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Babymother
''Babymother'' is a 1998 British musical comedy drama film directed by Julian Henriques and released by Channel 4 Films. It is considered to be the first Black British musical and captures the British Caribbean dancehall cultural scene of London. ''Babymother'' was also one of the few British musicals of its period. Plot In the London district of Harlesden, Anita is a single mother dreaming of becoming a reggae singer, but living in a run-down council estate with little financial support, and conflict with her children's father, Byron, dents her dreams. Despite no funds for a studio demo, she has talent and ambition, and with her equally ambitious two friends, the trio pin their hopes on an upcoming singing contest to make it big. Cast Production ''Babymother'' was directed and written by Julian Henriques, his first feature film, and was produced by his wife Parminder Vir. Henriques is of Jamaican background and a resident of Harlesden, where the film is set in. The film's ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Julian Henriques
Julian Henriques (born 1951) is a British filmmaker, researcher, writer and academic. He is a professor at Goldsmiths, University of London, in the Media and Communications Department, with his particular research interests being culture, technology and reggae sound systems. Biography Julian Henriques was born in Leeds, Yorkshire, England; his father, Fernando Henriques, was Jamaican and his mother was of Irish and English descent. When Henriques was 15 or 16, he and his two brothers were brought to Jamaica by their father, which "was the beginning of a longstanding working relationship with the island". In the 1970s, Henriques co-founded the journal ''Ideology and Consciousness'', which published writing on new theories in modern psychology, and he remained on the journal's editorial staff until 1977. He began his film career in the 1980s, working at Channel Four Television and at BBC television on the programme ''Ebony'' and then in the Music and Arts Department on '' Omnibus ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tameka Empson
Tameka Empson (born 16 April 1977) is an English actress and comedian. She appeared as one of the three protagonists in the hidden-camera comedy sketch show ''3 Non-Blondes''. In 2009, she began portraying the role of Kim Fox in the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders''. Career As well as her television work, Empson has appeared in a number of films. In 1996, she appeared in the film '' Beautiful Thing'' as Leah Russell, the next-door neighbour of the main characters. Empson worked alongside Linda Henry, both of whom would eventually join the cast of ''EastEnders''; in 1998 she appeared as the love rival to the main character in the film ''Babymother''. Empson is an experienced theatre actress having performed as Billie in the original cast of '' Our House'', a musical featuring songs from the ska/pop band Madness, which premiered at The Cambridge Theatre in October 2002 and ran on until August 2003. She has since been a mainstay of the Hackney Empire annual pantomimes. In 2008, Em ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Caroline Chikezie
Caroline Chikezie (born 19 February 1974) is a British Nigerian actress, best known for playing Sasha Williams in '' As If'', and Elaine Hardy in ''Footballers' Wives''. In recent years she has gained popularity as Angela Ochello in the Nigerian series ''The Governor''. Early life and background Chikezie was born in England to Nigerian parents of Igbo origin. At fourteen, Chikezie was sent to boarding school in Nigeria in an attempt to make her abandon her dreams to become an actress. Before this, she had attended weekend classes at Italia Conti. On her return to the United Kingdom, she enrolled at Brunel University where she studied Medicinal Chemistry (she was expected to take over her father's hospital in Nigeria), but dropped out of school. She later won a scholarship to the UK's Academy of Live and Recorded Arts. Television After roles in ''Holby City'', ''Casualty'', and the award-winning British film '' Babymother'', Chikezie landed her first major role as bitchy Sasha ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Harlesden
Harlesden is a district in the London Borough of Brent, North West London. Located north of the Grand Union Canal and Wormwood Scrubs, the Harrow Road flows through the centre of the area which goes eastwards to Central London and west towards Wembley. Harlesden was historically in the Municipal Borough of Willesden before the creation of Brent; it lies within Willesden's postal district of NW10. Harlesden has been praised for its vibrant Caribbean culture and unofficially named London's reggae capital for its contributions to the musical genre. The town centre contains a large number of multicultural independent businesses, while industry exists by the canal, most notably a McVitie's biscuit factory that has been operating since 1902. The population includes people of Afro-Caribbean heritage most notably, as well as Irish, Portuguese, Brazilian, Somali, and smaller Latin American and East African groups within the community. History Harlesden was once a Saxon settlement. Th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jocelyn Jee Esien
Jocelyn Jee Esien (born 2 March 1979) is a British comedian, actress and writer of Nigerian origin. She stars in the hidden-camera show '' 3 Non-Blondes'', and her own comedy sketch show, ''Little Miss Jocelyn''.Laura Barnett"Jocelyn Jee Esien: 'Whenever I see standup now, I get excited'" ''The Observer'', 6 January 2013. Life and career Esien was born in Hackney, London, to Nigerian parents. She attended Raine's Foundation School, and initially studied law before giving up to study drama, graduating from Guildhall School of Music and Drama. She came to prominence in 2003 in the BBC hidden-camera show '' 3 Non-Blondes'', having also appeared in other television series such as ''The Fast Show'' and ''The Bill''. In 2006 she wrote and starred in her own comedy sketch show called ''Little Miss Jocelyn'', a second series of which aired in January 2008. This show marks the first time in the history of television – in either the US or the UK – that a black woman has been given he ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vas Blackwood
