Applications are now open for the 21st edition of Screen International’s Screen Stars of Tomorrow, our annual portfolio of new talent from the UK and Ireland.
The submissions window is open for one month, from March 6 to April 5, 2024.
Applications are open to UK and Irish citizens and long-term residents of either country. There is no upper or lower age limit, but applicants should be at an early stage in their film career, demonstrate exceptional promise and be ready to progress to the next level.
Applicants should use this Google Form and need to attach a brief bio, a headshot...
The submissions window is open for one month, from March 6 to April 5, 2024.
Applications are open to UK and Irish citizens and long-term residents of either country. There is no upper or lower age limit, but applicants should be at an early stage in their film career, demonstrate exceptional promise and be ready to progress to the next level.
Applicants should use this Google Form and need to attach a brief bio, a headshot...
- 3/6/2024
- ScreenDaily
More than 2,000 figures from the UK’s arts and culture world have signed an open letter calling for the immediate cessation of Israel’s blockade and bombing of Gaza.
“We are witnessing a crime and a catastrophe. Israel has reduced much of Gaza to rubble, and cut off the supply of water, power, food and medicine to 2.3 million Palestinians,” reads the letter. “In the words of the Un’s undersecretary for humanitarian affairs, ‘the spectre of death’ is hanging over the territory.”
The signatories include acting stars Tilda Swinton, Charles Dance, Steve Coogan, Miriam Margolyes, Peter Mullan, Maxine Peake and Khalid Abdalla.
The Israeli action is in retaliation for a brutal terror attack out of Gaza by Hamas on October 7, which killed more than 1,400 people and resulted in the taking of 199 hostages.
More than 2,750 Palestinians are reported to have died in Israel’s subsequent bombing campaign, while electricity, food and...
“We are witnessing a crime and a catastrophe. Israel has reduced much of Gaza to rubble, and cut off the supply of water, power, food and medicine to 2.3 million Palestinians,” reads the letter. “In the words of the Un’s undersecretary for humanitarian affairs, ‘the spectre of death’ is hanging over the territory.”
The signatories include acting stars Tilda Swinton, Charles Dance, Steve Coogan, Miriam Margolyes, Peter Mullan, Maxine Peake and Khalid Abdalla.
The Israeli action is in retaliation for a brutal terror attack out of Gaza by Hamas on October 7, which killed more than 1,400 people and resulted in the taking of 199 hostages.
More than 2,750 Palestinians are reported to have died in Israel’s subsequent bombing campaign, while electricity, food and...
- 10/17/2023
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- Deadline Film + TV
The window opens today (March 1), 2023, and will close on March 31.
Applications are now open for the landmark 20th edition of Screen International’s Screen Stars of Tomorrow, our annual portfolio of new talent from the UK and Ireland.
The window opens today (March 1), 2023, and will close on March 31.
Applications are open to UK and Irish nationals and long-term residents of either country. There is no upper or lower age limit.
Applicants should use the this Google Form and need to attach a brief bio, a headshot and contact details as well as a small statement about why they are applying.
Applications are now open for the landmark 20th edition of Screen International’s Screen Stars of Tomorrow, our annual portfolio of new talent from the UK and Ireland.
The window opens today (March 1), 2023, and will close on March 31.
Applications are open to UK and Irish nationals and long-term residents of either country. There is no upper or lower age limit.
Applicants should use the this Google Form and need to attach a brief bio, a headshot and contact details as well as a small statement about why they are applying.
- 3/1/2023
- by Screen staff
- ScreenDaily
Universal International Studios has struck a first-look deal with Dominic Buchanan and Bennett McGhee’s production company Home Team.
The exclusive deal will see Home Team develop and produce premium TV projects with Uis for the U.K. and global market, with a focus on championing underrepresented creatives, new voices and ground-breaking on-screen talent.
Projects include “Flick,” written by Emilie Robson, an exploration of female friendships set against the coastal backdrop of North East England. Also on the slate is a period fantasy series about the legendary Warrior Queen Mother of the Ashanti Empire, Yaa Asantewaa. Co-created by Kara Smith (“Anansi Boys”), Rienkje Attoh (“You Don’t Know Me”) and McGhee, the series weaves action, magic and drama. Smith also serves as writer on the project, and it will be produced with Attoh’s company So & So Productions.
Dominic Buchanan and Bennett McGhee formed Home Team in September 2020 with backing from Calculus Capital,...
The exclusive deal will see Home Team develop and produce premium TV projects with Uis for the U.K. and global market, with a focus on championing underrepresented creatives, new voices and ground-breaking on-screen talent.
Projects include “Flick,” written by Emilie Robson, an exploration of female friendships set against the coastal backdrop of North East England. Also on the slate is a period fantasy series about the legendary Warrior Queen Mother of the Ashanti Empire, Yaa Asantewaa. Co-created by Kara Smith (“Anansi Boys”), Rienkje Attoh (“You Don’t Know Me”) and McGhee, the series weaves action, magic and drama. Smith also serves as writer on the project, and it will be produced with Attoh’s company So & So Productions.
Dominic Buchanan and Bennett McGhee formed Home Team in September 2020 with backing from Calculus Capital,...
- 11/30/2022
- by Manori Ravindran
- Variety Film + TV
The group encompasses UK agencies The Artists Partnership, Sayle Screen, Sara Putt Associates, The Development Partnership and Be Heard Voices.
London-based talent agency Own It! is the latest company to join The Partnership Group.
The Partnership Group formed in June 2021, and encompasses UK agencies The Artists Partnership, Sayle Screen, Sara Putt Associates as well as production arm The Development Partnership and voice agency Be Heard Voices.
Own It! was created by founders Crystal Mahey-Morgan and Jason Morgan as a way to champion under-represented groups within the arts and creative industries. It started as a publisher, before launching a talent agency arm.
London-based talent agency Own It! is the latest company to join The Partnership Group.
The Partnership Group formed in June 2021, and encompasses UK agencies The Artists Partnership, Sayle Screen, Sara Putt Associates as well as production arm The Development Partnership and voice agency Be Heard Voices.
Own It! was created by founders Crystal Mahey-Morgan and Jason Morgan as a way to champion under-represented groups within the arts and creative industries. It started as a publisher, before launching a talent agency arm.
- 5/5/2022
- by Mona Tabbara
- ScreenDaily
Nominations will close on April 18.
Screen International is delighted to announce that nominations are open for Screen Stars of Tomorrow, our annual portfolio of new talent from the UK and Ireland, now heading into its 19th year.
Nominations open from March 20, 2022, and will close over the Easter bank holiday weekend, on April 18, in the drive to find new actors, directors, writers, producers and heads of department to present to the industry this summer.
Due to the increasing popularity of this talent portfolio, we ask that all submissions now use this Google Form. Applicants will need to attach a brief bio,...
Screen International is delighted to announce that nominations are open for Screen Stars of Tomorrow, our annual portfolio of new talent from the UK and Ireland, now heading into its 19th year.
Nominations open from March 20, 2022, and will close over the Easter bank holiday weekend, on April 18, in the drive to find new actors, directors, writers, producers and heads of department to present to the industry this summer.
Due to the increasing popularity of this talent portfolio, we ask that all submissions now use this Google Form. Applicants will need to attach a brief bio,...
- 3/22/2022
- by Screen staff
- ScreenDaily
Editor’s Note: This project is presented by Amazon Prime Video, and the above video is produced by IndieWire’s Creative Producer Leonardo Adrian Garcia.
Steve McQueen has launched movies at Cannes, Venice, and Telluride. He’s received rapturous reviews calling him “masterful” and declaring his work Oscar-bound. But no premiere compared to his anthology series, “Small Axe,” when it hit the BBC and Amazon Prime Video late last year.
