BFI Presents: JUDAS AND THE BLACK MESSIAH – To celebrate the UK release of Shaka King’s JUDAS AND THE BLACK MESSIAH, the BFI and Warner Bros. Pictures have collaborated to offer audiences the chance to immerse themselves in this vital and compelling film via a series of online events and expertly curated content.
Going live over 3 days from Tuesday 9th March, audiences will be treated to virtual discussions with members of the cast and crew, a film collection specially curated by Shaka King for subscribers to BFI Player, and spoken word poetry content from collective Poetic Unity in collaborationwith We Are Parable, available exclusively on BFI Player.
Special events premiering for free on BFI YouTube will include:
· JUDAS AND THE BLACK MESSIAH CAST & DIRECTOR Q&A with Shaka King, Daniel Kaluuya, LaKeith Stanfieldand Dominique Fishback, hosted by Akala – Tuesday 9th March, 7pm
· CREATING THE LOOK OF JUDAS AND THE BLACK MESSIAH with Charlese AntoinetteJones (Costume), Rebecca Woodfork (Hair), Sian Richards (Make-up), hosted by Matimba Kabalika – Tuesday 9th March, 8pm
· THE JOURNEY TO SCREEN with Shaka King and producer Charles D. King, hosted by Amon Warmann in partnership with NME – Wednesday 10th March, 7pm
· DANIEL KALUUYA IN-CONVERSATION, hosted by Akua Gyamfi in partnership with The British Blacklist – Thursday 11thMarch, 7pm
Available from Wednesday 10th March, ‘SHAKA KING SELECTS’ will feature the director’s top choices from the Subscription section on BFI Player.Including titles such as A PROPHET (Jacques Audiard, 2009), which King dubs one of his favourite moviegoing experiences ever; MOTHER (Bong Joon-ho, 2009) – King’s favourite end to any movie, or what he refers to a “God level tier filmmaking”; and thefilm that made King want to work with LaKeith Stanfield, and SHORT TERM 12 (Destin Daniel Cretton, 2013). The collection of 8 titles is available to subscribers of BFI Player (14-day free trial then £4.99 a month), alongside hundreds of other classic and contemporary films, with new titles being added every week. Also, on BFI Player from Thursday 11th March, a freecollection of shorts featuring Daniel Kaluuya.
ABOUT “JUDAS AND THE BLACK MESSIAH”
Inspired by true events, “Judas and the Black Messiah” was directed by Shaka King from a screenplay by Will Berson & King, story by Berson & King and Kenny Lucas & Keith Lucas. Ryan Coogler and Charles D. King produced the film with Shaka King. The executive producers were Sev Ohanian, Zinzi Coogler, Kim Roth, Poppy Hanks, Ravi Mehta, Jeff Skoll, Anikah McLaren, Aaron L. Gilbert, Jason Cloth, Ted Gidlow, and Niija Kuykendall.
The film stars Oscar nominee Daniel Kaluuya as Fred Hampton in a performance that recently earned hima Golden Globe Award, and LaKeith Stanfield as William O’Neal, as well as Jesse Plemons, Dominique Fishback, Ashton Sanders and Martin Sheen. The ensemble cast also includes Algee Smith, Darrell Britt-Gibson, Dominique Thorne, Amari Cheatom, Caleb Eberhardt and Lil Rel Howery.
BFI Presents: JUDAS AND THE BLACK MESSIAH – You can rent the movie premiere of Judas and the Black Messiah at home from 11th March.
Identity is a complex matter. We carry multiple identities externally and internally. Celeste Bell and Paul Sng co-direct the documentary Poly Styrene: I am a Cliché as a revealing portrait of Bell’s mother, the punk vocalist Poly Styrene, told by way of Bell’s memories, Poly Styrene’s journal entries, interviews, and stories told by music and punk luminaries such as Kathleen Hanna, Neneh Cherry, and Thurston Moore.
Poly Styrene comes through not just as a trailblazer—something already known by those familiar with the history of punk rock—but as a multilayered individual, the very antithesis of a cliché.
