TNB XPO 2023 Event Brochure (Xpose)

fILM + TV CHARITY

The Film and TV Charity helps people working behind the scenes in film, TV, and cinema by providing financial, emotional, and practical support, accessed through the Charity’s website or its free, 24/7 Film and TV Support Line – 0800 054 000.

All of the support we offer is available to anyone in a behind the scenes role. However, following the events of 2020, catalysed by the murder of George Floyd, the growth of the Black Lives Matter movement and the global call for much needed change to fight racism, we held our hands up to acknowledge that as a charity we were not doing enough to explicitly support Black and Global Majority people who too often face additional barriers due to systemic structural, and interpersonal, racism.

In 2021 we announced we’d be launching a new £1m flagship programme to support Black and Global Majority led organisations, benefiting Black and Global Majority professionals funding activities and projects that provide access, opportunity and to support those professionals to thrive and grow. We recognise that progress in launching the new programme has been slower than we originally anticipated. We want to ensure we deliver this in the right way, and we are excited to share more with you all in the very near future.

As an organisation, we are still learning from the experts and those who might benefit from our support so we can gain further understanding about what our industry needs, how the programme can have the most impact, and how we can best highlight and celebrate the contributions Black and Global Majority professionals in film, TV, and cinema make.

Our Vision, We want to increase the number of Black and Global Majority industry workers able to progress and thrive in the industry. We will build networks and partnerships with stakeholders at all levels, developing better support, resources, and access for Black and Global Majority professionals by funding activities, generating learning, and identifying opportunities for growth.

For systemic change to happen within our industry, it is important that the programme brings on board major partners as allies, supporters, ae2nd advocates and that it is co-designed with Black and Global Majority professionals with lived experiences at the heart of the process.

We want to thank those who have helped us get this far, and we encourage you to keep in touch with the Charity, sign up to our newsletter, or keep an eye on our socials as we get ready for the programme’s launch.

Declaration of Independence

let’s gather and become the solution to our own problems. Let’s convene and put our hand in our own pockets so that we don’t rely on handouts with advice on commissioning from Pitch’n’Mix and investment from Lion’s Den. We shall do business and find jobs in our Blackmarket and Recruitment Fair in association with the Production Finance Market, Equal Access Network and Creative Skills Academy facilitated by Film London.

Get ahead of the game of upcoming titles for your audiences with BlackTrack and peep the talent of the future with showcases and

Hence, this is all for nought if we don’t help ourselves. This is not for everyone but we want to reach the ‘Black sheep’ amongst us (and not the crabs clawing around in the proverbial bucket) that refuse to pull up the drawbridge but rather put down ladders instead. If you truly believe that there is enough for everyone then come and take your seat at our table.

As we mark our 10th anniversary and move into a new chapter, we are declaring ourselves an institution.

In order to succeed we are ‘raising an army’ so sign up to our membership through our website. It’s free, for us and by us, with support from ‘Black friendly’ institutions that we have given our stamp of approval.

In exchange, your responsibility is to bring your talent, ideas, skills and most importantly your joy, as we move away from ‘divide and conquer’ by the coloniser and unite to ‘prosper and thrive’. However, we need you to share and care about your community as we make a pact to ‘each one, reach one’, teach one.

It is certainly all quiet on the western front when it comes to the battle for change in the UK film industry so that is why we mobilise ourselves and our allies in order to fight the good fight. Yes, I’m using a lot of military metaphors because we are in a war for hearts and minds. The Woman King

and Black Panther are only the beginning of depicting how powerful we are.

So we shall seize this moment as we form an ‘allied attack’ on any forces that come against progress. We have plenty of work to do and we need your help to get there. So welcome to ‘Xposé’, our new publication that documents TNB XPO and charts the journey that will become our legacy. Alongside this event, it will expose the industry for the good and the bad, as we counsel not cancel whilst striving to screen to be seen.

Abi?

Together we rise!