“It’s been tremendous. In fact, it’s quite overwhelming and quite emotional, really,” McQueen said. “I never had a debut like this ever.”
As part of their rollout, the director and co-writer of all five films said he was very fortunate, at a time when many festivals were being canceled, to see “Mangrove,” “Lovers Rock,” and “Red, White, and Blue” premiere at the New York Film Festival.
“I was very happy that our film could give that much joy to people,...
Steve McQueen has launched movies at Cannes, Venice, and Telluride. He’s received rapturous reviews calling him “masterful” and declaring his work Oscar-bound. But no premiere compared to his anthology series, “Small Axe,” when it hit the BBC and Amazon Prime Video late last year.
“It’s been tremendous. In fact, it’s quite overwhelming and quite emotional, really,” McQueen said. “I never had a debut like this ever.”
As part of their rollout, the director and co-writer of all five films said he was very fortunate, at a time when many festivals were being canceled, to see “Mangrove,” “Lovers Rock,” and “Red, White, and Blue” premiere at the New York Film Festival.
“I was very happy that our film could give that much joy to people,...
- 6/3/2021
- by Ben Travers
- Indiewire
Amazon Prime just won a couple of Oscars for their film “Sound of Metal,” and now the streaming service is jumping right into Emmy season with “Beyond the Screen” virtual events and a “Prime Video Presents” podcast to promote their slate of programs from May 1 through June 10. Their events can be found on the Emmys FYC calendar.
Among the programs being promoted by Amazon this season include the sci-fi dramas “The Boys” and “The Expanse”; the Barry Jenkins limited series “The Underground Railroad”; the telefilms “Uncle Frank,” “Yearly Departed,” and “Sylvie’s Love”; the documentary “All In: The Fight for Democracy“; the anthologies “Solos” and “Them”; and the theatrical special “What the Constitution Means to Me.”
Seersvp now for May 10: TV documentary directors for ‘Framing Britney Spears,’ ‘Heaven’s Gate,’ ‘High on the Hog,’ ‘Seduced,’ ‘The Year Earth Changed’ join Gold Derby’s Meet the Experts series
“Beyond the Screen” kicked...
Among the programs being promoted by Amazon this season include the sci-fi dramas “The Boys” and “The Expanse”; the Barry Jenkins limited series “The Underground Railroad”; the telefilms “Uncle Frank,” “Yearly Departed,” and “Sylvie’s Love”; the documentary “All In: The Fight for Democracy“; the anthologies “Solos” and “Them”; and the theatrical special “What the Constitution Means to Me.”
Seersvp now for May 10: TV documentary directors for ‘Framing Britney Spears,’ ‘Heaven’s Gate,’ ‘High on the Hog,’ ‘Seduced,’ ‘The Year Earth Changed’ join Gold Derby’s Meet the Experts series
“Beyond the Screen” kicked...
- 5/3/2021
- by Daniel Montgomery
- Gold Derby
Amazon Prime Video has once again put a pause on its annual in-person Emmy FYC pop-up events space due to the pandemic. But in its place, the streamer has curated a virtual experience, dubbed “Beyond the Screen,” that kicks off this weekend with an evening devoted to the stars, crafts and music of Steve McQueen’s anthology series “Small Axe.”
Variety has the exclusive roundup of the Emmy FYC panels, screenings, podcasts and performances that will kick off Amazon Studios and Prime Video’s campaign starting May 1, and continuing through June 10.
Talent populating the panels, set to be streamed for Television Academy members, include McQueen and John Boyega (“Small Axe”); Barry Jenkins and Joel Edgerton (“The Underground Railroad”), and Karl Urban, Antony Starr, Aya Cash and Jack Quaid (“The Boys”). Other contenders participating include “Solos,” “Sylvie’s Love,” “The Expanse,” “Them,” “Uncle Frank,” “What The Constitution Means To Me” and “Yearly Departed.
Variety has the exclusive roundup of the Emmy FYC panels, screenings, podcasts and performances that will kick off Amazon Studios and Prime Video’s campaign starting May 1, and continuing through June 10.
Talent populating the panels, set to be streamed for Television Academy members, include McQueen and John Boyega (“Small Axe”); Barry Jenkins and Joel Edgerton (“The Underground Railroad”), and Karl Urban, Antony Starr, Aya Cash and Jack Quaid (“The Boys”). Other contenders participating include “Solos,” “Sylvie’s Love,” “The Expanse,” “Them,” “Uncle Frank,” “What The Constitution Means To Me” and “Yearly Departed.
- 4/30/2021
- by Michael Schneider
- Variety Film + TV
Nominations will close in one month’s time on May 1.
Screen International is delighted to announce that nominations are open for Screen Stars of Tomorrow, our annual portfolio of new talent from the UK and Ireland, now heading into its 18th year.
Nominations open from April 1, 2021, and will close one month later on May 1 in the drive to find new actors, directors, writers, producers and heads of department to present to the industry later this year.
Although confined to the UK and Ireland, Screen’s Stars of Tomorrow talent initiative has proved itself to be the global film industry’s...
Screen International is delighted to announce that nominations are open for Screen Stars of Tomorrow, our annual portfolio of new talent from the UK and Ireland, now heading into its 18th year.
Nominations open from April 1, 2021, and will close one month later on May 1 in the drive to find new actors, directors, writers, producers and heads of department to present to the industry later this year.
Although confined to the UK and Ireland, Screen’s Stars of Tomorrow talent initiative has proved itself to be the global film industry’s...
- 4/1/2021
- by Screen staff
- ScreenDaily
Michaela Coel’s BBC/HBO series I May Destroy You was the big winner at the UK’s Broadcasting Press Guild Awards on Friday.
The limited series, about a woman piecing together the events of her sexual assault, won Best Drama Series, beating competition from the likes of BBC/Hulu series Normal People and Sky’s I Hate Suzie. Coel also walked away with Best Actress and Best Writer.
Collecting her gongs, Coel said: “Receiving this from the Broadcasting Press Guild is particularly meaningful to me, because this is awarded by journalists, the best of which scrutinize the topic, their opinion of it, and interrogate both the world and themselves, as writers within it. I can identify with this, particularly because I May Destroy You was inspired by my own experiences of sexual assault.”
Elsewhere, David Tennant won Best Actor for portraying serial killer Dennis Nilsen in ITV’s Des,...
The limited series, about a woman piecing together the events of her sexual assault, won Best Drama Series, beating competition from the likes of BBC/Hulu series Normal People and Sky’s I Hate Suzie. Coel also walked away with Best Actress and Best Writer.
Collecting her gongs, Coel said: “Receiving this from the Broadcasting Press Guild is particularly meaningful to me, because this is awarded by journalists, the best of which scrutinize the topic, their opinion of it, and interrogate both the world and themselves, as writers within it. I can identify with this, particularly because I May Destroy You was inspired by my own experiences of sexual assault.”
Elsewhere, David Tennant won Best Actor for portraying serial killer Dennis Nilsen in ITV’s Des,...
- 3/12/2021
- by Jake Kanter
- Deadline Film + TV
BBC dramas “Normal People,” “I May Destroy You,” and “Small Axe” and ITV dramas “Quiz” and “Des” lead the nominations at the 47th edition of the U.K.’s Broadcasting Press Guild (Bpg) TV and streaming Awards.
“Normal People” is nominated for best drama series (5+ episodes), and stars Daisy Edgar-Jones and Paul Mescal as best actor and actress and for the ‘Bpg breakthrough award.’ “Small Axe” receives nominations for best drama series (5+ episodes), best writer, best actor (Shaun Parkes), best actress (Letitia Wright) and the breakthrough award (Amarah-Jae St. Aubin). Michaela Coel is nominated as best actress and best writer for “I May Destroy You,” which also scores a best drama series nomination in the 5+ episodes category.
