When Fragile Things Break @ BFI Flare

So, my first ever foray into writing, producing and directing, my short film When Fragile Things Break was shown at the BFI Flare film festival at the BFI down on Southbank over the weekend. It was a huge honour, especially as the other films selected all had much bigger budgets to work with and large, experienced crews. We were literally all doing it for the first time and working thinsg out as we went! Here are a few snaps.

Our poster shot in the programme!

 

Me and my co-producer Louise Day nervously laughing on stage as we answered questions at the Q&A.

Ahead of the screening I was interviewed by Hunger Magazine which you can read here.

Watch: Appropriate Behaviour

Poor Desiree Akhaven, the writer, director and star of Appropriate Behaviour, has been called everything from the 'New Lena Dunham' to the 'Iranian Lena Dunham' via the super imaginative 'Bisexual Lena Dunham'. The comparisons must be super annoying and stem from an industry that clearly doesn't how to handle seeing work from two young women that happen to be set in the same city and are both a bit funny. That's just crazy, right?!

Like Dunham's 'Girls', there is a hipster New York lifestyle for a young woman, in this case Persian American Shirin bisexual (Akhaven), that often involves shit sex and shit jobs, but Appropriate Behaviour actually has a lot to say from perspectives Dunham never even touches.

Touted everywhere as a comedy, I found I enjoyed the film a lot more when I stopped expecting it to be funny. Sure there are funny moments, such as an awkward date and excruciating threesome scene, but often the comedy felt a little forced. Where this film really succeeds is in it's depiction of a flawed yet realistic bisexual character and of a mixed race relationship and the challenges that can bring. Akhaven brings an authenticity to the story of a second generation Iranian in America (being one herself) and the difficulties of 'coming out' to her family, the navigation of how a relationship kept a secret can work or not work as the case may be - the film starts with the break-up of Shirin and girlfriend Maxine (Rebecca Henderson) but there are frequent flashbacks telling the relationship from first meeting to the aftermath. There are some astute comments on queer life; Maxine telling Shirin the only part of gay culture she is comfortable with are drag queens, Maxine kissing a man and comparing it to kissing a baby.

A few scenes and characters missed the mark (the strap-on being thrown in the rubbish and then carried down the street was laying it on a little thickly), but overall Akhaven makes a strong debut and brings gay culture into the mainstream without subscribing to the male gaze.

Adding on to my rant in my last post, it was interesting to see the Soho Curzon almost full at this midweek screening. Appropriate Behaviour has had a huge push, especially for an Indie; tube posters, articles and reviews in mainstream female focused media like Stylist and Glamour Magazine. It makes a difference if people know about the film British film industry!

Watch: Catch Me Daddy + A Rant

Catch Me Daddy is the kind of film that leaves you with aching muscles because you've been hunched over, physically tensed up at the building horror of the action on screen. And yes, I headed straight to the bar for a drink to settle my shot nerves as soon as it finished.

A debut feature from brothers Daniel and Matthew Wolfe, Catch Me Daddy tells the story of 17 year old Laila, a Pakistani girl who has fled her traditional family to be with her white Scottish boyfriend. They are trying to scrape by in a secret world of no N.I numbers at work for fear of being tracked down, holed up in a caravan on the Yorkshire moors, unaware that a group of Pakistani men, including her brother and some hired white men from the seedy underworld, are catching up to them.

'Honour killing' is never actually said out loud; it doesn't need to be. As the men close in on the couple, it seems even more heart wrenching as we never see Laila and Aaron so much as kiss. While the relationship is clearly real and intense there is an almost innocent childlike quality to them that makes the brutal tracking down seem unnecessary.

Robbie Ryan, who made East London look postively stunning in Fish Tank works his magic again, the Yorkshire Moors almost becoming a character in it's own right; misty air, dazzling sunsets and lots of atmospheric nights shoots using the outdoor backdrop to amp up the terror. The seemingly mundane becomes beautiful; a fish tank, nail polish spilling from an overturned bottle. The Wolfe brothers said they drew inspiration from old Westerns and you can definitely feel that classic chase and sense of foreboding coupled with a very modern look at both race and class. The comments made by the Pakistani men about the guys they've hired to help are often hilarious and the nightclub scene delivers the sheer horror of nightlife up North.