Priscilla Ikonnaya Igwe CEO and Founder The New Black Film Collective

Breaking

“The thing that everyone remembered about the man in the light grey sweatshirt was how composed he was, how polite and respectful. One morning this past summer, he quietly entered a Wells Fargo bank branch in the Atlanta suburbs in a desperate state. But he didn’t curse or even raise his voice. He just calmly relayed the litany of setbacks and obstacles that had led him to an extraordinarily reckless act.”

This excerpt from Aaron Gell’s Task and Purpose article They Didn’t Have to Kill Him: The Death of Lance Corporal Brian Easley, was the inspiration that led to Abi Damaris Corbin’s Breaking (2022). It tells the story of Easley, a decorated marine corps veteran who, upon facing homelessness due to veteran affairs mismanagement, threatens to blow up a Wells Fargo bank as he pleads for recognition of his struggle throughout. Damaris Corbin said, “I read the article when it came out in 2019, and my heart was broken open that this man who so desperately wanted to be heard still really wasn’t. Beyond that, my dad’s a vet, so I recognised a lot of my dad’s struggle with the VA in Brian’s.”

Lead John Boyega (Star Wars [2015-2019], The Woman King [2022]) embodies the same warmth, earnestness and respect that saturates the unconventional robbery.

Throughout the crime, Easley pleads for attention and recognition of his struggle; “What do I need to do to get the attention I need right now? Boyega manages to consistently illustrate Easley’s frustrations while maintaining his compassion and desperation amid powerlessness, which is humanised through Boyega’s relatable and fierce on-screen presence.

Boyega’s research involved meeting Easley’s ex-wife Jessica to learn about who Brian Easley was. Boyega observed, “it’s the accuracy for me of the struggles, and it’s taking in all the complications that made Brian Brian. In this moment, it’s the PTSD on one side, the financial issues, the job issues, finding work. So for me, it was all about the accuracy of what he was suffering and then the accuracy of his human side too, making sure that he’s not just defined by his actions.”

In Damaris Corbin’s feature length debut she emphasises an awareness of the interiority of the Atlanta suburbs, Wells Fargo, that underscores the tension of the area. Damaris Corbin’s understanding of the landscape using the cold, blue, tree lined concrete walls inside of the bank juxtaposed to the warm, brilliant colours on the outside suggests a potential freedom for Easley that will never arrive.

Nicole Beharie

(l-r) Selenis Leyva, John Boyega

Moreover, Damaris Corbin frames Breaking as an edge of your seat thriller, brimming with moody, police procedural cinematography and a tense, humming score that unfortunately gets weighed down by all of these typical and predictable narrative tropes. The result of this becomes a handicap to the sincerity of the storytelling and

However, those who have read They Didn’t Have to Kill Him: The Death of Lance Corporal Brian will undoubtedly understand Breaking as a tragedy. An illustration of the failures of the American government system and a clear example of the understanding for how African Americans are treated within said system.

is a tragedy that often focuses on the written word. The honesty and transparency that finds its loudest junctions amidst its interactions with language. A text message shared between hostages, or Easley verbalising his threat on pen and paper, encourages us to keep reading between the lines and understanding what people are actually trying to do and say.

Jack Hewitt

Behind the scenes with Black Britain Unspoken

In 2022, Warner Bros. Discovery invited Black British storytellers, filmmakers, and creatives to share experiences and perspectives of being Black and British, with the chance to pitch, produce and release a short unscripted film on discovery+ during Black History Month.

During this panel we will hear from the team behind Black Britain Unspoken (BBU), industry partners and one of last year’s filmmakers about the creative process of the programme.

Hosted by TV and radio presenter, Yinka Bokinni.

