03:00:00.000-07:00

For immediate release:

Buff Enterprises is teaming up with voluntary organisations, film agencies and local authorities to launch the 2009 British Urban Film Festival – bringing together independent filmmakers from across the country to submit their own films. In return, organisers of the festival, scheduled for later this autumn, plan to offer free cinema tickets to the public in what’s been dubbed ‘credit crunch cinema’, to ensure that the widest possible audience gets to see the showcase of films on offer.

A DVD screener, EPK, plus a non-refundable entry fee of £25 is applicable to film-makers wishing to submit a short film, documentary or feature-length movie. All cheques are to be made payable to ‘Buff Enterprises Ltd’. Please send all materials, plus a cover letter, to

British Urban Film Festival 2009, Buff Enterprises c/o 4front Films, 27 ITHICA HOUSE, ROMFORD ROAD, LONDON E15 4LJ

More information can be found by visiting www.withoutabox.com/login/8182

Editor’s notes:

The British Urban Film Festival was first established in 2005 to profile creative work in an important and emerging genre which is not otherwise regularly seen in the capital’s cinemas.

The 2008 festival was supported by the National Lottery through the UK Film Council and Film London Regional Investment Fund for England. For more information visit www.filmlondon.org.uk

The 2008 festival was also supported by the London borough of Tower Hamlets, independent film website thescreen.biz and by other partner organisations in the London boroughs of Newham and Hackney (4front Films, Black Chilli Productions and Ewav Works).

Press Contact:

Buff Enterprises (Press Office)

+44 8712 885 785
info@buffenterprises.co.uk

BUFF blog (2)

2009-05-31T14:53:00.000-07:00

Official. This is the 2nd edition of the gospel truth, taking a look at the most powerful institution ever created - the media - and putting its' own spin on things. Previously on this blog, the discussion focused on Britain's Got Talent and the issue about Susan Boyle's buffness. Needless to say, it did become a factor, ultimately as although she overcame adversity to reach the final, Diversity triumphed. Never has a truer phrase been spoken of late. Everything about Diversity spoke a lot for the UK and although I confess to not having watched a single episode of the UK's most watched television programme in 5 years, my confidence in the british people has been partially restored. Talent prevailed in the end, and the majority of the 10 million votes, cast from the 19 million people who watched seemed to agree.

Whilst we're on this talent theme, the British Urban Film Festival - one of the newest additions to London's social calendar - has just launched its' campaign to find 'the next adulthood'. Why Adulthood? Well it says so on its' website. That aside, if you were asked to explain to the man in the street one film that sums up the British Urban Film Festival, it would be Adulthood. Released last summer, Adulthood was one of those rare things in cinema, a successful british sequel, core to its' roots. Even more rare was the record 4.2 billion dollars British films took at the world box office last year. Quantum of Solace, Mamma Mia and The Dark Knight - the three biggest successes - alone contributed £100 million to the UK economy just by filming in the UK. According to figures released by the UK Film Council, a third of cinema admissions last year were for UK films. Speaking to those who work on the British Urban Film Festival, I know that there's an emphasis to champion UK talent and British directors. You'll be surprised to hear that interest for this year's festival has come from far and wide: America, Canada, Holland, Poland, Cuba, Greece, Italy, Spain, Norway and Russia. One hopes that this balance can be re-dressed and judging from some of the UK films currently in production, it looks like the festival will be spoilt for choice this year.

One of the hits from last year's festival was Billy Blaze, a mockumentary which centered around a fictitious rapper from Newcastle and his plans to make it big (Think Alan Partridge and Vanilla Ice rolled into one). The film was well received by press and audiences alike and is the brainchild of Daily Mirror journalist Jessica Grace Mellor. Who needs the South Bank Show when you've got the British Urban Film Festival championing the best that the UK has to offer?

BUFF blog (1)

2009-04-27T15:12:00.000-07:00

How many times can one tell the gospel truth? The aim of this blog is to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the gospel truth, well 99.9% of the truth, which means that whatever gets published here cannot be misconstrued in any other way than what you are actually reading and the context with which one takes acceptance of the truth. Now that we've got that out of the way let's get on with it...

Working for Buff Enterprises, the parent company of the British Urban Film Festival means that you get to find out the inner workings of those that provide the driving force behind this juggernaut of a company. Admittedly, I work for BUFF on a freelance basis, however, my curious nature led me to investigate the concept of launching a free film festival in the middle of a credit crunch - bound to work surely? The timing was extremely fortuitous - so I was told - however, a marketing campaign supported by the actor Ashley Walters, the now defunct New Nation newspaper, the Tower Hamlets local authority and the Film London agency meant that the inaugural British Urban Film Festival was attended by over 400 people (3 weeks before Christmas) including a sprinkle of press journo's, actors, free alcohol and some very talented film-makers. And the way this recession is going, many people will not find going to the cinema a necessity unless they have good reason to...

It does seem at the moment that people are still flocking to the cinema and with award-winning British films like Slumdog Millionaire rinsing Hollywood and elsewhere it looks like we're in the middle of a golden age for British filmmaking. Adulthood has also been a groundbreaking film, confounding observers not only by making money but by managing to reach out to a mass audience which had failed to grasp the nettle in terms of young black people and this idea that they couldn't effectively tell stories which reflected who they were. Observers and film-makers alike will have noticed the zeitgeist that seems apparent and it's whether they will tap into it or break out with something even more groundbreaking for an ever eager audience...

Speaking of conformity, the debate surrounding Susan Boyle and her reluctance to have a makeover regarding her appearances on Britain's Got Talent will bring a wry smile to the many people who worked on the first 2 series of The Search for BUFF - a reality-TV-talent show just like Britain's Got Talent, difference being we were extremely blatant in our search for beauty. To define someone or something as beautiful (or buff) is down to looks - to the extent that viewers of the show were asked to vote in to decide how buff the people we interviewed were. Many people who were interviewed on the Search for BUFF commented that it was more about what was on the inside than the outside and maybe that is the case with Susan Boyle. So why does she need a makeover? One suspects that Britain's Got Talent was created as an anti-thesis to the beauty contest that is The X Factor. However, the public have spoken - thanks to Twitter and Youtube - and now Susan Boyle has created a moment similar to a scene in the film The Truman Show where Jim Carrey suddenly realises that he's been watched by society. Society is watching what the producers of Britain's Got Talent are going to do with one of the most famous members of the public in the world at this moment. Will she be allowed to wallow, literally, in her own skin or will she have to be buffed up because society demands so...