Off-Set: Real

OFF-SET

RE

o Premiered at BFI London Film

Festival 2019

o Nominated Best First Feature at Pan African Film Festival 2019

INTERVIEW WITH Writer, Director and Producer Aki Omoshaybi with Pippa BennettWarner, lead actors of Real

What does ‘Black love’ mean to you?

Pippa: I think ‘Black love’ is underrepresented in film and television

OFF-SET

AL

and I’m always saying to myself ‘we fall in love too!’ it’s not just white people.

What are your favourite representations of ‘Black love’ on screen?

Aki: Set It Off (1996), Fruitvale Station (2013) and Moonlight (2016). These films all have so much depth and all kinds of love whether that be romantic or family. Pippa: I’m gonna go with The Best Man (1999) and Love And Basketball (2000).

There is a notable absence of fathers in Real. The scene where you carry the boy on your back – was that symbolic?

Aki: I’ve never had a father figure in my life. It’s just been women and I wanted to show women, especially Black women in >>

(l-r) Pippa Bennett-Warner: Aki Omoshaybi

all different stages of their life. Yes, the scene at the end was symbolic – I wanted that last image to stay with the audience, so somehow it would seep into society seeing a happy Black family on screen rather than all the injustices.

How did you transition from working as an actor to taking on roles behind the scenes?

Aki: If I’m honest, I didn’t want to direct it because I didn’t have the knowledge and hadn’t been to film school and we had 12 days. But the director dropped out and I didn’t have a choice because no one wanted to direct a film with a budget of £50K. So I stepped up, I learnt an awful lot on the job and just had to go with my gut.

How do you feel about the roles that are available to Black women working in TV and film?

Pippa: We don’t have the access that white women do. We also don’t have period dramas, which in this country are a huge part of white actresses’ trajectories. I do think there’s been some movement but there needs to be more.

The chemistry between you both in Real is so engaging – do you have any plans to work together again in the future?

Aki: Yes, absolutely! We’ve made a pact that anything I do; Pippa will be a part of it in some way. She took a risk with Real – she didn’t know me, she definitely didn’t do it for the money. It was purely for the collaboration and the character, which I feel is vital for Black creatives. We don’t always get the same funding or the resources. Even if it’s not your type of film, pull up! Because hopefully that’s when we’ll get more funding and we’ll be able to tell more of our varied stories.

Pippa: Oh, I have absolutely said to Aki that he is to put me in everything he makes from now on – even if I’m playing a tree in the back of shot. Hannah Shury-Smith

Real is released in UK cinemas on 11 September from Verve Pictures.

PIPPA BENNETT-WARNER AKI OMOSHAYBI

A FILM BY AKI OMOSHAYBI

VERVE PICTURES PRESENTS A SMALL LONG PRODUCTIONS FILM IN ASSOCIATION WITH FIZZ AND GINGER FILMS AKI OMOSHAYBI PIPPA BENNETT-WARNER ‘REAL’ MUSIC BY LUIS ALMAU EDITED BY REBECCA LLOYD DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY MICHAEL EDO KEANE PRODUCED BY AKI OMOSHAYBI EXECUTIVE PRODUCER NICHOLAS BRYAN AKI OMOSHAYBI WRITTEN & DIRECTED BY AKI OMOSHAYBI