The panel includes:

Clare Laycock (SVP Head of Content, Networks & Streaming, WBD UK & Ireland)

Benjah Pozi-Quansah (Social & Digital

Photo credit: (l-r) BBU Series1

Tee Cee, Richard Ampeh, Sheila Kayuma

Hearing that BBU has been commissioned for a second series brings me great joy as the impact it’s had on my confidence has been immeasurable. The creation of ‘The Nod, Tell Me You Got Me’ is the single most important moment in my journey as a creative. Taking part in BBU has proven to me that there is a space for Black people that wish to tell stories that aren’t focused on negative stereotypes or Black trauma. BBU has given me confidence as a Black creative, and a great reference point for anybody interested in seeing what I can do.

Benjah Pozi-Quansah Social & Digital Manager, Creative & Production at Warner Bros. Discovery

After George Floyd’s death, Warner Bros. Discovery wanted to do something different for the following Black History Month. We wanted to create new opportunities for Black filmmakers to commission new diverse short films on discovery+ with Black representation at the forefront; it was important that this initiative was grassroots so all of the creative decisions stemmed from key Black leaders and employees within the business and thus, with the help of The Media Trust, Black Britain Unspoken was born. I’m so excited that last year’s BBU films all made it to discovery+, premiered at the RTS convention and were received so positively within and outside the business. I’m really proud to be working for a company that promotes diverse storytelling and gives emphasis and support to such important initiatives. I can’t wait for the exciting stories that will come out of Black Britain Unspoken S2.

At Media Trust, we believe it’s by giving everyone a voice that we’ll get to a more equitable society. That’s why we’re so pleased to be working with one of our longeststanding corporate partners to offer unique access and opportunities to our network of emerging talent, whilst supporting Warner Bros. Discovery to elevate the voices of Black British creatives on the d+ platform.

From our 30-year history of supporting, mentoring, training and platforming creatives from underrepresented backgrounds across the UK, we are acutely aware of just how much hidden talent there is in Britain and the need to support this talent in telling their own stories. I am extremely glad that ‘BBU’ has been commissioned for another series, and that Media Trust will be the charity partner for a second time around!

What makes this initiative unique is not just the unprecedented levels of support BBU inspired from across the entire Warner Bros. Discovery organisation but the fact that Warner Bros. Discovery also committed to platforming the films on a major streaming service. It’s rare that our fantastic network of talent gets an opportunity for this extent of public exposure, not to mention getting their films premiered at the RTS London convention, in front of some of the industry’s most respected figures! Bring on BBU2!

Daisy Church Screen Industry Programme Manager & Content Producer, Media Trust

Bisi Goes to Nollywood : Queer Filmmaking in Nigeria

Bisi Alimi is a storyteller, activist, and the Founder and Executive Director of the Bisi Alimi Foundation, now diving into the world of film production. Alimi’s Foundation works to accelerate social acceptance of LGBTQ+ people in Nigeria.

Like other public figures, were you forced to come out?

I was the first person to come out on national television in Nigeria. And that was still at the beginning of my acting career. But that also meant it was the end of my acting career in Nigeria… After that I never had the chance to go back on set, my character was killed off. I couldn’t get any scripts. I couldn’t get a commission for anything. And it was a very dark, difficult time. When you spend four years in a university perfecting your craft and that gets taken away from you, not because of any evil thing that you’ve done, but because you dare to be authentic. That was painful.

Are the prospects better in the US, with other successful people/projects such as RuPaul, Moonlight, and Pose?

In theatre, and in cinema, a lot of people watch RuPaul…and Moonlight [in Nigeria], even people who are not queer. Even going back, if we take race out of the question, I discuss with Nigerians who happen to be my age range and we’re talking about seeing Brokeback Mountain in Nigeria. That’s something that I love about cinema and theatre, the power to cut across biases, prejudice, and make people watch things, if they can let themselves be.

That’s why I set up my production company. I want to start creating authentic African stories that talk about not just the pain but the totality of being a queer person on the continent of Africa. What I just don’t like is… the sexualisation or commercialisation of our pains that sells to Western cinemas. The West doesn’t want to see us fulfilled, the West doesn’t want to see us falling in love.