Vasta Roy "Vas" Blackwood (born 19 October 1962) is a British actor from London. Blackwood played Lenny Henry's sidekick Winston Churchill in '' The Lenny Henry Show'' (1987) and David Sinclair in '' Casualty'' (1996–97). Since playing Rory Breaker in the hit film ''Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels'' (1998) he has had a number of film roles, including '' Mean Machine'' (2001), '' 9 Dead Gay Guys'' (2002) and ''Creep'' (2004). In 2005 he appeared in A Bear's Tail, a spin-off of '' Bo' Selecta!''. He also made an appearance as Lennox Gilbey in ''Only Fools and Horses''. He also played main character Dexter in '' Spatz''. In 2008 he did voiceover work on the video game ''Fable II''. In 2013 he did voiceover work on a Tesco advertisement, this was launched and played on various different channels within the United Kingdom in the Summer period. Blackwood was founder of virtual online blog Vastaman.com, which is now defunct. His cousin is the media personality Richard B ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Parminder Vir
Parminder Vir (born April 1955) is an Indian-British business executive, filmmaker and television producer. Biography Vir was born in April 1955 in Punjab, India. She moved to England with her family when she was 10 years old. Her brother Arun also became a filmmaker. Vir started out as an arts administrator with the Minorities' Arts Advisory Service before moving on to the Commonwealth Institute. She then joined the Greater London Council as Head of the Race Equality Unit for Arts and Recreation. In 1986, Vir produced a showreel on black filmmaking in Britain, which was viewed by senior BBC executives and led to an offer of work there. Starting out as a researcher, she progressed to assistant producer and eventually to series producer, staying with the BBC until 1994. Thereafter, she continued to make programmes for the BBC under the aegis of her own production company, Formation Films. In 1991, she produced two programmes for the BBC series ''Our War,'' in which Middle Eas ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Carroll Thompson
Carroll Thompson is a British lovers rock singer, best known as the "Queen of Lovers Rock" Biography Thompson was born in England and is of Jamaican descent. Thompson undertook classical piano training on the piano and sang in school and church choirs as a girl, but initially studied for a career in pharmacy. She began working as a backing singer at several recording studios after auditioning for Frank Farian's Sugar Cane group. Eventually, Thompson embarked on a solo career, with early successes in the shape of Lovers rock singles "I'm So Sorry" (produced by the now London-based Leonard Chin) and "Simply In Love" both self written topping the reggae chart in 1981, the same year seeing the release of her independent debut album ''Hopelessly in Love'' selling over a million copies worldwide. She won two BBC London 94.9, GLR Reggae Awards in 1982, for Best Female Performer and Best Song (for "Hopelessly In Love"). In 1983, she won further awards, again winning Best Female Perf ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wil Johnson
Wilbert Charles Johnson (born 18 April 1965) is an English actor, who has had notable television roles in '' Waking the Dead'' and '' Babyfather'', and on stage in ''Othello''. He played Dom Andrews in ''Emmerdale'' from 2012 to 2014. Early life Johnson was born in Muswell Hill, London, and raised in Tottenham. His mother invested in stocks and his father worked for UPS.Staff (15 May 2009). "Since I started singing on YouTube I've thought of nothing else...". ''Evening Telegraph'' (Coventry Newspapers): pp. 30–31. Johnson had no interest in music while he was in primary school, but after he filled in a role for an absent drummer, he changed his mind. He went to Mountview Drama School in Crouch End, London. He also joined another drama group at the Haringey Theatre. He also went to a dance group and learned ballet, contemporary dancing, and break dancing, which he performed for about seven years. He also attended National Youth Theatre for three years. Career Johnson' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Film4
Film4 is a British free-to-air television network owned by Channel Four Television Corporation launched on 1 November 1998, devoted to broadcasting films. While its standard-definition channel is available on Freeview and Freesat platforms, its high-definition variant is offered only as a pay television service. The channel offered an online video on demand service, Film4oD until it was closed in July 2015. History The network has its origins in Channel Four Films, a production company opened by Channel Four Television Corporation in 1982 which has been responsible for backing a large number of films made in the United Kingdom and around the world. The company's first production was Stephen Frears' ''Walter'', which was released in the same year. On 1 November 1998, the production company was re-branded as FilmFour to coincide with the launch of a new digital television channel of the same name on both Sky and ONdigital platforms, becoming Channel 4's second network. At its ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Toronto International Film Festival
The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF, often stylized as tiff) is one of the largest publicly attended film festivals in the world, attracting over 480,000 people annually. Since its founding in 1976, TIFF has grown to become a permanent destination for film culture operating out of the TIFF Bell Lightbox, located in Downtown Toronto. TIFF's mission is "to transform the way people see the world through film". Year-round, the TIFF Bell Lightbox offers screenings, lectures, discussions, festivals, workshops, industry support, and the chance to meet filmmakers from Canada and around the world. TIFF Bell Lightbox is located on the north west corner of King Street and John Street in downtown Toronto. In 2016, 397 films from 83 countries were screened at 28 screens in downtown Toronto venues, welcoming an estimated 480,000 attendees, over 5,000 of whom were industry professionals. TIFF starts the Thursday night after Labour Day (the first Monday in September in Canada) and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cult Film
A cult film or cult movie, also commonly referred to as a cult classic, is a film that has acquired a cult following. Cult films are known for their dedicated, passionate fanbase which forms an elaborate subculture, members of which engage in repeated viewings, dialogue-quoting, and audience participation. Inclusive definitions allow for major studio productions, especially box-office bombs, while exclusive definitions focus more on obscure, transgressive films shunned by the mainstream. The difficulty in defining the term and subjectivity of what qualifies as a cult film mirror classificatory disputes about art. The term ''cult film'' itself was first used in the 1970s to describe the culture that surrounded underground films and midnight movies, though ''cult'' was in common use in film analysis for decades prior to that. Cult films trace their origin back to controversial and suppressed films kept alive by dedicated fans. In some cases, reclaimed or rediscovered films ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
