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A FULL house is expected at the Artrix cinema in Bromsgrove on Thursday, February 6 for the premiere of Father’s Daze, a film produced and directed by BeeBee Films, a Redditch based film production company.

The film is available to watch here: www.vimeo.com/ondemand/fathersdaze

Filmed in Birmingham and Redditch

Shot mainly in locations around Redditch and South Birmingham, the film portrays events based on the true story of a single parent father struggling to provide for his children and simultaneously fight off demands for money from the newly set up Child Support Agency which seems unwilling or unable to take his individual circumstances into account.

Starring several up and coming actors from the Birmingham Conservatoire, including Chris Del Manso, the film showcases what can be achieved by harnessing talent in the local area.

Director Brian Becker said: “Producing a feature film is an extremely challenging task and I would really like to thank the many local people who made it possible, in particular those who gave up their time to be extras or help us make everyday venues into film sets.

“Five Redditch residents even opened up their own homes to the film crew. I hope they enjoy seeing the result on the big screen in Bromsgrove.”

A limited number of tickets are still available for the premiere screening. Book yours through www.artrix.co.uk/whats-on/all-shows/screening-of-fathers-daze or phone the Artrix Box Office on 01527 577330.

Following the screening, the film will be available to watch here: www.vimeo.com/ondemand/fathersdaze

Screening Details

Date: Thursday 6th February 2020

Time of Screening : 8.00pm

Running time: 116 minutes

Director: Brian Becker

Starring: Chris Del Manso, Sally Hyde Lomax and Simon Hawkins.

Classification: 12A

Source: redditchstandard.co.uk

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THE horror of domestic violence and the importance of tackling it in society will be showcased in a film created by a Black Country charity.

The team at the Saleem Foundation have created a short film, titled ‘The Hidden Scars’ which premiered on January 31st and will be released to the public at the end of February. The film explores the impact of domestic violence on children and how violence operates in a cycle amongst families.

Shaz Saleem, chair of foundation, said the film and the foundation’s work on domestic abuse grew from their earlier campaign to improve mental health in the community.

A popular outdoor film event is returning to Birmingham and Coventry this summer two of the region’s most beautiful locations.

Summer Screens is returning to Birmingham Botanical Gardens and Coventry Cathedral ruins – but the films will not be announced for about six weeks when tickets will go on sale.

Among movies that could be shown are Disney big-hitters such as The Lion King and Beauty and the Beast, as well as musicals such as Moulin Rouge and the Greatest Showman and newer blockbusters such as Joker and Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.

These films are listed on the Summer Screens website as being shown this summer – but it has not yet been confirmed which films are being shown at which venues.

All cinema goers under 18 must be accompanied by a parent or guardian, and no children aged under five are allowed.

A heritage regeneration company has put forward bold plans to revitalise an under-used area of Birmingham’s Jewellery Quarter, with a creative and media centre, complete with commercial studio space, retail and housing.

Post_hoc Developments, which specialises in creative sector projects, has submitted a planning application to Birmingham City Council to transform the Key Hill area, off Great Hampton Street, into a 100,000 sq ft creative hub, with film, photography, digital, music and jewellery studios and workspaces, as well as commercial space, shops and homes.

The plans for Key Hill Studios includes the refurbishment of the grade II listed Harry Smith Building on the corner of Key Hill and Hockley Hill – one of the oldest buildings in the Jewellery Quarter, dating back to 1824 – and the grade II listed Gem Buildings, also on Key Hill, which were built in 1913.

Included is a mews of 18 townhouses, plus apartments above shops and studios linked by a series of squares in a traditional format, with new pedestrian routes through the whole site. In addition to Key Hill Studios, the plans also include a new bar/restaurant in the Gem, to be designed as a key meeting and networking base, supported by cafes and useful shops.

Award-winning conservation architect David Mahony, the principal architect on the scheme and co-director at Post_hoc, said: “We wanted the ground floor to be vibrant, which also fits in with the proposed new masterplan for the Jewellery Quarter, so adding shops for independents made sense.”

Key to the development is The Lampworks, a film and creative studio set up by Jewellery Quarter-based Post_hoc and Birmingham Film Festival’s Kevin McDonagh, after they acquired a former factory and two adjoining Victorian houses in Key Hill Drive. They launched the studio in June 2019 and it has already played host to filmmakers, photographers and videomakers, as well as dance companies, musicians and television production companies, some of whom have travelled from Yorkshire and London to use the space.

