British Urban Film Festival

The British Urban Film Festival (BUFF) was formed in July 2005 to showcase urban independent cinema in the absence of any such state-sponsored activity in the UK.

Supported by filmmakers and British actors, the organisation was set up by Emmanuel Anyiam-Osigwe and established as BUFF Enterprises Ltd.

History

2005-2011

BUFF bears no relation to the BUFF International Film Festival established in 1984 in Malmö, Sweden. The London-based organization was initially created in partnership with organizations like The Screen.Biz (UK) and The Hip-Hop Association (USA) to mobilize and develop young, up and coming homegrown British urban talent in the independent film and TV sector. With offices in Greater London, the company has also devised projects including ''The Search for BUFF'', a reality-TV-talent contest designed to find people who ' look buff' who are then 'appointed' as ambassadors to promote the annual British Urban Film Festival. Filmed on location across the UK, the pilot was screened at the headquarters of ITV in London's South Bank and made its Christmas Day broadcast debut on BEN Television in December 2005. The first series aired January–April 2006. The second series also aired on BEN Television from May to August 2007 in addition to the annual staging of the British Urban Film Festival - a unique event as it is the only one of its kind in the UK which is free to attend by the general public. Although the annual festival is free to attend, it does charge entry fees to film-makers who wish to submit their films in what is, according to Film London, 'an important and emerging genre which is not otherwise seen regularly in the capital's cinemas'. The Genesis Cinema in Whitechapel and The Oxford House in Bethnal Green are venues in London's East End forming part of the 2008 festival. The Stratford Picturehouse Cinema in Newham forms part of the 2009 festival which is being supported by 3 London boroughs: Newham, Tower Hamlets and Redbridge. The 2009 festival is also notable for its screening of ''Disoriented Generation'', a privately financed UK independent film co-produced by and starring actor Wil Johnson (who also appears in the short film ''Colour Blind'' also premiering at the festival).

The 2010 festival marked BUFF's 5th anniversary with the screening of '' Sus'', based on the original stageplay written by Barrie Keeffe and starring Clint Dyer (who also co-produced the movie), Rafe Spall (who went onto star in the BBC 2 drama series '' The Shadow Line''), Ralph Brown ('Withnail and I', ''Huge'') and Anjela Lauren Smith (' Babymother', 24 Hours in London). Other high-profile screenings included rare video footage of N-Dubz in 'The Way We Were' and 'Bad Day', starring Claire Goose, Robbie Gee and Sarah Harding.

The 2011 festival was headlined by the UK premiere of ''David is Dying'' at London's Trade Union Congress headquarters and stars Lonyo Engele, a former UK garage music artist in his debut acting role.

April 2012 marked the festival's return to television for the first time in five years with the launch of "BUFF Presents..." a strand of films previously screened at the British Urban Film Festival including 'Drink, Drugs, & KFC.'

October 12, 2012 will mark the return of the British Urban Film Festival at London's Trade Union Congress headquarters to be presented by actor Wil Johnson. The 2-day event (which is free to attend) will also host a 12-hour marathon of short films, documentaries, feature-length dramas plus Q&A sessions on October 13 at Oxford House in Bethnal Green.

January 2013 will mark another milestone when BUFF becomes the first film festival in the UK to screen a sample of its festival selections via the BBC iPlayer platform in conjunction with Community Channel.

March 2013 will mark the launch of the inaugural BUFF Spring Season. The concept brings together an array of film programming "online, on-air and in person" in conjunction with ITV, Grime Daily, Genesis Cinema and The British Blacklist.com.