Black queer cinema talks about Black love and Black joy, [but] it’s not the ideal unless it’s about rejection, about adversity, about family pain, but that’s not who we were. I want to pull the cover up, and talk about their pride, their courage, their enthusiasm for the future. It’s not all about, “my parent rejects me, I’m kicked out of my home.” There is a market for it, a huge market for it, and that is the reason I have come into this setup. To tell the stories from the continent.

Do you feel that you’re safe? Or do you feel that your life is in danger while you’re in Nigeria?

Safe is a very relative word. When people ask me that question, I ask them, [do] they ask that question because they think that I’m safe here? People ask that question because they feel like the UK has some form of security for me. I’m not safe here, I’m a Black queer man, in a country that has antisemitism problems, racism, homophobia, xenophobia. I want to build a community around hope and not around the fear of, you know, “Oh my

god if you go to Nigeria you’re going to get killed.” I can get killed here, I can get locked up here just for being Black, and I think that sometimes people miss that. So I make safety my desire, I desire to be free. It doesn’t mean that I am safe or I am free, I walk towards it, I build structures around me to be free and to be safe.

Do you feel art and activism go hand in hand?

Oh yes, they do, they do. I mean, tell me, what has changed abroad. A lot of revolutions start from outside the cinema. People will go to the cinema to watch a movie, and they get extremely inspired by what they’re seeing on screen, and start a revolution. So I don’t think there is a difference between our ability to sit down and watch a movie and our ability to get out in the streets and demand for change.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Andrina George and Sarah Edwards

MISSING

Upon the release of Aneesh Chaganty’s Searching (2018), it appeared that filmmakers had crafted an entirely new, cheaper found footage alternative. Films such as Unfriended (2014), Host (2020), or Spree (2020), taking place entirely on someone’s twitch stream or (almost always) MacBook screen, saturated cinemas with a camera that remained still, as opposed to found footage’s shaky camera fetish.

Nonetheless cyber-horrors, scrutinising the real life horror of information readily at our fingertips, proved ineffective at being the next big thing. Producers, determined to pervade the genre with demonic metaphor instead of honest thrill, failed to see the potential.

However Missing (2023), a sequel to Chaganty’s cyber thriller, offers a glimmer of hope, trading saccharine horror for true-crime obsessed drama. John Cho’s David Kim, whose in-world fame post-Searching has granted him his own Netflix special Unfiction, provides the only connective tissue between Searching and Missing outside of the formal gimmick.

Missing follows Riley (played by Storm Reid, A Wrinkle In Time [2018] and Twelve Years A Slave [2013]) as she tracks the disappearance of her mother (Nia Long), and the hyperbolised relationship TikTok and Facebook conspirators have in solving real crimes and swaying public opinion. “Working with Miss Nia Long was a dream,” says Reid. “She is a legend who has paved the way for young Black talent like me, and to work with someone like that is a blessing.” Screenwriter Sev Ohanian is less concerned with shedding light on social media’s investigative competency, but the detriment unlimited information has on influencing real tragedy.

Ohanian’s screenplay, and Nicholas D. Johnson and Will Merrick’s (the editors of Searching) direction, frame Missing from a fatalistic lens. The entire film takes place from a fixed, second person perspective leading to a general effect of voyeurism; the equivalent of a two sentence horror story about the FBI man living in your computer camera. “When we worked on Searching, we made so many storytelling decisions in the editing room that we proved we could do it – we knew how to tell a story like this,” Johnson said. “We were creatively involved in Searching from the very beginning, and I think that is what gave the studio the faith in us to give the opportunity to direct Missing.”

The camera doesn’t place the spectator in the perspective of the protagonists: rather, the spectator is forced to endure; constantly onlooking, it recontextualises how an otherwise reductive, familiar narrative operates. Frequently, the camera zooms in and out to focus on specific clicks, deletes, texts and FaceTimes, but one such dolly zoom towards the third act emphasises the

voyeurism and restructures Missing’s entire perspective in a spine chilling way.