Bell opens Poly Styrene by narrating, “My mother was a punk rock icon. People ask me if she was a good mom. A ‘good mom?’ My mom would ask. ‘How banal, how mundane.’” The viewer is immediately introduced to just two of the competing identities Poly Styrene wrestled with, famous musician and mother. Many more identities become apparent in the course of an hour and a half. Poly was born Marianne (Marion) Elliot to a Somali father and an English mother.
As a mixed-race child, she felt like the ultimate outsider—not white, but not black enough. Growing up in a council estate in Brixton, she had plenty of time for self-invention given that her mother was usually at work and her father mostly absent. She started out as a hippie but then saw the Sex Pistols perform live, and as was the case with many outsiders, found the ideal community within which to express herself artistically and carve out her own identity. Punk offered possibilities.
She took on the persona of Poly Styrene, both as an anti-hippie statement and an anti-consumerist statement: “I had done that whole way of travelling around and living in harmony with nature. There was so much junk then. The idea was to send it all up. Screaming about it, saying: ‘Look, this is what you have done to me, turned me into a piece of Styrofoam, I am your product. And this is what you have created: do you like her?’” (from the Jon Savage book, England’s Dreaming).
Poly headed one of the most innovative bands of the English punk scene. X-Ray Spex featured Poly, a mixed-race woman as vocalist, and Lora Logic, a female saxophone player. The sound was an exciting hybrid of The Sex Pistols, Roxy Music, and early Stooges.
Rock personas, as David Bowie discovered, have a way of overwhelming the creators of those personas. The commanding power, exhilaration, and adoration gained onstage by the persona often contrasts with a fragile human being trying to find themselves. Following a record deal, exposure on Top of the Pops, and a New York tour, Poly was never the same.
She began to use harder drugs, had a quasi-breakdown in John Lydon’s bathroom, and began feeling the effects of bipolar disorder—illness and rock fame destroyed the careers of Syd Barrett and Ian Curtis, to name just two. Poly had to kill the persona and break up the band if Marianne were to survive. She metamorphosed her identity once more. She crafted a solo music career with a softer sound and became a devoted Hare Krishna. Her new persona took on a new name, Maharani.
While Poly Styrene’s life makes for compelling viewing, what puts this documentary over the top is Celeste Bell’s recounting of her own life. Rarely do we get the perspective of the children of rock stars. Bell’s honesty shines through when she admits that as a little girl her mother’s outfits embarrassed her, and she often felt jealous when her mother devoted her time to music. Creative individuals do not make ideal parents. Bell’s difficult childhood and her mother’s struggle with mental illness led to periods of alienation between the two. What we gain from Bell’s documentary is a wonderful sense of her own diverse identities—daughter, musician, author, and director.
In the song “Identity,” Poly sings: “Identity is the crisis can’t you see?” Poly’s mixed race along with the presence of the National Front in England made her very aware of her identity from an early age. There is also something about fame that makes one very aware and insecure about their identity. The choice of Poly Styrene as a name was both a conscious critique of the disposability of pop stars and the role artificial beauty standards played in the packaging of female musicians by the music industry.
Even while critiquing the standards imposed on women, Poly was hit by the insecurity that comes with such standards. She at times felt uncomfortable by her body type and the corrective braces on her teeth. Celeste Bell and Paul Sng have gifted us both an intimate narrative of Poly Styrene as mother and a moving tribute of Poly’s musical significance.
Poly Styrene was at the forefront of those who challenged suffocating notions of how women could express themselves vocally and in terms of their looks in the rock world. Poly, at times, felt immense pressure over being the archetypal woman-of-color-pioneer. There were many Polys—mother, mixed-race, hippie, punk vocalist, poet, social critic, and spiritual seeker. The one identity that cannot be denied, whether she willingly chose it or not, is inspiration. As Neneh Cherry succinctly puts it, “I started singing because of Poly.” Surely, Neneh Cherry was not the only one.
The EE Rising Star Award Nominees Are Here! – The five nominees for the renowned EE Rising Star Award, now in its 16th year, were announced as part of a virtual event livestreamed from the elegant setting of The Savoy, London.
Hosted by BAFTA Chief-Executive Amanda Berry OBE and film broadcaster Edith Bowman, 2014 EE Rising Star nominee George MacKay (1917) announced the highly anticipated nominee shortlist for 2021 via livestream for the first time in the Award’s sixteen-year history.
