British actor Sheyi Cole has a prominent role in Thea Sharrock’s Netflix original film “The Beautiful Game.”
The film revolves around the Homeless World Cup, an annual soccer tournament bringing together displaced or dispossessed players from nearly 50 countries, playing not merely for a trophy but for a second shot at life. Cole plays Jason, a would-be ladies’ man given a sharp #MeToo education when he inappropriately comes onto sparky Mexican-American player Rosita (Cristina Rodio).
“One thing that was great about Thea is that she was so hands on – any concerns that we had, she was willing to have conversations and was able to alleviate any concerns that we essentially had, surrounding that conversation with Jason,” Cole told Variety. “I think what she really wanted to highlight was Jason’s naivety and innocence. And the lack of role models that he had in his life. So although Jason does make grave mistakes,...
The film revolves around the Homeless World Cup, an annual soccer tournament bringing together displaced or dispossessed players from nearly 50 countries, playing not merely for a trophy but for a second shot at life. Cole plays Jason, a would-be ladies’ man given a sharp #MeToo education when he inappropriately comes onto sparky Mexican-American player Rosita (Cristina Rodio).
“One thing that was great about Thea is that she was so hands on – any concerns that we had, she was willing to have conversations and was able to alleviate any concerns that we essentially had, surrounding that conversation with Jason,” Cole told Variety. “I think what she really wanted to highlight was Jason’s naivety and innocence. And the lack of role models that he had in his life. So although Jason does make grave mistakes,...
- 3/29/2024
- by Naman Ramachandran
- Variety Film + TV
Hot Hosts Head For Hota
Australian actor Rebel Wilson has been named as the emcee of the 2024 edition of the Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts (Aacta) awards. Wilson will take to the stage on Saturday, Feb. 10.
Two days earlier, on Feb. 8, singer and actor Harry Connick Jr. will be the host of the Aacta Industry Awards. Both hosts will be joined by some of the industry’s most dynamic stars presenting at the ceremonies. And both ceremonies, presented by Foxtel Group, will be held at the Home of the Arts (Hota) on the Gold Coast in Queensland.
Shorts To Features
Writer-director-actor Alice Englert, producer Jodi Matterson, director David Michôd, and producer Jamie Hilton, will be among the speakers at Flickerlab 2024 on Thursday. Pitched as a one-day journey from shorts to features, the Bondi, New South Wales-located event is backed by the Australian Film Television and Radio School (Aftrs...
Australian actor Rebel Wilson has been named as the emcee of the 2024 edition of the Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts (Aacta) awards. Wilson will take to the stage on Saturday, Feb. 10.
Two days earlier, on Feb. 8, singer and actor Harry Connick Jr. will be the host of the Aacta Industry Awards. Both hosts will be joined by some of the industry’s most dynamic stars presenting at the ceremonies. And both ceremonies, presented by Foxtel Group, will be held at the Home of the Arts (Hota) on the Gold Coast in Queensland.
Shorts To Features
Writer-director-actor Alice Englert, producer Jodi Matterson, director David Michôd, and producer Jamie Hilton, will be among the speakers at Flickerlab 2024 on Thursday. Pitched as a one-day journey from shorts to features, the Bondi, New South Wales-located event is backed by the Australian Film Television and Radio School (Aftrs...
- 1/22/2024
- by Patrick Frater
- Variety Film + TV
Exclusive: The BBC is returning to its adaptation of Alex Wheatle’s book Crongton Knights after shelving the series amid sexual misconduct allegations against actor and producer Noel Clarke.
Clarke was overseeing an adaptation through his Unstoppable Film & Television outfit, but the project has now transferred to The Long Shadow and Champion producer New Pictures.
New Pictures is adapting the novel for Cbbc, the British broadcaster’s kids channel. Archie Maddocks, a writer and comedian, has penned the scripts. The BBC and New Pictures declined to comment.
Crongton Knights centers on McKay, who has experienced the hardship of his mother’s death and his father working all hours to keep the bailiffs from the door.
Having strayed off his turf on a mission to help out a girl, McKay finds himself facing a friend’s crazy ex-boyfriend, a group of kids on a power trip, and a violent gangster with a vendetta close to home.
Clarke was overseeing an adaptation through his Unstoppable Film & Television outfit, but the project has now transferred to The Long Shadow and Champion producer New Pictures.
New Pictures is adapting the novel for Cbbc, the British broadcaster’s kids channel. Archie Maddocks, a writer and comedian, has penned the scripts. The BBC and New Pictures declined to comment.
Crongton Knights centers on McKay, who has experienced the hardship of his mother’s death and his father working all hours to keep the bailiffs from the door.
Having strayed off his turf on a mission to help out a girl, McKay finds himself facing a friend’s crazy ex-boyfriend, a group of kids on a power trip, and a violent gangster with a vendetta close to home.
- 12/5/2023
- by Jake Kanter
- Deadline Film + TV
Criterion begin this year (or just go into their fourth month) with a bang. Three 4K releases will mark April: The Seventh Seal (what black levels your Oled will register), The Fisher King, and Triangle of Sadness, surely the fastest theatrical-to-4K pipeline Criterion’s yet managed. Do whatever you will with arguments about Bergman as a still-standing pillar of the canon, try processing the information that Terry Gilliam is one of very few filmmakers to get multiple such releases from Criterion, or grouse that, like seemingly everybody else, you didn’t much enjoy Ruben Östlund’s Palme d’Or winner––it’s nice seeing this many 4K outings in one fell swoop.
But of something like actual historic note is a Blu-ray set for Steve McQueen’s five-film Small Axe, which until now had been relegated to Amazon Prime, a service I can’t navigate because its interface design...
But of something like actual historic note is a Blu-ray set for Steve McQueen’s five-film Small Axe, which until now had been relegated to Amazon Prime, a service I can’t navigate because its interface design...
- 1/17/2023
- by Nick Newman
- The Film Stage
Contrary to what some detractors may claim, art has always been political. It's often that the best way to learn about the political culture of a society is to look at how it is reflected in creative media. Film and television are instructive tools that allow the audience to examine the politics of the past, present, and future. It's incredible to see how television has evolved, and how this era of "peak TV" has become such a vibrant part of the cultural conversation. Television offers escapism, but it also allows us to understand today's issues by seeing empathetic stories and characters.
Even the most popular science fiction and fantasy shows right now have created their own political systems. The Disney+ "Star Wars" series "Andor" has found a way to address things like prison labor, social discrimination, and the rise of fascism within the galaxy far, far away. "House of the Dragon...
Even the most popular science fiction and fantasy shows right now have created their own political systems. The Disney+ "Star Wars" series "Andor" has found a way to address things like prison labor, social discrimination, and the rise of fascism within the galaxy far, far away. "House of the Dragon...
- 12/4/2022
- by Liam Gaughan
- Slash Film
Sheyi Cole (Small Axe) is the latest actor to sign on for a key role in the HBO Max limited series Full Circle, from director Steven Soderbergh and writer Ed Solomon. He joins Zazie Beetz, Claire Danes, Timothy Olyphant, Dennis Quaid and Jharrel Jerome.
Soderbergh will direct all six episodes of the series and serve as executive producer, with Solomon as writer and executive producer. Casey Silver is also an executive producer. The trio reteams after working together on the 2021 HBO Max film No Sudden Move.
2022 HBO Max Series & Pilot Orders
In Full Circle, an investigation into a botched kidnapping uncovers long-held secrets connecting multiple characters and cultures in present-day New York City.
Cole is known for his breakout performance in the title role of Alex Wheatle in the fourth episode of Steve McQueen’s anthology series Small Axe. He also will be seen as a guest lead opposite Donald Glover...
