For
all those who watched and enjoyed his futuristic short film "Touch" via Shadow & Act or at a recent film festival or screening series, here is an
update on filmmaker Shola Amoo and his next film "A
Moving Image."
Starring "Touch" co-star Tanya Fear, an actress
who has been making the rounds here on S&A, "A Moving Image" follows her character Nina, an artist who returns to her roots in Brixton,
South London, as she tries to recapture her creative spark in a rapidly
gentrifying city.
Check
out the engaging early preview below. The film will be launching a crowdfunding
campaign later this year.
In
a recent chat with Amoo, he points out that this movie will be one of the first
London-based narratives to look at gentrification in London, specifically in
Brixton, which like in parts of Brooklyn and most of Harlem, NY here in the
United States used to be a predominately working-class environment. Amoo
extols how "A Moving Image" has a
multicultural cast with a woman of color in the lead at a time where there is
great debate in the United Kingdom about the lack of diversity on screen. The character Nina also remarks on these experiences in the preview.
The preview has a fun yet personal feel to it as one can imagine that Fear is going through similar experiences to her character. In some aspects it reminds me of Stacey Holman’s short film from the 1990’s "Girl Talk," which also dealt with an artist (but not an actress) dealing with changes in her lifestyle that she needs to come to terms with. Fear ever somewhat resembles that young lady. One can also see where Amoo will be searching for the fantastic within everyday life, though not as overtly as in "Touch."
Tanya Fear is based in London. She
has starred in TV shows such as, "Some
Girls","The Midnight Beast" and "The
Fades." She is passionate about theatre and starred in hit African comedy "The Epic Adventure of Nhamo the Manyika
Warrior and his Sexy Wife Chipo" at the Tricycle Theatre. She also recently
she starred in comic book film "Kick-Ass 2"
as Harlowe and will next appear in French pay-tv Canal Plus’
London-set crime drama series "Spotless"
as reported here recently.
Shola
Amoo was selected for The Royal Court and Soho Theatre Young Writers Groups,
which resulted in his debut short play "Metamorphosis" being performed at the Soho Theatre. His first narrative
short "The Hydra" won best film at the BFM Shorts Awards 2009. In 2011 he wrote
and directed "The
Prayer," produced by Fiona Lamptey,
which played festivals worldwide including: The Samsung’s Women’s International
Film Festival 2012 in India; The London Short Film Festival 2013 and The Pan-African
Film Festival 2013 in Los Angeles. Amoo is a graduate of the National Film and
Television School (NFTS). His latest short film "Touch"
stars Tanya Fear and Alexis Rodney ("Guardians
of The Galaxy"). "Touch" made its New York theatrical debut at New Voices in Black
Cinema 2014 and The London Short Film Festival 2014. It recently won Shooting
People’s ‘Film of The Month’ competition, chosen by Oscar nominated
cinematographer Rodrigo Prieto ("Wolf
of Wall Street," "Brokeback Mountain"). Along
with producer Lee Thomas (Oscar nominated "The Voorman Problem"), Amoo is also in development with the iFeatures microbudget
filmmaking initiative on "The Last Tree." The film focuses on Daniel, a black 28-year old journalist based in Birmingham who returns home to his white adoptive parents in Lincolnshire after a long absence and is spurred to go on a road trip across England with his girlfriend Charlotte to find his Nigerian birth mother, who he last saw as a young child.
Stay
tuned to S&A for updates on Amoo and Fear’s "A Moving Image" and their other projects. See more about A Moving Image on the film’s website.
Curtis Caesar John is the Film Editor for Bold As Love Magazine. He also covers film and culture for Limité Magazine and is a film programmer and co-founder New Voices in Black Cinema. He is born, raised and resides in Brooklyn, NY, of course. Follow him on Twitter at @MediaManWatch