The British line-up of five nominees have each demonstrated their phenomenal skills in film over the past year, allowing the public and film industry experts alike to escape the every day and explore the world of film. Public voting is now open at ee.co.uk/BAFTA and the winner will be revealed at the EE British Academy Film Awards on April 11th 2021.
The EE Rising Star Award nominees for 2021 are:
BUKKY BAKRAY is a multi-award-nominated actress who received critical acclaim for her debut lead performance in breakout hit Rocks, directed by Sarah Gavron. As well as her nomination for the EE Rising Star Award, she has received nominations from the British Independent Film Awards (BIFA) and London Critics Circle, and has been longlisted in BAFTA’s ‘Leading Actress’ category for 2021. She is part of this year’s BAFTA Breakthrough programme and has been named as a rising star to watch by Time Out and Dazed 100. Bukky’s passion for acting continues to grow having completed a year-long course as part of RADA Youth Company. She is currently enrolled on Theatre Peckham’s Originate Acting Course, where young performers receive specialist actor training with top-tier drama schools, Guildhall School and RADA, and industry professionals.
Bukky Bakray commenting on her nomination, said: “I honestly feel so blessed to be recognised so early on in my career. I still can’t believe this, I’m not sure I ever will either. All the warmth and love from BAFTA and EE is beautiful and I’m grateful. Thank you.”
CONRAD KHAN is best known for his highly acclaimed role as Tyler, in Henry Blake’s 2020 feature film, County Lines. A performance that has earnt him a BIFA nomination for ‘Most Promising Newcomer’ as well as Screen International Star of Tomorrow. Conrad’s first role came in 2016 as a young Chris Hemsworth (Eric) in The Huntsman: Winter’s War, and he has most recently been cast as a lead in the final series of the BAFTA award-winning Peaky Blinders, opposite Cillian Murphy and Paul Anderson.
Conrad Khan, commenting on his nomination, said: “‘A huge thank you to BAFTA for this nomination! I am so excited and proud to be in such great company – the EE Rising Star Award is something I never would have even dreamt of at the start of my career. I am really looking forward to being part of this year’s awards. It is an honour.”
KINGSLEY BEN-ADIR is the breakout star of Regina’s King’s directorial debut film One Night in Miami and has been making headlines with his captivating portrayal of Malcolm X. The film has received three Golden Globe nominations, with Kingsley picking up the prestigious ‘Breakthrough Actor’ Award at the Gotham Independent Film Awards and the ‘Breakthrough Performer’ by the New York Film Critics (NYFCO). He has also been longlisted in BAFTA’s ‘Leading Actor’ category for 2021. Kingsley’s career started on the stage, in plays including Mark Rylance’s Much Ado About Nothing at The Old Vic. On screen, he most recently starred opposite Zoe Kravitz in the Hulu series High Fidelity; played a co-lead role in the third series of the Brit Marling Netflix series The OA; played Colonel Ben Younger in the BBC/Netflix drama Peaky Blinders; and starred in films The Commuter, King Arthur: Legend of the Sword and Trespass Against Us.
Kingsley Ben-Adir, commenting on his nomination, said: “It’s an honour to be picked as a BAFTA EE Rising Star. I have always had great respect for this award and have admired the selection each year, so to be in this category, and to be recognised in this way, means a lot. Thank you.”
MORFYDD CLARK has been singled out by critics for her breath-taking performance in Rose Glass’s award-winning debut Saint Maud. Hailed as the ‘Star of Tomorrow’ by Screen International, Morfydd was identified by The Guardian as the ‘Breakout Star’ of the 2019 festival circuit and has gone on to win the London Critic’s Circle Award for ‘British/Irish Actress of the Year’, be nominated for a BIFA award in the category of ‘Best Actress’ and has also been longlisted in BAFTA’s ‘Leading Actress’ category for 2021. Morfydd appeared as both ‘Dora Spenlow’ and ‘Clara Copperfield’ in Armando Iannucci’s The Personal History of David Copperfield, and as ‘young Jane’ in Craig Robert’s Eternal Beauty opposite Sally Hawkins in 2020. She is currently in New Zealand filming a lead role in Amazon’s The Lord of the Rings.