Soderbergh will direct all six episodes of the series and serve as executive producer, with Solomon as writer and executive producer. Casey Silver is also an executive producer. The trio reteams after working together on the 2021 HBO Max film No Sudden Move.
2022 HBO Max Series & Pilot Orders
In Full Circle, an investigation into a botched kidnapping uncovers long-held secrets connecting multiple characters and cultures in present-day New York City.
Cole is known for his breakout performance in the title role of Alex Wheatle in the fourth episode of Steve McQueen’s anthology series Small Axe. He also will be seen as a guest lead opposite Donald Glover...
- 9/23/2022
- by Denise Petski
- Deadline Film + TV
Jane Fairchild (Odessa Young) with Godfrey Niven (Colin Firth) in Eva Husson’s Mothering Sunday
Eva Husson’s prepossessing Mothering Sunday, based on the 2016 novel by Graham Swift, with a screenplay by Alice Birch, produced by Elizabeth Karlsen and Stephen Woolley, stars Odessa Young with Josh O’Connor (Prince Charles in The Crown), Colin Firth, Olivia Colman, Patsy Ferran, Sope Dirisu, Emma D’Arcy, and Glenda Jackson.
Eva Husson with Odessa Young and Anne-Katrin Titze on the Bloomsbury Group inspiring the costumes: “Virginia Woolf and her friends, because I was obsessed with them.”
Costumes by the great Sandy Powell, production design by Helen Scott, editing by Emilie Orsini, and the cinematography of Jamie Ramsay...
Eva Husson’s prepossessing Mothering Sunday, based on the 2016 novel by Graham Swift, with a screenplay by Alice Birch, produced by Elizabeth Karlsen and Stephen Woolley, stars Odessa Young with Josh O’Connor (Prince Charles in The Crown), Colin Firth, Olivia Colman, Patsy Ferran, Sope Dirisu, Emma D’Arcy, and Glenda Jackson.
Eva Husson with Odessa Young and Anne-Katrin Titze on the Bloomsbury Group inspiring the costumes: “Virginia Woolf and her friends, because I was obsessed with them.”
Costumes by the great Sandy Powell, production design by Helen Scott, editing by Emilie Orsini, and the cinematography of Jamie Ramsay...
- 3/22/2022
- by Anne-Katrin Titze
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
It’s that time of year again. While some directors annually share their favorite films of the year, Steven Soderbergh lists everything he consumed, media-wise. For 2021––another year in which he not only released a new film, but shot another (and produced the Oscars)––he still got plenty of watching in.
Along with catching up on 2021’s new releases, he took in plenty of classics, including Jaws, Citizen Kane, Metropolis, The French Connection, and Lubitsch’s Ninotchka and Design For Living. Early last year, he also saw a cut of Channing Tatum’s Dog, which doesn’t arrive until next month. He also, of course, screened his latest movies while in post-production, with three viewings of No Sudden Move and three viewings of Kimi, which arrives on February 10 on HBO Max and the first look of which can be seen below.
Check out the list below via his official site.
Along with catching up on 2021’s new releases, he took in plenty of classics, including Jaws, Citizen Kane, Metropolis, The French Connection, and Lubitsch’s Ninotchka and Design For Living. Early last year, he also saw a cut of Channing Tatum’s Dog, which doesn’t arrive until next month. He also, of course, screened his latest movies while in post-production, with three viewings of No Sudden Move and three viewings of Kimi, which arrives on February 10 on HBO Max and the first look of which can be seen below.
Check out the list below via his official site.
- 1/5/2022
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
MangroveFor many, the entrance of Steve McQueen into television was expected—his mercurial career has encompassed video-art installations, music videos, shorts and award-winning feature films. Before the critical success of Small Axe (2020) and Uprising (2021), twin anthology series that navigate the lives and passions of London’s Caribbean and West Indian communities, McQueen had already directed the pilot episode of HBO’s TV series Codes of Conduct, and his fourth feature, Widows (2018), smartly transplanted Lynda La Plante’s 1980s mini-drama into present-day Chicago.McQueen is one of many working directors—David Fincher, Jane Campion, and Andrea Arnold, of recent years—whose careers have migrated from cinema to small-screen television. Switch between your streaming channels, and the volume of director-driven programs is extensive—and growing. In the past, the director-led format of television was far less common and expected, with the groundbreaking prestige series of Rainer Fassbinder, Krzysztof Kieślowski (Dekalog), and David Lynch...
- 11/8/2021
- MUBI
Steve McQueen’s 2020 anthology film series “Small Axe” grew out of a desire to shed light on Black resistance movements in Britain, between the 1960s and 1980s. So, too, does a complementary new franchise of individual documentaries, executive produced by McQueen, which chronicle pivotal stories from recent British history largely ignored by media. Viewed collectively, the films make it clear that McQueen almost single-handedly aims to disrupt the preferred timeline with films that detail tumultuous crusades for change that cross borders, and still very much resonate today.
“When I was growing up, we did not learn about our own history unfortunately, which is why ‘Roots’ was so popular,” McQueen said, referring to the multiple Emmy-winning 1977 television miniseries. “Anything about any kind of Black history, even if it wasn’t great, or even if it wasn’t necessarily positive, Black people would flock to the television. I remember the streets were...
“When I was growing up, we did not learn about our own history unfortunately, which is why ‘Roots’ was so popular,” McQueen said, referring to the multiple Emmy-winning 1977 television miniseries. “Anything about any kind of Black history, even if it wasn’t great, or even if it wasn’t necessarily positive, Black people would flock to the television. I remember the streets were...
- 9/20/2021
- by Tambay Obenson
- Indiewire
Director Steve McQueen has followed up on “Small Axe,” last year’s narrative anthology series about West Indian immigrants in London, with another series about Black British history: “Uprising,” a three-part documentary series about three related events in 1981 — the New Cross house fire, Black People’s Day of Action and the Brixton riots.
The series, which he co-directed with James Rogan, is now streaming on Amazon Prime, along with two companion documentaries that McQueen executive produced: “Black Power: A British Story of Resistance” and “Subnormal: A British Scandal,” the latter about British education of Black children.
The first episode of “Uprising,” “Fire,” begins with interviews of people present at the party where the New Cross house fire broke out, a tragedy that killed 13 Black teenagers. While it almost feels related to the fictional house party in the “Small Axe” film “Lovers Rock,” McQueen says that they’re completely unrelated, besides...
The series, which he co-directed with James Rogan, is now streaming on Amazon Prime, along with two companion documentaries that McQueen executive produced: “Black Power: A British Story of Resistance” and “Subnormal: A British Scandal,” the latter about British education of Black children.
The first episode of “Uprising,” “Fire,” begins with interviews of people present at the party where the New Cross house fire broke out, a tragedy that killed 13 Black teenagers. While it almost feels related to the fictional house party in the “Small Axe” film “Lovers Rock,” McQueen says that they’re completely unrelated, besides...
- 9/17/2021
- by Selome Hailu
- Variety Film + TV
BAFTA and Golden Globe Award winner actor Bill Nighy and BAFTA Rising Star award-winning actor Micheal Ward (Top Boy, Small Axe- Lovers Rock), will lead the cast of ‘The Beautiful Game’, a new Netflix Film from director Thea Sharrock.
Joining Nighy and Ward are Valeria Golino on the cast are, Callum Scott Howells (It’s a Sin), Kit Young (Shadow & Bone), Sheyi Cole (Small Axe – Alex Wheatle), Robin Nazari (Snabba Cash), Tom Vaughan – Lawlor (Avengers Infinity War, The Infiltrator), Susan Wokoma (Chewing Gum, Enola Holmes), Layo-Christina Akinlude (The End of the F**king World) and Cristina Rodlo (No One Gets Out Alive).