Street casting was used for a number of characters and the realism it brings would lump the film in the 'social realism' category, were it not so cinematically shot. Several scenes, like the one in the milkshake shop are hilarious without the polish an actor would have brought. Sameena Jabeen Ahmed, with her hypnotic green eyes, won the award for best newcomer at the British Independent Film Awards recently. She deserved it, for the last harrowing scenes that will leave you digging your nails into your hand, alone.

And now for a rant.

I've seen Catch Me Daddy reviews and interviews everywhere from The Guardian and The Independent, Hunger magazine, Dazed, i-D and Vice. There was plenty of buzz from the cool taste makers and respected industry, your BFI's and Film 4's. But as I watched the film at Brixton Ritzy, less than a week after release, the screen was not even a third full.

Where are all the readers of those publications? Where are the film fans? I bet screens for 50 fliiping Shades are 3 times as big and still selling out. I know the media has rammed that film down our throats for months and the campaign would have been a huge money strong beast designed to do exactly that. I know that British films are given a tiny marketing budget in comparison to Hollywood blockbusters, and without awareness people won't part with money. But there has been a steady buzz about this film and still the bums aren't on seats. I won't knock anyone who streams films at home, money is tight for us all and the cinema is expensive. But we need to support British films by actually going to watch them on the big screen the way they were designed to be watched, we need to pump that money back into the industry so that Brits can carry on making excellent films the way only we can. No Catch Me Daddy doesn't have some bumbling toff prancing about in a tepid romantic comedy. It does have real characters, real beauty, real suspense, real issues. Now it and films like it, need real support.

Watch: Nightcrawler

Ever slowed down in the car to get a look at a car accident? Well Jake Gyllenhaal turns rubbernecking into a very shady career, as anti-hero Lou Bloom in Nightcrawler, directed by first-time director Dan Gilroy. A stark comment on today's desensitised, hyper-reality craving times, the film sees down-and-out Lou become a videographer in LA, filming at crash sites, break-ins and other criminal goings on in the city (preferably in good neighbourhoods and involving ethnic minority criminals) to sell to TV news stations.

Gyllenhaal lost a substantial amount of weight for the role and it works: his face is gaunt, his eyes bulge out of his head, lending to the 'otherness' of this wiry, ruthless and overly ambitious carnage chaser. His portrayal is shockingly detailed and uncomfortable; huge, unblinking eyes and a stillness as he recounts self-help platitudes. When we first meet Lou we feel almost empathy for him because he is desperate for work in today's strained economic times and willing to work hard for a foot in the door, yet these very same characteristics are turned on their head when he is in a position of power. Just as people have lauded their power over him, so will he in turn and his determination to work hard is not confined to the barriers of the law, morality or normal decency.

British actor Riz Ahmed (4 Lions) co-stars as his bullied assistant Rick and is brilliant. Almost unrecognisable, with longer hair and no facial hair, he embodies the needy, hesitant vulnerability of Rick, again desperate for work, no fixed abode, willing to do terrible things for money.
Renee Russo also has a good turn as station news director Nina. While the audience become more horrified at the lengths Lou goes to to procure and distribute his footage, Nina only becomes more impressed although she too has found herself in a position of need.

There are high tension action sequences but this film is all about performances. Characterisation rules as the actors deliver performances that literally had my mouth fall open several times.

 

*All pictures sourced via Google

See: 80's Youth @ The Ritzy

I went along to the launch of new exhibition 80's Youth presented by Printer of Dreams, Upstairs at The Ritzy, the bar and venue above the Ritzy cinema in Brixton to see what it was all about.

The exhibition presents work from 11 of 'London's finest illustrators' who have re-imagined versions of classic 1980's movie posters including E.T and Back To The Future.

While we were disappointed at the lack of promised 80's tunes (I was hoping for some power ballads to be honest) the art work is inspired and got us all chatting about the films and our childhood memories of watching them.