Chris Barrow, co-director at Post_hoc, said: “We saw the opportunity to add further spaces and resources for creatives, at the same time as regenerating a lost part of the Jewellery Quarter. Consideration is being given to the commercial spaces being owned and managed by a community interest company (CIC), thereby assuring long-term survival.

“This project is very much looking to support smaller, independent companies, producers and artists from the ground up, helping them to realise their projects, as well as working with creative companies that create content for the BBC and other major channels.

“The whole scheme could accommodate up to 150 full time jobs and the proven interest in using The Lampworks, which is only a few minutes’ walk from the tram and railway station, has shown the need for managed studios, so we look forward to adding more flexible spaces and bringing more essential resources.”

As part of Post_hoc’s new plans, The Lampworks will have three fully equipped studios for hire, with the former factory space being split into a 700 sq ft green screen studio with an infinity wall and a 1400 sq ft “shiny floor” TV style studio. These would be available for independent filmmakers, music and fashion video makers, as well as larger production companies, and would complement the already popular “Loft” studio on the first floor.

The development sits alongside the historic Key Hill Cemetery, the burial place of many of prominent Birmingham people from the 19th century, including the politician and statesman Joseph Chamberlain and his brother Richard, and Alfred Bird, the inventor of Bird’s Custard.

If Birmingham City Council planners give the development the go ahead, Chris and David plan to begin refurbishment of the existing historic buildings later this year to provide working studios for hire/rent, with construction of some of the new housing by early 2021.

Source: bdaily.co.uk

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Stratford will be thrust into the television limelight once again on February 3rd as the BBC drama Shakespeare and Hathaway returns for its third series. The series is produced by BBC Studios in Birmingham.

The hit day time drama stars Jo Joyner and Mark Benton in the lead roles and Stratford residents will no doubt recognise many of the settings in the show, which in this series even includes the Herald offices. Series three will feature comic mysteries and dodgy dealings as private investigator Frank Hathaway and sidekick Luella Shakespeare (Jo Joyner) hunt down clues, solve crimes and fend off a ruthless killer.

A stellar line-up of actors including Jim Moir (AKA Vic Reeves), Ted Robbins, Josette Simon, David Schofield, Roberta Taylor, Madhav Sharma, Josie Lawrence, Tamzin Outhwaite and many more have been recruited as special guests.

Shakespeare and Hathaway is now one of the longest running series on BBC daytime, with the second series attracting an average of 1.3million viewers on BBC One. Eagle-eyed residents may have spotted production crews around the town prior to Christmas with cameras seen at locations on Rother Street and Meer Street in Stratford-upon-Avon.

Jo Joyner, said: “Stratford is a very big part of the show, and we’ve really been welcomed by the town. When we made the first series, we would film outside famous buildings, and people would come out and tell us to go away. Now in the third series, people bring us cups of tea and cake.

“Attitudes have really changed. We can be a disturbance, bring lots of white trucks and get in the way. People are always surprised by how many people there are in a film crew. But the locals in Stratford really look after us. One restaurant 4 gave us eight huge pizzas because they had watched us filming for hours in the cold and took pity on us.”

Mark Benton added: “We include quotes from Shakespeare and some episodes are loosely based on his plays. This year we have a version of King Lear set in a carpet warehouse. I love those wonderfully wacky ideas, and the fact that people can watch the show on two levels. You can enjoy the Shakespeare references, as well as the whodunnit. That keeps everybody interested. It’s great.

“There’s always such a great atmosphere on set – there is no division between cast and crew. We’re all pulling together and working towards the same end. We give it a hundred percent as if it were a blockbuster movie because we care so much about it. That makes the show such a joy to work on.”

Speaking about his experience of filming series 3, Jim Moir, said: “It was one of my best acting experiences of last year, working with one of my best friends Mark Benton. And my new friend Jo Joyner.”

Ceri Meyrick, Executive Producer of Shakespeare & Hathaway, said: “I’m delighted with the array of star talent joining as guest characters this year. This series promises much more murder and mayhem, plus a hint at the past lives of both Frank and Lu as we meet Frank’s old nemesis and we find out why Lu really left the hairdressing business.”

Shakespeare and Hathaway starts on Monday (3rd February) on BBC One at 2.15pm, and then every weekday following.

Source: www.stratford-herald.com

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Tony Garnett, who has died aged 83, was a revolutionary force in UK TV and film, producing dramas that would be controversial, dramatically brilliant and – especially with his later work – engaging, entertaining and popular. Amongst his best known works are Up the Junction, Cathy Come Home, The Price of Coal, Days of Hope, Scrubbers, Cardiac Arrest, Between the Lines, Ballykissangel and This Life.