“Quiz” is shortlisted for best drama series (1-4 episodes), best actor (Matthew Macfadyen) and best writer (James Graham), while “Des” is nominated as best drama (1-4 episodes) and for best actor.
“Roald and...
“Normal People” is nominated for best drama series (5+ episodes), and stars Daisy Edgar-Jones and Paul Mescal as best actor and actress and for the ‘Bpg breakthrough award.’ “Small Axe” receives nominations for best drama series (5+ episodes), best writer, best actor (Shaun Parkes), best actress (Letitia Wright) and the breakthrough award (Amarah-Jae St. Aubin). Michaela Coel is nominated as best actress and best writer for “I May Destroy You,” which also scores a best drama series nomination in the 5+ episodes category.
“Quiz” is shortlisted for best drama series (1-4 episodes), best actor (Matthew Macfadyen) and best writer (James Graham), while “Des” is nominated as best drama (1-4 episodes) and for best actor.
“Roald and...
- 2/18/2021
- by Naman Ramachandran
- Variety Film + TV
After shockingly being snubbed by the Golden Globes, Michaela Coel’s searing BBC/HBO series I May Destroy You has garnered a bunch of nominations for the UK’s Broadcasting Press Guild Awards.
The limited series, about a woman piecing together the events of her sexual assault, has been nominated for Best Drama Series (5+ Episodes), while Coel herself has been nommed for Best Writer and Best Actress.
Another BBC series, Normal People, has also been recognized by journalists of the Bpg. The Sally Rooney adaptation figures in the Best Drama Series (5+ Episodes) category, while stars Paul Mescal and Daisy Edgar-Jones feature in the acting shortlists, as well as both being nominated for the Bpg Breakthrough Award.
The Crown’s Princess Diana, Emma Corrin, is also up for the Breakthrough gong after she shot to fame in the Netflix royal drama. Small Axe’s Amarah-Jae St. Aubyn is vying for the same prize.
The limited series, about a woman piecing together the events of her sexual assault, has been nominated for Best Drama Series (5+ Episodes), while Coel herself has been nommed for Best Writer and Best Actress.
Another BBC series, Normal People, has also been recognized by journalists of the Bpg. The Sally Rooney adaptation figures in the Best Drama Series (5+ Episodes) category, while stars Paul Mescal and Daisy Edgar-Jones feature in the acting shortlists, as well as both being nominated for the Bpg Breakthrough Award.
The Crown’s Princess Diana, Emma Corrin, is also up for the Breakthrough gong after she shot to fame in the Netflix royal drama. Small Axe’s Amarah-Jae St. Aubyn is vying for the same prize.
- 2/18/2021
- by Jake Kanter
- Deadline Film + TV
In any year, Steve McQueen’s “Small Axe” would be a historic achievement. But in 2020, amid a worldwide reckoning on racial injustice while a pandemic has wreaked havoc on the entertainment industry — blurring the lines between film and TV — this five-part series is an auspicious game-changer.
Shining a light on little-known tales of Black pride and heroism from the U.K.’s Windrush generation, each instalment is set between the late ’60s and early ’80s and features people from the Black diaspora speaking in their own dialects and revelling in their culture. For that alone, “Small Axe” is special, but the themes in each of the interlinked stories still resonate powerfully today.
With the final chapter debuting on the BBC on Sunday, the time has come to rank the series as a whole — a considerable challenge when you consider that while satisfaction may have varied over the films, there isn...
Shining a light on little-known tales of Black pride and heroism from the U.K.’s Windrush generation, each instalment is set between the late ’60s and early ’80s and features people from the Black diaspora speaking in their own dialects and revelling in their culture. For that alone, “Small Axe” is special, but the themes in each of the interlinked stories still resonate powerfully today.
With the final chapter debuting on the BBC on Sunday, the time has come to rank the series as a whole — a considerable challenge when you consider that while satisfaction may have varied over the films, there isn...
- 12/13/2020
- by Amon Warmann
- Variety Film + TV
Steve McQueen’s Small Axe portmanteau of five roughly hourlong films centered on racial issues in second-half 20th century UK wraps up with Education, which, at the end of the day, is what the series is all about: education in terms of the efforts of different segments of the population to begin to understand each other, to cast off ill-informed presumptions and long-entrenched prejudices, creating more opportunities and learning that the “other” should ideally create more possibilities than problems in a newly multi-racial society, if, in the end, citizens can open up to it all. Although British cinema for decades has looked long and hard at class distinctions, investigating racial divides of the past half-century in such a comprehensive way is something quite rare; this alone makes the series something unique. There are takeaways here for every segment of the audience, both domestic and foreign, young and old.
About a...
About a...
- 12/7/2020
- by Todd McCarthy
- Deadline Film + TV
John Boyega Struggles to Change the London Police Force From Within in ‘Red, White and Blue’ Trailer
John Boyega plays a London police officer who believes he can effect change from inside the organization in the new trailer for Steve McQueen’s Red, White and Blue, premiering December 4th on Amazon Prime Video.
The film is based on the true story of Larry Logan, a forensic scientist who yearns to do more with his life. After watching two cops assault his father, Larry decides to become a police officer, an old childhood ambition that’s also “borne from the naive hope of wanting to change racist attitudes from within,...
The film is based on the true story of Larry Logan, a forensic scientist who yearns to do more with his life. After watching two cops assault his father, Larry decides to become a police officer, an old childhood ambition that’s also “borne from the naive hope of wanting to change racist attitudes from within,...
- 11/23/2020
- by Jon Blistein
- Rollingstone.com
Steve McQueen's critically acclaimed Amazon Prime anthology series Small Axe emerges as a set of five films that detail Black life in the UK from the '60s through the '80s, starring A-listers such as John Boyega and Letitia Wright. The installations directly take inspiration from real political and social accounts during a time when discrimination was prevalent, blending drama with actual history. So, what are the real stories? Here's a breakdown of how each episode taps into actual Black British life from decades ago.
1. "Mangrove"
"Mangrove," the first episode, follows the trial of Black activists accused of inciting riots in 1970. Protestors
had been standing up against police harassment of patrons at The Mangrove
, a Caribbean restaurant in Notting Hill that was frequented by Black intellectuals and artists. The nine activists accused, known as the Mangrove Nine, successfully pushed for judicial acknowledgment of racism from the Metropolitan police force.
1. "Mangrove"
"Mangrove," the first episode, follows the trial of Black activists accused of inciting riots in 1970. Protestors
had been standing up against police harassment of patrons at The Mangrove
, a Caribbean restaurant in Notting Hill that was frequented by Black intellectuals and artists. The nine activists accused, known as the Mangrove Nine, successfully pushed for judicial acknowledgment of racism from the Metropolitan police force.
- 11/18/2020
- by Stacey Nguyen
- Popsugar.com
If you’ve seen “Hunger,” “Shame,” or his Oscar-winning “12 Years a Slave,” you know that director Steve McQueen has a singular gift for plunging viewers into his characters’ central nervous systems, even when they’re undergoing sensations you’d just as soon avoid. With “Lovers Rock,” one of five segments in his upcoming miniseries “Small Axe,” that gift is used for delight. It’s a great kick-off for this year’s New York Film Festival, where “Lovers Rock” will be the opening-night film.
A “one wild night” movie akin to “Dazed and Confused” or “American Graffiti,” “Lovers Rock” takes us to a West Indian “Blues party” in 1979 London. As with any such gathering of young people to flirt, dance, and listen to music, there are friendships and rivalries, intra-community and intra-family squabbles and alliances, the promise of love and the threat of violence.
Specifically, for 2020 pandemic audiences, there is...
A “one wild night” movie akin to “Dazed and Confused” or “American Graffiti,” “Lovers Rock” takes us to a West Indian “Blues party” in 1979 London. As with any such gathering of young people to flirt, dance, and listen to music, there are friendships and rivalries, intra-community and intra-family squabbles and alliances, the promise of love and the threat of violence.
