Kolton Lee
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Kolton Lee is a British film director, crime novelist, and former journalist and Editor of ''
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''.


Life and career

His parents came from the
Caribbean The Caribbean (, ) ( es, El Caribe; french: la Caraïbe; ht, Karayib; nl, De Caraïben) is a region of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both the Caribbean Se ...
island of
Montserrat Montserrat ( ) is a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory in the Caribbean. It is part of the Leeward Islands, the northern portion of the Lesser Antilles chain of the West Indies. Montserrat is about long and wide, with r ...
. They met in
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in the 1950s. When the couple split, their two children were sent to a
Surrey Surrey () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant urban areas which form part of the Greater London Built-up Area. ...
-based children's home, Reedham School. Lee was seven when he arrived there and remained there until he was 16. At Reedham, Lee discovered a talent for
basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...
. He went on to represent his county and his country at levels under-17 and U-19 and became a full, senior international player when he turned 20. He combined his playing with attending
Borough Road College Borough Road is in Southwark, London SE1. It runs east–west between St George's Circus and Borough High Street. History and location The route was created as part of the planning and road improvements associated with the completion of We ...
, part of
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, to study English Literature. A serious knee injury cut his
basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...
career short. He started working as a journalist freelancing for a variety of sports publications, he found a full-time job as a sports journalist for ''
The Voice The Voice may refer to: Fictional entities * The Voice or Presence, a fictional representation of God in DC Comics * The Voice (''Dune''), a fictional ability in the ''Dune'' universe * The Voice, a character in the American TV series ''Cleo ...
'' and later became the magazines
editor Editing is the process of selecting and preparing written, photographic, visual, audible, or cinematic material used by a person or an entity to convey a message or information. The editing process can involve correction, condensation, orga ...
. From there he left to join the ''
News on Sunday The ''News on Sunday'' was a left-wing British tabloid newspaper. It was launched in April 1987. Publication ceased seven months later, in November 1987. Origins The founders of the paper were former members of the left-wing group Big Flame. T ...
'', the radical, left-wing Sunday tabloid. In joining the news team as its News Editor, Kolton became the first
black British Black British people are a multi-ethnic group of British citizens of either African or Afro-Caribbean descent.Gadsby, Meredith (2006), ''Sucking Salt: Caribbean Women Writers, Migration, and Survival'', University of Missouri Press, pp. 76–7 ...
to be made the News Editor of a national newspaper. After six months the newspaper went bankrupt and Lee joined the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
as a documentary researcher. He later attended
National Film and Television School The National Film and Television School (NFTS) is a film, television and games school established in 1971 and based at Beaconsfield Studios in Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire, England. It is featured in the 2021 ranking by ''The Hollywood Repor ...
. Upon graduating he working as a writer and/or director on a number of television programs, including a stint at Crucial Films, the production company owned by
Lenny Henry Sir Lenworth George Henry (born 29 August 1958) is a British actor, comedian, singer, television presenter and writer. Henry gained success as a stand-up comedian and impressionist in the late 1970s and early 1980s, culminating in ''The Lenn ...
. In 1998 he moved to
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, where he lived for four years. While there he made his first independent short drama, ''American Mod''. While living in New York, Lee wrote and performed his first play, ''An Evening with Michael Jordan'', at the
National Black Theatre The National Black Theatre is a non-profit cultural and educational corporation, and community-based theatre company located on 5th Avenue in Harlem, New York. History The National Black Theatre (NBT) is a non-profit cultural and educational ...
of Harlem. He arrived back in
London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
in 2002 and promptly founded the
film A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere ...
and
television Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertisin ...
production company Prophet Pictures. Through Prophet Pictures, Lee wrote, directed and produced his first feature film ''Cherps'', winner of a
Screen Nation The Screen Nation Film & TV Awards, formerly the bfm (black filmmaker) Film and TV Awards, was founded in September 2003 by independent film producer Charles Thompson MBE, as a platform to raise the profile of black British and international fil ...
Independent Spirit Film Award. His short film ''Blood'' was bought by
MTV MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...
North America. Kolton's second feature film, ''Freestyle'', was a youth romance with a basketball back drop. Kolton's first novel, the contemporary crime thriller ''The Last Card'', received positive reviews in ''
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'' and ''
The Observer ''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. It is a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', whose parent company Guardian Media Group Limited acquired it in 1993. First published in 1791, it is the w ...
'', he is currently preparing a follow-up for his publisher. Lee's second novel is about a sports psychologist who gets embroiled in dodgy dealings in a tennis camp for young stars.


Films

* ''Freestyle'' (2010) * ''Blood'' (2005) * ''Cherps'' (2005) * ''American Mod'' (2002)


Novels

* ''The Last Card'' (2007)


See also

*
British African-Caribbean community British African-Caribbean people are an ethnic group in the United Kingdom. They are British citizens whose ancestry originates from the Caribbean or they are nationals of the Caribbean who reside in the UK. There are some self-identified Afro ...
*
Crime fiction Crime fiction, detective story, murder mystery, mystery novel, and police novel are terms used to describe narratives that centre on criminal acts and especially on the investigation, either by an amateur or a professional detective, of a crime, ...


References


External links

*
Kolton Lee
- Independent Talent {{DEFAULTSORT:Lee, Kolton Black British journalists British crime fiction writers Living people British film directors Year of birth missing (living people) Black British filmmakers