Morfydd Clark, commenting on her nomination, said: “I’m delighted and disbelieving that I have been nominated for such a prestigious award by BAFTA and the EE Rising Star jury, thank you to all who compiled the list of nominees. I am honoured to be recognised amongst this group of talented, British actors. It has been a difficult year for many people and I hope the next few months will bring hope and a brighter future for the arts.”
ṢỌPẸ́ DÌRÍSÙ is quickly establishing himself as an internationally renowned actor, showcasing a range of disciplines across film, television and theatre. Dìrísù can currently be seen on Netflix in Remi Weekes’ horror/thriller, His House, which earned him ‘Critic’s Choice Super’ and BIFA award nominations for ‘Best Actor’, and in the SKY/AMC series, Gangs of London. Previous film credits include war drama, Sand Castle, The Huntsman: Winter’s War, as well as Ariel Vromen’s sci-fi thriller, Criminal. On television, most notably, Dìrísù was seen in AMC’s Humans and in Netflix’s series, Black Mirror, for which he received the ‘Rising Star Award’ for the Screen Nation Film and Television Awards. He has been selected as a Screen International ‘Star of Tomorrow’ and in 2017 received a Commendation at the Ian Charleson Awards for his performance as Coriolanus at the Royal Shakespeare Company. Ṣọpẹ́ is currently in Ireland shooting a lead role in Mr Malcolm’s List. Upcoming releases include Mothering Sunday with Olivia Colman and Colin Firth, Tim Felhbaum’s Berlinale Special Tides and Silent Night with Kiera Knightley and Matthew Goode.
Ṣọpẹ́ Dìrísù commenting on his nomination, said: “The history of the EE Rising Star Award is full of such exceptional and inspirational talents and I’m so grateful to both EE and BAFTA for considering me amongst them. I’m properly delighted for all my fellow nominees for being recognised in what can only be described as a difficult and challenging year for everyone across the world.” This year, the EE Rising Star Award jury panel was tasked with selecting the five nominees from a comprehensive list of up-and-coming talented actors and actresses. For the first time in the Award’s history, this took place virtually, where the jury passionately discussed which five longlisted nominees would go head-to-head in the public vote, ahead of the EE BAFTA Film Awards for 2021. The jury was chaired by BAFTA Chair and award-winning television producer, Krishnendu Majumdar, producer and director Anand Tucker, actors Naomi Ackie, Jo Hartley and Alicia Vikander, casting directors Leo Davis, Nina Gold and Lucy Bevan, Creative Director Gaylene Gould and other leading industry specialists and entertainment journalists.
Edith Bowman, EE Rising Star Award broadcaster, said: “It is an honour to once again announce the nominees for the EE Rising Star Award, this year feels more special than ever. I am always astonished by the calibre of talent which are presented every year, and the five shortlisted nominees for 2021 are no exception, with their breath-taking ability to tell stories and transform into a character who the audience trust and believe in. As always, this is the only award which the British public can have their say and vote for their winner. I for one can’t wait to find out who film fans across the country are most invested in and want to see take home this incredible accolade.”
Pete Jeavons, Marketing Communications Director at BT & EE, added: “Despite the changes the film industry has faced over the past 12 months, we are delighted to still be able to celebrate the talented actors and actresses who have graced our screens – who make up the shortlist for 2021. It’s a real honour for us to play a part in recognising emerging talent each year in partnership with BAFTA, and this year’s nominees are amongst those who have gripped the nation with their performances. I urge everyone to watch their films this year and can’t wait to discover who the public decides will win this incredible award for 2021.”
Emma Baehr, Executive Director of Awards & Content at BAFTA, said: “Recognising and supporting creatives is at the heart of everything we do at BAFTA and it is particularly exciting to see talent shortlisted today who have been previously supported by our BAFTA Breakthrough programme, part of our year-round work to showcase emerging and under-represented talent. We’re so delighted to be working with EE once-again to present this fantastic shortlist of performers and proud to see new British talent flourishing across the industry.” Hosted from The Savoy, London, The EE Rising Star Award announcement continues the venue’s rich connections with the world of performing arts, and underlines its commitment to supporting film, theatre and television in the UK.
EE has been a long-standing partner of BAFTA’s Film Awards, working with BAFTA to bring film fans closer to the awards through the magic of technology. Since the partnership began, EE has not only worked with BAFTA to introduce the EE Rising Star Award but also used its award-winning network to create new and exciting opportunities for film fans to be part of the action.
