S.O.U.L. Fest Shorts & Awards
Join us as we screen a selection of the very best short films from Black British filmmakers and announce our 2024 S.O.U.L. Fest Awards. In addition to acknowledging the incredible talent on show, we recognise an outstanding contribution to Black British screen culture with our Impact Award.
The full shorts programme
CHASING THE NIGHT
Dir: Abraham Adeyemi.
Fatimah and Leon, two successful Black Brits, are coming to what should be the end of a good evening at a pop-up restaurant, except neither quite seems ready for the night to end.
I AND I
Dir: Samona Olanipekun
Spanning a seemingly normal Sunday, a young man spends the day grappling with his biggest adversary - his own alter ego.
CLAUDIA
Dir. Benjamin Kuffuor
Blindsided by his fiancé dumping him, Joseph struggles to overcome the heartbreak until he discovers a peculiar service to clone his ex.
LOVE LANGUAGE
Dir: Damien Nembhard
A young girl is drawn into a world of gang violence in an eerie depiction of modern London.
WHENEVER YOU'RE READY
Dir. Chimaobim Nathan
A young man, dealing with a repressed trauma recounts his story to a Masters' student who is unknowingly linked to his assault.
BATHSHEBA
Dir: Myah Asha Jeffers
Living as a precarious property guardian and facing eviction, a grieving widow is forced to live with a younger woman.
MARGIN
Dir: Daniel Rands
In an after-school, last-chance, catch-up class, 16 year-old student Ria’s struggle to better herself clashes with her teacher Emily’s battle to get through an English lesson.
THE NUDES
Dir. Benjamin Turner
A young woman is alone in her room when her boyfriend asks permission to send her nude. As he sends them, each one appears, coming to life in front of her.
CAB RIDE
Dir. Ola Jones and Femi Tiwo
Two queer lovers bolt out of a house party, into a waiting cab where they have one eventful journey to figure out whether they are truly a match.
Mr Loverman + Q&A
S.O.U.L Fest Preview: Mr Loverman
+Q&A with actors Lennie James and Ariyon Bakare, author Bernardine Evaristo and producer Irma Inniss
Saturday 31 August 2024 18:30, NFT1 BFI Southbank
S.O.U.L Fest present an exclusive preview of the BBC adaptation of Bernadine Evaristo's groundbreaking book Mr Loverman.
Director: Hong Khaou
With: Lennie James, Ariyon Bakare
Starring Lennie James as the protagonist Barrington Jedidiah Walker, Mr Loverman is a life-affirming story about family, love, and being true to yourself. Seventy-year-old Antiguan-born Barry, known for his dapper retro style, is an exuberant Hackney personality. His wife of 50 years, Carmel, suspects infidelity, unaware of his decades-long affair with his best friend and soulmate, Morris.
The Lost Holiday
+ Q&A with writer-director Jussie Smollett, actor Vivica A. Fox and executive producer Tressa Smallwood
Saturday 31 August 2024 20:45, NFT2 BI Southbank
After losing her estranged son, a woman must deal with grief and guilt while getting to know his husband, who she knew nothing about.
Director: Jussie Smollett
With: Vivica A. Fox, Jussie Smollett, Jabari Redd
USA 2024. 96mim, Digital
When Cassandra Marshall learns that her estranged son, Damien Holliday has died, she heads to Los Angeles to handle his arrangements. When she arrives, she finds the arrangements are already being handled… By her son’s husband, Jason Holliday, who she knows nothing about. Through Jason, their adopted daughter and a bevy of colourful friends and extended family, Cassandra learns more about her son in death than she ever knew in life.