Garnett’s earlier productions were largely social realist, one-off dramas focused on the struggles of ordinary working-class families while his later works were TV series focused on more affluent middle-class professions. In a sense this mirrored his own life as he moved from a challenging Birmingham childhood to the epicentre of London media.

Tony Garnett was born Anthony Edward Lewis in Erdington, Birmingham. In 1941 his mother Ida died of septicaemia after a backstreet abortion and, 12 days later, his father Tom took his own life – the police having made him a suspect in Ida’s death (abortion then being illegal). Anthony was taken in by his uncle and aunt, Pom and Harold Garnett and in his late teens he would take his uncle’s surname.

Excelling at grammar school and acting in amateur dramatic groups. Studying psychology in London he continued to act and, in 1960, was spotted by a BBC producer. This lead to Garnett becoming a professional actor and he appeared in everything from Z Cars through BBC television plays to the 1962 film The Boys.

Sensing that he wanted a career in drama but not as an actor, Garnett became an assistant story editor for the BBC in 1965 and it was in this role that he came to work on Up the Junction, a story of factory girls in Battersea that featured an illegal abortion. Directed by Ken Loach, Garnett helped ensure the drama got made by slotting its production to begin while the Wednesday Play’s producer was on holiday.

Loach liked the insouciant, determined Brummie and, after the huge uproar (from Mary Whitehouse and the conservative press) over Up the Junction, they made Cathy Come Home (1966) with Garnett producer. This piece, about a young, working-class family made homeless, stands today as one of the most radical TV plays ever made, one whose themes resonated strongly with the public.

Garnett, whose wife had been diagnosed with schizophrenia and suffered awfully due to electroshock treatment, produced the 1967 drama In Two Minds (featuring the radical psychiatrist RD Laing) for the BBC with Loach directing (the two remade In Two Minds as a feature film, Family Life, in 1971). Garnett was producer of Kes, Loach’s acclaimed 1969 feature film debut about a disaffected Yorkshire schoolboy and his kestrel.

Across the 1970s Garnett produced powerful, intelligent, social realist drama for the BBC. These included Days of Hope (1975), focusing on the years leading up to the general strike in 1926, The Price of Coal (1977), a preview of sorts of the forthcoming miners’ strike, and The Spongers (1978), a brilliantly provocative drama about a young mother desperate to receive benefits while the Queen’s silver jubilee was under way. Garnett wrote and directed Prostitute (1980) and Handgun (1983), but neither film matched his best work. He spent most of the 1980s bereft in Los Angeles as a movie producer.

By 1990 he was back in London and running World Productions. The US had led to him developing a taste for producing glossy, feel good dramas: Cardiac Arrest, Ballykissangel and This Life were very popular and demonstrated he hadn’t lost his touch for engaging, intelligent drama.

Having largely retired from producing, Garnett focused on lecturing, family and Aston Villa FC, his passion for the club being so fierce he jokingly threatened to disown his children if they supported Birmingham City FC.

Ken Loach told Radio 4’s Today programme that Garnett “understood the basic conflict at the heart of society, between those with power who exploit and those who are exploited. He was a brilliant, complex man, intensely loyal and generous-spirited.”

He was married twice, to Topsy Jane Legge and Alex Ouroussoff, and is survived by his partner, Victoria Childs, and two sons.

Tony Garnett, producer and director, born 3 April 1936, died 12 January 2020

Source: www.independent.co.uk

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Official figures published the Research and Statistics Unit of the BFI, the UK’s lead organisation for film, television and the moving image, reveal the highest spend ever on film and high-end television production in the UK in 2019. This includes high levels of international production investment underlining the UK’s global reputation as the world-leading centre for film and TV production, sustained strong admissions and box office for film in the cinema and box office growth in the market share for independent UK films.

Cinema audiences flocked to see a combination of blockbuster films led by Avengers: Endgame and The Lion King to independent UK films such as Downton Abbey, The Favourite and Yesterday, generating a strong year at the UK and Republic of Ireland box office.

Collectively, films released in 2019 attracted 176 million admissions, a minimal 0.6 per cent decrease on 2018, but still the second biggest year by admissions for 49 years. Total box office revenue for all films released was £1.254 billion, just 2 per cent down on last year.

The spend on high-end television and film production in the UK in 2019 reached £3.62 billion (€4.28bn), a 16 per cent increase on 2018. This is the highest year on record, showing the UK to be the world’s busiest production hub and demonstrating the continued world-class excellence of UK talent, crews, VFX and production services, locations, the supportive fiscal environment created by the UK’s creative sector tax reliefs and the work of the British Film Commission with international producers. These factors play a vital role in attracting inward investment to the UK, and benefitting the UK film economy with 2019 inward investment across film and high television topping £3 billion for the first time.