The film follows a team of English homeless footballers, led by their coach Mal (Bill Nighy), who travel from London to Rome to compete in a global annual football tournament – The Homeless World Cup. At the last minute, they decide to bring with them a talented striker...
Joining Nighy and Ward are Valeria Golino on the cast are, Callum Scott Howells (It’s a Sin), Kit Young (Shadow & Bone), Sheyi Cole (Small Axe – Alex Wheatle), Robin Nazari (Snabba Cash), Tom Vaughan – Lawlor (Avengers Infinity War, The Infiltrator), Susan Wokoma (Chewing Gum, Enola Holmes), Layo-Christina Akinlude (The End of the F**king World) and Cristina Rodlo (No One Gets Out Alive).
The film follows a team of English homeless footballers, led by their coach Mal (Bill Nighy), who travel from London to Rome to compete in a global annual football tournament – The Homeless World Cup. At the last minute, they decide to bring with them a talented striker...
- 8/3/2021
- by Zehra Phelan
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
Clarke was subject to sexual misconduct allegations earlier this year, which he denies.
UK producers and actors Noel Clarke and Jason Maza have left their production company Unstoppable Film And Television.
Clarke and Maza co-founded the company in 2012, securing investment from TV production and distribution firm All3Media in 2018.
They were both subsequently suspended by All3 in April this year, after UK newspaper The Guardian published an extensive investigation in which more than 20 women accused Clarke of sexual misconduct.
Clarke “vehemently” denies sexual misconduct.
All3Media is now considering its next steps, and it is thought likely that any Unstoppable projects...
UK producers and actors Noel Clarke and Jason Maza have left their production company Unstoppable Film And Television.
Clarke and Maza co-founded the company in 2012, securing investment from TV production and distribution firm All3Media in 2018.
They were both subsequently suspended by All3 in April this year, after UK newspaper The Guardian published an extensive investigation in which more than 20 women accused Clarke of sexual misconduct.
Clarke “vehemently” denies sexual misconduct.
All3Media is now considering its next steps, and it is thought likely that any Unstoppable projects...
- 8/2/2021
- by Chris Curtis Broadcast
- ScreenDaily
“Small Axe” was a hit with TV and film critics when it premiered last fall on Amazon Prime Video. It won Best Picture from the Los Angeles Film Critics Association and was nominated for Best Limited Series at the Critics Choice and Golden Globe Awards. But how many Emmy nominations will it get? It’s up for consideration 18 times across the Emmy ballots. Scroll down to see the full list.
Seebafta TV Awards: ‘I May Destroy You,’ ‘Small Axe,’ ‘Normal People’ ….
Directed and co-written by Oscar-winner Steve McQueen (“12 Years a Slave”), “Small Axe” is an anthology consisting of five standalone films that explore the West Indian immigrant experience in the UK from the 1960s to the 1980s. “Mangrove” tells the true story of a group of Black protestors who were persecuted by the police and the legal system. “Lovers Rock” is a fictional story set during a lively house party.
Seebafta TV Awards: ‘I May Destroy You,’ ‘Small Axe,’ ‘Normal People’ ….
Directed and co-written by Oscar-winner Steve McQueen (“12 Years a Slave”), “Small Axe” is an anthology consisting of five standalone films that explore the West Indian immigrant experience in the UK from the 1960s to the 1980s. “Mangrove” tells the true story of a group of Black protestors who were persecuted by the police and the legal system. “Lovers Rock” is a fictional story set during a lively house party.
- 7/3/2021
- by Daniel Montgomery
- Gold Derby
Last fall the Amazon anthology series “Small Axe” blurred the lines between cinema and television. Consisting of five films that explore the West Indian immigrant community in the UK, it was a favorite of both film and TV critics. But will it be favored by the Emmys? Scroll down and follow the links to watch four in-depth interviews with below-the-line artists from the ambitious project.
“Small Axe” was directed and co-written by Steve McQueen, who became the first (and still only) Black producer to win a Best Picture Oscar when his film “12 Years a Slave” won top honors for 2013. He’s also known for the acclaimed films “Hunger,” “Shame,” and “Widows,” and film journalists were so impressed by his five-film achievement that the Los Angeles Film Critics Association made the unusual choice of awarding it Best Picture.
Seebafta TV Awards: ‘I May Destroy You,’ ‘Small Axe,’ ‘Normal People’ ….
But...
“Small Axe” was directed and co-written by Steve McQueen, who became the first (and still only) Black producer to win a Best Picture Oscar when his film “12 Years a Slave” won top honors for 2013. He’s also known for the acclaimed films “Hunger,” “Shame,” and “Widows,” and film journalists were so impressed by his five-film achievement that the Los Angeles Film Critics Association made the unusual choice of awarding it Best Picture.
Seebafta TV Awards: ‘I May Destroy You,’ ‘Small Axe,’ ‘Normal People’ ….
But...
- 7/2/2021
- by Daniel Montgomery
- Gold Derby
Hello, and a warm welcome to International Insider. As the film half of the industry prepares to reunite in Cannes next week, here’s what you need to know from the past seven days. Want to get in touch? I’m on jkanter@deadline.com. And to get this delivered every Friday, sign up here.
Cannes We Dig It?
Yes, we can: It’s actually happening, Tom Grater reports. After an unprecedented 26-month gap, Cannes Film Festival returns next Tuesday, and it won’t look like any edition that has come before. Firstly, international travel remains a challenge. The U.S. is on France’s “green list,” which for vaccinated travelers should keep entry barriers to a minimum, though Deadline spoke to people this week who were still unclear how they would demonstrate their vaccinated status due to the lack of a Qr code on the U.S. vax card.
Cannes We Dig It?
Yes, we can: It’s actually happening, Tom Grater reports. After an unprecedented 26-month gap, Cannes Film Festival returns next Tuesday, and it won’t look like any edition that has come before. Firstly, international travel remains a challenge. The U.S. is on France’s “green list,” which for vaccinated travelers should keep entry barriers to a minimum, though Deadline spoke to people this week who were still unclear how they would demonstrate their vaccinated status due to the lack of a Qr code on the U.S. vax card.
- 7/2/2021
- by Jake Kanter
- Deadline Film + TV
Exclusive: The BBC has halted work on an adaptation of Alex Wheatle’s book Crongton Knights after producer Noel Clarke was accused of sexual misconduct.
Deadline understands that Clarke’s Unstoppable Film & Television had the rights to the youth novel and was developing the project with the BBC.
The British broadcaster has now paused the adaptation after The Guardian published claims from more than 20 women about Clarke’s alleged inappropriate behavior. Clarke vehemently denies wrongdoing.
A BBC spokeswoman told Deadline: “We are not progressing any projects with Noel Clarke at this time.”
Crongton Knights centers on McKay, who has experienced the hardship of his mother’s death and his father working all hours to keep the bailiffs from the door.
Having strayed off his turf on a mission to help out a girl, McKay finds himself facing a friend’s crazy ex-boyfriend, a group of kids on a power trip,...
Deadline understands that Clarke’s Unstoppable Film & Television had the rights to the youth novel and was developing the project with the BBC.
The British broadcaster has now paused the adaptation after The Guardian published claims from more than 20 women about Clarke’s alleged inappropriate behavior. Clarke vehemently denies wrongdoing.
A BBC spokeswoman told Deadline: “We are not progressing any projects with Noel Clarke at this time.”
Crongton Knights centers on McKay, who has experienced the hardship of his mother’s death and his father working all hours to keep the bailiffs from the door.
Having strayed off his turf on a mission to help out a girl, McKay finds himself facing a friend’s crazy ex-boyfriend, a group of kids on a power trip,...
