Editor

The leading film festival for diversity in the UK has found a new home on the Apple TV app

The British Urban Film Festival today announced that it has launched a dedicated collection of 70 official selections, including B.U.F.F award-winning titles, on the Apple TV app for customers to buy. ‘The British Urban Film Festival’ collection on the Apple TV app will be the first of its kind for a UK festival and will include over 50 British short films as well as feature film selections, including Sorority from award-winning director James Webber, Scottish sports documentary In the Red directed by Patrick Rooney and the festival’s original production, romantic drama No Shade directed by Clare Anyiam-Osigwe. The collection can be found here: https://geni.us/buff2020

Through the Apple TV app, audiences can easily find and buy B.U.F.F films throughout December and into the New Year. This year’s festival selection will feature a variety of respected talent, such as Tobias Menzies in The Velvet Abstract, Judi Love in Time to Collect, Tamer Hassan in Queen of Diamonds, Bruce Jones in Shiney, Katie Dickie in Sorority, Sharon Duncan-Brewster in Snowflakes, Roger Griffiths in Hard Time Bus and Wil Johnson in Transference.

In addition, a selection of films will be available on the festival website from the 10th December including All on a Summer’s Day starring Antonia Thomas (Small Axe, Misfits) and James Floyd (My Brother the Devil), How to Stop a Recurring Dream staring Ruby Barker (Bridgerton) and Jamie Michie (Deadwater Fell), and Solitary starring Johnny Sachon.

Additional script reading and daily Q&A panels with guests, including BAFTA chair Krishnendu Majumdar, will be available on the B.U.F.F website throughout the festival, supported by Greenlit Fund. There will be three script readings hosted by B.U.F.F lead script juror Clare Anyiam-Osigwe. The three scripts were chosen by a panel of jurors including Isis Davis (Secret Garden) and Jesse Quinones (Cage Fighter) and include modern British western Hell Water by Tim Mallon, South American thriller Made in America by Brendan Kelly, and Twickenham based apocalyptic drama Chalice and Blade by Charlie Taylor. A cast of actors will perform 20-minute extracts of the scripts.

B.U.F.F founder and festival director Emmanuel Anyiam-Osigwe MBE said: “The British Urban Film Festival is delighted to have found a home on the Apple TV app offering our unique brand of urban independent cinema to new audiences, not just in the UK and Ireland but also in the United States, Canada and South Africa. It’s great to reach a global audience with our official selections thanks to Apple and our partners at Dicentia Studios.”

Bobby Johar, CEO of Dicentia Studios, said: "For small and large film producers and distributors alike, it’s a complex journey to launch content on various digital global marketplaces. There are so many technical standards, requirements and barriers to overcome before you see your feature film or tv-series receive exposure and revenue online. We are proud to help the B.U.F.F community of creative filmmakers with this unique opportunity to reach millions of viewers through the Apple TV app.”

The annual B.U.F.F. Awards Ceremony, hosted by Femi Oyeniran, will be the centrepiece of proceedings on Friday 25th December. This year's ceremony will return once again to the Met Film School at Ealing Studios however this year there will be no audience presence due to Covid-19 regulations.

The Apple TV app brings together all the ways to watch shows and movies into one app and is available on iPhone, iPad, Apple TV, Mac, select Samsung, LG, Sony and VIZIO smart TVs, Roku and Amazon Fire TV devices, and PlayStation and Xbox consoles. It features Apple TV+, Apple’s video subscription service offering original shows, movies and documentaries from the world’s most creative storytellers, as well as Apple TV channels, personalized and curated recommendations, and movies and TV shows to buy or rent. 