Therefore, framed from a second person perspective, it is up to Reid to compel the audience. The juxtaposition between Reid’s deft understanding of the technology and Cho’s clueless technological blindness characterise Missing’s runtime. Reid comments, “we live in a social media era. Everything is on our phones. All information is at the tips of our fingers. To experience a movie where you’re using all of the social media platforms that people usually use to solve a mystery is a magical combination.”

The three dots of a message being typed, liking an iMessage — a cause of everyday tension at the best of times — here achieve an even greater pressure under Reid’s commanding performance and forcing the audience to ‘look out’ of the screen instead of in. If Searching is an illustration of those who technology is leaving behind, Missing is a parable on those who are perhaps a little too invested.

Jack Hewitt

Retire or Fire?The Fate of the Diversity Hire!

Over the last couple of years, more and more companies are implementing diversity hire schemes, with an increase in headlines claiming “the first [insert demographic] to….” on front-page news.

The death of George Floyd in 2020 spurred a global social justice movement; Black Lives Matter, which highlighted the historical and ongoing structural inequalities for anyone who isn’t a straight, white, cis-gendered man or woman. It highlighted the continual issue that the stories we primarily see are mostly from the perspectives and experiences of only two types of people, causing structures to be built mainly around supporting the abilities of some and blocking others. Because of this, companies globally started to invest millions into diversity and inclusion such as hiring Chief Diversity Officers (CDOs). However, many

companies are simply conforming to “what’s popular” without understanding the need to hire diversely, consequently causing more harm than good.

Speaking with friends who are queer, nonbinary, neurodivergent people from all areas of the world, most of whom work in media (myself included) about the topics of ongoing structural inequalities, I found that despite people having more on-screen representation, offscreen there are still very few people like us.

“Companies are trying to meet their quota without understanding the needs of the people they’re getting in, and without making the workplace safe for those people. I’ve been in companies who are getting more queer people in - but getting queer people into a space surrounded by people who aren’t accepting of their queer identity is really harmful.”

However, the issue at hand is far more deeply ingrained than we thought. A recent Forbes article shows that “an alarming number of corporate CDOs stay less than two years” due to the lack of respect, regard and appreciation for their position.

Amongst the many on the list, we see that former Director of Creative Diversity (BBC) - June Sarpong, Festival Director (Sundance Institute) - Tabitha Jackson and Diversity Manager (BFI) - Deborah Williams, lasted no longer than three years.

And these women were not alone. As the BBC Annual Report reveals 23.9% of BAME or minority staff lasted less than a year in comparison to their white counterparts, 78.1% of whom lasted longer than a decade.

On top of that, diversity schemes are also being cut as they’re not considered revenuegenerating. However, the research shows that “increased diversity in staff leads to increased innovation, resiliency and profitability” which is supported by McKinsey & Company’s 2020 report showing that “companies in the top 25% of social and gender diversity are more likely to have stronger financial returns”. June Sarpong spoke to Variety about her experience at the BBC stating there was “a

lot of scrutiny” around her role as Director of Creative Diversity, as she received “a barrage of racist tirades and abuse” during her three years. However, she spoke proudly of her work securing the £100 million diversity and inclusion initiative which is said to be the “biggest financial investment to on-air inclusion in the industry”. In regards to the BBC’s Staff Exodus, she says “change doesn’t happen overnight, it takes time…if we’re going to effectively represent all of our audience, then we need to make sure that we are in the room, even sometimes when it’s difficult to be in that room”.

Hiring diversely is a step forward in the right direction- but it is just one step. The next needs to be opening up the conversation with a group of diverse people and being willing to listen and learn in order to make the necessary internal, and external, changes.

Phoebe Hares

Tabitha Jackson

SUPPORTING EMERGING DOCUMENTARY TALENT

The Whickers fund original and innovative documentary using the generous legacy of pioneering broadcaster Alan Whicker, to support emerging film and audio documentary makers across the globe.