On 2 May 2013 it was announced that the publisher-broadcaster Channel 4 would be hosting the opening three events of the 8th annual British Urban Film Festival at the company's headquarters in Horseferry Road, Central London. In addition, the festival (5–9 September) was to be headlined by the UK premiere screenings of "Calloused Hands" starring Andre Royo from the HBO series " The Wire", "Traveller" starring David Essex OBE, Jason Maza & Lois Winstone & the award-winning "Bloody Lip" written & directed by Adriel Leff. Coverage was hosted from Odeon West End in Leicester Square by actress Zawe Ashton ("Dreams of a Life"/"Fresh Meat (TV series)"). Actor Riz Ahmed ("The Reluctant Fundamentalist"/"Four Lions"/" Ill Manors"/"Shifty (film)") was among the official festival ambassadors. On 25 December 2013 it was announced that Channel 4 will be hosting the opening 3 events of the 9th annual British Urban Film Festival in September 2014, ensuring that they "continue to seek out the very best creative voices. Voices that represent the diversity and cultural richness of contemporary British life.

2013 featured the inaugural BUFF screenplay competition. The three recipients were Jeff Nottingham for ‘Lost in Mozart’, Yvonne Ossei for ‘Face Up’, and Donna Marie Dowelled for ‘The Office’. There were live performances of all three winning screenplays at the Channel 4 headquarters at the end of the first day of the festival. The event was introduced by actress Shereen Miranda."

2014

On 7 July 2014 it was announced that "The Trials of Muhammad Ali" was to premiere in the UK as part of the 2014 British Urban Film Festival. Two gala screenings were scheduled to take place at the Prince Charles Cinema in Leicester Square (4 September) and the Genesis Cinema in Whitechapel (7 September). It was also announced that the Sky Sports boxing pundit Spencer Fearon was to present the opening night gala in London's West End. On 13 August 2014, it was announced that BUFF would screen two film festival selections for the first time on network television with the terrestrial premieres of "Driftwood" & "Sunny Boy" on Channel 4 as part of the Shooting Gallery short film strand. Overnight figures (released on 26 August 2014) revealed that 120,000 viewers tuned in to the 25 August broadcast.

On 21 November 2014, the inaugural BUFF Africa Season was officially launched at the headquarters of The Africa Channel International in Central London where it was announced at that BUFF will screen the world premiere of "Mum, Dad meet Sam" at the Genesis Cinema in Whitechapel on Saturday 6 December.

2015

On 26 January 2015, it was announced that the BAFTA award-winning producer Damian Jones was appointed to the board of the British Urban Film Festival. On 2 March 2015, it was announced that the award-winning writers of ''Run'' Daniel Fajemisin-Duncan and Marlon Smith were appointed as script judges for the British Urban Film Festival. On 1 April 2015, it was announced that the first ever British Urban Film Festival awards (supported by Channel 4) will take place in London on Thursday 17 September. On 5 June 2015, it was announced that the award-winning film and TV producer Charlie Hanson was the latest industry figure appointed as a patron to the board of the British Urban Film Festival. On 21 August 2015, London Live will begin screening films previously shown by the British Urban Film Festival in a 2-year broadcast deal.

As part of the festival's 10th anniversary in September 2015, Abrantee Boateng Capital Xtra & Larushka Ivan-Zadeh ''Metro'' will be hosting BUFF's first ever awards ceremony at the Cinema Museum (London). The 2015 British Urban Film Festival will also screen 4 UK premieres at the Genesis Cinema in Whitechapel including "That Daughter's Crazy" starring Rain Pryor, "Lapse of Honour" starring Lady Leshurr, Louis Emerick and Gary McDonald, Brash Young Turks starring Julian Glover and "Invisible Men" starring Abrantee Boateng. On 8 October 2015, the festival announced the addition of 2 script judges and 8 new BUFF patrons including the BAFTA award-winning actor Adam Deacon, Femi Oyeniran and director Mo Ali.

2016

On 27 January 2016, highlights of the British Urban Film Festival awards were broadcast on Sky (United Kingdom) and Freeview via Showcase TV. On 18 April 2016, the festival announced the appointment of Adeyinka Akinrinade as its new festival director succeeding Emmanuel Anyiam-Osigwe who was the festival director from 2005 - 2015. On 25 April 2016, it was announced that the 2016 British Urban Film Festival will be hosted at Odeon Cinemas in Camden Town and Swiss Cottage from 14 to 20 September. On 9 May 2016, it was announced that actor Wil Johnson is to receive the highest honor at the 2016 British Urban Film Festival Awards on Sunday 18 September.

