May 2019

The Last Witness, filmed around the West Midlands, will be screened at the MAC on Saturday, June 1st at 5pm. The screening will be followed by a live onstage Q&A with BAFTA nomiated director Piotr Szkopiak and producer Carol Harding.

The Last Witness is a political thriller based on the harrowing true events of the Katyn Massacre in Spring 1940, starring Alex Pettyfer (Magic Mike, I am Number Four), Michael Gambon (Harry Potter franchise, King of Thieves) and Talulah Riley (Westworld).

In post-war England, ambitious journalist Stephen Underwood (Alex Pettyfer) comes across a disturbing spate of suicides by Polish soldiers. Sensing a story, his investigation escalates as he finds himself embroiled in a dangerous, multi-layered conspiracy concerning the execution of 22,000 Polish military and civilians by Stalin’s secret police.

DP Edward Ames told British Cinematographer: “The whole film was shot in the West Midlands, in 18 days, using just six locations. We managed this in spite of a very limited budget, because we were very lucky, and because our entire production team were dedicated to making it work.”

 Book your tickets here.

Set across two decades, You Are My Sunshine follows teenagers Tom and Joe, who first meet in the 1970’s. The 90-minute film was written and directed by Darlaston film maker Dave Hastings and produced by Troy Dennison and Kaush Patel. The story follows the two young men as they try to navigate their way through an uncompromising time in history. The audience witnesses the day they first met to the present day, which brings further conflict as well as a potential change in the air.

Production

Filming just finished on the movie, at locations around Rhyl and the Black Country including Barr Beacon and Walsall Leather Museum. Crew shot the first segments of the story, set the 1970’s, last year, which saw Jack Knight as a young Joe and Steve Salt as young Tom. Director of photography Will Bradshaw studied the look of former British films made within the era while set designer L.J. ‘Stark’ Greenwood researched various colour palettes as well as vintage props to help bring the decade to life. The scenes showing their modern-day counterparts dealing with the repercussions of their early lives have now also been filmed.

Characters

Tom is a ‘typical young lad’ living an isolated existence after his family abandoned him. He lives on odd jobs, concealing his sexuality. Tom wants to spend his life with Joe, regardless of what the rest of the world thinks. Joe, reserved and shy, lives with his father, Martin, and sister Ethel, working for his dad’s painting firm.

Ernest Vernon from Staffordshire who plays modern-day Tom said he enjoyed bringing an older Tom to life. “The storyline, for me, revolves around the importance of everyone having a chance to enjoy life and to appreciate the value of living life in harmony, free of prejudice. This film tells that story in such an emotionally charged way, with emotions ranging from anguish and frustration, to warmth and understanding.

“The strong characters and the intricate emotional scenes leaping from the pages instantly attracted me. I couldn’t wait to get involved. It was a great pleasure to be involved with such a brilliant production. I can’t wait to see the finished film, and I hope that all that see it enjoy it too.”

Rosemary Manjunath plays present day Ethel while Charlie Clarke appears as younger Ethel. “The script is emotive and emotional, well written and thought provoking. After reading it for the first time, I was left in tears. I knew that I’d love to be involved in some small way,” said Rosemary. Johnathan Butler plays Ethel’s son John.

Feedback

“We’ve had a lot of interest in You Are My Sunshine already,” said Dave, a lecturer at Walsall College. “People all over the world are asking about it. Some of the LGBTQ film community who’ve seen snippets of were in “floods of tears with happiness. For me, that means the world. It shows off this immensely talented and passionate team and cast that have helped bring this film to life in the best way possible, and that is always important to me first and foremost to honour them.”

You Are My Sunshine, which is a co-production between Lightbeam Productions, 5cm/Sec and Pat The Bull Films, is due to be released later this year.

For more information about You Are My Sunshine, visit their Facebook page.

Source: Express & Star

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Acclaimed actor David Harewood, MBE, returns to his hometown of Birmingham on Thursday 6 June for a special RTS Midlands ‘In Conversation’ event with BBC WM’s Samantha Meah.

David will talk about growing up in Birmingham, his illustrious career on stage, TV and in film over the last 30 years and his new BBC documentary David Harewood: My Psychosis and Me. The documentary is an exploration of mental illness and current available treatments. It is presented by David, who was successfully treated with anti-psychotic medication.

The event host Samantha Meah presents the BBCWM 95.6 Breakfast Show along with her co-host Daz Hale. Born in Lozells, she returned to her home station last year.

RTS Midlands also wants to thank their partner organisations for this event: BBC WM 95.6 and Film Birmingham.

Register for “In Conversation with David Harewood”

This event is free to attend. However, places are limited and will be allocated on a first come, first served basis. To book your place please click here

Venue: The Banqueting Suite, The Council House, Victoria Square, Birmingham

Date: Thursday 6th June 2019

Times: 7.00pm – 9.00pm.

Please arrive and register in good time as this event will start at 7pm prompt.