Shanika Says the exhibition is small, but perfect for popping in after work, before a film or if waiting for a friend. It runs until the 6th June. Check out The Ritzy here.

What are some of your favourite 80's films?

Review: 300 Rise of An Empire

Title: 300 Rise Of An Empire

Release Date: 7th March 2014

Directed By: Noam Murro

Starring: Sullivan Stapleton, Lena Heady, Eva Green, Rodrigo Santoro, Jack O'Connell

Rating: 15 - Contains strong bloody violence, strong sex and sexual violence

300: Rise of An Empire is a prequel/sequel of sorts to 2007's 300, taking place before, during and after the events of that film, this time exchanging the arena of sand and rock for the unforgiving and unpredictable sea. Based on Xerxes the unpublished graphic novel prequel to 300 by Frank Miller, we see Athenian Naval general Themistokles (Sullivan Stapleton) on a mission to unite all of Greece against the invading Persian army, ruled by the King Xerxes (Rodrigo Santoro) who has, in a pact with evil forces, become a god...Themistokles just so happened to shoot the arrow that fell Xerxes father, so there's no love lost here anyway.

Director Murro has gone for full out epic-ness with this blood soaked battle film, emphasising themes of war through character beautifully; Xerxes quest to avenge his fathers death at the hand of the Greeks is to be expected but the lust for retribution that spurns on the amazing Artemisia who is actually Greek born is an interesting element reflective of more recent cases of modern political terrorism like suicide bombers. All the soldiers speak of honour and patriotism and leader Themistokles' rousing speeches reinforce this but it is actually the smaller moments and relationship between father and son Scyllias and Calisto (Callan Mulvey and Jack O'Connell) that push the message so effectively:
"A mans responsibility is to protect his family and his nation"
"Who told you this?"
"My father"
While I enjoyed O'Connell's performance and he was convincing in his earnestness, his regional accent threw me and weakened his credibility as the rest of the cast were aristocratic in their pronunciation.

Like the first film, the Frank Miller graphic novels strongly influence the visual style of the film and there is a video-game flair to the editing - lots of sudden zoom ins and outs and 180 degree spins, almost as if the audience are controlling the view themselves with a remote. I had the pleasure of attending a Universal screening of the film at the Imax and can definitively say the 3D aspect enhances the film tenfold. The film tends to alternate between slower, more dialogue heavy scenes and frantic action scenes peppered with slow motion but the 3D enriches both whether it be ash floating in the air as the soldiers camp down or blood and sweat flying out at you as the swords are swung and sliced through the air and flesh, horse hoofs on the battlefield look like they are about to stomp on your head.

Cinematography wise there are very obvious colour schemes running through the film, with golden yellows signifying Sparta whenever the film heads over there to Spartan queen Gorgo (Lena Headey) or the sun soaked Persia but the majority of the film takes place out at sea with moody blue and grey tones. The divisions of war are made clear for an audience by simple wardrobe choices; red robes for the Spartans, blue for the Athenians and black and metal body armour and masks for the Persian warriors, with their god King Xerxes looking like molten gold and Artemisia their vicious leader clad in tight black leather with metal accents, smoky black eyes adding to her evil smoulders.
Sonically, Eastern sounding pan pipes and chanting sounds help to place the film geographically and the grunts, groans, yells and screams were a little over the top but to be expected in a huge action blockbuster such as this. I was also rewarded with a few Spartan 'Awoooga's' from the original 300.

The success of strong female characters in popular series Game Of Thrones in which Headey stars perhaps inspired writer Zack Snyder (who wrote and co-directed the first movie) to infuse the film with such feminine dominance. Spartan Queen Gorgo is actually not vital to the storyline yet she is used as a narrator and the beginning and end of the film, in fact leading her Spartan soldiers with her emotive storytelling.
While Stapleton is charming as the good guy, down to earth leader complete with honourable inspiring speeches he is entirely outshone by his enemy Artemisia (Eva Green). Green is magnificent as the malevolent and ruthless Artemisia; her icy coldness, killer instincts, skill with a sword combined with utter bloodlust ensure she steals the whole show. Artemesia is desperate for an equal having tired of excelling at leading her army and isolated in her brilliance, therefore she is turned on by Themistokles' demonstration of power and intelligence which leads to some of the best scenes in the film, the sexually charged fighting between the two electrify the the screen.
Green also has the best one liners..."If death comes I'm ready" and my personal fave "You fight harder than you fuck". Vengeance is her ultimate driver and for one of the main characters to be such a central part of the film is a pleasure to see, in a Hollywood where female characters are still so underrepresented.

