If you're black in the UK, the police are 10 times more likely to stop and search you. How would they feel if it was the other way around?
Starring: SELOM AWADZI (Attack the Block), ALLESSANDRO BABALOLA (Top Boy, Flesh and Bone), PHIL BARANTINI (Band of Brothers, Ned Kelly, Chernobyl), DEAN KILBEY (All the Money in the World, Love Possibly)
Written and Directed by HARRY JACKSON
Produced by MILLY UPTON
Director of Photography MOLLY MANNING WALKER
Edited by CHOLE HARDWICK
STOP AND SEARCH is a great example of the right film at the right time. We first caught wind of the project thanks to our friends at Director’s Notes flagging it and we instantly thought that this was a special film we had to feature. Check out our interview with director Harry Jackson below.
TELL US A BIT ABOUT YOUR BACKGROUND:
I started in acting, having the honour of being murdered by Vanessa Redgrave four times a week for the RSC. Like all child actors I went off the rails, or in other words became a director. My graduation film ‘Little’ won an RTS award, aired on Sky Arts and screened at Foyle Film Festival. Since then my shorts ‘Lifeline’ (Julia Deakin) and ‘MatchBox’ (Simon Callow) have screened at Rhode Island, Kerry, Kinofilm Manchester, Fastnet and London Short Film Festivals between them.
STOP AND FRISK SEEMS VERY TIMELY. DID YOU MAKE THIS FILM AS A REACTION TO THE BLM PROTESTS OR DID YOU HAVE THIS IN THE WORKS PRIOR:
I actually shot the film in 2019 and by chance was planning to release it around this time anyway. After the initial BLM protests and a growing desire to address racism in the UK, it made sense to speed up the release. Hopefully it can be part of a larger effort to put the stop and search issue on the agenda.
WHAT WAS IT LIKE TO BRING THE SCRIPT TO LIFE (WAS IT MADE DURING LOCKDOWN?):
It was shot pre-lockdown, so fortunately I didn’t have to deal with any of the COVID restrictions. The main challenge of the shoot was time, as it so often is. We shot the whole film in one day during one of the shorter days of the year – so by the end it became rushed. It’s a shame that this so often happens, as if anything you want to invest the most time into your ending. If it wasn’t for the actors, I’d be tempted to work backward!
DID YOU HAVE ANY CREATIVE SOLUTIONS FOR CREATING QUALITY CONTENT ON A MINIMAL BUDGET:
I hate to bring it back to time again, but the ‘time is money’ cliché is very real. We didn’t have the budget for more than a one-day shoot, so we had to shoot quickly. Going handheld massively helped with this, as setting up a tripod or dolly can be so time consuming. I wouldn’t have done this if it didn’t suit the film, but thankfully it did as it probably saved more money than any other decision.
WHAT'S YOUR FAVOURITE PART OF THE FILMMAKING PROCESS:
Post-production. Script writing can go in so many directions that sometimes it can be quite overwhelming. Being on set is always time pressured, and there’s so much out of your control – which is surely a long way from being the best environment to make decisions. Editing is a pleasure because you get a sense of the film coming together, and you have the luxury of time to try out everything you want to. Then just as you get bored of the edit, you get to add sound, music and the grade, which is always a refreshing new layer. Also most importantly I can be lying down on the sofa in my trackies.
SCREENING RECOMMENDATIONS TO KEEP US BUSY WHILE SOCIAL DISTANCING
On a related theme to my film, I'd really recommend 'Fruitvale Station'. It's about Oscar Grant, a young black man who was killed by the police - it's brilliant. Otherwise I've recently enjoyed 'The Assistant' and I've also been revisiting all of David Lean's films, which are perfect for when you have plenty of time.
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