The initiative was created at the end of 2020 to support emerging filmmakers from across the UK and to nurture the most innovative and creative minds of the future.
Out of thousands of applications Netflix selected 10 documentary ideas and fully funded the films to be made with the focus of addressing imbalance in the industry
After a rigorous application process and an exciting production period, the films are now ready to launch. The filmmakers received funding and industry support as part of the inaugural Netflix UK Documentary Talent Fund.
Love Languages – Five black men debunk myths and stereotypes of black masculinity by having revealing, humorous and vulnerable conversations about their own personal love language set within the comfort of their safe space, an Afro-Caribbean barbershop.
ALT:
Firstly, I am going to ask both of you, how does it feel to be selected for this fund?
Jason:
Really excited, really honoured. I can’t imagine how many people probably applied. So yeah, to be selected was a real joy. I think when we got to the short list and we had to give our in-person pitch, I was really grateful to have that audience because that’s really rare, to have an audience of Netflix commissioners and winning producers and directors. So, just to be in that room and to share our idea and to get the feedback and be challenged, that alone was huge. But to come away and actually have the opportunity to work with Netflix on a project like this, yeah, it was fantastic.
Precious:
I think Jason’s kind of covered it in a nutshell…it was really exciting obviously. Netflix is really notable and is making amazing, significant moves within the industry. So to have them reach out to filmmakers from across the board, whether just starting out with their first film or having a little bit more experience and I guess putting money on the table and, and even more than that, support. There was a lot of support during the process, to make sure that we could create something that we could then share with the world. I think that is, it’s great to see. I can’t say any more than it was so exciting and yeah, very exciting to be part of it.
ALT:
So how far do schemes like the Netflix fund go in addressing the imbalance in terms of the industry?
Precious:
I guess it’s hard to measure. I think just from a personal level, it is not easy to find funding, especially if you don’t have a lot of that work under your belt. So, if Jason and I were trying to raise money for a documentary, maybe perhaps they would look at what we’ve done before, I had never done a documentary before. It can be really difficult because when people or organisations are giving you money, a lot of the time they want to make sure that you are able to follow through. If you’re given £10,000 for a short film and you’ve never made a short film before, and there’s any problems along the way, I guess it can be really tricky for the organizations. Maybe that’s part of the reason why you don’t get a lot of stuff like this, but this just felt really supportive. It felt like they were reaching out to everyone. It felt so much more about the story than your experience more than anything. That was really good. You just knew that if you had a really good idea and you felt confident about it, you could share that.
I think these schemes help the imbalance a lot. I think it’s so important for this industry to consistently be feeding into the next generation, the coming generation of filmmakers, and the new stories that are going to help redefine this industry and redefine this country, and the image that we have around the world. So, to have something like Britain’s Not Boring, which was the title of the scheme, it’s just amazing.
When you look at all the films, we are aware of the different film subjects. It’s completely across the board. The creatives across the board, whenever we had zoom calls with the other creatives, there are women, there are people of colour, there are people from the LGBTQ+ community, all with varying different stories from their point of view of being in Britain, and what they’ve seen, what stories interest them. I think to have 10 films like that, just being made, that is important. You are definitely encouraging the next generation of filmmakers and hopefully moving things forward.
Jason:
Just to second what Precious said, I was thinking about even just the language that was used by Netflix through the application process, as an emerging director, I’ve looked at funding from various other sources and it feels like, unless you are really familiar with the industry, it’s really hard to understand what they need and what they require. This made it really simple, and it felt like it was very egalitarian for everyone. You know, if you have an idea, that’s all we care about. So, the process itself, they tried to make it a level playing field. Yeah, I think that was appreciated.
ALT:
Why did you choose this subject?
Jason:
It’s my world. They say, make a film about things that you know, right. And, despite my lack of hair, I’m still very much familiar with black barbershops. They’re fascinating spaces, you don’t go there just to get your haircut. It’s a real sense of community. It’s a space where most black men do feel safe and comfortable. That barber’s chair often substitutes a therapist’s couch. I think that I wanted to show a side of us that people don’t often see, to share this story on black barbershops, they are on every high street, every town, it’s really important.
ALT:
How do black men break down stereotypes around masculinity?
Jason:
I don’t know if it’s for them to break down the stereotypes really. I don’t think that the onus is necessarily them. I think it’s for filmmakers and for the public to be open enough to see the truth and see beyond those stereotypes. I was hoping that’s what we tried to do here, just allow them to tell their truth and tell their stories. We were so grateful and we had so much generosity from these people, it’s a big deal for them to share these things. Interestingly, we worked with an amazing casting producer, and we had a deluge of contributors who wanted to share, and I found that quite telling, that there wasn’t people who were holding back, they wanted to share and be open, and be vulnerable. I think, the more we see that, those stereotypes hopefully will be broken down.
ALT:
So, do men need to have a feminine side?
Precious:
I think for me, it’s more about people generally being given the room to access across the spectrum, femininity or masculinity or whatever, when they need to. I think there are traits that we have that are assigned to specific genders, but I think these are traits that should be within every individual. Like Gus says in the film, he doesn’t understand what men do when they want to cry, what else are you going to do but cry? It should be just that simple. It’s an expression of a feeling that you have at the time, as similarly as it is to laughter. These things shouldn’t be assigned to a particular gender, this ability to be emotional and to be open in a specific way. I think men, black men, women, everybody across the board, I think it’s just about accepting that we have this ability to express ourselves in so many different ways. We’ve seen the dire issues that arise when we try and hold back a certain part of ourselves, in any type of way, giving people an open forum to just be themselves regardless, I think that’s the important thing. So, black men should be feminine when they need to, masculine when they need to, and anywhere in between, depending on how they feel. There’s a freedom in that, that hasn’t been allowed for a very long time and that freedom needs to be given.
ALT:
A question to both of you, why do you make films?
Jason:
For me it’s about the creative expression, my background was originally music. Even then it’s about storytelling and the opportunity to do things that many people don’t necessarily see. Share stories about culture. It’s the expression, there’s a sense of collaboration as well, I think, that I find exhilarating. People come together for a common purpose and people who are the experts in various fields come together to make one piece of work. Such a thrill.
Precious:
For me, I just really love storytelling. I love learning through film. It goes back when I, when I was really young, I did have for a time, a childhood where my mum, when I was going to bed, she used to tell me these amazing wondrous tales that she had learned from when she was little, growing up in Uganda, that’s how she shared her culture of me. She used to tell me these stories about when she was growing up, they literally had, there was a specific person from her area who would travel between the different towns and villages. And when he would arrive, they would sit down and he would play this guitar-like instrument and tell these stories that were filled with music and wonder, like these fantastical stories. These are the stories that she shared with me. I think from there, I definitely have a love for storytelling and learning about people through these amazing stories.
Also growing up, I was a TV addict, which my mum hated, but now it seems to have led somewhere. As a child, as an immigrant child, I didn’t have some of the comforts of my peers, I wasn’t going on holidays, I didn’t get to learn about the world in that way. So, I learned about the world through television, through being challenged in these films, learning how people reacted to certain situations around the world, what was happening in another continent. I think that, in the telling of these stories through film and TV, especially because film does feel really accessible, you just kind of switch on your TV and there’s something new for you to learn. I think that is what motivates me, I am just interested, I love being challenged. I love being exposed to a character who I feel like I know already, and then having that flipped and being like, oh, I never thought about that situation in that way before, that is what excites me. I can only hope to make that kind of work moving forward.
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