- 7/1/2021
- by Jake Kanter
- Deadline Film + TV
It is often hard enough to conjure the right mood for one installment of an anthology series, but what if your task is five times that? Music supervisor Ed Bailie was tasked by Academy Award-nominated director Steve McQueen to do just that for “Small Axe,” a quintet of period-specific films about Black life in England ranging from the 1960s to the 1980s, touching on social topics from police brutality to the failings of the education system to a raging house party’s effect on young lives. “We used about 80 or 90 songs in the course of ‘Small Axe,'” says Bailie, “and each film had different music illustrated in the scripts, so every part carved their own identities throughout”.
For “Mangrove,” the lengthiest and arguably most-charged entry that opens “Axe,” Bailie took his cue from the Trinidadian-settled Notting Hill of the late 1960s — far removed from the gentrified neighborhood seen years...
For “Mangrove,” the lengthiest and arguably most-charged entry that opens “Axe,” Bailie took his cue from the Trinidadian-settled Notting Hill of the late 1960s — far removed from the gentrified neighborhood seen years...
- 6/14/2021
- by Jason Clark
- The Wrap
Editor’s Note: This project is presented by Amazon Prime Video, and the above video is produced by IndieWire’s Creative Producer Leonardo Adrian Garcia.
Steve McQueen has launched movies at Cannes, Venice, and Telluride. He’s received rapturous reviews calling him “masterful” and declaring his work Oscar-bound. But no premiere compared to his anthology series, “Small Axe,” when it hit the BBC and Amazon Prime Video late last year.
“It’s been tremendous. In fact, it’s quite overwhelming and quite emotional, really,” McQueen said. “I never had a debut like this ever.”
As part of their rollout, the director and co-writer of all five films said he was very fortunate, at a time when many festivals were being canceled, to see “Mangrove,” “Lovers Rock,” and “Red, White, and Blue” premiere at the New York Film Festival.
“I was very happy that our film could give that much joy to people,...
Steve McQueen has launched movies at Cannes, Venice, and Telluride. He’s received rapturous reviews calling him “masterful” and declaring his work Oscar-bound. But no premiere compared to his anthology series, “Small Axe,” when it hit the BBC and Amazon Prime Video late last year.
“It’s been tremendous. In fact, it’s quite overwhelming and quite emotional, really,” McQueen said. “I never had a debut like this ever.”
As part of their rollout, the director and co-writer of all five films said he was very fortunate, at a time when many festivals were being canceled, to see “Mangrove,” “Lovers Rock,” and “Red, White, and Blue” premiere at the New York Film Festival.
“I was very happy that our film could give that much joy to people,...
- 6/3/2021
- by Ben Travers
- Indiewire
For the anthology series “Small Axe,” Oscar-winning filmmaker Steve McQueen sought to rectify the historical erasure of the Black experience on British television.
“We’re missing two generations or so of Black artists in the UK because that industry was not welcoming to Black people,” McQueen said in an interview with Indiewire last year. “There’s a hole in our narrative. These stories shaped the history of the UK. So it’s no small feat in what the West Indian population has done in the UK and the Black population has done in the UK.”
The five individual films that combine to make “Small Axe,” all of which debuted on Amazon last fall, focus on the lives of West Indian immigrants living in London from the 1960s through the 1980s. To create the standalone movies, McQueen enlisted a group of highly decorated below-the-line collaborators, including Oscar winners like editor Chris Dickens...
“We’re missing two generations or so of Black artists in the UK because that industry was not welcoming to Black people,” McQueen said in an interview with Indiewire last year. “There’s a hole in our narrative. These stories shaped the history of the UK. So it’s no small feat in what the West Indian population has done in the UK and the Black population has done in the UK.”
The five individual films that combine to make “Small Axe,” all of which debuted on Amazon last fall, focus on the lives of West Indian immigrants living in London from the 1960s through the 1980s. To create the standalone movies, McQueen enlisted a group of highly decorated below-the-line collaborators, including Oscar winners like editor Chris Dickens...
- 5/18/2021
- by Christopher Rosen
- Gold Derby
by Jason Adams
Steve McQueen, the man who directed five, count 'em, five of last year's best films with his Small Axe series, is about to confound everybody fixated on old-fashioned definitions of Art all over again with a new three-part thingamajig for the BBC called Uprising. THR is calling it a "docuseries" and this one, on paper, does admittedly sound more like a proper old-fashioned series than the Small Axe anthology ended up seeming (to me). We'll wait and see how McQueen confounds our expectations, since he does always love to do that, and to stunning effect. And hey if awards voting bodies can't keep up with where and how the art is happening that's their fault, not the artists.
Uprising will focus in closer on the 1981 events that formed the backdrop of Axe's fourth chapter "Alex Wheatle" -- namely the New Cross Fire which killed 13 young people, and...
Steve McQueen, the man who directed five, count 'em, five of last year's best films with his Small Axe series, is about to confound everybody fixated on old-fashioned definitions of Art all over again with a new three-part thingamajig for the BBC called Uprising. THR is calling it a "docuseries" and this one, on paper, does admittedly sound more like a proper old-fashioned series than the Small Axe anthology ended up seeming (to me). We'll wait and see how McQueen confounds our expectations, since he does always love to do that, and to stunning effect. And hey if awards voting bodies can't keep up with where and how the art is happening that's their fault, not the artists.
Uprising will focus in closer on the 1981 events that formed the backdrop of Axe's fourth chapter "Alex Wheatle" -- namely the New Cross Fire which killed 13 young people, and...
- 5/11/2021
- by JA
- FilmExperience
Amazon Prime just won a couple of Oscars for their film “Sound of Metal,” and now the streaming service is jumping right into Emmy season with “Beyond the Screen” virtual events and a “Prime Video Presents” podcast to promote their slate of programs from May 1 through June 10. Their events can be found on the Emmys FYC calendar.
Among the programs being promoted by Amazon this season include the sci-fi dramas “The Boys” and “The Expanse”; the Barry Jenkins limited series “The Underground Railroad”; the telefilms “Uncle Frank,” “Yearly Departed,” and “Sylvie’s Love”; the documentary “All In: The Fight for Democracy“; the anthologies “Solos” and “Them”; and the theatrical special “What the Constitution Means to Me.”
Seersvp now for May 10: TV documentary directors for ‘Framing Britney Spears,’ ‘Heaven’s Gate,’ ‘High on the Hog,’ ‘Seduced,’ ‘The Year Earth Changed’ join Gold Derby’s Meet the Experts series
“Beyond the Screen” kicked...
Among the programs being promoted by Amazon this season include the sci-fi dramas “The Boys” and “The Expanse”; the Barry Jenkins limited series “The Underground Railroad”; the telefilms “Uncle Frank,” “Yearly Departed,” and “Sylvie’s Love”; the documentary “All In: The Fight for Democracy“; the anthologies “Solos” and “Them”; and the theatrical special “What the Constitution Means to Me.”
Seersvp now for May 10: TV documentary directors for ‘Framing Britney Spears,’ ‘Heaven’s Gate,’ ‘High on the Hog,’ ‘Seduced,’ ‘The Year Earth Changed’ join Gold Derby’s Meet the Experts series
“Beyond the Screen” kicked...
- 5/3/2021
- by Daniel Montgomery
- Gold Derby
Amazon Prime Video has once again put a pause on its annual in-person Emmy FYC pop-up events space due to the pandemic. But in its place, the streamer has curated a virtual experience, dubbed “Beyond the Screen,” that kicks off this weekend with an evening devoted to the stars, crafts and music of Steve McQueen’s anthology series “Small Axe.”
Variety has the exclusive roundup of the Emmy FYC panels, screenings, podcasts and performances that will kick off Amazon Studios and Prime Video’s campaign starting May 1, and continuing through June 10.