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There is some exciting news in West Midlands. Earlier this week West Midlands Combined Authority and Mayor of the West Midlands, Andy Street, announced the creation of a new West Midlands Screen Industry Body. Film Birmingham look forward to working with the new body – which intends to act as a coordinated voice for the screen sector and oversee a programme of activities to support the industry.

This is a promising step forward, one which comes on the back of some significant developments in the region’s creative economy over the last 18 months, including winning a £1.3m boost from the DCMS Creative Industries Scale Up programme and the upcoming Local Industrial Strategy, with its commitment to ‘creative content, techniques and technologies’. The region’s screen sector has also benefited from supportive programmes such as Creative England’s Be More Birmingham event, the West Midlands Screen Bureau’s Design Labs, pilots and research and the work on the Channel 4 bid created momentum and identified some promising opportunities for the region’s creative industries.

Film Birmingham and other local partners will be involved in the consultation process for the WM Screen Industry Body. Creative industries specialist Suzie Norton (Zanna Creative) will be leading the consultations with stakeholders on behalf of West Midlands Combined Authority to help get this new project up and running. There are some exciting times ahead and we look forward to sharing more positive news and developments in the coming months.

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The Prosthetics Event is set to take place in Coventry at the Ricoh Arena on November 23rd. The monsters and makeup show will explore the work that goes into characters in films and TV. It is largely an educational event for those interested in the creation of makeup effects, monsters and body art. This could be for film, TV or casualty simulations. The event will offer learning and networking, with demos, talks and advice from top film industry professionals. It will also feature beautiful body art, extraordinary exhibits and shopping with leading specialist retailers. There is set to be plenty to see and do, for both beginners and experts in the prosthetics field.

The event comes to Coventry having outgrown its former home at Aston University in Birmingham. When it first started five years ago, the event was significantly smaller. Now. it needs 1,700 square metres of space inside the Ricoh Arena. The event is set to attract more than 50 exhibitors and around 2,000 visitors from across the country and overseas. Attendees are expected to range from make-up artists and tutors to hobbyists and beginners.

It is being hosted by event founder and prosthetics designer Neill Gorton from Millennium FX and Gorton Studio – who has worked on shows including Doctor Who and films such as Victor Frankenstein and The Wolfman – and will be carrying out demonstrations at Ricoh Arena.

What has been said about The Prosthetics Event?

Katie Davies, from The Prosthetics Event, says, “Interest in our event has grown significantly over the past few years, as different generations become increasingly fascinated with special effects seen in films and TV shows. This includes aspects such as how to safely attach foreign objects to bodies, applying ageing make-up correctly and how to accurately fit pre-made wigs and beards. The list of special effects is endless and this event is quickly turning into a central hub for special effects lovers can congregate. They can pursue their own hobby, start their career and film and TV professionals can share their experiences. Bringing our show to Ricoh Arena is an exciting new chapter in the show’s history. We’ve built a solid following during our inception in Birmingham. Now our move to Coventry allows us to meet demand from both exhibitors and visitors as word spreads about our show.”

Caroline Lissaman, Head of Event Management at Ricoh Arena, added: “This is one of the quirkiest events that we will have held at Ricoh Arena… The Prosthetics Event has bags of potential.”

For more information about the Prosthetics Event, you can check out their website here .

Source: Coventry Telegraph

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The British Academy Television Awards (BAFTA TV Awards) will be held Sunday, May 12. Categories for the BAFTA TV awards include Best Entertainment Performance, Best Mini-Series and Best News Coverage. Graham Norton will be hosting this year’s BAFTA TV Awards – 15 years after he first took on the role. In a statement, the comedian and TV presenter said: “It has been almost 15 years since I first hosted the Television Awards and what a pleasure it is to be returning to host once again. 2018 was a stand-out year for television and I look forward to seeing the brilliant talent in our industry rewarded.”

How can I watch the Awards?

The Bafta TV Awards will air on BBC One on Sunday, May 12 from 8pm. The awards aren’t broadcast live, but are shown on a delay so that an edited down version hits the screens. While the official venue hasn’t been confirmed just yet, the ceremony has taken place at the Royal Festival Hall since 2016. The Bafta Television Awards will also be available to stream on BBC iPlayer.

Who are the BAFTA TV Awards 2019 nominees?