Shanika Says: An action-packed violent fantasy film, stylistic slickness wins out over characterisation but it is still a blood soaked visual success. In cinemas this Friday 7th March.

Rating: 3.5/5 ***

My very own warriors!

* All images sourced from Google

Endless Love Film Review

I went along to a press screening for Endless Love to review for the film blog The Film Circle

Title: Endless Love

Release date: February 14^th 2014, Valentines Day

Directed by: Shana Feste

Starring: Alex Pettyfer and Gabriella Wilde

Rating: 12A

What’s it about: Privileged beautiful loner Jade Butterfield (Wilde) meets die hard romantic David Elliot (Pettyfer) after graduating high school and their immediate spark seems to signal true love…but Jade’s father is determined to keep the pair apart.

Director Shana Feste clearly has one target audience in mind with this adaptation of Scott Spencer’s novel of the same name; pre-teen girls who’ve yet to even have their first kiss and are therefore utterly seduced by this beautiful if completely unrealistic depiction of first love.

The audience at the screening I attended was approximately 90% female but I’m guessing they are a little more world weary, as there were frequent guffaws and titters at the more over the top romantic (here read cheesy) lines and grand gestures.

The film begins at the graduation of the two protagonists, David Elliot (Alex Pettyfer) and Jade Butterworth (Gabriella Wilde) and their classmates. David has lusted after Jade from afar for years but never approached the shy and reclusive bombshell, who is recovering from a personal family tragedy. This was the first piece of Hollywood ridiculousness; while Wilde pulled off an introverted and shy over-achiever with a delicacy and charm, there is no way she would have gone lonely at high school, she is too attractive and wealthy not to have been embraced by the popular crowd. If it had been an intentional withdrawal it could have been believable but there is a scene where Jade is asked to take a photo of some fellow graduates, which she excitedly misreads as being asked to be in the picture. She plays it down to her brother, but the scene doesn’t ring true.

David is painted as a decent, hard-working, fun, down to earth kinda guy – close to his father, calms down his best friend when he’s mistreated by a patron at the country club where they work as valets, ‘wild’ enough to suggest Jade join them when they take a said patrons car for a spin. He then completely takes the blame for the escapade and punches the customer in the face to preserve Jade’s honour. So far, so perfect, ensuring Jade and the young female audience are smitten.

The film appeals to a young female audience using a number of cinematic devices. A young, beautiful cast living the all American dream – the wealthy Butterfield’s have a large, plush home and a sexy beach house, lots of land and multiple cars; it’s aspirational without being alienating. David and his father own a modest but comfortable home and his own business. All the young cast dress like an Abercrombie and Fitch advert; preppy and cute, plaid shirts and denim shorts, floaty dresses, basic T-shirts. Nothing edgy or directional about the characters presentation at all, just very beautiful in an almost achievable way. Scenery is middle American suburban but with touches of nature, lakes, fields and the like. Endless Love in fact presents an almost utopian vision of modern America, where the racial mixing runs not only among the students at the school but among all ages, in multiple social settings and without comment. This, being set in Georgia where they had their first integrated dance only last year, seems fabricated to cynical ole me.

The cinematography perfectly captures the magic of a first love and heavily uses the motif of light to represent the purity and dreamlike quality of the blossoming romance between the two. Their first dance (I know, who holds dance competitions at a house party?!) is marred by a power cut that sends them scuttling into a dark closet, the First Kiss takes place backlit by the twinkling outdoor lights of jade’s sprawling drive. They make love by fire and canoodle under fireworks. Heady summer days are played out as long montage shots of dappled sunlight in fields and on lakes, the soundtrack soft and inoffensive – not nearly as provocative as the Florence and the Machine cover of Robert Palmer’s ‘Addicted to Love’ used in the trailer.