Film co-production in the UK also saw a 37 per cent uplift in spend with £34 million across 23 productions generated by films including Phyllida Lloyd’s Herself, Viggo Mortensen’s Falling, Brandon Cronenberg’s Possessor, Uberto Pasolini’s Nowhere Special, Ben Lewin’s Falling For Figaro, James D’Arcy’s Made In Italy, Florian Zeller’s The Father, Liam O’Donnell’s Skylines and Lina Roessler’s Best Sellers.

Inward investment production comes to the UK from a number of different countries. The inward investment data also reveals a notable influx of 29 Indian productions being made in the UK with a collective spend of £112 million, including Mysskin’s Thupparivaalan 2, Amarjit Singh’s Jhalle, Sharan Art’s Galwakdi and Amrit Raj Chadha’s Parauhneya Nu Dafa Karo.

Domestic film and high-end television production generated a production spend of £546.4 million, a decrease of 28 per cent from 2018. Within this figure, domestic film showed a greater drop in spend with £174.7 million, reflecting a decrease of 45 per cent and demonstrating a shifting industry eco-system for domestic production. However, this picture doesn’t reflect the fact that films being made by home-grown are attracting international finance and are therefore classified inward investment, e.g., Sam Mendes’s 1917 and Andy Serkis’s Venom 2. For domestic high-end television production, the spend of £371.7 million represented a decrease of 14 per cent on 2018.

Films made in the UK in 2019 for release in 2020/2021 includes inward investment films such as Cary Joji Fukanaga’s No Time To Die, Cate Shortland’s Black Widow, Sam Mendes’s 1917, Craig Gillespie’s Cruella, Antoine Fuqua’s Infinite, Andy Serkis’s Venom 2, George Clooney’s Good Morning, Midnight, Tim Story’s Tom and Jerry, Daniel Espinosa’s Mobius, Robert Zemeckis’s The Witches, Chloe Zhao’s The Eternals, Christopher Nolan’s Tenet, Will Sharpe’s Louis Wain, Danis Tanovic’s The Postcard Killings, John Madden’s Operation Mincemeat and Tanya Wexler’s Jolt.

Domestic UK (independent) productions included Francis Lee’s Ammonite, Euros Lyn’s Dream Horse, Joanna Hogg’s The Souvenir 2, Kevin Macdonald’s Prisoner 760, Clio Barnard’s Ali & Ava, Barnaby Thompson’s Pixie, Josie Rourke’s This Nan’s Life, Andrew ‘Rapman’ Onwubolu’s Blue Story, Aleem Khan’s After Love, Peter Jackson’s Jamboree Jam, Peter Middleton and James Spinney’s Chasing Chaplin, Aneil Karia’s Surge, Charles Martin Smith’s A Gift From Bob, Edgar Wright’s Last Night In Soho and Autumn de Wilde’s Emma.

The growth in volume of high-end television productions in 2019 included inward investment and co-productions such as Jon East’s Cursed, Gina Prince-Bythewood’s The Old Guard, The Crown (series 4), Lenny Abrahamson’s Normal People, Andrew Haigh’s The North Water, Michaela Coel’s Jan 22nd, Armando Iannucci’s Avenue 5, Lena Dunham’s Industry, Tom Hooper’s His Dark Materials (series 2), David Moore’s Outlander (series 5), Owen Harris’s Brave New World, Ben Wheatley’s Rebecca, Charlotte Bruus Christensen’s Black Narcissus, Tom Shankland’s The Serpent, Julie Ann Robinson’s Bridgetron, The Spanish Princess (season 2) and The End of the F***ing World (series 2).

Domestic high-end television productions included Aisling Walsh’s Elizabeth is Missing, Mira Nair’s A Suitable Boy, Hans Herbots’ Cobra, Christine Gernon’s Gavin & Stacey Christmas Special, Penny Woolcock’s Ackley Bridge (series 3), Claire McCarthy Domina, Chloe Thomas’s The Deceived, John Strickland’s Line of Duty (series 5), Stewart Svaasand’s Tin Star (series 3), John Strickland’s Line of Duty (series 5), Claire McCarthy’s Domina, Robert Quinn’s The Bay (series 2), Rebecca Gatward and Mary Nighy’s Traces, Mackenzie Crook’s Worzel Gummidge, Lynsey Miller’s Deadwater Fell and Kieron Hawkes’s Intergalactic.