On 10 May 2016, it was announced that London Live will continue to screen films c/o the British Urban Film Festival free-to-air until 2018. On 16 May 2016, it was announced that Adam Deacon & Femi Oyeniran are to host the 2016 British Urban Film Festival Awards from Hilton Hotel Tower Bridge. It was also announced that Heather Small former lead singer of M People is to be the headline act. On 30 May 2016, the British Urban Film Festival came top of a global list of diverse film festivals worthy of attending in 2016. The festival came ahead of 4 American film festivals and was published on the website of Metro (British newspaper).

On 7 June 2016, it was announced that Colourful Radio signed an exclusive deal to provide live outside broadcasts of the BUFF 2016 press conference and Script Reading competition from Channel 4 headquarters. On 4 July 2016, it was announced that ''To Dream'' is to open the 2016 British Urban Film Festival at the Odeon Cinemas in Camden Town. The film stars Ed Hayter, Freddie Thorp, Diana Vickers and Adam Deacon. On 14 July 2016, it was announced that BBC Films is to sponsor the BUFF Awards 2016 (in the "best emerging talent" category), the showpiece event in its annual British Urban Film Festival.

On 21 July 2016, it was announced that 'Residential', a London-based Yardie drama is to close the 2016 British Urban Film Festival at the Odeon Cinemas in Swiss Cottage. Former Radio 1 disc jockey Chris Goldfinger is amongst the movie's producers. On 8 September 2016, it was announced that Trace Urban is to sponsor the BUFF Awards 2016 in the "best movie" category. It was also announced that Ghanaian hip hop star Fuse ODG is to attend the ceremony along with Trace CEO Olivier Laouchez to present the "best movie" award. On 7 November 2016, the festival announced the appointment of 4 new BUFF patrons and one new BUFF script judge. The line-up includes actors Arnold Oceng & Wil Johnson, award-winning director Jesse Quinones, award-winning producer Cass Pennant and producer/screenwriter Michelle Blake.

2017

On 26 May 2017, the festival announced that telecommunications giant BT was to sponsor the 2017 British Urban Film Festival and Awards. The sponsorship also gives BT rights to share the broadcast of the BUFF Awards on BT.com, exclusive rights to host both events at BT Tower and the opportunity to screen films acquired from BUFF on the BT TV store platform.

It was also announced that the movie '' Free in Deed'' starring David Harewood is to open the BT British Urban Film Festival (6-12 September) at BT Tower on Wednesday 6 September.
On 25 September 2017, it was announced that the British Urban Film Festival is to curate six short films (previously shown at BUFF) to be screened at the BAFTA-qualifying ASFF Aesthetica Short Film Festival in November. ASFF is showcased annually in York and marks the 3rd time in 4 years that BUFF has been invited to take part in the event as a festival partner. On 30 October 2017, it was announced that the British Urban Film Festival is to attend DBUFF (Da Bounce Urban Film Festival) for the first time in November. DBUFF is showcased annually in Amsterdam and is the Netherlands' premier urban film festival.

2018

On 4 January 2018, it was announced that the 2018 British Urban Film Festival was to take place in the summer for the first time in its history with the BUFF Awards opening the six-day event on Monday 4 June. The festival was to run 5–9 June. On 8 January 2018, Robert Nisbet (journalist) (from Sky News) interviewed Emmanuel Anyiam-Osigwe (founder of the British Urban Film Festival) to discuss the Golden Globes, Oprah Winfrey's "Time's up" speech, ''Mudbound'' and issues about diversity. On 6 February 2018, the BAFTA-recognised Aesthetica Short Film Festival announced that Emmanuel Anyiam-Osigwe (founder of the British Urban Film Festival) had been appointed to its jury panel.