Here lies my main problem with the film. It tries to sell itself as a great story of doomed lovers, perhaps in the wake of the Twilight success this type of angst in love is more popular. The tagline on the poster is ‘Say goodbye to Innocence’, however there is no real emotional turmoil and no explosive build up of tension or heartbreak, largely because there is no real reason and the reveals of David’s family secret are poorly delivered and actually not that deep. Jade’s father Hugh (Bruce Greenwood) believes his daughter is better than David, fine, most fathers do. But the film builds David up to be such a likeable guy and his lack of ambition is quickly remedied by an about turn regarding his decision to go to university, in fact he has won over the rest of the family so marvelously that Jade’s mother Ann (Joely Richardson) writes him a glowing letter of reference, so Pops’ vitriol seems misplaced, his investigation into his background unwarranted. David is more than happy to wax lyrical about his simple desire to love and be loved (cue swooning girls)

Dad Hugh’s affair is sloppily paced and underexplored in a bid to make us dislike him even further and in a scene where he takes David out on a boat to threaten him, he is shot in a mid close-up with only rolling grey clouds behind him, God-like, failed to scare the audience; in fact it’s absurdity only produced laughter.  Greenwood simply lacked the physical presence or intensity of performance to become the formidable character the film requires.

In general the characters lack depth and there is no real sense of development. Performances, while adequate are neither particularly moving or dynamic. The stand out performance for me was that of David’s best friend, Mace (Dayo Okeniyi) who’s coming timing and delivery was perfect and provided the perfect offset to David’s more serious nature. Pettyfer, who is British as is Wilde, slips into a perfect plummy Brit accent for a phone call, which was also a nice touch.

The reasons for the lovers to be kept apart are flimsy and so the desperate, fast editing of some of the scenes seems forced and over egged.

Preened and too perfect for reality, Endless Love will likely be  a hit with young girls but I was quite happy when it did End.

2 stars out of 5 

*All images sourced from Google

App Alert! Flixster

I'm not a million apps type of girl. In fact I'm pretty much a technophobe (I didn't even get an iPhone until 2012 and I'm pretty much crap with computers in general). But as an actor and movie fan this app is right up my street.

Flixster, the app version of the American social movie site is available for free on iPhone, Android, Windows and Blackberry.
It allows you to browse current box office films, find out cast information, watch trailers and check out Rotten Tomatoes ratings  (Fresh Red tomatoes = 60% or more critics rated positively. Rotten Green tomatoes: 59% or less rated positively) and reviews.

It also uses your location info to tell you where the nearest cinemas are and you can add your usual screens to the favourites section.
My fave bit is checking out upcoming films, as there's a good mix of blockbusters and indie flicks. You can create your own 'Want to See' list too - currently on my list are:

1. Blue is the Warmest Colour
2. Mandela: Long Walk To Freedom
3. Dallas Buyers Club
4. Her
5. An Oversimplification of her Beauty

Some of those are defo way overdue, I need to get a move on!

Shanika Says: if you're into film, this app is for you.

Devil's Due

Devil's Due made me feel sick. Not because I was terrified or even because I was repeatedly shoveling popcorn into my mouth, my eyes trained on the screen. It was because of the incredibly derivative use of home video camera (thank you Blair Witch Project for making every horror film maker think shaky hand-held camera footage and night vision is a good idea).

Devil's Due also added CCTV and home security camera footage, you know, to mix it up.

Basically, the film is about newlyweds Zach ( Zach Gilford) and Samantha McCall (Allison Miller). Zach has a thing where he wants to film every moment of their lives so all their memories are recorded, all very post-modern. This works in moments of celebration, the wedding, the honeymoon, family dinners but there is no reason for it to be on when Sam comes downstairs with a pregnancy test because the pregnancy is unplanned and Zach wasn't expecting this. Nobody films as much as this couple, not even Kim Kardashian and Kanye West.