Film and high-end television production generates local business activity and jobs: Dream Horse (south Wales); In Sickness, A Discovery of Witches, Brave New World, Industry (Wales); 1917 (Glasgow, south-west England); She Will, Shepherd, Shiddat, Wise Blood, Year of the Rabbit (Scotland), No Time To Die (Highlands, south-west England); The Nest (Glasgow); Deadwater Fell (Ayrshire); Pixie, Here Before, Nowhere Special, Black Medicine, The Deceived (Northern Ireland); Sandition, War of the Worlds, The Spanish Princess (south-west England); The Crown, Eurovision, His Dark Materials, Good Morning, Midnight, Honour (south-east England); Supernova, World on Fire, Cobra (north-west England); Fast & Furious 9, Black Widow (south-east England); Cruella, Grantchester (east of England); Enola Holmes, Galwakdi, Good Luck Jatta, Hello Jindagi (West Midlands); Intergalactic (East Midlands); Censor (Leeds); Ali and Ava, All Creatures Great And Small, The English Game, (Bradford); Pagalpanti, The English Game (Skipton); Everyone’s Talking About Jamie (Sheffield, Barnsley, Rotherham); The Souvenir 2 (Norfolk); Ammonite (Dorset, London); Sweetheart (Dorset); and After Love (Kent, London) are just a few examples.

“These latest figures show that our world-leading screen industries continue to thrive, attracting audiences all around the globe,” noted Nigel Adams, Minister for Creative Industries. “The increase in inward investment reflects the UK’s acclaimed reputation as a home for fantastic talent and creativity in our film and television sectors.”

“Today’s figures show an incredibly vibrant picture, a sector that continues to grow, delivering billions to the economy and a wide spectrum of jobs all over the UK,” added Amanda Nevill CBE, CEO of the BFI. It’s great to see some of our greatest home-grown talent making big international pictures such as 1917. It also underlines the importance of ensuring that the independent sector, the lifeblood for this growing success, is properly supported.”

“Film and high-end TV are big business, indeed we are the fastest growing sector in the economy, and today’s record breaking figures show the UK continuing to meet the growing demand for content, studio space and world-class skills, talent and technical expertise,” commented Adrian Wootton OBE, Chief Executive of the British Film Commission and Film London. “It’s vital we continue to nurture and champion the exceptional talent across our screen industries; the BFC working together with our public and private partners across the UK to seize the growth opportunities for nations and regions, putting inclusivity and sustainability at the heart of everything we do.”

YEARLY STATISTICS IN DETAIL

Film production in 2019

The year saw 188 feature films go into production with an interim total spend of £1.951 billion, a 6 per cent increase on the previous year and the second highest recorded level of production spend. Consolidated volume and spend figures for 2019 will be published later this year as production reporting is updated.

Of the 188 films which went into production in 2019, 94 were domestic UK films with a total interim spend of £174.7 million, representing a 46 per cent decrease in the number of films and 45 per cent decrease in spend from £318.7 million last year. Independently produced domestic titles in 2019 included Francis Lee’s Ammonite, Euros Lyn’s Dream Horse, Joanna Hogg’s The Souvenir 2, Kevin Macdonald’s Prisoner 760, Clio Barnard’s Ali & Ava, Barnaby Thompson’s Pixie, Andrew ‘Rapman’ Onwubolu’s Blue Story, Josie Rourke’s This Nan’s Life, Aleem Khan’s After Love, Philippe Martinez’s Shooting Paul, Peter Jackson’s Jamboree Jam, Gillies MacKinnon’s The Last Bus, Peter Middleton and James Spinney’s Chasing Chaplin, Aneil Karia’s Surge, Charles Martin Smith’s A Gift From Bob, Edgar Wright’s Last Night In Soho and Autumn de Wilde’s Emma.

2019 saw £1.742 billion being spent by 71 major inward investment films on production in the UK, supported by the British Film Commission, a significant uplift of 17 per cent on the previous year’s spend, and accounting for 89 per cent of the total spend on film production in the UK over the year. 21 studio-backed films accounted for 71 per cent of the total spend on all production.