Up to £150,000 available annually via the Film & TV, Radio & Audio Funding Awards and our new international bursary scheme.

whickerawards.com

@whickerawards

Image: Film & TV Award Winner 2020, Akuol de Mabior admiring her trophy

uNDER NEW MANAGEMENT

Kem Anyanwu is Founder of Kemystery Management and has been trailblazing within the entertainment and talent management industry. Anyanwu’s management works to be at the forefront of changing systems, building opportunities both local and global in the industry. She presents the Africa Calling online panel at TNB XPO with Michelle Bello, Chioma Ude, Chichi Nwoko and Bisi Alimi (see p.1618).

What inspired you to get into talent management and focus on representation?

As a Black British woman, knowing that Britain is only 4% Black, I had to move to the US quite early in my career because there were more opportunities for us there. I progressed through time and I was doing in-house event photography at CAA, so became friends with a lot of the agents.

After Covid, I ended up moving on my own but spending a lot of time with the Lit department, so I was learning about representation in different areas— from writers, directors, show runners… I realised it was [preparing] me to launch and do what I ended up doing. I realised there was a need particularly in Africa, and ended up organically finding my way to Lagos where I’ll be the first Western management agency, boots on ground, in Nigeria.

What was it like going into the world of talent management?

Being a Black British woman with a very long Nigerian name there was always apprehension, you always have to sell a bit harder, present a bit harder. But having these conversations around how I identify and

present, what I learnt was to be a chameleon. As I’ve travelled and understood the culture in America and the UK, and now learning in the Nigerian market… I’m able to connect dots, to find a way for us to navigate and thrive in spaces we’re not always invited.

Did you find that your gender and race impacted the pace at which you could expand?

Absolutely. There should be enough value in me knowing how to do my job rather than having to lean into my femininity, but I did find that I’d have inappropriate comments made. It’s just about not paying too much attention to it. Just be operating in excellence, operating in integrity, and operating in kindness, even if people are being unkind.

What do you feel that the main differences between the US, UK and Nigeria are in terms of how they represent themselves?

Kem Anyanwu

Instead of talking about the differences, I want to highlight what we have in common. We all want the opportunity to win, we all want to share our own stories, without the dictation of the other markets. My goal is to discuss what we can do to support each other. One thing that the industry appreciates about Nollywood is that we’ve been able to produce films with very low budgets that audiences love. But let’s see more money invested here and more partnerships, so we can do more and do better. So it’s going to be an onward conversation and an onward journey but one we should take together.

What can the West learn from Pan-African cultures that will improve the way that we connect and learn from each other?

I think we need to listen. There are so many unusual stories that haven’t been told from the African diaspora. We’ve just got to have an open mind and take chances on people. Let’s hire the best person for the job and make sure we’re looking in different places to work with new production companies. My hope is that we start to take more chances on Blackowned production companies where we can see all stories told.

What does the future of representation look like to you? How can we advance the way representation is conveyed within media?

I think it’s more hands on, more management and agent partnerships. I always say, “how can I serve you?” and that’s not a question we ask often. When I learned to stop telling people what I needed from them and asked them how I could serve them, it changed the way I do business, and my perspective of the entertainment industry.

You can’t expect to represent a market you’re not connected to. I encourage people I meet to experience Nigeria for themselves, come to the African International Film Festival and indulge in the content, be inspired or do a coproduction with an African based production company; learn from someone who has a different opinion to you. To represent the star client we should be invested in the journey with them, protect and represent them.

I look forward to Africa being known for having the best behind the camera talent as well as their on-camera talent.

Jasmine Bernard-Brooks

Chioma Ude

Chichi Nwoko

Onyeka comes to netflix

Meet Tọlá Okogwu, author of the fantastical Onyeka adventure series consisting of Onyeka and the Academy of the Sun (2022) and Onyeka and the Rise of the Rebels (2023).

Will Smith and David Oyelowo have teamed up to produce a film adaptation of Onyeka and the Academy of the Sun for Netflix.

Tọlá will be in conversation live at the TNB XPO to celebrate the publication of the second book in the series, Onyeka and the Rise of the Rebels and the process of taking the first book from page-to-screen.