Specifically, for 2020 pandemic audiences, there is...
- 11/16/2020
- by Alonso Duralde
- The Wrap
Young love flourishes at a house party in Eighties London in the new trailer for Lovers Rock, the second film in Steve McQueen’s Small Axe anthology, premiering November 27th on Amazon Prime Video.
The clip doesn’t offer much in the way of specific plot points but features a quick montage of party preparations, unexpected connections and confrontations, a little bit of religious guilt, and plenty of music. Per a press release, Lovers Rock, is “an ode to the romantic reggae genre called ‘Lovers Rock’ and to the black...
The clip doesn’t offer much in the way of specific plot points but features a quick montage of party preparations, unexpected connections and confrontations, a little bit of religious guilt, and plenty of music. Per a press release, Lovers Rock, is “an ode to the romantic reggae genre called ‘Lovers Rock’ and to the black...
- 11/16/2020
- by Jon Blistein
- Rollingstone.com
Small Axe Trailer — Steve McQueen‘s Small Axe (2020) TV mini-series trailer has been released by Amazon Prime Video and stars Letitia Wright, Shaun Parkes, John Boyega, Malachi Kirby, Rochenda Sandall, Alex Jennings, Jack Lowden, Micheal Ward, and Amarah-Jae St. Aubyn. Crew McQueen, Alastair Siddons, and Courttia Newland wrote the screenplays for [...]
Continue reading: Small Axe (2020) TV Mini-series Trailer: Great Britain-set Equal Rights Movement Anthology from Steve McQueen [Amazon]...
Continue reading: Small Axe (2020) TV Mini-series Trailer: Great Britain-set Equal Rights Movement Anthology from Steve McQueen [Amazon]...
- 11/10/2020
- by Rollo Tomasi
- Film-Book
‘If you are the big tree, we are the small axe’
Made famous by Bob Marley and the Wailers’ 1973 song ‘Small Axe’, that’s the traditional proverb behind the title for a five-film series by Oscar-winning British director Steve McQueen.
Two of McQueen’s Small Axe films were selected for this year’s Cannes Film Festival and in October, one opened the 64th London Film Festival. Now, all five are coming straight to BBC One and iPlayer in the UK, and Amazon Prime Video around the world. The home release has nothing to do with the pandemic; it was always the plan for these feature-length films with a cast including Star Wars’ John Boyega and Black Panther’s Letitia Wright, to air for a mainstream audience on prime time UK television.
11 years in the making, the five films were funded by BBC Studios and made to celebrate key figures in...
Made famous by Bob Marley and the Wailers’ 1973 song ‘Small Axe’, that’s the traditional proverb behind the title for a five-film series by Oscar-winning British director Steve McQueen.
Two of McQueen’s Small Axe films were selected for this year’s Cannes Film Festival and in October, one opened the 64th London Film Festival. Now, all five are coming straight to BBC One and iPlayer in the UK, and Amazon Prime Video around the world. The home release has nothing to do with the pandemic; it was always the plan for these feature-length films with a cast including Star Wars’ John Boyega and Black Panther’s Letitia Wright, to air for a mainstream audience on prime time UK television.
11 years in the making, the five films were funded by BBC Studios and made to celebrate key figures in...
- 11/10/2020
- by Louisa Mellor
- Den of Geek
If his work on Skate Kitchen and Sollers Point didn’t yet clue you into the immense talents of cinematographer Shabier Kirchner, get ready for one of the greatest achievements in the field this year: Steve McQueen’s five-film anthology series Small Axe. From the immersive, ecstatic Lovers Rock is a Jubilant Portrait of Community”>Lovers Rock to the fiery, urgent Mangrove“>Mangrove, Kirchner brings an immaculate, varied eye to these stories of the West Indian community of London. Now, he’s set to embark on his directorial debut.
Screen Daily reports Kirchner will direct Augustown, adapting Kei Miller’s 2016 novel with a script by Courttia Newland and executive produced by Steve McQueen. Backed by Potboiler Productions and Rathaus Films, as well as BBC Film, the story is set in 1980s Jamaica.
According to the official synopsis, the “story begins when a teacher cuts off the dreadlocks of Kaia, a...
Screen Daily reports Kirchner will direct Augustown, adapting Kei Miller’s 2016 novel with a script by Courttia Newland and executive produced by Steve McQueen. Backed by Potboiler Productions and Rathaus Films, as well as BBC Film, the story is set in 1980s Jamaica.
According to the official synopsis, the “story begins when a teacher cuts off the dreadlocks of Kaia, a...
- 10/30/2020
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
In today’s Global Bulletin, Raindance will premiere 11 National Youth Film Academy short films, Panorama Studios appoints Rajat Goswami, Sky Kids announces the return of legendary Aardman character Morph, Potboiler Productions starts development on “Augustown,” BBC Two’s “Danny Boy” starts shooting and announces casting, Beyond Rights hires Fox vet Connie Hodson and Okre launches digital roundtable series.
Festivals – Exclusive
Raindance Film Festival will premiere 11 short films shot remotely by students of the National Youth Film Academy who worked together throughout the Covid-19 pandemic as part of the Set Ready course initiative. The films will screen in Raindance’s Off-Competition section Oct. 28 – Nov. 4.
Each of the shorts will screen at the Odeon Greenwich with in-person crowds of invited friends, family and crowdfund donors. Four additional films from National Youth Film Academy students will also premiere in the Off-Competition section, selected at the Emerging Brits Industry Showcase in February earlier this year.
Festivals – Exclusive
Raindance Film Festival will premiere 11 short films shot remotely by students of the National Youth Film Academy who worked together throughout the Covid-19 pandemic as part of the Set Ready course initiative. The films will screen in Raindance’s Off-Competition section Oct. 28 – Nov. 4.
Each of the shorts will screen at the Odeon Greenwich with in-person crowds of invited friends, family and crowdfund donors. Four additional films from National Youth Film Academy students will also premiere in the Off-Competition section, selected at the Emerging Brits Industry Showcase in February earlier this year.
- 10/28/2020
- by Jamie Lang and Naman Ramachandran
- Variety Film + TV
Jamaica-set drama will be the directing debut of ‘Small Axe’ cinematographer Shabier Kirchner.
Steve McQueen and BBC Film are to executive produce Potboiler Productions and Rathaus Films’ feature adaptation of Augustown, the acclaimed 2016 novel by Jamaican writer Kei Miller.
It will mark the feature directorial debut of Shabier Kirchner, who was director of photography on McQueen’s anthology series Small Axe.
The novel will be adapted by author and playwright Courttia Newland, who co-wrote two of the Small Axe films – Lovers Rock and Red, White And Blue – with McQueen. Newland was recently named a Screen Star of Tomorrow.
Producers are...
Steve McQueen and BBC Film are to executive produce Potboiler Productions and Rathaus Films’ feature adaptation of Augustown, the acclaimed 2016 novel by Jamaican writer Kei Miller.
It will mark the feature directorial debut of Shabier Kirchner, who was director of photography on McQueen’s anthology series Small Axe.
The novel will be adapted by author and playwright Courttia Newland, who co-wrote two of the Small Axe films – Lovers Rock and Red, White And Blue – with McQueen. Newland was recently named a Screen Star of Tomorrow.
Producers are...
- 10/28/2020
- by Michael Rosser
- ScreenDaily
Jamaica-set drama will be the directing debut of ‘Small Axe’ cinematographer Shabier Kirchner.
Steve McQueen and BBC Film are to executive produce Potboiler Productions and Rathaus Films’ feature adaptation of Augustown, the acclaimed 2016 novel by Jamaican writer Kei Miller.