Drama series
Bodyguard (BBC One)
Killing Eve (BBC Three)
Save Me (Sky Atlantic)
Informer (BBC One)

Mini-series
A Very English Scandal (BBC One)
Kiri (Channel 4)
Mrs Wilson (BBC One)
Patrick Melrose (Showtime/Sky Atlantic)

Leading actress
Jodie Comer – Killing Eve (BBC America/BBC Three)
Sandra Oh – Killing Eve (BBC America/BBC Three)
Keeley Hawes – Bodyguard (BBC One)
Ruth Wilson – Mrs Wilson (BBC One)

Leading actor
Hugh Grant – A Very English Scandal (BBC One)
Chance Perdomo – Killed By My Debt (BBC Three)
Lucian Msamati – Kiri (Channel 4)
Benedict Cumberbatch – Patrick Melrose (Showtime/Sky Atlantic)

Female performance in a comedy programme
Daisy May Cooper – This Country (BBC Three)
Jessica Hynes – There She Goes (BBC Four)
Julia Davis – Sally4Ever (Sky Atlantic/HBO)
Lesley Manville – Mum (BBC Two)

Male performance in a comedy programme
Alex MacQueen – Sally4Ever (Sky Atlantic/HBO)
Jamie Demetriou – Stath Lets Flats (Channel 4)
Peter Mullan – Mum (BBC Two)
Steve Pemberton – Inside No 9 (BBC Two)

International
54 Hours: The Gladbeck Hostage Crisis (ARD/BBC Four)
The Handmaid’s Tale (Hulu/Channel 4)
Reporting Trump’s First Year: The Fourth Estate (Showtime/BBC Two)
Succession (HBO/Sky Atlantic)

Supporting actor
Alex Jennings – Unforgotten (ITV)
Ben Whishaw – A Very English Scandal (BBC One)
Kim Bodnia – Killing Eve (BBC One)
Stephen Graham – Save Me (Sky Atlantic)

Supporting actress
Billie Piper – Collateral (BBC Two)
Fiona Shaw – Killing Eve (BBC One)
Keeley Hawes – Mrs Wilson (BBC One)
Monica Dolan – A Very English Scandal (BBC One)

Entertainment performance
Anthony McPartlin, Declan Donnelly – Ant & Dec’s Saturday Night Takeaway (ITV)
David Mitchell – Would I Lie To You? (BBC One)
Lee Mack – Would I Lie To You? (BBC One)
Rachel Parris – The Mash Report (BBC Two)

Specialist factual
Bros: After the Screaming Stops (BBC Four)
Grayson Perry: Rites of Passage (Channel 4)
Suffragettes With Lucy Worsley (BBC One)
Superkids: Breaking Away From Care (Channel 4)

Reality and constructed factual
Dragons’ Den (BBC Two)
I’m A Celebrity … Get Me Out of Here! ( ITV)
Old People’s Home for 4 Year Olds (Channel 4)
The Real Full Monty: Ladies’ Night (ITV)

Current affairs
Football’s Wall of Silence (Al Jazeera English)
Iran Unveiled: Taking on the Ayatollahs – Exposure (ITV)
Massacre at Ballymurphy (Channel 4)
Myanmar’s Killing Fields (Channel 4)

Entertainment programme
Ant & Dec’s Saturday Night Takeaway (ITV)
Britain’s Got Talent (ITV)
Michael McIntyre’s Big Show (BBC One)
Strictly Come Dancing (BBC One)

Scripted comedy
Derry Girls (Channel 4)
Mum (BBC Two)
Sally4Ever (Sky Atlantic/HBO)
Stath Lets Flats (Channel 4)

Comedy entertainment programme
The Big Narstie Show (Channel 4)
The Last Leg (Channel 4)
A League of Their Own (Sky One)
Would I Lie to You? (BBC One)

Factual series
24 Hours in A&E (Channel 4)
Life and Death Row: The Mass Execution (BBC Three)
Louis Theroux’s Altered States (BBC Two)
Prison (Channel 4)

Features
Gordon, Gino and Fred’s Road Trip (ITV)
The Great British Bake Off (Channel 4)
Mortimer & Whitehouse: Gone Fishing (BBC Two)
Who Do You Think You Are? (BBC One)

News coverage
Bullying and Harassment in the House of Commons – Newsnight (BBC Two)
Cambridge Analytica Uncovered (Channel 4)
Good Morning Britain: On a Knife Edge (ITV)
Good Morning Britain: Thomas Markle Exclusive (ITV)

Single documentary
Driven: The Billy Monger Story (BBC Three)
Gun No 6 (BBC Two)
My Dad, the Peace Deal and Me (BBC One)
School for Stammers (ITV)

Single drama
Bandersnatch – Black Mirror (Netflix)
Care (BBC One)
Killed By My Debt (BBC Three)
Through the Gates – On the Edge (Channel 4)

Soap and Continuing Drama
Casualty (BBC One)
Coronation Street (ITV)
EastEnders (BBC One)
Hollyoaks (Channel 4)

Sport
2018 Six Nations: Scotland v England (BBC One)
2018 World Cup: England v Sweden (BBC One)
England’s Test Cricket: Cook’s Farewell (Sky Sports Cricket)
Winter Olympics (BBC Two)

Virgin Media Must-See Moment nominees
Bodyguard – the assassination of Julia Montague (BBC)
Coronation Street – Gail’s monologue on the suicide of Aidan Connor (ITV)
Doctor Who – The Doctor meets Rosa Parks (BBC)
Killing Eve – Eve stabs Villanelle (BBC)
Peter Kay’s Car Share – the finale (BBC)
Queer Eye – Tom’s transformation (Netflix)

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