Using Filmmaking as an outlet

We were delighted to be joined at an Into Film Festival screening of Oscar-nominated short documentary Black Sheep by the film's subject, Cornelius Walker. Commissioned by newspaper The Guardian, Black Sheep is an intensely personal thirty minute film exploring the racism Walker experienced in his youth, sparked by the murder of Damilola Taylor, and the startling ways he fundamentally changed himself in response to it. We were proud to screen this vital film during Anti-Bullying Week.

A group of teenage students from Uxbridge College in North West London - many of them from similar backgrounds to Walker and able to relate to his affecting journey - engaged in a lively Q&A discussion with him after the screening on his future projects, filmmaking advice and the journey his difficult experiences have taken him on.

"It's weird how the harsh hits in life make you who you are", Walker said. "I didn't know me being vulnerable would be a means to film festivals, nominations, and all of that stuff. My main concern was helping other people, so they don't have to feel how I felt.

“ I felt like I needed to help people, because I feel like there are probably kids feeling the way that I felt, not having an outlet and not having someone to start a conversation with. I wanted to help them at least talk about what they're going through. ”

— CORNELIUS WALKER ON WHY HE MADE ‘BLACK SHEEP’

It was in connecting with an audience of young people that the event really struck a chord. With racism sadly still a prevalent issue for young people, even in the heart of the diverse capital, seeing a figure take such an intensely personal and harrowing part of his life and turn into a piece of art that's led to positive things was hugely inspirational. It's not for nothing that - even after the Q&A - students flooded over to talk personally with Walker about the many essential themes explored throughout.

Read the rest of the article here.