It will mark the feature directorial debut of Shabier Kirchner, who was director of photography on McQueen’s anthology series Small Axe.
The novel will be adapted by author and playwright Courttia Newland, who co-wrote two of the Small Axe films – Lovers Rock and Red, White And Blue – with McQueen. Newland was recently named a Screen Star of Tomorrow.
Producers are...
Steve McQueen and BBC Film are to executive produce Potboiler Productions and Rathaus Films’ feature adaptation of Augustown, the acclaimed 2016 novel by Jamaican writer Kei Miller.
It will mark the feature directorial debut of Shabier Kirchner, who was director of photography on McQueen’s anthology series Small Axe.
The novel will be adapted by author and playwright Courttia Newland, who co-wrote two of the Small Axe films – Lovers Rock and Red, White And Blue – with McQueen. Newland was recently named a Screen Star of Tomorrow.
Producers are...
- 10/28/2020
- by Michael Rosser
- ScreenDaily
Red, White and Blue, the third and weakest film from Steve McQueen’s Small Axe anthology series to premiere at this year’s NYFF, suffers because of its programmatic narrative, in which a naïve young Black cop experiences firsthand why institutional racism might be a formidable opponent against his reformist attitude. McQueen and co-writer Courttia Newland didn’t manufacture the story out of whole cloth. Red, White and Blue is based on the true story of Leroy Logan, a former Metropolitan Police Superintendent and founding member of the Black Police Association. Before retiring from the force in 2013, Logan fought to change the Met’s internal culture, especially through high-profile cases, like Stephen Lawrence’s racially-motivated murder and the subsequent Macpherson Report, a public inquiry into the police’s handling of the investigation that concluded the Mps was institutionally racist. He was eventually awarded the MBE (Member of the Most Excellent...
- 10/6/2020
- by Vikram Murthi
- The Film Stage
Letitia Wright gives an Oscar-worthy performance as Altheia Jones-LeCointe in Steve McQueen’s Mangrove, shot by Shabier Kirchner
In Lovers Rock (Opening Night Gala selection of New York Film Festival) there is the Blues party, in Mangrove (London’s Opening Night) there are the police raids, protests, and courtroom scenes, and in Red, White And Blue (Main Slate) there is the intimate family dynamics and the harsh reality of being a Black policeman. Shabier Kirchner is the master of filming crowd scenes, the communication of enjoyment, as well as rage in these three films (in the Small Axe anthology), directed by Steve McQueen.
Micheal Ward and Amarah-Jae St Aubyn in Steve McQueen’s Lovers Rock
At the New York Film Festival Making of Small Axe Free Talk presented by HBO with screenwriters Courttia Newland and Alastair Siddons, Mangrove stars Shaun Parkes and Letitia Wright, Steve McQueen and Shabier Kirchner and...
In Lovers Rock (Opening Night Gala selection of New York Film Festival) there is the Blues party, in Mangrove (London’s Opening Night) there are the police raids, protests, and courtroom scenes, and in Red, White And Blue (Main Slate) there is the intimate family dynamics and the harsh reality of being a Black policeman. Shabier Kirchner is the master of filming crowd scenes, the communication of enjoyment, as well as rage in these three films (in the Small Axe anthology), directed by Steve McQueen.
Micheal Ward and Amarah-Jae St Aubyn in Steve McQueen’s Lovers Rock
At the New York Film Festival Making of Small Axe Free Talk presented by HBO with screenwriters Courttia Newland and Alastair Siddons, Mangrove stars Shaun Parkes and Letitia Wright, Steve McQueen and Shabier Kirchner and...
- 10/4/2020
- by Anne-Katrin Titze
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
What distinguishes Steve McQueen’s Red, White And Blue, co-written with Courttia Newland, from their collaboration on portraying a Blues party in Lovers Rock, and McQueen’s Mangrove on the Mangrove Nine, co-written with Alastair Siddons (all three screening in the Main Slate programme of the New York Film Festival), is the use of songs in the soundtrack. Mica Levi is the composer for the extraordinary Small Axe anthology, and here Gloria Jones, Afrika Bambaataa (Planet Rock), Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five (White Lines after Liquid Liquid’s Cavern), Al Green, and Billy Joel mark time and comment on the relationship between Leroy Logan (John Boyega) and his father (Steve Toussaint).
A young Leroy (Nathan Vidal) in school uniform waits for his father to pick him up after music lessons. Two white policemen come up to the little boy to search him and his...
A young Leroy (Nathan Vidal) in school uniform waits for his father to pick him up after music lessons. Two white policemen come up to the little boy to search him and his...
- 10/4/2020
- by Anne-Katrin Titze
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
Red, White and Blue, the third and final installment of Steve McQueen’s Small Axe quintet of films about racial issues specific to Great Britain being world premiered at the New York Film Festival, zeroes in on the ordeal of a young black Londoner set on helping to definitively break the color barrier at London’s Metropolitan Police Force in the early 1980s. Meeting with great resistance both from the vast majority of white Bobbies and his own hard-headed father, Leroy Logan had a very hard time of it, which makes for a compelling story of admirable perseverance, even if it ends up being a rather predictable one.
All three of the entries shown thus far are engaging in their own ways and, best of all, open a window upon characters and ways of life almost entirely ignored in...
All three of the entries shown thus far are engaging in their own ways and, best of all, open a window upon characters and ways of life almost entirely ignored in...
- 10/4/2020
- by Todd McCarthy
- Deadline Film + TV
In “Red, White and Blue,” the fifth and final film of Steve McQueen’s Small Axe anthology, Leroy Logan (John Boyega), a British research scientist, figures that he’s had enough of the lonely work of staring at tissue specimens through a microscope, so he decides to become a member of the London Metropolitan Police Force. At his big meet-the-commission job interview, the conversation dances around the issue of race for about a millisecond until Logan puts it right out there, saying that he’s applying for the job “to combat negative attitudes,” and to be a force for change against “divisions” and “misunderstandings.” The crusty officer in charge looks at him and says “You’re right,” and then adds, “Attempts to interact with your people have fallen quite short.”
He’s sincere, and means well, but the problem he’s referring to — the systemic racism of the British police...
He’s sincere, and means well, but the problem he’s referring to — the systemic racism of the British police...
- 10/4/2020
- by Owen Gleiberman
- Variety Film + TV
The third of five chapters of Steve McQueen’s “Small Axe” miniseries to screen at the New York Film Festival is once again set in the recent past and once again feels like it’s talking about today and tomorrow. “Red, White and Blue” stars John Boyega as an idealistic Londoner in the early 1980s who thinks he can improve the police department from within, only to learn the hard way that reform is no easy task.
Citizens of the United States and elsewhere are currently grappling with the idea of reforming the police versus the idea of abolition. The latter notion suggests that the structures and policies of modern policing have grown so rotten from within — due to white supremacy and unequal justice based on race and class — that starting over is the solution, rather than merely trying to cement the cracks. By the end of “Red, White and Blue,...
Citizens of the United States and elsewhere are currently grappling with the idea of reforming the police versus the idea of abolition. The latter notion suggests that the structures and policies of modern policing have grown so rotten from within — due to white supremacy and unequal justice based on race and class — that starting over is the solution, rather than merely trying to cement the cracks. By the end of “Red, White and Blue,...
- 10/4/2020
- by Alonso Duralde
- The Wrap
While Steve McQueen’s five-film anthology “Small Axe” presents a collage of complementary stories from London’s West Indian community, “Red, White and Blue” plays like a breaking point. The two installments revealed earlier on the festival circuit, “Mangrove” and “Lovers Rock,” both showcase a self-sufficient community navigating the existential threat of institutional racism, but the protagonist of “Red, White and Blue” aims to improve the system by joining it.