Talent populating the panels, set to be streamed for Television Academy members, include McQueen and John Boyega (“Small Axe”); Barry Jenkins and Joel Edgerton (“The Underground Railroad”), and Karl Urban, Antony Starr, Aya Cash and Jack Quaid (“The Boys”). Other contenders participating include “Solos,” “Sylvie’s Love,” “The Expanse,” “Them,” “Uncle Frank,” “What The Constitution Means To Me” and “Yearly Departed.
Variety has the exclusive roundup of the Emmy FYC panels, screenings, podcasts and performances that will kick off Amazon Studios and Prime Video’s campaign starting May 1, and continuing through June 10.
Talent populating the panels, set to be streamed for Television Academy members, include McQueen and John Boyega (“Small Axe”); Barry Jenkins and Joel Edgerton (“The Underground Railroad”), and Karl Urban, Antony Starr, Aya Cash and Jack Quaid (“The Boys”). Other contenders participating include “Solos,” “Sylvie’s Love,” “The Expanse,” “Them,” “Uncle Frank,” “What The Constitution Means To Me” and “Yearly Departed.
- 4/30/2021
- by Michael Schneider
- Variety Film + TV
John Boyega won a Golden Globe for Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Supporting Role on Sunday for his work in Steve McQueen’s anthology series Small Axe.
Boyega, who rose to prominence in the Star Wars franchise, played Leroy Logan in the “Red, White and Blue” segment of Small Axe, about the ordeal of a young black Londoner set on helping to break the color barrier at London’s Metropolitan Police Force in the early 1980s.
He whipped through his acceptance speech from his home in London tonight, thanking Amazon in the UK, the BBC and McQueen. He also confessed to wearing track pants below his camera.
Small Axe, which offers five stand-alone pieces centered on racial issues in second-half 20th century UK specifically in London’s West Indian community, was named Best Feature by the Los Angeles Film Critics. The series bowed in October on the BBC and Amazon Studios.
Boyega, who rose to prominence in the Star Wars franchise, played Leroy Logan in the “Red, White and Blue” segment of Small Axe, about the ordeal of a young black Londoner set on helping to break the color barrier at London’s Metropolitan Police Force in the early 1980s.
He whipped through his acceptance speech from his home in London tonight, thanking Amazon in the UK, the BBC and McQueen. He also confessed to wearing track pants below his camera.
Small Axe, which offers five stand-alone pieces centered on racial issues in second-half 20th century UK specifically in London’s West Indian community, was named Best Feature by the Los Angeles Film Critics. The series bowed in October on the BBC and Amazon Studios.
- 3/1/2021
- by Patrick Hipes
- Deadline Film + TV
On Sunday the 7th of February, the London Critics Circle held the annual awards ceremony which saw the improvised American road movie ‘Nomadland‘ win three top honours including Film of the Year.
The virtual ceremony also saw the film’s lead Frances McDormand, named Actress of the Year, while writer-director Chloé Zhao won Screenwriter of the Year. Acclaimed British dramatic horror ‘Saint Maud’ also won three awards: British/Irish Film of the Year, British/Irish Actress of the Year for Morfydd Clark, and Breakthrough British/Irish Filmmaker for writer-director Rose Glass.
The late Chadwick Boseman also won Actor of the Year for ‘Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom’, and his award was accepted in a moving video message from costar Coleman Domingo. Maria Bakalova also appeared virtually to accept Supporting Actress of the Year for ‘Borat Subsequent Moviefilm.’
Double winners included Sarah Gavron’s London coming-of-age drama ‘Rocks’, with lead actress Bukky Bakray...
The virtual ceremony also saw the film’s lead Frances McDormand, named Actress of the Year, while writer-director Chloé Zhao won Screenwriter of the Year. Acclaimed British dramatic horror ‘Saint Maud’ also won three awards: British/Irish Film of the Year, British/Irish Actress of the Year for Morfydd Clark, and Breakthrough British/Irish Filmmaker for writer-director Rose Glass.
The late Chadwick Boseman also won Actor of the Year for ‘Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom’, and his award was accepted in a moving video message from costar Coleman Domingo. Maria Bakalova also appeared virtually to accept Supporting Actress of the Year for ‘Borat Subsequent Moviefilm.’
Double winners included Sarah Gavron’s London coming-of-age drama ‘Rocks’, with lead actress Bukky Bakray...
- 2/8/2021
- by Zehra Phelan
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
Chloé Zhao’s road movie Nomadland won three honors, including Film of the Year, at the 41st London Critics‘ Circle Film Awards, which were held in a virtual ceremony on Sunday night.
Frances McDormand was named Actress of the Year, while writer-director Zhao won Screenwriter of the Year. Scroll down for the full list of winners.
Acclaimed British dramatic horror Saint Maud also won three awards: British/Irish Film of the Year, British/Irish Actress of the Year for Morfydd Clark, and Breakthrough British/Irish Filmmaker for writer-director Rose Glass.
Double winners on the night included Sarah Gavron’s London coming-of-age drama Rocks, with lead actress Bukky Bakray named Young British/Irish Performer of the Year and Lucy Pardee given the Technical Achievement Award for casting.
Steve McQueen was presented with Director of the Year for his five Small Axe films, while Shaun Parkes won Supporting Actor of the Year...
Frances McDormand was named Actress of the Year, while writer-director Zhao won Screenwriter of the Year. Scroll down for the full list of winners.
Acclaimed British dramatic horror Saint Maud also won three awards: British/Irish Film of the Year, British/Irish Actress of the Year for Morfydd Clark, and Breakthrough British/Irish Filmmaker for writer-director Rose Glass.
Double winners on the night included Sarah Gavron’s London coming-of-age drama Rocks, with lead actress Bukky Bakray named Young British/Irish Performer of the Year and Lucy Pardee given the Technical Achievement Award for casting.
Steve McQueen was presented with Director of the Year for his five Small Axe films, while Shaun Parkes won Supporting Actor of the Year...
- 2/7/2021
- by Andreas Wiseman
- Deadline Film + TV
Following our top 50 films of 2020 and more year-end coverage, we’re pleased to share personal top 10s of 2020 from our contributors.
Yes, 2020 will forever be known as the year with an asterisk etched next to it. This strange 12-month span saw a pandemic grip the world, cinemas shuttered, tentpoles delayed, and the advent of new, potentially devastating streaming models. Even so, there were numerous masterful films and dynamic performances––as well as more VOD dreck than ever before.
On a personal level, the move to virtual festivals gave me the opportunity to cover a number of festivals from home: Toronto, New York, AFI, and Chicago. Several of the entries on my top 10 (and five honorable mentions) list were festival selections, and the memory of watching them on my sofa next to my snoring terrier is rather surreal, and also rather wonderful.
Two additional notes: My initial hope was to have...
Yes, 2020 will forever be known as the year with an asterisk etched next to it. This strange 12-month span saw a pandemic grip the world, cinemas shuttered, tentpoles delayed, and the advent of new, potentially devastating streaming models. Even so, there were numerous masterful films and dynamic performances––as well as more VOD dreck than ever before.
On a personal level, the move to virtual festivals gave me the opportunity to cover a number of festivals from home: Toronto, New York, AFI, and Chicago. Several of the entries on my top 10 (and five honorable mentions) list were festival selections, and the memory of watching them on my sofa next to my snoring terrier is rather surreal, and also rather wonderful.
Two additional notes: My initial hope was to have...
- 12/30/2020
- by Christopher Schobert
- The Film Stage
Steve McQueen’s five-film opus Small Axe concludes with Friday’s release of Education, the story of a boy named Kingsley (Kenyah Sandy), whose difficulty with reading has him reassigned to a school for the “educationally subnormal” — a.k.a. students for whom the British school system has abandoned all hope. Education completes a quintet of remarkable stories set between 1968 and 1984, some rooted in fact, others inspired by the experiences of the 12 Years a Slave director’s mother and other Englanders of West Indian descent.