Inward investment films made in the UK during 2018 include Sam Mendes’s 1917, Cary Joji Fukanaga’s No Time To Die, Cate Shortland’s Black Widow, Antoine Fuqua’s Infinite, Craig Gillespie’s Cruella, Andy Serkis’s Venom 2, George Clooney’s Good Morning, Midnight, Tim Story’s Tom and Jerry, Daniel Espinosa’s Mobius, Robert Zemeckis’s The Witches, Chloe Zhao’s The Eternals, Guy Ritchie’s Cash Truck, Christopher Nolan’s Tenet, Kenneth Branagh’s Death on the Nile, Will Sharpe’s Louis Wain, Danis Tanovic’s The Postcard Killings, Matthew Vaughn’s Kingsman; The Great Game, John Madden’s Operation Mincemeat and Tanya Wexler’s Jolt.

The inward investment data also reveals a notable influx of 29 Indian productions being made in the UK with a collective spend of £103.3 million including Mysskin’s Thupparivaalan 2, Amarjit Singh’s Jhalle, Sharan Art’s Galwakdi and Amrit Raj Chadha’s Parauhneya Nu Dafa Karo.

There were 23 UK co-productions going into production in 2018 with spend of £34.2 million compared to the interim spend in 2018 of £25.0 million. Co-productions included Phyllida Lloyd’s Herself, Viggo Mortensen’s Falling, Brandon Cronenberg’s Possessor, Uberto Pasolini’s Nowhere Special, Ben Lewin’s Falling For Figaro, James D’Arcy’s Made In Italy, Florian Zeller’s The Father, Liam O’Donnell’s Skylines and Lina Roessler’s Best Sellers.

High-end TV production in 2019

2019 has seen a significant boost in high-end television productions made in the UK with an interim spend of £1.665 billion across 123 productions; an increase of 29 per cent on 2018’s consolidated spend of £1.287 billion and also the highest level of spend since the introduction of tax relief.

Of the 123 high-end TV titles, 49 were domestic UK productions with spend of £371.1 million, a 14 per cent increase from the consolidated spend of £433.3 million in 2017. Domestic UK high-end TV titles include Aisling Walsh’s Elizabeth is Missing, Christine Gernon’s Gavin & Stacey Christmas Special, Richard Laxton’s Honour, Juliet May’s Motherland (series 2), Mackenzie Crook’s Worzel Gummidge, Emma Fraser’s Eden, Stella Corradi’s Sitting In Limbo, Chloe Thomas’s The Deceived, Robbie McKillop’s Guilt, Mira Nair’s A Suitable Boy, Lynsey Miller’s Deadwater Fell, Rebecca Gatward and Mary Nighy’s Traces, Andy de Emmony’s The Nest, Penny Woolcock’s Ackley Bridge (series 3), Claire McCarthy Domina, John Strickland’s Line of Duty (series 5), Hans Herbots’ Cobra, Farren Blackburn’s A Discovery of Witches and Kieron Hawkes’s Intergalactic.

The 74 inward investment and co-production high-end TV productions crashed through the £1 billion marker with an interim spend of £1.293 billion, a record spend and an increase of 51 per cent on 2018. High-end international TV productions made in the UK last year include Jon East’s Cursed, Gina Prince-Bythewood’s The Old Guard, The Crown (series 4), Lenny Abrahamson’s Normal People, Andrew Haigh’s The North Water, Armando Iannucci’s Avenue 5, Tom Hooper’s His Dark Materials (series 2),Terry McDonagh’s Killing Eve (series3), Outlander (series 5), Nick Murphy’s A Christmas Carol, Ben Wheatley’s Rebecca, Lena Dunham’s Industry, Michaela Coel’s Jan 22nd, Charlotte Bruus Christensen’s Black Narcissus, Owen Harris’s Brave New World, Julie Ann Robinson’s Bridgetron, Joss Whedon’s The Nevers, David Dobkin’s Eurovision, The Spanish Princess (season 2) and Lucy Forbes and Destiny Ekaragha’s The End of the F***ing World (series 2).

Animation television programme production in 2019

At the time of reporting, 23 animation television programmes went into production in the UK in 2019, with a spend of £39.3 million. Of these, 16 were domestic UK productions and seven were inward investment or co-productions. However, there is a significant time-lag with animation data with fuller reporting later this year.

Animation programmes that went into production in 2018 include Pinkalicious & Pteriffic (series 2), Bear Grylls Young Adventures, Alva and the Trolls, Love Monster and Dog Loves Books.

The UK spend and number of productions data reported are treated as interim results and are consolidated later in the year as final reporting is received.

Box office in 2019

The total box office for all films released was £1.254 billion, just 2 per cent down on last year. Leading the box office was Avengers: Endgame, which took over £88.7 million, followed by The Lion King (£76.0 million), Toy Story 4 (£66.2 million), Joker (£58.0 million) and Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (£54.9 million). Ten of the year’s top 20 performing films at the UK box office were UK/USA productions being made in the UK (including Last Christmas which was developed with BFI National Lottery funding) using the UK’s facilities, talent, crew and locations, again demonstrating the strength of the UK as a global production hub, making films that export worldwide.