Tell us a little bit about Onyeka and the Academy of the Sun and the story of how you came to write this stunning and original superhero story.

Onyeka and the Academy of the Sun is about a twelve-year-old girl called Onyeka who discovers one day after saving her best friend from drowning that she has psychokinetic hair. Her mother reveals that she’s actually a Solari, a genetically enhanced human with superpowers, and whisks her off to Nigeria and a secret high-tech school for Solari called the Academy of the Sun. Whilst there she makes new friends and enemies, and she must find the power within her to defeat a deadly foe that threatens her family and the future of all Solari. The idea for the story came from a simple question—’what would happen if a young Black girl discovered that the afro hair she’d been taught to see as a flaw was in fact her greatest strength?’

Onyeka has always struggled to make her voluminous Black hair fit into her community’s

expectations—until the day she discovers her curls have psychokinetic powers. How do you hope readers, especially Black children, relate to Onyeka?

I hope when they discover Onyeka, that they see their fears, hopes, weaknesses and strengths represented. I hope Black children especially see themselves reflected in a way that is positive and inspirational. A world where their Blackness is front and centre but isn’t the entirety of the story.

Do you have a special person in your life who inspired Onyeka? Do you see any of yourself in Onyeka and her drive?

Onyeka is actually named after my youngest daughter, whose Igbo name is Onyekachi. I have a habit of naming characters after my children.

Hena J. Bryan

Whilst Onyeka and my daughter share a stubborn streak, I do think there’s a lot of me in Onyeka. The same struggle with my hair and identity, all whilst trying to figure out my place in the two very different cultures I inhabited growing up; Nigerian and British.

Onyeka and the Academy of the Sun is set in 2025, and this world presents Nigeria as a green super-power, driven by an immense network of solar energy. Can you tell us a bit about this alternative future setting?

Yes, the book is set in a near future but alternate history Nigeria that’s powered entirely by solar energy. It’s a powerful nation with advanced technology and I was excited by the challenge of re-imagining what Nigeria would be like if certain historical events were changed. The

greatest challenge was making sure I properly represented the culture and people. Nigerians are some of the most innovative and joyful people you’ll ever meet.

Onyeka and the Rise of the Rebels is the second book in the series. Without giving too much away, what can we expect from Onyeka next?

Onyeka and the Rise of the Rebels follows Onyeka and her superpowered friends as they race against time to save themselves and the Solari. It’s a thrilling, action packed story about friendship, and resilience. But perhaps most importantly, it’s a story about accepting yourself as you are and owning your power. I hope Onyeka’s journey to discovering her power will help others discover theirs too.

Chevalier

Chevalier is an upcoming biopic chronicling the life of Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de SaintGeorges; born to a slave in Guadeloupe, he rose to the upper echelons of Parisian society as a violin virtuoso, once described by John Adams as “the most talented man in Europe.” The film depicts his challenges as a Black man in 18th century France, alongside heated professional drama, love affairs and grand ambitions. Bologne finds himself competing with Mozart, navigating the court of Mary Antoinette, dodging older suitors and pursuing a married one, while chasing his ultimate dream: becoming the next leader of the prestigious Paris Opera. Unfurling adjacent to his personal turmoil is the wider political context approaching the French Revolution, which toppled the country’s monarchy and would inspire slave rebellions in French colonies.

Whereas Bridgerton opted for creative licence and colour-blind casting, Chevalier boasts historical accuracy. The eponymous lead is played by Kelvin Harrison Jr. (recent roles include Fred Hampton in The Trial of the Chicago 7 and B.B. King in Elvis), who delivers an imperfect protagonist - he flaunts the Chevalier’s cocky, competitive side, while allowing his charisma and refusal to cower to prejudice shine through.

