When it comes to contemporary, urban British drama, staying on top with retributive and face-saving violence is a common trope which reflects everyday tensions through which many young men (and particularly young black men) navigate their lives on the mean streets of Britain.

In Ambition to Live, starring and written by young British boxer and emerging screen talent, Jordan Pitt, we forgo the swagger, posturing and mouthing-off usually associated with the genre and get straight to the gritty, emotional heart of things. This short, taut film offers an intriguing approach that draws you in and has the mind working immediately as neither expository dialogue nor pat answers are given as to the whys and wherefores of what you are (or might) be witnessing.

Ambition to Live first debuted at last year’s Cannes Film Festival at the Short Film Corner. Unusually, the film returned to Cannes again this year, this time as an official selection for the Short Film Showcase and Awards of Beyond Borders: Diversity in Cannes – a diversity initiative conceived by LA based publicist and PR consultant Yolonda Brinkley, to spotlight filmmaking talent from across the globe at arguably the world’s most high profile film festival. 

The six films for this year’s showcase were selected by a committee including Variety magazine’s Vice-President and Managing Editor, Kirstin Wilder, FilmTVDiversity‘s Joshua Griffin, and Boston Palestine Film Festival‘s Kate B Rouhana.

Ambition to Live was directed by Fraser Ayers, himself an actor (credits include BBC’s Smoking Room and Noel Clarke’s Adulthood). Ayers is also co-founder, CEO and Managing Director of Triforce Promotions, a mainly UK based network that enables actors and creatives to connect, and aims to make opportunities in all areas of the film, TV and theatre industries.

Ambition to Live marks the first collaboration between One Umbrella Productions (Pitt’s production company) and Triforce Promotions.

Watch the film in full, below.