The top grossing UK qualifying independent films were Downton Abbey, The Favourite, Yesterday, Stan & Ollie and Mary Queen of Scots. The top 20 reflects the diversity of theme and story explored in independent filmmaking including strong and influential women (The Favourite, Mary Queen of Scots, Colette); animation (Shaun The Sheep Movie: Farmageddon); contemporary life/coming of age (Blue Story, Fighting With My Family, Blinded By The Light); musical drama (Judy, Yesterday, Fisherman’s Friends, Wild Rose); political/espionage (Red Joan, Official Secrets); action adventure (Angel Has Fallen, The Kid Who Would Be King); and young audiences (Horrible Histories: The Movie – Rotten Romans). Two films – Stan & Ollie and Wild Rose – were produced by Fable Pictures and both played at the BFI London Film Festival.

The market share of independent UK films at the box office in 2019 was 13 per cent, an increase from 11.7 per cent in 2018. When UK-made, studio-backed films are added to the picture, eg Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, Aladdin, Dumbo and Rocketman, the full UK market share increases to 46 per cent, the highest since records began.

Source: www.advanced-television.com

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Sitting in make-up (“Don’t tell NME readers how long this takes!”), Guz explains how he sought to make Man Like Mobeen as authentic as possible. “In the beginning, we did the pilot, and I was like ‘Meh, it’s kind of whack’. It was very generic, super-sitcomy, so when we came round to making the series, we wanted to make something more substantial,” he remembers.

“Look, anyone can make a generic sitcom, but we want it to present real issues and show how easy it is to fall back into this lifestyle,” he continues. “When you’re watching the news and you see someone who has been sentenced to 22 years in prison – yeah, they might deserve it, but you don’t see the backstory – what happened in order for them to get to that point.”

He continues: “So we’re essentially witnessing a family guy who’s trying to care the best for his little sister fall back into a life he’s worked so hard to get out of. We’re filming here at a food bank, so we’re still looking at issues that matter to Mobeen, but the theme is very much his downwards spiral. The deeper he gets into this mess, the harder it is to get out of. And unfortunately, with no spoilers, happy endings are quite rare in real life.” He turns to his PR, before hesitantly laughing: “Shit, am I allowed to say that?”

Five years ago, while working as a secondary school humanities teacher in Coventry, Guz started uploading YouTube videos as Mobeen. One was a hilarious riposte to egregious Fox News reports that Birmingham was “no go zone” for non-Muslims. They caught the attention of Steve Coogan’s Baby Cow production company, who invited him to make a BBC comedy short, before commissioning a full series.

If season three has a noticeable swagger, it’s justified. Big name fans of Man Like Mobeen include Black Mirror’s Charlie Brooker, Riz Ahmed, and Idris Elba – who Guz ended up working with on Netflix’s Turn Up Charlie. “Everybody thinks ‘World’s sexiest dude’”, says Guz of Idris. “And he walks into a room and you’re like: ‘Oh shit! The aura is mad!’ But he himself started off in a block of flats in east London living a very tough life, so the show reminds him of what life could have been like for him.”

Most impressive for Guz was when his comedy idol, Chris Morris – the genius behind Four Lions and Brass Eye – was so enamoured by the show, he requested to meet him. “I feel like I’m double showing off!” he laughs. “I grew up thinking: ‘Yo! He’s a bad motherfucker!’, and that he’d seen what we were doing and reached out meant the world. When we met, he was passionate about real-life issues. He spends time in Birmingham in tough areas. You think: here’s the legendary Chris Morris in Alum Rock enjoying a curry! That’s mad!”

But then the show has attracted a broader range of fans than Guz initially expected, including the “mandem in prison,” he exclaims. “First of all, I want to know how they get the wi-fi in there?” he laughs. “I’m like, ‘Bro, what kind of fibre optics did you drill in the side of the wall?! For me, the fact that they watch the show and laugh at it but also see elements where they go: ‘Oh shit, I made that mistake, that’s where it all went wrong for me’ is great.”

At the other end of the social spectrum, silver-spoon multimillionaires in Monmouth are also tuning in. “I didn’t even know where Monmouth was!” he splutters. They contact him saying: ‘I very much enjoyed your show and it’s excellent social commentary’. “I’m like: Big up you, Phillip!”