Needless to say, that’s no easy task for Leroy Logan (John Boyega), who doesn’t exactly find a welcoming crowd when he becomes the sole Black officer in the Metropolitan Police Force circa 1983, and “Red, White and Blue” finds him at constant odds with his idealism. . The movie is both a ferocious indictment and a call to action that embodies Logan’s cause, even if it’s doomed from the start.
Co-written by British-Caribbean playwright Courttia Newland (who also...
Needless to say, that’s no easy task for Leroy Logan (John Boyega), who doesn’t exactly find a welcoming crowd when he becomes the sole Black officer in the Metropolitan Police Force circa 1983, and “Red, White and Blue” finds him at constant odds with his idealism. . The movie is both a ferocious indictment and a call to action that embodies Logan’s cause, even if it’s doomed from the start.
Co-written by British-Caribbean playwright Courttia Newland (who also...
- 10/4/2020
- by Eric Kohn
- Indiewire
Register to hear from the Stars live on Monday, October 5.
This week Screen International is celebrating its 2020 UK and Ireland Stars of Tomorrow. Watch the video above to see behind-the-scenes of this year’s photoshoot at London’s BFI Southbank in August.
Screen is hosting a live online event on Monday, October 5 at 5pm BST, where you can hear directly from the Stars.
To register for the event, click here
If you would like to ask a question to any of this year’s selection, please email it to ben.dalton@screendaily.com and we will select a few for the live event.
This week Screen International is celebrating its 2020 UK and Ireland Stars of Tomorrow. Watch the video above to see behind-the-scenes of this year’s photoshoot at London’s BFI Southbank in August.
Screen is hosting a live online event on Monday, October 5 at 5pm BST, where you can hear directly from the Stars.
To register for the event, click here
If you would like to ask a question to any of this year’s selection, please email it to ben.dalton@screendaily.com and we will select a few for the live event.
- 10/1/2020
- by Ben Dalton
- ScreenDaily
The hottest up-and-coming actors, filmmakers, and heads of department in the UK and Ireland.
Scroll down for the full list
For the first year, Screen has partnered with a headline sponsor, Amazon Prime Video, alongside returning partners ScreenSkills and the BFI London Film Festival.
Screen International has a highly regarded track record of spotting talent early, and this year’s UK & Ireland Stars of Tomorrow will be following in the footsteps of some of today’s biggest names in film and television, many of whom are BAFTA and Oscar winners and nominees.
From Emily Blunt and Benedict Cumberbatch in the...
Scroll down for the full list
For the first year, Screen has partnered with a headline sponsor, Amazon Prime Video, alongside returning partners ScreenSkills and the BFI London Film Festival.
Screen International has a highly regarded track record of spotting talent early, and this year’s UK & Ireland Stars of Tomorrow will be following in the footsteps of some of today’s biggest names in film and television, many of whom are BAFTA and Oscar winners and nominees.
From Emily Blunt and Benedict Cumberbatch in the...
- 9/28/2020
- by Screen staff
- ScreenDaily
Spanish auteur Pedro Almodóvar’s English-language debut “The Human Voice” and British artist Steve McQueen’s “Lovers Rock” have been added to the British Film Institute London Film Festival.
Almodovar’s short, loosely based on Jean Cocteau’s play, presents a woman on the edge portrayed by Tilda Swinton, who is waiting for her lover to call. It will play in the festival’s shorts program, and screen at BFI Southbank on Oct. 17, accompanied by a pre-recorded introduction and Q&a with Almodóvar and Swinton.
Meanwhile, the festival has added “Lovers Rock”to its ‘Love’ strand. It will screen Oct. 18. The film, alongside “Mangrove,” which opens the festival, is one of five films from “Small Axe” — a five-film anthology created by McQueen for BBC One and Amazon Prime Video.
Co-written by Courttia Newland and McQueen, “Lovers Rock” tells the fictional story of young love and music at a house party...
Almodovar’s short, loosely based on Jean Cocteau’s play, presents a woman on the edge portrayed by Tilda Swinton, who is waiting for her lover to call. It will play in the festival’s shorts program, and screen at BFI Southbank on Oct. 17, accompanied by a pre-recorded introduction and Q&a with Almodóvar and Swinton.
Meanwhile, the festival has added “Lovers Rock”to its ‘Love’ strand. It will screen Oct. 18. The film, alongside “Mangrove,” which opens the festival, is one of five films from “Small Axe” — a five-film anthology created by McQueen for BBC One and Amazon Prime Video.
Co-written by Courttia Newland and McQueen, “Lovers Rock” tells the fictional story of young love and music at a house party...
- 9/24/2020
- by Naman Ramachandran
- Variety Film + TV
The BFI London Film Festival in partnership with American Express has announced that BFI Fellow Steve McQueen’s ‘Lovers Rock’ has been added to this year’s line-up.
Screening on Sunday 18th October across two screenings at BFI Southbank as part of the Lff’s Love strand, the film is an ode to the romantic reggae genre called “Lovers Rock” and to the young people who found freedom and love in its sound.
The film tells a fictional story of young love and music at a house party in 1980. Amarah-Jae St Aubyn makes her screen debut opposite the BAFTAs 2020 Rising Star Award recipient Micheal Ward (Blue Story). Shaniqua Okwok (Boys), Kedar Williams-Stirling (Sex Education), Ellis George (Dr Who), Alexander James-Blake (Top Boy) and Kadeem Ramsay (Blue Story) also star, as well as Francis Lovehall and Daniel Francis-Swaby who make their screen debuts.
Also in news – Ṣọpẹ́ Dìrísù joins Olivia Colman,...
Screening on Sunday 18th October across two screenings at BFI Southbank as part of the Lff’s Love strand, the film is an ode to the romantic reggae genre called “Lovers Rock” and to the young people who found freedom and love in its sound.
The film tells a fictional story of young love and music at a house party in 1980. Amarah-Jae St Aubyn makes her screen debut opposite the BAFTAs 2020 Rising Star Award recipient Micheal Ward (Blue Story). Shaniqua Okwok (Boys), Kedar Williams-Stirling (Sex Education), Ellis George (Dr Who), Alexander James-Blake (Top Boy) and Kadeem Ramsay (Blue Story) also star, as well as Francis Lovehall and Daniel Francis-Swaby who make their screen debuts.
Also in news – Ṣọpẹ́ Dìrísù joins Olivia Colman,...
- 9/23/2020
- by Zehra Phelan
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
Second of McQueen’s ‘Small Axe’ series to play the event.
The BFI London Film Festival has added Steve McQueen’s Lovers Rock to the programme which will run from October 7-18).
It forms part of McQueen’s Small Axe anthology series; the festival opens with Mangrove, another film in the series.
Two screenings of Lover’s Rock will play at the BFI Southbank in London as part of the Love strand on the festival’s closing day, Sunday October 18.
The film tells the fictional story of young love and music at a house party in 1980. It stars newcomer Amarah-Jae...
The BFI London Film Festival has added Steve McQueen’s Lovers Rock to the programme which will run from October 7-18).
It forms part of McQueen’s Small Axe anthology series; the festival opens with Mangrove, another film in the series.
Two screenings of Lover’s Rock will play at the BFI Southbank in London as part of the Love strand on the festival’s closing day, Sunday October 18.
The film tells the fictional story of young love and music at a house party in 1980. It stars newcomer Amarah-Jae...
- 9/23/2020
- ScreenDaily
Earlier in the week, the 2020 incarnation of the New York Film Festival got underway officially, with one part of Steve McQueen’s Small Axe anthology, Lovers Rock, serving as the Opening Night Selection. Having seen it, the movie serves as both a strong start for NYFF this year, as well as a smaller and far less awards friendly selection. That’s not a bad thing, just noteworthy. The film is showcasing something far different than Oscar potential, and in a year like this one, that’s probably for the best. Still, it’s an interesting choice for the 58th New York Film Festival. For those unaware, here’s a bit about the film from the official festival description: “Lovers Rock tells a fictional story of young love and music at a blues party in the early 1980s. Amarah-Jae St. Aubyn makes her screen debut opposite the BAFTAs 2020 Rising Star award...