The couple honeymoon in the Dominican Republic (cue adventure cam while they zipwire) and on a hazy last night, they meet a taxi driver who takes them to an underground local club and gets them very drunk. The title of the film may give you a bit of clue as to what happens next...but let's just say this Immaculate Conception is far from holy.

75% of this film, directed by Tyler Gillet and Matt Bettinelli-Olpin, is a snore-fest; the lead characters aren't engaging enough for you to really care about them when weird things happen, even when vegetarian Sam eats raw meat in a supermarket. They aren't interesting enough or funny enough and the odd happenings throughout her pregnancy aren't rapid or extreme enough to scare or hold the audience's interest.

The action only really picks up in the last 15 minutes, by which time I was nauseous and bored, so just wanted it to end.

Shanika-Says don't waste your money on this one. Any tension in or fear in this horror was well overdue.

*Images sourced from Google

The Wolf of Wall Street

                         

With awards season well upon us, so comes the time of too many good films to watch and not enough time.

January is a cold, crappy month generally anyway so I enjoy cinema date nights and trips so see films with friends over getting my legs out to go raving.

Much of the talk of swooping the awards board has been for 12 Years A Slave, Gravity and American Hustle. Now American Hustle was a quirky, funny piece set in the 70's with comedy wigs and amazing fashion as well as complex and damaged characters, brilliantly pulled off by Christian Bale, Bradley Cooper, Jennifer Lawrence and Amy Adams; nominations are well deserved.Gravity I felt was overrated if I'm honest, I wasn't as gripped by the story as I had expected to be given the hype.

12 Years A Slave may be one of the most important films of recent years. I was so touched and disturbed by that film, and the talents of Chiwetel Ejiofor. Michael Fassbender, Lupita Nyong'o and director Steve McQueen, that I can't even find the words to do it justice let alone review.

But Martin Scorsese's The Wolf of Wall Street is turning out to be that little sneaky one and Leonardo di Caprio won Best Actor in a Musical or Comedy at the Golden Globes, because frankly, his performance as 'the Wolf' is AMAZING.

  

Based on the true story of Jordan Belfort who's stock brokerage made millions in the Nineties, and not very scrupulously either, his main talent was gas. This man could gas people up! He could sell dreams to people, which made him a great broker, a great business owner and a great philanderer. The penetrating charisma and haphazard, drug fuelled mania of Belfort could only be pulled off by di Caprio as far as I'm concerned.

The film charts Belfort's rise and documents the ridiculously debauched life he and his friends and colleagues led; mansions, helicopters, Coco Chanel's old yacht that he sank in the Med...he did a lot. It's a wonder they survived the amount of drugs and prostitutes they all used to be honest (we're talking hookers at work, doing lines off breasts and a bizarre midget throwing contests in the office here). Full on depravity, that typically of Hollywood does look bloody fun.

Eventually, the FBI's investigation was able to get enough to bring him down and Belfort was involved in an elaborate undercover investigation as a mole in exchange for a much reduced sentence. He's lost the millions, the mansion and the model wife, but he's still making a hell of a lot as one of those inspirational business seminar guys (to be fair he's got fuckloads of money to still pay back so you can't blame him for the high fees) and has made money from his auto-biographies, which have resulted in the film.

There are lots of really pivotal smaller characters in the film such as his dad 'Mad Max' Belfort (Rob Reiner) and Aunt Emma (Joanna Lumley) but the two supporting actors who really make this film are his second wife Naomi Lapaglia (Margot Robbie) and the guy who said he would work for him after meeting in a diner, Donnie Azoff (Jonah Hill).

Di Caprio and Hill look like they could genuinely be friends, the hysterical antics the two immoral stockbrokers got up to looks so seamless. There are some brilliant slow motion scenes of the pair high as fuck and a hilarious although terrifying scene after they take some old Quaaludes and are rendered practically paralysed.

