Creative Diversity. Talent from the UK s diverse communities

Transcription

1 Creative Diversity Talent from the UK s diverse communities

2 The Alpha Fund Channel 4 has a world-class reputation for innovation and is ready to invest in the next generation of creative content. The Alpha Fund is designed to support ideas, talent and emergent companies to enrich Channel 4 s reputation for creativity. It is a unique fund supporting diversity of supply by providing outstanding talent with a route of entry into an increasingly competitive media environment. Headed by Director of Creative Diversity Stuart Cosgrove, the fund has 2million to support new start ups, regionally based companies, projects with diverse talent attached and grassroots innovation. It is designed to kick-start original ideas that can grow in scale and ambition. New Companies Since the Alpha Fund s launch the Creative Diversity Team have engaged with over 320 emergent companies and put 54 projects into development of which 22 have progressed to full commissions. Hey Buddy Hey Buddy Productions secured their first three Channel 4 commissions within 6 months of working with the Creative Diversity Team. Nelson Mandela Superstar is a celebration of Nelson Mandela s life and his legacy in a film that shows how he transcended politics and became a global superstar. A Diverse Nation ripped up the standard awards show format to give us revealing and intimate films on Cultural Diversity Network Awards nominees as well as famous faces from the world of media. White Man Can t Run and Brand Bolt are short features which form part of Channel 4 s coverage of the IAAF World Athletics Championships. Acme Films New urban start-up founded by Oscar-nominated producer, Jamie D Cruz, has already secured several commissions with Channel 4. Life of Rhyme (a co production with Lemonade Money) decodes the culture, slang and street styles of Britain s modern-day life of rhyme with the definitive guide to the biggest explosion in homegrown lyrical innovation of modern times. He received support from the Alpha Fund for his drama project Run which showcased new talent from Brixton. Lemonade Money Supported by Creative Diversity, Lemonade Money have been commissioned by both T4 and Arts. Inside SBTV: From Boardroom to Bedroom is a contemporary observational documentary introducing 19 year old CEO Jamal Edwards and the other faces behind YouTube phenomenon SB:TV, which aired in T4. Life of hyme (a co-production with Acme Films) aired as part of Channel 4 s Street Summer

3 Greenacre Productions Introduced to Channel 4 through the Creative Diversity team, Greenacre are now in paid development on a drama set in 1970s multicultural London. Cinnamon Films Newly formed Cinnamon have begun their journey with Channel 4 with a development commission. Running for Gold sees black British filmmaker Alrick Riley (Spooks) directing the untold story of America s ill-fated relay team, whose members met very different fates after their victory in the 2000 Olympics. Brighthand Pictures Multi-faceted new indie won their first commission Channel 4 with Creative Diversity to make a film as part of Channel 4 s coverage of the World Athletics Championships. Maroon Productions Supported by Creative Diversity, Maroon Productions are developing ideas for Education and Arts and are creating Facebook Requiems, an online tribute to victims of gang related violence, which documents the immediate aftermath of families and friends coming to terms with their loss. Mixcloud The award-winning digital audio platform, won their first Channel 4 commission - Sound Track, which crowd sourced fresh new music to support our World Athletics coverage. The TV Collective The fund facilitated the relaunch of the UK s premier BAME Media Network. The TV Collective is a community interest company dedicated to promoting the creative and commercial value diversity adds to the British TV and film industries. It is a central hub sharing the latest industry news, recruitment, commissioning, funding, development opportunities and initiatives aimed at promoting diverse talent. Big Hug Support for The New Cross Fire Project, an online creative project with embedded media that uncovers the untold story of The New Cross Fire - a devastating house fire at a party in New Cross which killed 13 black youngsters

4 New Talent A whole host of new BAME talent behind the camera has emerged this year through the Alpha Fund and beyond. Anoop Pandhal British-Asian film-maker Anoop Pandhal directs a longitudinal film about the devastating effect of a miscarriage of justice on a family from Hoxton, when their son is wrongly accused of murder. Debbie Tucker Green Her first TV film Random follows a day in the life of an African-Caribbean family shattered by a random act of violence. Channel 4 s Alpha Fund helped showcase the film via innovative community-based events, prior to its TV transmission. Baff Akoto, Levi David Addai and Nick Mohammed Coming Up is the only talent scheme in the UK where new writers and directors have the opportunity to make an authored drama with a guaranteed network broadcast. This year Baff Akoto, Levi David Addai and Nick Mohammed made films that were broadcast on Channel 4. Satnam Auithi and Fozia Khan New directors Fozia Khan and Satnum Auithi had their debut films broadcast on Channel 4 as part of the First Cut strand, which gives a prime-time 30 minute slot to the country s best up and coming documentary directors. Kibwe Tavares We are working with Kibwe Tavares, whose short film is set in 2050 Brixton and features robots being discriminated against by humans. The film has deliberate echoes of the Brixton riots in the early 1980s. Aisling Ahmed Producer from Crowhill Films in Edinburgh has embarked on an ambitious documentary project with Alpha Fund support to chart the progress of a children s economy in a small inner-city Indian community

5 On Screen We continue to be the home for people with ideas that are not normally found in the mainstream media and in our commitment to telling stories from the diverse cultures of contemporary Britain A Dynamic Summer on Channel 4 The summer of 2011 has already proven to be one of the most memorable on record. The riots in England have provoked widespread anxiety and concern. Channel 4 has had a high profile summer - the only broadcaster that has offered viewers such a broad cultural response to these events, with fast turnaround news and current affairs and an extensive on-screen celebration of street culture and diverse creativity, led by our Arts team. Next up is a summer of sport with the most culturally diverse British team ever competing in the IAAF World Athletics Championships live from South Korea. Channel 4 tracked down the fastest man in the world to appear in our iconic onscreen 4 logo: Usain Bolt. He is the first human being ever to appear as part of 4 branding. You can watch it by clicking here. If you ve missed any of our summer output you can catch up on 4oD here, or read about it here: Street Summer The season included How Hip Hop Changed the World fronted by Idris Elba, Banksy s own Oscar-nominated film, Exit Through the Gift Shop, produced by Jamie D Cruz and The Antics Roadshow. StreetDance, was a two-parter that drilled down into the culture of the dance crews whilst Graffiti Wars explored the fierce rivalry between street artists and the authorities. Life of Rhyme, a co-production between two diverse-led indies, explored British emcee culture and its unique contribution to spoken word and poetry Concrete Circus brought together five of the world s best street sport talents and their amazing filmmakers. IAAF World Athletics Championship 2011 Next week our coverage of the World Athletics Championships in South Korea begin, and Channel 4 will broadcast thought-provoking and markedly different content made by small companies and featuring great talent. In addition we have four very different sports films, all made by diverse-led indies, that look at the huge impact athletics has on our society, and the big topics its got us talking about. You can watch these by clicking here.

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