[All 5 Films Are Streaming on Amazon Prime Video]
The first installment,...
[All 5 Films Are Streaming on Amazon Prime Video]
The first installment,...
- 12/18/2020
- by Alan Sepinwall
- Rollingstone.com
What we call “Small Axe” shouldn’t matter. Steve McQueen’s Amazon Prime Video anthology film TV series is yet another straight-to-streaming home viewing option at a time when virtually everything debuts at home, in a year when change is necessary for survival, and in a collective moment when we should all be a little more open to new concepts replacing preconceived ideas.
Beyond its beautiful performances and unobtrusive period aesthetic, what matters about “Small Axe” is in its rich history, piercing humanity, and timely messages. “Mangrove” speaks truth to power in order to put this group of characters, and their community, in proper context. “Lovers Rock” appreciates the thrills and excitement freedom provides, dancing through a Blues party filled with vibrating twenty-somethings. “Red, White, and Blue” investigates institutional racism in the Metropolitan Police Force, while “Alex Wheatle” reflects on life from behind bars. “Education,” the final entry set to debut Friday,...
Beyond its beautiful performances and unobtrusive period aesthetic, what matters about “Small Axe” is in its rich history, piercing humanity, and timely messages. “Mangrove” speaks truth to power in order to put this group of characters, and their community, in proper context. “Lovers Rock” appreciates the thrills and excitement freedom provides, dancing through a Blues party filled with vibrating twenty-somethings. “Red, White, and Blue” investigates institutional racism in the Metropolitan Police Force, while “Alex Wheatle” reflects on life from behind bars. “Education,” the final entry set to debut Friday,...
- 12/16/2020
- by Ben Travers
- Indiewire
The title of fourth of Steve McQueen’s Small Axe films, Alex Wheatle, practically begs of an addendum: It could just as well start with The Miseducation Of. Or, rather, reeducation. The Alex Wheatle that we meet up top, played by Sheyi Cole, is a man who at one point knew almost nothing. He doesn’t know how to take care of his hair. He doesn’t know about Babylon — which is to say, a Britain whose prime quality is its imperial evil. He doesn’t know about cops and why to avoid them,...
- 12/15/2020
- by K. Austin Collins
- Rollingstone.com
In any year, Steve McQueen’s “Small Axe” would be a historic achievement. But in 2020, amid a worldwide reckoning on racial injustice while a pandemic has wreaked havoc on the entertainment industry — blurring the lines between film and TV — this five-part series is an auspicious game-changer.
Shining a light on little-known tales of Black pride and heroism from the U.K.’s Windrush generation, each instalment is set between the late ’60s and early ’80s and features people from the Black diaspora speaking in their own dialects and revelling in their culture. For that alone, “Small Axe” is special, but the themes in each of the interlinked stories still resonate powerfully today.
With the final chapter debuting on the BBC on Sunday, the time has come to rank the series as a whole — a considerable challenge when you consider that while satisfaction may have varied over the films, there isn...
Shining a light on little-known tales of Black pride and heroism from the U.K.’s Windrush generation, each instalment is set between the late ’60s and early ’80s and features people from the Black diaspora speaking in their own dialects and revelling in their culture. For that alone, “Small Axe” is special, but the themes in each of the interlinked stories still resonate powerfully today.
With the final chapter debuting on the BBC on Sunday, the time has come to rank the series as a whole — a considerable challenge when you consider that while satisfaction may have varied over the films, there isn...
- 12/13/2020
- by Amon Warmann
- Variety Film + TV
With a seemingly endless amount of streaming options—not only the titles at our disposal, but services themselves–each week we highlight the noteworthy titles that have recently hit platforms. Check out this week’s selections below and past round-ups here.
Alex Wheatle (Steve McQueen)
Alex Wheatle, the fourth entry in Steve McQueen’s Small Axe anthology, offers a modest take on the process of unlearning cultural attitudes and biases through the eyes of a naïve teenager. In 1980, Alex Wheatle moves to a social services hostel in Brixton after spending his childhood in a group home, where he was subject to constant abuse from his white peers and caretaker. In Brixton, however, Wheatle finds himself immersed in the Black British community, from which he was displaced growing up in all-white Surrey, where he slowly but surely assimilates the patois, fashion, and most importantly, music of his culture. He quickly witnesses...
Alex Wheatle (Steve McQueen)
Alex Wheatle, the fourth entry in Steve McQueen’s Small Axe anthology, offers a modest take on the process of unlearning cultural attitudes and biases through the eyes of a naïve teenager. In 1980, Alex Wheatle moves to a social services hostel in Brixton after spending his childhood in a group home, where he was subject to constant abuse from his white peers and caretaker. In Brixton, however, Wheatle finds himself immersed in the Black British community, from which he was displaced growing up in all-white Surrey, where he slowly but surely assimilates the patois, fashion, and most importantly, music of his culture. He quickly witnesses...
- 12/11/2020
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
Alex Wheatle, the fourth entry in Steve McQueen’s Small Axe anthology, offers a modest take on the process of unlearning cultural attitudes and biases through the eyes of a naïve teenager. In 1980, Alex Wheatle moves to a social services hostel in Brixton after spending his childhood in a group home, where he was subject to constant abuse from his white peers and caretaker. In Brixton, however, Wheatle finds himself immersed in the Black British community, from which he was displaced growing up in all-white Surrey, where he slowly but surely assimilates the patois, fashion, and most importantly, music of his culture. He quickly witnesses the casual daily oppression his community faces at the hands of the police and participates in the 1981 Brixton uprising for which he is imprisoned.
McQueen limits the scope of his biographical portrait to the relatively short period of Wheatle’s awakening, his transformation from a...
McQueen limits the scope of his biographical portrait to the relatively short period of Wheatle’s awakening, his transformation from a...
- 12/11/2020
- by Vikram Murthi
- The Film Stage
“These are the stars of Andromeda!” Education, the fifth episode of Steve McQueen’s 2020 Small Axe anthology, co-written with Alastair Siddons, sets the tone in outer space. This is a film about strong, formidable performances by women, whose characters take on the systemic wrongs and grinding injustices imposed upon the children in their community.
Twelve-year-old Kingsley Smith (Kenyah Sandy) visits the planetarium with his class and knows then and there that he wants to become an astronaut. In school, they read John Steinbeck’s Great Depression novella Of Mice And Men. When it is Kingsley’s turn, he remains silent. He is called a “big blockhead” by his teacher (Sam Fourness) and his mainly white classmates laugh.
Later, during a music lesson, his harmless acting up is judged “unacceptable” by his prowling and growling teacher Mr. Hamley (Nigel Boyle). While...
Twelve-year-old Kingsley Smith (Kenyah Sandy) visits the planetarium with his class and knows then and there that he wants to become an astronaut. In school, they read John Steinbeck’s Great Depression novella Of Mice And Men. When it is Kingsley’s turn, he remains silent. He is called a “big blockhead” by his teacher (Sam Fourness) and his mainly white classmates laugh.
Later, during a music lesson, his harmless acting up is judged “unacceptable” by his prowling and growling teacher Mr. Hamley (Nigel Boyle). While...
- 12/7/2020
- by Anne-Katrin Titze
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
School of Crock: McQueen Turns His Eyes to the Stars in Final Anthology Installment
Across five films spanning a period of 1969 to 1982, Steve McQueen’s Small Axe Anthology has charted snapshots of West Indian communities and their histories in London. Utilizing a wide range of tones and palettes, beginning with the levity of Lover’s Rock (read review), he would turn to recuperations of trailblazers in the grueling court room drama Mangrove (read review), a true account of Black lives attempting to reshape the landscape of police brutality in Red, White and Blue (read review) and an homage to British novelist Alex Wheatle (read review), raised to fail as a youth born into social institutions.…...