- 9/19/2020
- by Joey Magidson
- Hollywoodnews.com
An appropriately buoyant opening-night choice for this year’s New York Film Festival, Lovers Rock chronicles an underground London blues party, a space where Black Brits could cut loose and dance safe from white harassment. Director Steve McQueen presents the house party as a mostly utopic place, one maintained and policed by community committed to the ideals of spiritual liberation. The film’s fluid, handheld camerawork, courtesy of Shabier Kirchner, foregrounds positive vibes, detailing every inch of the tight dance floor and basking in the glow of unencumbered joy. These gatherings represent a release from a socially and politically marginalized group, but that subtext merely pulses underneath Lovers Rock, contextualizing the film without ever overwhelming it. The organic community portrait ebbs and flows to a beat of its own making.
McQueen’s immersive approach comes alive in Lovers Rock’s extended dance-floor scenes, Kirchner’s camera swirling and gliding through the room in long,...
McQueen’s immersive approach comes alive in Lovers Rock’s extended dance-floor scenes, Kirchner’s camera swirling and gliding through the room in long,...
- 9/18/2020
- by Vikram Murthi
- The Film Stage
Steve McQueen’s Lovers Rock, the Opening Night Gala selection of the New York Film Festival, is a musical of the kind that never existed or was represented like this before. It is a tender homage to the mood and Blues party culture of the West Indian community in the London of the late Seventies and early Eighties - very much focused on the singular specific details of looks and sound and touch, and at the same time pluralistic in the sense that anyone watching who has ever been to a party will be able to relate. Hence, appropriately, Lovers Rock has no apostrophe for the genitive “s”, which would mark the loving party as either singular or plural.
The story, co-written by Courttia Newland, is a girl-meets-boy scenario and the circumstances are anything but cliché. Martha (Amarah-Jae St. Aubyn), a young woman from a religious family, sneaks...
The story, co-written by Courttia Newland, is a girl-meets-boy scenario and the circumstances are anything but cliché. Martha (Amarah-Jae St. Aubyn), a young woman from a religious family, sneaks...
- 9/17/2020
- by Anne-Katrin Titze
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
‘Lovers Rock’ Review: Steve McQueen’s ‘Small Axe’ Film Has One of the Best Dance Parties Ever Filmed
After drilling into dreary subjects for five movies, Steve McQueen appears to have discovered joy. The dark personal and social struggles at the center of those earlier projects are right there in their titles, which gives “Lovers Rock” an immediate juxtaposition, and it plays that way, too.
It remains to be seen exactly how this concise tale of West Indian Londoners at an all-night rager fits into the larger context of “Small Axe,” the BBC-produced anthology five feature-length stories about the Black West Indian struggles to which “Lovers Rock” belongs. These may add layers of subtext to “Lovers Rock” beyond its immediate resonance, positioning an intimate drama within the wider fabric of racial tensions. But this swift installment sings its own tune, too — or, rather, it marches to one helluva beat.
Set across a single night in 1980 and loaded with a soundtrack from the eponymous reggae music, “Lovers Rock” is...
It remains to be seen exactly how this concise tale of West Indian Londoners at an all-night rager fits into the larger context of “Small Axe,” the BBC-produced anthology five feature-length stories about the Black West Indian struggles to which “Lovers Rock” belongs. These may add layers of subtext to “Lovers Rock” beyond its immediate resonance, positioning an intimate drama within the wider fabric of racial tensions. But this swift installment sings its own tune, too — or, rather, it marches to one helluva beat.
Set across a single night in 1980 and loaded with a soundtrack from the eponymous reggae music, “Lovers Rock” is...
- 9/17/2020
- by Eric Kohn
- Indiewire
Filled with rows, romance and sexual adventure, this story of an uproarious celebration in 80s west London is an audacious, euphoric experience
A monsoon of musical and sexual rapture bursts overhead in this film from director Steve McQueen, leaving condensation-sweat running down the walls and my cinematic pleasure going through the roof. It is co-scripted by McQueen with the writer and musician Courttia Newland, superbly designed by Helen Scott and gorgeously shot by Shabier Kirchner: a novella-sized feature that is part of an interrelating five-film series by McQueen called Small Axe for the BBC.
Lovers Rock is an amazing, real-time urban pastoral, set in Ladbroke Grove, west London, over a single evening at a house party in 1980. Young people of first- and second-generation West Indian background show up – handing over a 50p entry fee on the door, paying extra for food and drink from the kitchen, lining up on the stairs for the lavatory,...
A monsoon of musical and sexual rapture bursts overhead in this film from director Steve McQueen, leaving condensation-sweat running down the walls and my cinematic pleasure going through the roof. It is co-scripted by McQueen with the writer and musician Courttia Newland, superbly designed by Helen Scott and gorgeously shot by Shabier Kirchner: a novella-sized feature that is part of an interrelating five-film series by McQueen called Small Axe for the BBC.
Lovers Rock is an amazing, real-time urban pastoral, set in Ladbroke Grove, west London, over a single evening at a house party in 1980. Young people of first- and second-generation West Indian background show up – handing over a 50p entry fee on the door, paying extra for food and drink from the kitchen, lining up on the stairs for the lavatory,...
- 9/17/2020
- by Peter Bradshaw
- The Guardian - Film News
Music legend Dennis Bovell is Milton in Steve McQueen’s Lovers Rock Photo: Anne-Katrin Titze
At the New York Film Festival press conference, held on Zoom this morning for Lovers Rock, the Opening Night selection, my question on Jacqueline Durran’s (Greta Gerwig’s Little Women) costumes to director/screenwriter Steve McQueen and the stars of his film, Amarah-Jae St. Aubyn and Micheal Ward, was posed to them by Film at Lincoln Center’s host Dennis Lim, Director of Programming for the festival. Lovers Rock is part of Steve McQueen’s Small Axe anthology, co-written by Courttia Newland. The film is a fictional account that takes place in London's West Indian community at a sound system house party in the early 1980s. Music legend Dennis Bovell is in a memorable scene during an extended a cappella rendition of Janet Kay’s Silly Games.
Anne-Katrin Titze: Jacqueline Durran’s costumes are...
At the New York Film Festival press conference, held on Zoom this morning for Lovers Rock, the Opening Night selection, my question on Jacqueline Durran’s (Greta Gerwig’s Little Women) costumes to director/screenwriter Steve McQueen and the stars of his film, Amarah-Jae St. Aubyn and Micheal Ward, was posed to them by Film at Lincoln Center’s host Dennis Lim, Director of Programming for the festival. Lovers Rock is part of Steve McQueen’s Small Axe anthology, co-written by Courttia Newland. The film is a fictional account that takes place in London's West Indian community at a sound system house party in the early 1980s. Music legend Dennis Bovell is in a memorable scene during an extended a cappella rendition of Janet Kay’s Silly Games.
Anne-Katrin Titze: Jacqueline Durran’s costumes are...
- 9/17/2020
- by Anne-Katrin Titze
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
Steve McQueen’s new film, Lovers Rock, will have its world premiere when it opens the 58th New York Film Festival, which is still set to take place this fall with various Covid-19 safety precautions in place.
Lovers Rock is one of five films in the Oscar-winning director’s new Small Axe anthology, which will arrive in full on Amazon Prime Video in the U.S. and BBC One in the U.K. later this year. The films are set between the late-Sixties and mid-Eighties, and each one, per a press release,...
Lovers Rock is one of five films in the Oscar-winning director’s new Small Axe anthology, which will arrive in full on Amazon Prime Video in the U.S. and BBC One in the U.K. later this year. The films are set between the late-Sixties and mid-Eighties, and each one, per a press release,...
