Three Short Films - Drowning, The Incident and Pipe Up Produced by Company of Angels on behalf of the Equality and Human Rights Commission in association with Kids Connections and Islington Community Theatre
Drowning A packed classroom. A hot afternoon. History. Dylan’s trying to listen. Tanya’s getting stressed. The topic is witch trials. If you were accused of witchcraft,you were thrown in a lake. If you floated, you were a witch. If you drowned,you were innocent. Tanya’s scowling. Dylan’s starting to shake. This fast-paced, gritty film explores what happens when we attack people just for being different.
The Incident
After moving to England to escape an oppressive regime, Mohammed, an Islamic teenager,struggles with the culture-shock. He wants to befriend Harry, Chantelle and Darren,a close-knit trio who share his love of movies. But Mohammed finds himself rejected, mocked for his accent, his religion, even the food he eats. Presented using a mixture of ‘talking head’ interviews, CCTV footage and Crimewatch-style reconstructions, The Incident tracks the events leading up to a sudden and surprising act of violence.
Pipe Up
Featuring original music by London Urban Collective. A careers class sees a teacher getting his students to discuss work placements.Beth dreams of music stardom, but knows she needs a backup. When she tells the class she wants to work as a plumber her teacher and fellow students can’t help but mock her. Women as plumbers? Unlikely. But Beth summons her lyrical dexterity to tear apart the sexist attitudes around her, putting her peers –and teacher – in their place. The message: don’t judge by gender.
Film Credits:
Written and Directed by: Adam Barnard Directors of Photography: Paul Jackson (The Incident / Drowning) / Anthony Gurner (Pipe Up) Editors: Paul Jackson (The Incident / Drowning) / Ilinca Calugareanu (Pipe Up / Drowning) Sound Ops: Andy Ayres (The Incident / Drowning / Pipe Up); Andrew Hewitson (Drowning); Nathaniel Kastroyano (Drowning) Sound editor: Dean Covill Producers: Vanessa Fagan / Company of Angels (films); Jay Enticknap / London Urban Collective (music in Pipe Up)
Make-Up: Abigail Grey Costume supervisor: Sheara Abrahams (Pipe Up) Art department: Sophie Powell (Pipe Up)
Cast: Daniel O'Keefe, Roman Dawson, Jodie Dickens, Cory Hippolyte, Denzel Assiamah, Daniel Rickler, Kered Figaro, Kai Blyth-Foster, Jasmin Alvarez, Kofi Odoon, Rossano Dias, Larissa Fonseca, Segen Yosife, Samia Amao, Kaysha Campbell, Rochelle Rose, Corey Peterson, Esther Uwejeyah, Chessie Barnard, Michael Keary, Paul O'Mahony, Robert Benfield, Ellie Mason, Vee El Y, Antoine Bertin-Azille, Adi Xhevi, Avigela Xhevi. Partners: Commissioned by Kids Connections on behalf of the Equality and Human Rights Commission; in association with Islington Community Theatre and London Urban Collective; supported by Islington Arts and Media School and Highgate Woods School
Advisory Board: The Department for Education, Ofsted, The Citizenship Foundation, the Ministry of Justice, the Children's Rights Alliance for England and Amnesty International
The Project:
Company of Angels was commissioned by the Equality and Human Rights Commission to create a series of short films exploring discrimination through a youth lens. The films are being streamed online and presented in schools as part of a new lesson plan developed by Kids Connections for use in Key Stage 3 Citizenship. The project is supported by The Department for Education, Ofsted and Amnesty International.
The project also links with Company of Angels’ associate company Islington Community Theatre, whose young actors took lead roles within the films. Joint Director Adam Barnard, then an Associate, wrote and directed the films.
