In this blog, ICO film programmer Heather McIntosh discusses the newly implemented Introducing… slot in our Virtual Screening Days event, a curated selection of short films highlighting work by exciting creative voices from underrepresented groups, and our Programme Advisors speak about the films they decided to put forward for this second edition of the programme.
Our Virtual Screening Days event aims to help cinemas find the best films to serve their numerous audiences. Within the event, the ambition for our newly implemented Introducing… slot is for it to be a place of discovery. In this curated programme of shorts, we aim to highlight new and interesting creative voices. In looking beyond the release calendar for fresh, and perhaps as-yet-unrecognised talent, we hope these films will connect with audiences who are potentially not already being sufficiently served or represented in cinemas. For our second edition of the programme, we are thrilled to present highly-acclaimed, award-winning works from filmmakers Abraham Adeyemi, Fateme Ahmadi, Asmita Shrish, Vinnie Ann Bose, Jessie Currie, and Joseph Douglas Elmhirst.
We chose to specifically highlight the work of directors of colour and disabled filmmakers this time round, as we know that works by both demographics of creatives often get overlooked in the sector. Our selections were guided by Programme Advisors Alex Usborne, Caroline Wilson, Qila Gill, Jonathan Ali & Lisa Harewood, without whose suggestions, expertise and insight we would not have been able to put such a strong programme together.
We hope that cinemas will strongly consider platforming, and making space for, some of these exciting new voices in their programmes. While diversity and representation are important to consider, these films are impressive and unique in their own right. They should not be programmed merely tokenistically, but with real audience engagement in mind, focusing specifically on a reciprocal relationship with marginalised and underserved communities.
I hope you enjoy the films as much as I did. Over to our Programme Advisors to speak more about why they chose to put this work forward…
Alex Usborne, 104 films
Introverse, dir. Jessie Currie
Over the past 15 years I have been involved in developing disabled film talent through my company 104 films. What has driven this work is the belief that the different experience of disabled people brings a difference to their creative expression and that this difference is a wellspring of new and fresh creativity. Our task at 104 films is re-engineering the creative process to enable this different voice.
Over the past few years we have discovered the powerful and unique voice of the neurodiverse community and built tools to allow this creativity to flourish. Together with Biggerhouse Film we produced 29 short films with new neurodiverse filmmakers through our We Are Neurodiverse project.
We made three films with director Jessie Currie – who we consider an outstanding new talent – and I’ve selected her second film Introverse to be screened in this programme. Jessie is neurodiverse and has two neurodiverse children whom she home schools. While the film is a love poem to her autistic son celebrating his difference as a gift of rare beauty, it’s also a glimpse into the different perceptions of the neurodiverse. We’ve noticed that our neurodiverse filmmakers often begin with texture, pattern and impulse and then find connections that seem hidden to the ‘normal’ world. What has been joyous has been screening these films to neurodiverse audiences – their delight in seeing their own difference reflected back at them has been very powerful – and I hope that in Introverse you are able to touch the beauty of difference.
Caroline Wilson, UNDR LNDN
No More Wings, dir. Abraham Adeyemi
The iconic Morley’s is the location for this story about two South London childhood friends, Jude and Isaac. Jude (Parys Jordon/Tyrus Mckenzie) and Isaac (Ivanno Jeremiah/Joshua Cameron) reunite as adults at a crossroads of divergent realities for a traditional six wings and chips. Adeyemi weaves in flashbacks of their teenage noughties Morley’s days with their adult careers of Isaac, a ‘big city boy’, buying his first home outside of the area and Jude, still in SE18 endz, working night security shifts and facing the responsibilities of fatherhood.
The discussion point of No More Wings lies in the connection between the present and past. Jude, we discover, was a brainy, aspiring football player but just failed to have the focus and drive to succeed beyond his environment. Jude still presently thinks ‘there is no place like home’, whereas Isaac consciously since childhood had a bigger vision and solid focus.