Across five films spanning a period of 1969 to 1982, Steve McQueen’s Small Axe Anthology has charted snapshots of West Indian communities and their histories in London. Utilizing a wide range of tones and palettes, beginning with the levity of Lover’s Rock (read review), he would turn to recuperations of trailblazers in the grueling court room drama Mangrove (read review), a true account of Black lives attempting to reshape the landscape of police brutality in Red, White and Blue (read review) and an homage to British novelist Alex Wheatle (read review), raised to fail as a youth born into social institutions.…...
- 12/7/2020
- by Nicholas Bell
- IONCINEMA.com
Steve McQueen’s Small Axe portmanteau of five roughly hourlong films centered on racial issues in second-half 20th century UK wraps up with Education, which, at the end of the day, is what the series is all about: education in terms of the efforts of different segments of the population to begin to understand each other, to cast off ill-informed presumptions and long-entrenched prejudices, creating more opportunities and learning that the “other” should ideally create more possibilities than problems in a newly multi-racial society, if, in the end, citizens can open up to it all. Although British cinema for decades has looked long and hard at class distinctions, investigating racial divides of the past half-century in such a comprehensive way is something quite rare; this alone makes the series something unique. There are takeaways here for every segment of the audience, both domestic and foreign, young and old.
About a...
About a...
- 12/7/2020
- by Todd McCarthy
- Deadline Film + TV
Children are the future, as Whitney Houston famously reminded us, and both have to be fought for, as Steve McQueen so powerfully expresses in “Education,” the fifth and final chapter of “Small Axe,” his anthology for Amazon Studios and the BBC.
In many ways, this is different than anything else in the director’s filmography — it’s the first time he’s had a pre-teen protagonist, for one — but its urgent sense of a community banding together to create opportunity and to dismantle institutionalized racism makes it very much of a piece with the four other films under the “Small Axe” umbrella.
It’s the story of a family, although we begin following young Kingsley Smith, who has dreams of becoming an astronaut and possibly also playing for Tottenham F.C. When it’s clear that he’s having issues reading — his white teacher calls him a “blockhead” in front...
In many ways, this is different than anything else in the director’s filmography — it’s the first time he’s had a pre-teen protagonist, for one — but its urgent sense of a community banding together to create opportunity and to dismantle institutionalized racism makes it very much of a piece with the four other films under the “Small Axe” umbrella.
It’s the story of a family, although we begin following young Kingsley Smith, who has dreams of becoming an astronaut and possibly also playing for Tottenham F.C. When it’s clear that he’s having issues reading — his white teacher calls him a “blockhead” in front...
- 12/7/2020
- by Alonso Duralde
- The Wrap
Filmmaker Steve McQueen has revealed that he was about to boycott the BBC if the network had persisted in refusing to apologize for a reporter’s use of the N-word over the summer. During an interview with the Radio Times (via Deadline), McQueen was outraged when the BBC News channel took 12 days to apologize when its social affairs correspondent, Fiona Lamdin, used the epithet in reporting on a racially motivated hate attack that took place in July. Lamdin works for BBC news service Points West.
Following the use of the slur, the BBC stood by the remark, stating, “This was a story about a shocking unprovoked attack on a young black man. His family told the BBC about the racist language used by the attackers and wanted to see the full facts made public… A warning was given before this was reported. We are no longer running this version of...
Following the use of the slur, the BBC stood by the remark, stating, “This was a story about a shocking unprovoked attack on a young black man. His family told the BBC about the racist language used by the attackers and wanted to see the full facts made public… A warning was given before this was reported. We are no longer running this version of...
- 12/5/2020
- by Ryan Lattanzio
- Indiewire
Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, Part Four
Sabrina (Kiernan Shipka) has a magical birthday party – which is to be expected. Only, when her cake disappears, it’s not by the doings of the young witch. A darker magic is at play: The Eldritch Terrors, a group of evil entities. Together with both her coven and her mortal friends, Sabrina tries to save her town from the sinister invasion – while also navigating ex-boyfriends. (December 31st)
Mariah Carey’s Magical Christmas Special
“‘Twas the night before Christmas and 2020 had been rough.” So begins Tiffany Haddish’s Christmastime narration.
Sabrina (Kiernan Shipka) has a magical birthday party – which is to be expected. Only, when her cake disappears, it’s not by the doings of the young witch. A darker magic is at play: The Eldritch Terrors, a group of evil entities. Together with both her coven and her mortal friends, Sabrina tries to save her town from the sinister invasion – while also navigating ex-boyfriends. (December 31st)
Mariah Carey’s Magical Christmas Special
“‘Twas the night before Christmas and 2020 had been rough.” So begins Tiffany Haddish’s Christmastime narration.
- 12/5/2020
- by Natalli Amato
- Rollingstone.com
In “Alex Wheatle,” the fourth of Steve McQueen’s Small Axe films, we meet a young man who seems, quite literally, to have come from nothing. Alex (Sheyi Cole), born to Jamaican parents in 1963, was abandoned by his mother, and his father gave him over to the British social-services bureaucracy — which means that he grows up, in essence, as a Dickensian orphan. We see him in a home for boys, run by an “auntie” who’s a nasty piece of work; she reacts to the fact that Alex wets his bed by shoving the urine-soaked sheets into his mouth. The cruelty is palpable, but it’s not until a scene or two later, when the 18-year-old Alex gets throws in jail, that we see what it truly means to be a lost soul.
Alex’s cellmate is a burly Rastafarian named Simeon (Robbie Gee), who seems friendly enough but is having intestinal issues,...
Alex’s cellmate is a burly Rastafarian named Simeon (Robbie Gee), who seems friendly enough but is having intestinal issues,...
- 12/2/2020
- by Owen Gleiberman
- Variety Film + TV
Steve McQueen’s Alex Wheatle, co-written with Alastair Siddons, shot by Shabier Kirchner with costumes by Jacqueline Durran is episode 4 of his Small Axe anthology. The title character ((Sheyi Cole) is brought to a prison cell where a foul smell awaits him, courtesy of his bunkmate Simeon (Robbie Gee). Remember how Peter Morgan in the very first scene of the first episode of season one of The Crown, directed by Stephen Daldry, repels us with the blood-spitting King George VI (Jared Harris), only to pull us in even more soon after? McQueen is equally good at provoking visceral reactions from the audience. Franco Rosso’s 1980 Babylon, starring Brinsley Forde with music by Dennis Bovell...
- 12/1/2020
- by Anne-Katrin Titze
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
One of 2020’s few joys has been Steve McQueen’s Amazon anthology “Small Axe,” a series telling, in some instances for the first time, the stories of the Black Brits who faced oppression during the ’60s and ’70s. While “Mangrove” touted empowerment through self-representation, “Lovers Rock” through music, and “Red, White and Blue” through reform from within, “Alex Wheatle” calls for literature as a gateway to freedom.
Continue reading ‘Alex Wheatle’ Is The Weakest Strike In Steve McQueen’s ‘Small Axe’ [Review] at The Playlist.
Continue reading ‘Alex Wheatle’ Is The Weakest Strike In Steve McQueen’s ‘Small Axe’ [Review] at The Playlist.
- 11/30/2020
- by Robert Daniels
- The Playlist
Amazon Prime Video has premiered the trailer for Small Axe: Alex Wheatle, the fourth and penultimate film in Steve McQueen’s Small Axe anthology series for the streaming platform. Alex Wheatle will drop on December 11th, following Mangrove (November 20th), Lovers Rock (November 27th), and Red, White and Blue (December 4th).
