It was a brilliant night showcasing Black British storytelling at Birmingham's MAC
The MAC in Birmingham hosted a special event as part of S.O.U.L. Fest 2025, showcasing Black British storytelling in film.
At Birmingham's MAC, there was a special preview screening of eight incredible short films created entirely by Black British filmmakers.
This was as part of S.O.U.L. Fest 2025, one of the UK's leading Black British film festivals.
Ahead of the film screening there was a lively panel discussion that was convened by ARC HOUSE, a network that supports Black and global majority creatives and industry professionals in the West Midlands.
The main discussion point was posed by panel chair, Charlene Carter-James, the co-founder of ARC House was:
What if we stopped chasing visibility and started building versatility?
Its panellists included: Rem Conway, Rhianna Adams-Christie, Madeleine Kludje, and Iyare Igiehon, founder of S.O.U.L. Fest.
The panellists all shared great insights, by responding to the question, by looking at how we should reconsider representation by actively creating opportunities, spaces, and skills that empower Black British communities rather than merely focussing on getting noticed.
Iyare Igiehon said: “Versatility is about being able to adapt in the situations you find yourself in.”
Madeleine Kludje said: “I’ve got a responsibility to shift what I’m doing to tell our stories.” She came into the industry first as an actor and then found that it was more fulfilling behind the scenes. “The more information you have, the more power you have.”
Similarly, Rem Conway shared: “I came up in Birmingham and there was nowhere you could go.”
“I found that if I wasn’t versatile, I wouldn’t have made it through.”
Likewise, Rhianna Adams-Christie shared how she works to platform more of a diverse range of storytelling in her role as a BBC commissioner.
Here is the full listing of the fantastic films that were shown:
- The Last Dance. Director Hayden Mclean. Duration - 17min
- Snowbunny. Director Daniel Rands. Duration -12min.
- Highway To The Moon. Director Letitia Wright. Duration - 25min.
- The Donor. Director Nana Duncan. Duration -14min.
- Him & I. Director Jason C. Nwachukwu. Duration - 7min.
- Dark Skin Bruises Differently. Director Susan Wokoma. Duration -11min.
- MANGO. Director Joan Iyiola. Duration -11min.
- Candles. Director Kwame Lestrade. Duration -13min.
I was completely tranced by the 8 short films that were shown, each of them highlighted a particular and enduring story of Black British life that has often been side-lined from television and film.
All the films emphasised the richness and depth of Black stories in Britain.
I felt really lucky to be getting a glimpse of each of these stories.
The screening began with a lovely showing of The Last Dance directed by Hayden Mclean, which tackled lots of different topics, for me the stand out was gentrification, family, decline of pubs and family life.
The film, which we learn at the end credits is based on true life centres on the final farewell of the legendary LA bar in 1990s East London.
The film depicts how this film was was a Caribbean community mainstay caught in the crossroads of a quickly gentrifying London, and as a result the family are left with no-choice but to throw a farewell party.
Another standout film at the showing was Highway To The Moon was the longest of these short films at around 20 minutes, and Letitia Wright who is perhaps best known for playing Shuri in Black Panther, made her directorial debut with this short film.
In this film, while fantastical, looks at the following young Black men in a magical world after their lives are cut short.
You can’t help but see how it was inspired by the knife crime issue that is prevalent in many UK major cities.
It made for emotional watching!