It’s a turnaround in perception from when they first started filming on the streets of Birmingham. Tez Ilyas, who plays the naïve Eight, recalls: “We had young people coming up to us going ‘Is this Citizen Khan?’ Because they didn’t want that filmed on the streets they lived on – because it didn’t reflect their experience.” He’s referring to the BBC’s divisive Adil Ray-devised sitcom about a Muslim community leader which – although it aired from 2012 to 2016 – Guz once rightly described as being as anachronistic as 1970s show On the Buses.

By the time the first episode had aired, those fears had been allayed. “Now they come up to us while we’re filming asking us to be in it!”, laughs Tez. “People have been so thankful to see a character that represents them on screen, played in a way that’s funny, real and not tokenistic – all those negative things that Citizen Khan might have been. It feels like we’re blazing a trail for people to come after us and take advantage of the space we’re opening up.”

People regularly tell Tez – a 36-year-old stand-up comedian perhaps best known for hosting Channel 4’s  The Tez O’Clock Show – that Eight is their favourite character. Aside from acting as the show’s dim Father Dougal McGuire (Father Ted)/Woody Boyd (Cheers) style marshmallow cushioning to some of the darker moments, Tez notes that he also acts as a window into a community some of the audience may not be familiar with. “He’s the dumb one who goes: ‘I don’t really get this. What’s going on?’ He asks the questions that people might have but are too embarrassed to ask. Through his naïve eyes, people can better understand.”

All involved feel they’re making something special. Co-writer Andy Milligan, gagsmith for Ant and Dec on I’m A Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here!, says: “Until very recently, it was rare to see a Muslim man in his thirties on television without him wearing a suicide vest. Apart from being funny, I think the show gives a voice to a community that has been traditionally under-served on British television in general or worse, have been misrepresented.”

However, Mobeen isn’t an airbrushed ambassador for all Muslims. “I have a running joke where I say to Guz: ‘Can you tell me what every Muslim thinks about this issue?’,” laughs Andy. “Because there isn’t a tonne of shows doing what we do, there’s a tendency to say: ‘this show captures the modern Muslim experience’ and it no more does that than Mrs Brown’s Boys captures the old Irish woman experience.”

Even so, when Tez watches the show back “as a fan”, he can’t help but think: “I wish I had something like this when I was 18 years old.” Growing up, neither he nor Guz saw themselves represented on television. “It wasn’t until Goodness Gracious Me came along in 1998 that I thought: ‘Wow, people out there might find people like me funny’. That was ground-breaking and trailblazing but we had to wait a long time after that to actually be given a good opportunity.”

Ask Guz why it’s taken so long for shows like Man Like Mobeen to come along and one of the reasons he cites is commissioning cowardice. “It’s a question of: ‘How marketable is this?’ When you say ‘I want to make an episode where I’m in the back of a van with a far-right leader, that’s a difficult sell. The BBC were very much against me putting the Tommy Robinson character in series one – and we fought for it.” Keen to open up opportunities behind the camera as well as in front of it, he set up a training scheme on series three for young working class Midlanders. “With a show like this, we all think it’s important to leave a legacy,” argues Guz.

Against a backdrop of rising Islamophobia – a YouGov survey for the anti-racism group Hope Not Hate found more than half of Tory party members believe Islam is a threat to “the British way of life” –  shows like Man Like Mobeen provide a hilarious counter-narrative. “It’s partly a show about Britain 2020 which is a horrible right-wing mess,” notes Andy. “In the age of Boris Johnson and Donald Trump, things have amplified since we first started the show. Minorities are the first people to be persecuted by – particularly right wing – figures of power and it’s important to have a strong kickback.” Perversely, the worse things get, the more material they have to spin into comedic gold. When society goes low, they raise their comedy bar higher.

Tez – whose stand-up has demystified Islam to a wider audience – quips: “I always say I don’t want to eradicate racism because then I’d have nothing to joke about, but if it could be about 4/10 that would be good. Not so much racism that I get punched in the face, but enough racism that the BBC still feels the need to put me on Mock the Week!”

The biggest compliment to Guz is that Man Like Mobeen is overturning people’s ingrained prejudices. “One lad who used to go on a lot of far-right marches told me he saw our silly little comedy and now he’s changed his mind and goes to meetings with people from different faiths and backgrounds in his local community.”

“So that shows to me that – even though these are polarised times – humour is fundamentally a tool to bring us together.”

‘Man Like Mobeen’ season three is available on BBC iPlayer now

Tez Ilyas will be touring his new stand-up show from September

Source: www.nme.com

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