Voting is now open at ee.co.uk/BAFTA and the winner will be announced at the EE BAFTA Film Awards on Sunday 11th April 2021 on BBC One.
Coming 2 America: The BRWC Review: I want to preface this by saying that as a kid 1988’s Coming to America, along with another Eddie Murphy vehicle directed by John Landis, 1983’s Trading Places, were two of the films I remember watching the most religiously. I loved them, and I was especially taken with Murphy’s ability to play multiple roles, which was something he would take even further in 1996’s The Nutty Professor another movie I was a big fan of growing up.
Unlike The Nutty Professor, however, Coming to America mostly seems to have held up and is a film I still enjoy, albeit for slightly different reasons, now that I’m an adult. I have returned to it more than once, and when the news broke that there was going to be a sequel I, like many others I’m sure, felt a sudden twinge of worry.
As a rule, belated sequels to classics, especially comedy classic, very seldom work. There are outliers, of course, like David Gordon Green’s 2018 Halloween reboot, but by and large they are almost always a disappointment. The minute I heard Coming to America was getting the sequel treatment some thirty years after the fact, my mind was cast back to the likes of Anchorman 2, Zoolander 2, and… ugh… Vacation. Was this destined to be another example of a film more interested in placating to the fandom and cruising by on nostalgia than it was telling any kind of coherent, interesting story, or doing anything new and exciting with the characters?
Well, the answer is… sort of all of that?
2021’s Coming 2 America, directed by Craig Brewer, manages, for the most part, to capture the spirit of the original. Perhaps the biggest praise I can give it is that it ultimately winds up feeling like a continuation. Unlike so many of these belated sequels we get, the look and style of the original film is very much on display, and while it may lack Landis’ oddball sensibilities and those peculiar wide-angle shots the director is so fond of, it carries over all of the key elements and as such is consistent.
Moreover, the performances of the returning players, namely Murphy and Arsenio Hall, are pretty much on point. This isn’t a case of actors forgetting how to play their characters. Instead, everyone here seems to be genuinely happy to have come back, and all of them seem to be fully embracing the opportunity to throw on those old clothes and have another go around. Even the likes of James Earle Jones, who returns to play Akeem’s father, King Jaffee Joffer, gets stuck in, and appears to be enjoying the chance to play the character, so fearsome and in control during the first movie, as an older, quieter version.
Likewise, many of the new cast, including Jermaine Fowler’s Lavelle Junson, Leslie Jones as his mother Mary, and Tracy Morgan as Uncle Reem, all seem to be ecstatic to be a part of the film. Wesley Snipes is perhaps the least effective, although his presence alone is funny enough to paper over the cracks in the character. The love the cast and crew so clearly have for the original film really does seep through the screen, and that goes a long way in terms of making sure that Coming 2 America, at the very least, feels like a celebration than it does a cynical cash-grab.
Unfortunately, there are moments where the film falls into the traps so many other belated sequels have. It has a frustrating tendency to rely on cameo appearances, which seem to exist solely so the audience can recognize the person and not as a way to deliver any kind of meaningful joke. This is a problem that plagues the likes of Anchorman 2 and Zoolander 2 as well, and it ultimately winds up being distracting more than anything.
It also struggles to know what to do with its side characters. While the original film had fun in showcasing both Murphy and Hall’s skill as performers as well as utilizing the opportunity to create a charmingly funny yet somewhat realistic portrayal of New York life, the sequel wastes the potential possibilities afford by its premise and the comedic talents of its performers and instead resorts to a far more generic approach. Jones and Morgan are given little to do beyond show up and be themselves, and even then, the opportunity to find the amusement in these larger-than-life personas juxtaposed against the aristocratic and traditional backdrop isn’t fully utilized.
However, what the film does best is serve as a commentary on itself. There is an interesting metanarrative taking place in Coming 2 America that manages to both explore an older Prince Akeem (now King) dealing with something that he is completely unequipped to deal with – politics, responsibility, and fatherhood – and, through the character of Akeem’s some, Lavelle, use an interesting and timely plot about traditions verses morals to comment on the nature of films such as Coming 2 America itself.