The relationship between di Caprio and Margot Robbie who plays his bombshell wife Naomi also sizzles with the kind of torment and passion I imagine copious amounts of money, cocaine and infidelity bring. The chemistry between the pair was a good match and I LOVED her Italian New Yorker accent. 

 The film is over the top with the recklessly luxe lifestyle and I loved the narrating style of Belfort's character throughout the film, sometimes off screen and sometimes with di Caprio looking directly into camera, charming the audience just as he did everyone else.

I can't wait to see how the Wolf of Wall Street performs at the Oscars. I think it might just be the surprise contender.

Shanika Says: go watch! The Wolf of Wall Street is in cinemas now.

*All images sourced from Google

London Short Film Festival

Yesterday I headed down to the Curzon in Soho to watch a selection of short films as part of the London Short Film Festival. 

I've never attended this particular festival before but I've got more into short films as I worked on developing my own. The Curzon were showing a selection called Fucked Up Love. Interesting! 

I was hugely impressed! The programme comes with a warning, saying the films tackle break-ups, hateful lovers, one night stands and unbridled lust so I was aware it wasn't about to be some candy sweet romance tales, but still some of them were a shock to the system. 'The Birthday Gift' was a slick thriller dealing with the fallout of an affair, 'Large Double Room in Zone 2' showed a funny and inventive look at modern infidelity and a friend of mine even had a film in the programme. 'Pretty Bitch' produced by my friend and 'Victim' co-star Natasha Sparkes and directed by Rebecca Coley was a twisted tale of revenge when love goes wrong. My favourites were 'Things He Never Said' a hilarious comedy starring Ruth Negga and 'Hymns to Pan' by students of the National Film and TV School, a beautifully shot, twisted very modern love story.

The film festival is on until the 19th January with selections like 'Funny Shit', 'Teenage Girls Go Crazy' and 'Celluloid Traces', at a number of different of independent cinemas across London, like the Ritzy, the Curzon, Hackney Picturehouse, The Rio and Riverside Studios so Shanika Says, treat yourself to a day of alternative film fun. Definitely perked up my boring Saturday afternoon I'll tell ya. 

The Best Man Holiday

The Best Man, which came out in 1999 is one of those black classic films that everyone my age has seen, alongside  films like Love and Basketball, Brown Sugar, The Wood. These are to be found in DVD collections of twenty something's all over London (where are the black British classic films? Another blog maybe?)

Malcolm D.Lee's Christmas themed sequel comes almost 15 years since the original. The opening titles give a nice refresher of the characters and their relationships, showing key moments from the first film and a brief catch up on what has happened since, who's got married, had kids, flourished in their amazing jobs. 

The film takes place over the Christmas holiday, with football star Lance Sullivan (the delectable Morris Chestnut who does not age) and his wife Mia Sullivan (Monica Calhoun) inviting all their old crew to their huuuuge home for a weekend of festive activities. 

The original film dealt with the group of friends getting to the age where they are settling down in careers and their love lives, making that step into adult life. The Best Man Holiday picks back up with the friends (Taye Diggs, Nia Long, Terence Howard, Regina Hall, Sanaa Lathan - basically the cream of black Hollywood) fully ensconced in middle age. Married, numerous kids or trouble conceiving, successful jobs. 

The film touches on things like male responses to money problems post-recession and the sexual history of partners (it is always, ALWAYS men who care about this stuff kmt) but also deals with bigger issues of mortality and friendship, fertility and inter-racial dating. 

Is the film, with celebrity sports stars, writers, tv execs and reality stars all in one friendship group entirely realistic? Probably not but it is entirely aspirational, and I think there are too few positive and successful portrayals of black people on film. 

A smartphone gag lasts entirely too long and seems a lazy attempt to update a format that already works, but the banter between friends and Quentin's (Terence Howard) sleazy drawled quips are still spot on, it was the first film I've seen in ages with the audience literally LOLing and clapping at the screen. 

For all the laughter, the film is definitely emotional so Shanika Says, go and watch with your bestie or take a date. I teased my best pal for crying and before I knew it I was reaching for her hand while using my other to wipe away my own tears. The sound of sniffling was to be heard all over!