Like the other entries in the Small Axe series, Alex Wheatle tells a story within London’s West Indian community from the late Sixties to the mid-Eighties. (The title is derived from the African proverb, “If you are the big tree,...
Like the other entries in the Small Axe series, Alex Wheatle tells a story within London’s West Indian community from the late Sixties to the mid-Eighties. (The title is derived from the African proverb, “If you are the big tree,...
- 11/30/2020
- by Claire Shaffer
- Rollingstone.com
Odds Against Tomorrow: McQueen’s Anthology Explores Tribulations of Famed Novelist
For the fourth installment of his five-title Small Axe anthology series, director Steve McQueen recuperates the experiences of the famed British novelist in the eponymously titled segment Alex Wheatle. From a childhood spent in the toxic environment of white, institutional home care through his young adulthood, which resulted in a prison sentence leading to an auspicious rumination, McQueen’s portrait leans more into an impression of a particular overlooked experience than a biopic. While the film posits Wheatle’s development as a universally familiar scenario regarding the unfortunate reality of Black children dependent upon social services, it’s also an exceptional portrait of resiliency bolstered by and through uncommon kindness in the most discouraging environs.…...
For the fourth installment of his five-title Small Axe anthology series, director Steve McQueen recuperates the experiences of the famed British novelist in the eponymously titled segment Alex Wheatle. From a childhood spent in the toxic environment of white, institutional home care through his young adulthood, which resulted in a prison sentence leading to an auspicious rumination, McQueen’s portrait leans more into an impression of a particular overlooked experience than a biopic. While the film posits Wheatle’s development as a universally familiar scenario regarding the unfortunate reality of Black children dependent upon social services, it’s also an exceptional portrait of resiliency bolstered by and through uncommon kindness in the most discouraging environs.…...
- 11/30/2020
- by Nicholas Bell
- IONCINEMA.com
Steve McQueen’s five-film “Small Axe” series was conceived to spotlight underrepresented stories of West Indian Londoners, from the thrill of a 1980 house party in “Lovers Rock” to the tumultuous civil rights battle of “Mangrove.” With “Alex Wheatle,” McQueen centers on a subject whose mission syncs with the project as a whole. In this hourlong origin story about the British Jamaican young adult novelist who found his calling after the 1981 Brixton riot, McQueen and co-writer Alastair Siddons have produced
Compared to some of the other “Small Axe” entries, “Alex Wheatle” occupies a somewhat awkward position within the film and TV media boundary that the anthology pushes up against: It’s not episodic, but feels more like the first act of a larger story begging for further exploration. Nevertheless, with a complex, ever-evolving turn by newcomer Sheyi Cole at its center, the story it does offer up turns on McQueen’s...
Compared to some of the other “Small Axe” entries, “Alex Wheatle” occupies a somewhat awkward position within the film and TV media boundary that the anthology pushes up against: It’s not episodic, but feels more like the first act of a larger story begging for further exploration. Nevertheless, with a complex, ever-evolving turn by newcomer Sheyi Cole at its center, the story it does offer up turns on McQueen’s...
- 11/30/2020
- by Eric Kohn
- Indiewire
“You can’t look forward without looking back.” That’s a valuable piece of advice given to the protagonist of “Alex Wheatle,” but it’s also a summation of what director and co-writer Steve McQueen is doing with his extraordinary “Small Axe” series.
With its vivid portrayals of the horrors of institutionalization, “Alex Wheatle” is perhaps most reminiscent — so far — of the McQueen audiences have come to know in films like “Hunger” and “12 Years a Slave.” But even as its lead character endures physical and psychological torment at the hands of authorities, the film is very much of a piece with the ebullience of “Small Axe,” as the ongoing themes of community, music and defiance play a huge role in the story.
The real-life Wheatle published his first novel in 1999, but the film begins in 1981, with Alex going to prison for his role in the Brixton Riots, in which...
With its vivid portrayals of the horrors of institutionalization, “Alex Wheatle” is perhaps most reminiscent — so far — of the McQueen audiences have come to know in films like “Hunger” and “12 Years a Slave.” But even as its lead character endures physical and psychological torment at the hands of authorities, the film is very much of a piece with the ebullience of “Small Axe,” as the ongoing themes of community, music and defiance play a huge role in the story.
The real-life Wheatle published his first novel in 1999, but the film begins in 1981, with Alex going to prison for his role in the Brixton Riots, in which...
- 11/30/2020
- by Alonso Duralde
- The Wrap
With the arrival of Alex Wheatle, the fourth of five installments that make up Small Axe, Steve McQueen’s adamant and penetrating series of roughly hourlong dramas centering on the Black immigrant community experience in post-World War II Britain, the emerging core concern is the hypocrisy involved in the nation laying out the welcome mat to newcomers in the first place while denying opportunity once they’ve arrived. The theme could hardly be clearer than it is in this episode, which sees the eponymous young lad bounced around for years by social services before becoming involved in the Brixton Uprising of April 1981. The reason we’re seeing a film about him now is that, some years later, Wheatle emerged as a successful writer.
Ferocious police brutality by the London police is a recurring hallmark in McQueen’s compelling series; the authorities shut down a popular Caribbean restaurant in Mangrove and...
Ferocious police brutality by the London police is a recurring hallmark in McQueen’s compelling series; the authorities shut down a popular Caribbean restaurant in Mangrove and...
- 11/30/2020
- by Todd McCarthy
- Deadline Film + TV
Early in Steve McQueen’s Alex Wheatle, the young protagonist whose name gives the film its title prompts derision from a barber shop full of Londoners of West Indian descent by revealing that he doesn’t consider himself African. “I might be Black, but I’m from Surrey,” says the young Brit abandoned by his Jamaican parents, who has grown up in the loveless Social Services foster-care system. The words of his bibliophile cellmate toward the end of the film come as a direct rebuke to his unformed cultural identity: “Education is the key. You see, if you ...
- 11/29/2020
- The Hollywood Reporter - Film + TV
Early in Steve McQueen’s Alex Wheatle, the young protagonist whose name gives the film its title prompts derision from a barber shop full of Londoners of West Indian descent by revealing that he doesn’t consider himself African. “I might be Black, but I’m from Surrey,” says the young Brit abandoned by his Jamaican parents, who has grown up in the loveless Social Services foster-care system. The words of his bibliophile cellmate toward the end of the film come as a direct rebuke to his unformed cultural identity: “Education is the key. You see, if you ...
- 11/29/2020
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
John Boyega Struggles to Change the London Police Force From Within in ‘Red, White and Blue’ Trailer
John Boyega plays a London police officer who believes he can effect change from inside the organization in the new trailer for Steve McQueen’s Red, White and Blue, premiering December 4th on Amazon Prime Video.
The film is based on the true story of Larry Logan, a forensic scientist who yearns to do more with his life. After watching two cops assault his father, Larry decides to become a police officer, an old childhood ambition that’s also “borne from the naive hope of wanting to change racist attitudes from within,...
The film is based on the true story of Larry Logan, a forensic scientist who yearns to do more with his life. After watching two cops assault his father, Larry decides to become a police officer, an old childhood ambition that’s also “borne from the naive hope of wanting to change racist attitudes from within,...
- 11/23/2020
- by Jon Blistein
- Rollingstone.com
IMDb.com, Inc. takes no responsibility for the content or accuracy of the above news articles, Tweets, or blog posts. This content is published for the entertainment of our users only. The news articles, Tweets, and blog posts do not represent IMDb's opinions nor can we guarantee that the reporting therein is completely factual. Please visit the source responsible for the item in question to report any concerns you may have regarding content or accuracy.