- 8/3/2020
- by Jon Blistein
- Rollingstone.com
Steve McQueen's Lovers Rock will open 58th New York Film Festival Photo: Anne-Katrin Titze
Film at Lincoln Center announced today that Steve McQueen's Lovers Rock (part of his Small Axe anthology), co-written by Courttia Newland, will be the Opening Night selection of the 58th New York Film Festival. Lovers Rock stars Amarah-Jae St. Aubyn, Micheal Ward, Shaniqua Okwok, Kedar Williams-Stirling, Ellis George, Alexander James-Blake, and Kadeem Ramsay with Francis Lovehall and Daniel Francis-Swaby. The film is a fictional account that takes place in London's West Indian community in the early 1980s.
Steve McQueen's Lovers Rock
"In the coming weeks we'll unveil the films our programmers have selected for the 2020 New York Film Festival," said Eugene Hernandez, Director of the New York Film Festival. "For months we've worked to both sustain and refresh NYFF as "a champion of film as art since 1963” and we're honoured that...
Film at Lincoln Center announced today that Steve McQueen's Lovers Rock (part of his Small Axe anthology), co-written by Courttia Newland, will be the Opening Night selection of the 58th New York Film Festival. Lovers Rock stars Amarah-Jae St. Aubyn, Micheal Ward, Shaniqua Okwok, Kedar Williams-Stirling, Ellis George, Alexander James-Blake, and Kadeem Ramsay with Francis Lovehall and Daniel Francis-Swaby. The film is a fictional account that takes place in London's West Indian community in the early 1980s.
Steve McQueen's Lovers Rock
"In the coming weeks we'll unveil the films our programmers have selected for the 2020 New York Film Festival," said Eugene Hernandez, Director of the New York Film Festival. "For months we've worked to both sustain and refresh NYFF as "a champion of film as art since 1963” and we're honoured that...
- 8/3/2020
- by Anne-Katrin Titze
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
Moments ago, the New York Film Festival announced their Opening Night Selection, and it’s not a title you’d expect. Going in a different direction than at least I anticipated, they’ve tapped Steve McQueen’s Lovers Rock as the Opener. Part of a five movie collection of McQueen’s called the Small Axe anthology, this is the highest profile of the lot, with the four other films being Mangrove, Alex Wheatle, Education, as well as Red, White and Blue. Consider this a surprise, as well a potential shakeup in the upcoming awards race. Considering how interesting it sounds, count me in, and it’s kind of fun that NYFF didn’t opt for an obvious choice. Read on for more about the flick… Here is some of the press release: Film at Lincoln Center announced today that Steve McQueen’s Lovers Rock will be the Opening Night film...
- 8/3/2020
- by Joey Magidson
- Hollywoodnews.com
Following his crime thriller Widows, Steve McQueen is returning this year with a project of great ambition and scope. Small Axe, an anthology series from BBC and Amazon Prime Video, is made up of five new feature films, each one directed and co-written by the 12 Years a Slave helmer. While it was revealed that two of the films were originally set to premiere as part of the Cannes Film Festival 2020 lineup, it’s now been announced where they will make their world premieres, along with another film in the anthology.
Film at Lincoln Center’s New York Film Festival has unveiled that one of the films in the anthology, Lovers Rock (pictured below), will be the Opening Night film of the 58th edition, while two others––Mangrove and Red, White and Blue (pictured above)––will premiere in the festival’s Main Slate. Set from the late 1960s to the mid-1980s,...
Film at Lincoln Center’s New York Film Festival has unveiled that one of the films in the anthology, Lovers Rock (pictured below), will be the Opening Night film of the 58th edition, while two others––Mangrove and Red, White and Blue (pictured above)––will premiere in the festival’s Main Slate. Set from the late 1960s to the mid-1980s,...
- 8/3/2020
- by Leonard Pearce
- The Film Stage
Film at Lincoln Center has set the Steve McQueen-directed Lovers Rock as the opening-night film of the 58th New York Film Festival. The film will be making its world premiere, and the festival is going heavily into the work of McQueen, who became the first Black filmmaker to win the Best Picture Oscar for 12 Years a Slave.
Lovers Rock is part of his Small Axe anthology, which comprises five original films by the director. Two other films from the anthology, Mangrove and Red, White and Blue, will also have their world premieres as part of the NYFF’s Main Slate, the rest of which will be disclosed in the coming weeks.
This becomes the second straight year in which NYFF chose at its opening nighter a film that will be most widely viewed on a streaming service. Last year, that was the Martin Scorsese-directed The Irishman, though...
Lovers Rock is part of his Small Axe anthology, which comprises five original films by the director. Two other films from the anthology, Mangrove and Red, White and Blue, will also have their world premieres as part of the NYFF’s Main Slate, the rest of which will be disclosed in the coming weeks.
This becomes the second straight year in which NYFF chose at its opening nighter a film that will be most widely viewed on a streaming service. Last year, that was the Martin Scorsese-directed The Irishman, though...
- 8/3/2020
- by Mike Fleming Jr
- Deadline Film + TV
Steve McQueen’s “Lovers Rock” will be the opening night film for the 2020 New York Film Festival, Film at Lincoln Center announced Monday.
The 58th edition of NYFF kicks off on September 25 with the latest from the “12 Years a Slave” director. And “Lovers Rock,” which will make its world premiere, is one of five films as part of an anthology from McQueen called “Small Axe.” All five movies, including “Mangrove,” “Lovers Rock,” “Alex Wheatle,” “Education” and “Red, White and Blue,” are set to premiere on BBC One later this year and on Amazon Prime Video in the U.S.
Two other films as part of McQueen’s anthology, “Mangrove” and “Red, White and Blue,” will also have their world premieres as part of the festival. The full main slate for the New York Film Festival will be announced in the coming weeks.
Also Read: Toronto Film Festival Lineup to...
The 58th edition of NYFF kicks off on September 25 with the latest from the “12 Years a Slave” director. And “Lovers Rock,” which will make its world premiere, is one of five films as part of an anthology from McQueen called “Small Axe.” All five movies, including “Mangrove,” “Lovers Rock,” “Alex Wheatle,” “Education” and “Red, White and Blue,” are set to premiere on BBC One later this year and on Amazon Prime Video in the U.S.
Two other films as part of McQueen’s anthology, “Mangrove” and “Red, White and Blue,” will also have their world premieres as part of the festival. The full main slate for the New York Film Festival will be announced in the coming weeks.
Also Read: Toronto Film Festival Lineup to...
- 8/3/2020
- by Brian Welk
- The Wrap
Steve McQueen, the Oscar-winning director of “12 Years a Slave” and “Shame,” is best known for his searing big-screen work. So it is fitting that the New York Film Festival would turn to the British auteur to kick off its 58th edition with his new work “Lovers Rock. McQueen joins a long list of cinema legends such as Martin Scorsese, Clint Eastwood, and David Fincher, all of whom have had the opening night film at the annual gathering of movie-lovers.
But this is a year unlike any other in the history of film festivals, with the coronavirus scuttling best-laid plans and forcing organizers to change things up on the fly. Thus it makes sense that the film that McQueen is highlighting isn’t a “movie” in the strictest definition. Rather, it is part of the filmmaker’s Small Ax anthology series, a chapter in a collection of original films that...
But this is a year unlike any other in the history of film festivals, with the coronavirus scuttling best-laid plans and forcing organizers to change things up on the fly. Thus it makes sense that the film that McQueen is highlighting isn’t a “movie” in the strictest definition. Rather, it is part of the filmmaker’s Small Ax anthology series, a chapter in a collection of original films that...
- 8/3/2020
- by Brent Lang
- Variety Film + TV
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