The idea that hit Harrison hardest is that Joseph lived his life for the approval of others. Harrison observes, “Joseph has trouble trusting people and for good reason. But his inability to lead with an open-heart is his biggest problem. Because that’s ultimately how we are fulfilled, when we stop trying to manipulate ourselves to fit in.” In that way, hair became a major piece of storytelling. Hair and makeup artist Roo Maurice noted, “for the Chevalier’s powdered wig, we tried hundreds before finding just the right look and shape. But the biggest moment is when Joseph embraces his braids in the latter part of the film...they reflect Joseph seeing himself in a new way.”

(l-r) Ronke Adékoluẹjo and Kelvin Harris Jr.

Born in Guadeloupe, the illegitimate son of an enslaved Senegalese woman and a white French aristocrat, Joseph grew up in Paris receiving an elite education while excelling in music and combat sport, yet constantly dealing with explicitly racist attitudes while the slave trade was at its peak. Conflict emerges as a recurring theme; whether having to fend off jealous, bigoted noblemen in a fencing duel, or battling in the more elegant arena of an orchestral stage. Much has been made of the opening scene featuring the latter, in which Joseph clashes with a famed competitor, establishing his musical genius in a world that sees him as sub-human.

Leading a life at the opposite end of the spectrum from Marie Antoinette’s overwhelming power is Joseph’s mother Nanon, played by British actress Ronkẹ Adékoluẹjo. The role became something larger than just one character for Adékoluẹjo; it became a kind of duty to the many who lived this experience. “I felt I had to not only do Nanon justice but to highlight the things she and all her ancestors went through,” she says.

For debut screenwriter, Stefani Robinson ( Atlanta, What We Do in the Shadows), Joseph has been an inspiration since childhood. Robinson says, “his life had so many arcs and it was extraordinarily cinematic. Joseph always felt like a rock star to me.” Director Stephen Williams returns to the big screen for the first time since 1999 following work on premium TV series such as Watchmen, Lost and was drawn to “redressing the imbalances of historical storytelling. I’m very interested in reclaiming the stories of people who led compelling, impactful lives yet have been ignored and dismissed in the larger narrative.”

Chevalier had its world premiere at the 2022 Toronto International Film Festival and was dubbed as “brim[ming] with intrigue, romance, and sumptuous music — turning the spotlight on a brilliant Black artist whose legacy has been woefully obscured.” Its UK premiere was in March 2023, at Glasgow Film Festival, with a theatrical UK release tipped to happen in June.

Abiba Coulibaly

Chevalier is out in cinemas in the UK from June 9 by Disney/Searchlight

BLACK PEOPLE HAVE MARCHED. WE’VE APPEASED. WE’VE SUED. WE’VE COLLABORATED. AND YET, WE ARE STILL NOT SAVED.

One in two Black children in the UK currently lives in poverty. Continuing to rely on the same old tools is not the answer. Today, we must build businesses that create resources we control, that empower and permanently change the world... for good.

SQUAD

TNBFC would like to thank Rico Johnson-Sinclair, Melanie Hoyes, Jennifer Sobel, Geraldine Moloney, Lauren Preteceille, Ijeoma Akigwe, Natalie Tandoh, Paul Bowman, Toyin Ayinde and Laura Rothwell, Negede Assefa and the entire Rich Mix team for their stellar partnership.

Special gratitude to the enduring greatness of Andrina George who has truly been an angel sent from heaven!

Editor – Priscilla Igwe

Assistant Editor – Mark Morgan

Sub-Editor – Luchia Robinson

Graphic Designer – Kadie Jabbie

Graphic Design Assistant – Jack Hewitt

Picture Researcher – Abiba Coulibaly

Editorial Assistants – Jasmine Bernard-Brooks, Abiba Coulibaly

Writers – Phoebe Hares, Priscilla Igwe, Sarah Edwards, Jasmine Bernard-Brooks, Abiba Coulibaly, Andrina George, Jack Hewitt

Principal Partner

Film London

Media Partner

Screen International

Venue Partner

Rich Mix

Supporters

FILM4 ARE PROUD TO PARTNER WITH THE NEW BLACK FILM COLLECTIVE XPO 2023