On 8 February 2018, Emmanuel Anyiam-Osigwe introduced exclusive live coverage of the European premiere of ''Black Panther'' on Colourful Radio. Airing as part of the Colourful Drivetime show with Julie-Ann Ryan, the broadcast featured interviews on the black carpet with Isaac Tomiczek and Jo Eluka (from "Meet The Critics"), Joel Campbell (From "The Voice" newspaper) executive producer of Black Panther Nate Moore, Femi Oguns (agent to Letitia Wright) and leading cast members including Michael B Jordan, Letitia Wright, Andy Serkis and Lupita Nyong'o. On 28 February 2018, it was announced that the British Urban Film Festival is to release its first UK feature film on 5 June. Produced by Emmanuel Anyiam-Osigwe and directed by Clare Anyiam-Osigwe, "No Shade" is told through the prism of love, relationships, dating and marriage and provides a raw perspective on the issue of colourism and what happens when looking for love in the right place, goes wrong.

The film stars Adele Oni, Kadeem Pearse, Clare Anyiam-Osigwe, Algie Salmon-Fattahian, Sharea Samuels and Jade Asha. Also starring are Fred Lancaster, Lonyo Engele, Paula Masterton, Veronica Jean Trickett, Joel Grizzle, Chris Preddie OBE, Tenisha White, Zephryn Taitte, Justin Chinyere, Kele Le Roc and Judith Jacob is to be honoured at the BUFF Awards in recognition for her film work as director of A United Kingdom (screened by the festival in October 2016) and also for her previous films Belle (produced by BUFF patron Damian Jones) and A Way of Life (produced by BUFF patron Charlie Hanson).

Asante will be the first female recipient of the award and the fourth individual to receive the honour following Ashley Walters last year, Wil Johnson in 2016 and Richard Pryor (posthumously) in 2015.

It was also announced that the movie ''Two Graves'' is to close the 2018 British Urban Film Festival at London's Curzon Soho on 9 June. The film marks the directorial debut of writer Gary Young (who also wrote Harry Brown) and stars Cathy Tyson, Katie Jarvis, Dave Johns, Josh Herdman, David Hayman, Kedar Williams-Stirling, Danielle Harold, Neal Ward, Shantelle Rochester-Henry (who also serves as producer) and Vas Blackwood.

On 6 September, it was revealed that BUFF Originals - the production arm of the British Urban Film Festival - announced the streaming release of ''No Shade'' in HD on the Vimeo OTT platform and FilmDoo.

On 23 October, it was announced that ''No Shade'' secured a UK theatrical release in Odeon Cinemas on 2 November.
In doing so, director Clare Anyiam-Osigwe became the sixth Black British female director in history to release a feature film in UK cinemas. On 30 November, the film was released theatrically by Artmattan Productions at the Cinema Village in New York. On 19 December, director Clare Anyiam-Osigwe was awarded her first major prize for ''No Shade'', winning the women of colour filmmaker competition at the NY African Diaspora International Film Festival.

2019

On 5 June 2019, it was announced that ''No Shade'' would be streaming on the Amazon Prime Video platform in both the U.S. and the UK. It was also announced that the film is to be licensed non-exclusively to MX Player, one of the biggest OTT platforms in India. The license also covers the other SAARC territories of Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.

On 4 July 2019, the British Urban Film Festival announced that actor, writer, producer and director Noel Clarke is to receive the BUFF honorary award for his 20+ year career in film and television.

On 5 July 2019, the British Urban Film Festival was announced as a new partner festival for the Iris Prize LGBT+ Film Festival.

From 1–6 September 2019, the 14th British Urban Film Festival was hosted at Met Film School, Ealing Studios. 52 films were screened in addition to 3 live script readings and 3 days of workshops and masterclasses. The opening night film was 'Lara and The Beat' (directed by Tosin Coker) and starring Nigerian actress and singer Seyi Shay (originally from Tottenham, North London). The closing night film was 'Faces' (directed by Joseph A. Adesunloye) and starring Terry Pheto ('A United Kingdom'), Aki Omoshaybi and Shingai Shoniwa (former lead singer of The Noisettes).