It’s by no means perfect, but as far as belated sequels go it’s definitely one of the better ones I’ve seen. I had fun, and that was a pleasant surprise. Ultimately, I enjoyed spending time with these characters again, and I enjoyed meeting some of the new ones. If you’re a fan of the original, then there’s a lot here that’ll please you and the nostalgia alone will be enough to keep you sweet, if you’re new to the world then it works on its own as an interesting, modern story about some genuinely important topics.
Vivienne Westwood Edition: Bits & Pieces – “Billie Eilish: The World’s A Little Blurry” tells the true coming-of-age story of the singer-songwriter and her rise to global superstardom. From award-winning filmmaker R.J. Cutler, the film offers a deeply intimate look at this extraordinary teenager’s journey, at just seventeen years old, navigating life on the road, on stage, and at home with her family, while writing, recording and releasing her debut album “WHEN WE ALL FALL ASLEEP, WHERE DO WE GO?”
Set in Brighton,JUSTINE examines the search to find love and a sense of belonging in a chaotic world. It is a collaboration between Jamie Patterson, director of the award-winning Tucked, and BAFTA Cymru-winning writer Jeff Murphy (Hinterland, One Way To Denmark). The was been nominated for this year’s BIFA Raindance Discovery Award.
Samuel Van Grinsven’s stylish debut feature is an uncompromising exploration of sex and social media. Powerfully intense and visually stunning, this bold and energetic coming-of-age tale features a breakout performance from Conor Leach, who plays the teenager Sequin.
The film won the Audience Award for Best Feature at the Sydney Film Festival and has played to wide acclaim around the world, including Outfest and Toronto International Film Festival.
Bulldog Film Distribution announces the release of MOUTHPIECEdirected by Patricia Rozema (Mansfield Park, Into The Forest),available in virtual cinemas and on demand from 12 March. MOUTHPIECE is a powerful, funny and highly original look into the conflicted psyche of a fiercely independent millennial woman, played by two actresses simultaneously – Norah Sadava and Amy Nostbakken. Emmy-winning Canadian writer, director, producer Patricia Rozema wrote the screenplay with Amy Nostbakken and Norah Sadava which was loosely adapted from the acclaimed play by Nostbakken and Sadava.
A streetwise young man becomes a bodyguard to score quick cash. He soon befriends a once disillusioned mercenary determined to make a fresh start with his new wife. Although the two men find themselves working together to foil an assassination attempt, their partnership is short-lived. Through uncontrollable circumstances, they will unknowingly be propelled toward the opposite sides of a deadly confrontation.
Director Doug Roland’s FEELING THROUGH has been shortlisted for a 2021 Academy Award for Best Live Action Short Film, the first film to star a DeafBlind actor. This groundbreaking film is Executive Produced by Golden Globe and Academy Award Winner Marlee Matlin and longtime interpreter/producer Jack Jason and Andrew Carlberg (SKIN, 2019 Academy Award winner for Live Action Short Film). Roland partnered with Helen Keller Services through the making of the film. Feeling Through can be seen on Omeleto and already has over a million views.
Orlando Bloom plays Malky, a demolition worker whose latest assignment is to tear down the church where he was molested by a priest as a young boy. His desire to eradicate the past is made abundantly clear by the physical ferocity with which he handles the assignment. Unfortunately, that past rears its ugly head when Malky meets the now elderly priest at a local pub. This encounter sends the already fragile Malky into an emotional tailspin and has to decide whether to seek revenge against this priest or find another path.
An elite Navy SEAL uncovers an international conspiracy while seeking justice for the murder of his pregnant wife in Tom Clancy’s Without Remorse, the explosive origin story of action hero John Clark – one of the most popular characters in author Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan universe. When a squad of Russian soldiers kills his family in retaliation for his role in a top-secret op, Sr. Chief John Kelly (Michael B. Jordan) pursues the assassins at all costs. Joining forces with a fellow SEAL (Jodie Turner-Smith) and a shadowy CIA agent (Jamie Bell), Kelly’s mission unwittingly exposes a covert plot that threatens to engulf the U.S. and Russia in an all-out war. Torn between personal honor and loyalty to his country, Kelly must fight his enemies without remorse if he hopes to avert disaster and reveal the powerful figures behind the conspiracy.
