Hull

Tag: Hull

A Northern Soul

A Northern Soul functions brilliantly on both a political and emotional level

A Northern Soul is a great work of radical empathy, in which the economic difficulties of the city and the contradictions of regeneration through culture are visible alongside a testament to the charm and strength of personality of the city’s residents…. This is not a story we see enough, despite the heritage of British documentary in this space – a deeply explored character journey through poverty in which those affected tell their own stories with dignity and respect. We don’t see it enough because there aren’t many other film-makers like McAllister…” – © The Guardian

Sean McAllister

To read more about Sean McAllister and his films please visit seanmcallister.com

Return to Yemen

As I prepare to return to Yemen tomorrow i try to bear in mind that I explore politics through people and try take an audience into a complex political world outside of their own familiar backyard by finding attractive articulate characters.

As always, my mates back in Hull being my target audience. Taking them to a place like the Republic of Yemen appears a lot harder than my previous films – Iraq, Palestine, Japan, Hull, seemed so easy, they had at least heard of these places, but the Yemen, where exactly is that?

To me my films are all are like children, taking so many years to find, source, film and edit… in their own way they become a very personal exploration of myself as manifested through others.

I had originally wanted to make more overtly propagandist films in the naive belief that I could change the world just so long as I shouted loud enough, but thanks to my ‘FREE’ National Film and Television School education I was soon able to discover a more subtle honest film style, one that would actually engage with the audience rather than just shout at them – I found that allowing people to tell us of their lives and their struggles, their victories and their losses, was a far more respectful (to the character and to the viewer) way of discussing political ideas than any simplistic one-dimensional tub-thumping.

To quote an old school-friend “I find the worlds biggest scuzzbuckets and make ‘Human Stories’ about them”, I see them more as people fighting against the odds, people who haven’t been completely beaten down by the system, whose lives seem to consist of one battle after another… And, as we know, television likes a ‘Bad-Boy’, especially one that is in touch with his feminine side, and if he is also in love, and is able to talk openly about his life then all the better, no matter how extreme or radical his views.

I feel my new guy in Yemen fits this criteria, he is a breath of fresh air, at least to me he is, in this highly uniform traditional society he certainly stands out and give me oxygen even if he does get scared at the mass demonstrations (the armed forces have opened fire on some of them), though I feel his fear is for me not for himself.

On my return to the hotel room I see news reports saying that Yemen has been put on the high alert dangerous places to visit list by our government – along with Libya, Somalia and Ivory Coast. Maybe if (like Cameron in Egypt last month) I was here with a gaggle of British arms traders the UK Foreign Office wouldn’t be quite so concerned.

St Sean, on the road to Damascus

Bollocks. The BBC just cancelled the ‘North’ season that had brought me back to Hull looking for ideas. Actually I’m relieved… I am now in Sofia waiting for a Syrian visa so I can take my own ‘road to Damascus’.

I am looking for the conversion that changed St Paul on his road. I want to find a film there and the strength to persuade the BBC to accept an idea which they rejected back in December 2008.

I’d opted for their (dual) offer of two films, one in Hull, and one in Libya but now I really doubt whether I can get the access I would need to make a film there (Libya, not Hull).

Furthermore I’ve no real idea why I want to make a film in Syria I just see a fantastic colourful film set in Damascus full of fun fear and freedom. A place where contradictions play themselves out in widescreen. Stupid things like democracy versus dictatorship. A place where thousands of Iraqis apparently have fled their new found freedom for the ‘safety’ of a dictatorship, where partying hard at the weekend is seemingly as important as the Friday call for prayer.

Sounds amazing to me but sadly not the BBC. Not yet anyway. So on the road I go.

News in Brief

Latest news in brief – Samir was over in Europe taking part in a piano festival in Paris. After this he came to stay at my house in Brixton for a month, during which time ‘Liberace of Baghdad’ won Special Jury Prize at the It’s All True Film Fest in Brazil and a Special Jury Prize at the Chicago doc fest. I choose to attend DocAviv Film Fest in Tel Aviv where the film was in competition – one of 10 films selected out of 300. I did a masterclass on my approach to doc film making, and met up with some old ‘war mates’ – journos from Baghdad. Samir was too afraid to attend though, he is worried about going back to Baghdad after being in the West for over 4 months, if news got out that he’d been to Israel he could become a target.

Back in the UK Samir played a small concert in the bar at my local cinema.. The Ritzy in Brixton, London. My agents PFD had kindly donated money for the hire of a Baby grand. The evening was sold-out and a great success. The next day we headed up north to my hometown, Hull, where the film was playing in a small art house. We were met by local TV camera’s filming our visit, we travelled on Hull Trains who had kindly sponsored my trip home. First stop was fish and chips for the t.v cameras, though Samir could not understand how fried potatoes could be eaten with fish!! We did a question and answer session with a keen audience after the film and watched ourselves on local telly. Although going for a pint in The Minerva Pub with my dad proved difficult and embarrassing – we suddenly appeared on the telly to the amusement of the whole pub. They all cheered “See ya later Liberace!” as we left.

It was back to London and the big goodbyes again. The goodbyes, that are normal for Samir’s family, split between Iraq and America, have become the same for us now. Each time he leaves it is from the same terminal at Heathrow, he cries worried we will never meet again. I know we always will. Then I go to Dublin with the film, and then onto Prague’s Oneworld festival where a I discover the young woman programmer with strange PC tastes almost barred Liberace of Baghdad from the fest because they saw Samir as a chauvinist! new forms of censorship rise from former communist states it seems! What misjudgments, someone who has really missed what Samir was showing them. Instead of being offended this woman should have felt privileged to have an insight to this man’s world, bearing himself honest and open with all his human imperfections.

Well at least the beer is always good in Prague, even if the beautiful city has been destroyed by British/Irish groups over there on sex/beer trips. Reminds me why I find the Middle East so attractive and what I hate about my homeland.

I am now in and out of meetings with ‘Working Titles’ Eric Fellner (Europe’s biggest producer), and Jana Bennet Director of Programmes at BBC along with various people at the Film Council about my next ventures. I’m looking at raising money for a film in Japan and /or Ethiopia as well as plodding along endlessly with my drama project that has been on the go for 3 years with BBC Films. Watch this space!