On 7 September 2019, the 5th annual BUFF awards were held, also at Met Film School, Ealing Studios and hosted by radio personality Linda Egwuekwe & the actor & filmmaker Femi Oyeniran. Awards were handed out in 7 categories including best short film (sponsored by Met Film School) and won by 'Smack Edd' (directed by Greg Hall); best actress (won by Terry Pheto for 'Faces'); best actor (won by Aki Omoshaybi for 'Faces'); best documentary (won by director Richard Etienne for 'The ID Project: My Dominica Story); best live script (presented by HBO and won by Jo Southwell for 'Loyalty', Eno Enefiok for 'Asylum', Malcolm J Solomon for 'Raped); best feature film (won by director Joseph A. Adesunloye for 'Faces'). Noel Clarke was presented with the BUFF honorary award for 20 years outstanding contribution to film and television. He received the accolade from actors Ashley Walters and Wil Johnson.

On 27 December 2019, it was announced in the New Year's Honours list that British Urban Film Festival founder and Chairman Emmanuel Anyiam-Osigwe is to receive an MBE for services to the Black and Minority Ethnic film industry.

2020

On 5 March 2020, Emmanuel Anyiam-Osigwe was awarded with his MBE medal by HRH Charles, Prince of Wales at Buckingham Palace.

On 10 March 2020, Emmanuel Anyiam-Osigwe was announced as 1 of the 100 most influential people in London in a list published by the London Power 100.

On 2 June 2020, Pride Magazine Nigeria published a story in which Emmanuel Anyiam-Osigwe called out BAFTA for their hypocrisy on social media over a Black Lives Matter tweet the film charity published as a response to the death of unarmed Black American civilian George Floyd.

On 29 July 2020 Niall Paterson (journalist) (from Sky News) interviewed Emmanuel Anyiam-Osigwe (founder of the British Urban Film Festival). The discussion centered on the UK Government's announcement of a £500 million pound scheme to help Film and TV struggling with COVID-19-related insurance costs.

On 29 August 2020 Gamal Fahnbulleh from Sky News spoke with Emmanuel Anyiam-Osigwe in the hours following the untimely death of actor Chadwick Boseman at the age of 43. His comments were later used online in a Sky News article which was headlined "Why did Black Panther have such a huge impact".

On 5 October 2020 it was announced that the British Urban Film Festival was granted BAFTA accredited status by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts. As a Section B qualifying festival, British short films must be selected to screen at BUFF plus another Section B qualifying festival over a 12-month period before the film can be entered for BAFTA eligibility. It was also announced that BUFF was granted AMAA-qualifying status by the African Movie Academy Awards.

On 8 December 2020, the opening virtual event of the 2020 British Urban Film Festival featured a 90-minute interview moderated by Emmanuel Anyiam-Osigwe. Entitled 'The Changing Faces of BAFTA', the guest panellists were BAFTA chair Krishnendu Majumdar (the first person of colour appointed to the post in its 73-year history) and BAFTA film committee chair Marc Samuelson.

On 18 December 2020, the British Urban Film Festival became the first UK film festival to host all of its official selections (71 in total) on Apple with the launch of a room on the Apple TV app. An additional 16 films were screened as part of BUFF On Demand on the festival's official website.

On 25 December 2020, the 6th annual BUFF awards were held at Met Film School, Ealing Studios and solo hosted by the actor & filmmaker Femi Oyeniran. Awards were handed out in 6 categories including best short film (sponsored by Goldfinch) and won by 'Hungry Joe' (directed by Paul Holbrook & Sam Dawe); best actress (won by Ruby Barker for ''How to Stop a Recurring Dream''); best actor (won by Stefan Davis for ''The Tale of The Fatherless''); best documentary (sponsored by Greenlit Fund) and won by director Stephan Pierre Mitchell for ''Deleted''; best live script (presented by First Flights) and won by Charlie Taylor for ''Chalice and Blade'', Brendan Kelly for ''Made in America'' and Tim Mallon for ''Hellwater''; best feature film (sponsored by Woolfcub Productions) and won by director Ed Morris for 'How to Stop a Recurring Dream' and best comedy 'Cleaning House' (directed by Shahaub Roudbari).