B.U.F.F. 2020 programme overview: 

Tue 8 Dec
The Changing Faces of BAFTA panel
1:00pm – 2:30pm

Fri 18 Dec
The British Urban Film Festival room launches on the Apple TV App, with additional films made available on the B.U.F.F. website

Virtual script readings 4:30pm - 6:30pm 

Sat 19 Dec
Daily Filmmaker virtual Q&A’s
Black Films Matter 1:00pm-2:00pm
Drama Showcase 1 4:30pm-5:30pm

Black Films Matter selections: Dolly; Little Dog, Big Dog; Resolution, Snowflakes, S.O.U.L of a Black Woman, Stop and Search, We Do What We Can

Drama Showcase 1 selections: City, Palindrome, Sorority, What is dIGIHIRO, Cold Feet

Sun 20 Dec
Daily Filmmaker virtual Q&A’s
Life & Death 1:00pm-2:00pm
Laughter Zone 4:30pm -5:30pm

Life & Death selections: Dismissed, Domino Effect, Elephant, I Am Pilate, Maithiunas, PODS short film, Smiley Face, Stilled, Time to Collect, Transference, Where is God Now

Laughter Zone selections: Cleaning House, Gurrl, Hungry Joe, Loyalty or Lies, Shiney, Steve, Stranded, The History of Nipples  

Mon 21 Dec
Daily Filmmaker virtual Q&A’s
Arthouse 1:00pm - 2:00pm
Documentary 4:30pm -5:30pm

Arthouse selections: A Fashion Show, Knightvolf, Loki’s Game, Mi o Le Ku (Survival), Rice and Bread, The Overcoat, The Velvet Abstract 

Documentary selections: In The Red, Deleted, Mini DV, The Bern Identity, Women of Impact, Ayiti: The Awakening; Spit Fire, Dream Higher

Tue 22 Dec
Daily Filmmaker virtual Q&A’s
Love Stories 1 1:00 – 2:00pm
Love Stories 2 4:30pm-5:30pm

Love Stories 1 selections: A Living Sculpture, Fool’s Errand, Games Night, Inheritance, January 14th, Meteque

Love Stories 2 selections: Mino: A Diasporic Myth, Sweet Street, Thrive, Unregistered, What You Will, Yolk

Wed 23 Dec
Daily Filmmaker virtual Q&A’s
Drama Zone 1 1:00pm - 2:00pm
Drama Zone 2 4:30pm - 5.30pm

Drama Zone 1 selections: Duchess, Escort, Hate, In Your Hands, Moment of Truth, Queen of Diamonds

Drama Zone 2 selections: Ruby Red, South Beast, The Chippie, The Lost Land Girl, Thousand Lights of Sun, Trust 

Thu 24 Dec
Daily Filmmaker virtual Q&A
Drama Zone 3 1:00pm - 2:00pm

Drama Features 2 Q&A 4:30pm – 5:30pm

 

Drama Zone 3 selections: Two Hours, The Vlogger, Under the Full Moon, Where are you From, Winter Coat

Drama Features 2 selections: Small City, All on a Summer’s Day, Solitary, The Tale of the Fatherless, How to Stop a Recurring Dream

Fri 25 Dec
BUFF Awards Ceremony
8:15pm - 9.30pm

 

Notes for editors:

About B.U.F.F.

B.U.F.F. is the brainchild of Emmanuel Anyiam-Osigwe MBE, founded in 2005. The festival is widely acknowledged for its celebration and showcasing of diverse film talent both on-screen and off screen.
https://www.britishurbanfilmfestival.co.uk/

About Apple

The Apple TV app is available on iPhone, iPad, Apple TV, Mac, select Samsung and LG smart TVs, and Roku and Amazon Fire TV devices. The Apple TV app is also available on Sony and VIZIO smart TVs.  

Apple and Apple TV are trademarks of Apple Inc,., registered in the U.S. and other countries.

About Dicentia
Dicentia Studios is a digital media fulfilment company, dedicated to help content publishers, producers, distributors, broadcasters and OTT providers to transform, localize and deliver its audiovisual content in any format, in any language, and to any platform required.

About Greenlit
Greenlit is the UK’s premier crowdfunding platform for film and creative projects. Through their tailored package of training and support, Greenlit help producers raise money, build community and find their audience.