Adeyemi in his script doesn’t judge his characters, just displays through this case study the path of their choices. It’s not black and white. Both friends still display affection for each other as we ask how many more meals they will continue to have before their paths draw them further from each other. Is their Morley’s tradition the only thing they have in common now? Genuine centered performances accompanied by a spot on soundtrack created a familiar landscape for me. I really enjoyed this short film and the layered script is appreciated more through multiple viewings.
What Is Your Brown Number?, dir. Vinnie Ann Bose
The power of a funny animation. In less than five minutes Vinnie Ann Bose’s graduation film (which took nine months to make) tackles the controversial subject of colourism in India through humourous snapshot vignettes.
The film opens outside of a delivery waiting room and the anticipation of finding out the ‘brown number’ of the newborn. The innocent baby, dark-skinned (‘brown number 80’), is then confronted with the societal prejudices that have held mindsets in bondage for centuries in India. Bose’s power as a storyteller is mixing the truth with the funny. Golden details such as the ‘Save The Brown Child’ poster in the maternity waiting room and each character having their brown number written on their face add to the satirical layers. The animation design of grounding black and white sketching with pigmented-focused colour is used intentionally, perhaps a metaphor on what society colours as important.
India has a widely known caste system and the film looks at how inherited prejudice has caused limitations for many in the classroom, with marriage prospects and self-confidence. India’s obsession with chasing whiteness, Bose is sure to mention, is a 270 billion rupee market. So who benefits from continuing to promote the fair-skin narrative? I have been a fan of this short film for a couple of years and share it regularly with my friends online. It always sparks joy and further discussion. This is short storytelling at its best – educating and entertaining. A feel-good family animation with a real message!
Jonathan Ali & Lisa Harewood, Twelve30 Collective
Mada, dir. Joseph Douglas Elmhirst
In Mada, a family fumble their way towards accepting difference within one of their own. Set on Jamaica’s verdant north coast, the film revolves around three characters: Faith, her mother Ethel, and Faith’s young son Luther, who all live together. Faith is a hotel chambermaid, while Ethel grows agricultural produce for sale in the market. Luther, not yet at school, roams around the countryside, his beloved rag doll for company.
This doll is a source of tension between Faith and her mother, a symbol of a deeper, unspoken reality. Ethel fears that Luther might be gay, and she wants Faith to do something about it. Specifically, she wants Faith to take the doll away. ‘Just buy him a toy truck,’ she says. Adding, ‘Start sending him to church.’ Religion plays a vital role in Jamaica, and Ethel prays fervently for Luther to grow up and be a good provider for his family—including of children. But she also has a genuine concern for the boy’s welfare, and the fate that could befall him in a deeply homophobic society.
Elmhirst realises all of this through a naturalistic style, relying less on the machinations of plot and more on an immersive atmosphere, as well as understated, almost dialogue-free performances from his cast (all first-time actors) to carry his story. This is a poignant film, one that refuses to condemn its characters for the difficult decisions they make, while at the same time pointing to a hopeful, more compassionate future.
Qila Gill, film producer and programmer
Chandra, dir. Fateme Ahmadi, Asmita Shrish
There’s a lack of representation of the Nepali community as part of the South Asian diaspora here in the UK. It’s unfortunate to see a population of over 60,000 not being highlighted, especially with the Gurkhas playing a huge role in serving the British Army during the colonisation period. Mindful of this part of history, I wanted to spotlight a Nepali director/writer talent that has been in the periphery of the UK film industry for many years but has been eminently ignored.
Asmita Shrish is a well versed international filmmaker with films like Chandra being funded by Busan International Film Festival and winning Best Newcomer Script. Her other films have won Best Documentary and among others, screened at Locarno Film Festival, Palm Springs International Film Festival and London Short Film Festival. Asmita has a great sensitive eye when addressing themes around culture and I admire the intuitive and tender care she has towards the subject of her films. As a programmer, I am interested in this delicate gaze a director has and how it translates into their films. I hope the screening of this film will spark up a more in-depth and nuanced conversation around opportunities within the industry for communities that for too long have been overlooked.
Thank you to all our Programme Advisors for contributing to this piece. Virtual Screenings Days runs online from 15-18 March 2021. To stay up to date with news of our next Screening Days event, sign up to our newsletter here.