2021

On 30 April 2021, following a newspaper report in the Guardian newspaper which documented the conduct of BAFTA and the alleged historical conduct of a previous winner of a BUFF award, The British Urban Film Festival revoked their status as a BAFTA qualifying film festival. Founder Emmanuel Anyiam-Osigwe and managing director Clare Anyiam-Osigwe also revoked their BAFTA voting memberships. BUFF also stripped Noel Clarke of the honorary award he received in 2019.

On 6 May 2021, Emmanuel Anyiam-Osigwe was interviewed on Sky News by arts and entertainment correspondent Lucy Cotter. In the interview, he called for resignations at BAFTA following their handling of the Noel Clarke sexual allegations.

On 7 September 2021, Emmanuel Anyiam-Osigwe was appointed to the jury of the Caribbean Tales International Film Festival (in partnership with the Toronto International Film Festival. Anyiam-Osigwe served as one of five jurors who oversaw pitches for five feature films from UK/Canadian/Caribbean co-productions which were developed as part of the 13th annual Creatives of Colour Incubator hub.

On 10 September 2021, it was announced that Emmanuel Anyiam-Osigwe had been appointed as chief columnist for Screenlately.com, providing expert film and TV analysis on a weekly basis.

On 16 September 2021, following an appeal by actors and filmmakers and a change of heart from senior management, the British Urban Film Festival was re-instated to Section B of the BAFTA Qualifying Festivals List.

Speaking at a virtual Black History Month public lecture series hosted by Anglia Ruskin University on 6 October 2021, Emmanuel Anyiam-Osigwe announced that he will be stepping down as director of the British Urban Film Festival after serving 2 terms and 16 years. His successor was revealed as London-based actor Justin Chinyere ('Venus vs Mars', 'No Shade').

On 15 October 2021, it was announced that Emmanuel Anyiam-Osigwe is to produce his 2nd feature film 'Finding Forever' under the BUFF Originals banner (BUFF Originals is the production arm of the British Urban Film Festival). The film is to be written and directed by Clare Anyiam-Osigwe with Emmanuel Anyiam-Osigwe serving as Executive Producer.

On 10 December 2021, George Russo won the Best Actor award for his performance in the short film ''Baby Boy'', which he co-wrote with director Greg Hall. The film starred Dior Clarke as Russo's love interest.

2022

On 31 January 2022, highlights of The 2021 BUFF Awards ceremony were streamed exclusively on Bohemia Euphoria, a new UK streamer dedicated to showcasing diverse content. The ceremony took place at London's Peckhamplex cinema (in front of a live audience for the first time in 2 years) and was hosted by Femi Oyeniran for the fourth time in 6 years. Other guest presenters included director James Webber, actress Ruby Barker, actors Arnold Oceng, David Ajala, Andre Fyffe and Stephan Pierre Mitchell. The 3 live script awards were presented by lead judge Clare Anyiam-Osigwe. The recipient of the honorary award was Menelik Shabazz, a prominent Barbadian-British filmmaker and director of Burning an Illusion who passed away suddenly in June 2021. On behalf of his family, Menelik's friend, the actor and poet Victor Richards received the award which was presented to him by comedian and host Mr Cee.

On 5 August 2022, festival director Justin Chinyere announced 94 official selections for the 17th British Urban Film Festival to be screened at Rich Mix from November 26 - December 3. The festival's opening night will be headlined by the World theatrical premiere of Emmanuel Anyiam-Osigwe's "Absolutely Marvellous", marking his debut in the director's chair. Filmed over a 5-year period, the documentary profiles the aptly named Marvel Opara, the visually impaired mother of British Olympic heavyweight boxer Joe Joyce. Featuring interviews with close friends, family and boxing figures including Frank Warren and Spencer Fearon, cameras follow Marvel in and around Putney (where she has lived for most of her life) as well as at ringside to be present for Joe's fights to get a sense of how she comes to terms with her disability.

References

{{Reflist

Film festivals in London
2005 establishments in the United Kingdom
Film festivals established in 2005
Urban society in the United Kingdom