British Urban Film Festival - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

The British Urban Film Festival (BUFF) was formed in July 2005 to showcase urban

Urban culture

Urban culture is the culture of towns and cities. In the United States, Urban culture may also sometimes be used as a euphemistic reference to contemporary African American culture.- African American culture :...

independent

Independent film

An independent film, or indie film, is a professional film production resulting in a feature film that is produced mostly or completely outside of the major film studio system. In addition to being produced and distributed by independent entertainment companies, independent films are also produced...

cinema

Film

A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...

in the absence of any such state-sponsored activity in the UK.

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

Supported by filmmakers and British actors, the organisation was set up by Emmanuel Anyiam-Osigwe and established as BUFF Enterprises Ltd.

BUFF bears no relation to the Buff

Buff

Buff may refer to:* Buff , a pale yellow-brown colour* Buff , a multifunctional article of clothing produced by Original Buff, a Catalan company* Buff * A form of Status effect, a temporary beneficial effect in some video games...

film festival established in Malmo, Sweden. The London-based organisation was initially created in partnership with organisations like The Screen.Biz (UK) and The Hip-Hop Association (USA) to mobilise & develop young, up and coming homegrown British urban talent in the independent film & TV sector. With offices in east London, the company has also devised projects including 'The Search for BUFF', a reality-tv-talent contest designed to find people who 'look buff' who are then 'appointed' as ambassadors to promote the annual British Urban Film Festival. Filmed on location across the UK, the pilot was screened at the headquarters of ITV

ITV

ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...

in London's South Bank

South Bank

South Bank is an area of London, England located immediately adjacent to the south side of the River Thames. It forms a long and narrow section of riverside development that is within the London Borough of Lambeth to the border with the London Borough of Southwark and was formerly simply known as...

and made its Christmas Day broadcast debut on BEN Television

BEN Television

BEN Television is a British television channel launched in 2003, aimed mainly at expatriate Africans living in Europe and north Africa...

in December 2005. The first series aired from January - April 2006. The second series also aired on BEN Television from May - August 2007 in addition to the annual staging of the British Urban Film Festival - a unique event as it is the only one of its kind in the UK which is free to attend by the general public. Although the annual festival is free to attend, it does charge entry fees to film-makers who wish to submit their films in what is, according to Film London

Film London

Film London is the capital's film and media agency - sustaining, promoting and developing London as a major international film-making and film cultural capital. This includes all the screen industries based in London - film, television, video, commercials and new interactive media. Film London is...

, 'an important and emerging genre which is not otherwise seen regularly in the capital's cinemas'. The Genesis Cinema in Whitechapel

Whitechapel

Whitechapel is a built-up inner city district in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, London, England. It is located east of Charing Cross and roughly bounded by the Bishopsgate thoroughfare on the west, Fashion Street on the north, Brady Street and Cavell Street on the east and The Highway on the...

and The Oxford House in Bethnal Green

Bethnal Green

Bethnal Green is a district of the East End of London, England and part of the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, with the far northern parts falling within the London Borough of Hackney. Located northeast of Charing Cross, it was historically an agrarian hamlet in the ancient parish of Stepney,...

are venues in London's East End forming part of the 2008 festival. The Stratford Picturehouse Cinema in Newham

London Borough of Newham

The London Borough of Newham is a London borough formed from the towns of West Ham and East Ham, within East London.It is situated east of the City of London, and is north of the River Thames. According to 2006 estimates, Newham has one of the highest ethnic minority populations of all the...

forms part of the 2009 festival which is being supported by 3 London boroughs: Newham, Tower Hamlets and Redbridge

Redbridge

-Places:*London Borough of Redbridge**Redbridge, London, a place in that borough**Redbridge tube station*Redbridge, Kansas City, a neighborhood in South Kansas City, Missouri*Redbridge, Hampshire...

. The 2009 festival is also notable for its screening of 'Disoriented Generation', a privately financed UK independent film co-produced by and starring actor Wil Johnson

Wil Johnson

Wilbert "Wil" Johnson is an English actor, who has had notable television roles in Waking the Dead and Babyfather, and on stage in Othello.- Early life :...

(who also appears in the short film Colour Blind

Colour Blind (2009 film)

Colour Blind is a 2009 film depicting racism.In February 2009 shooting was completed with and Robert Cavanah on a short film entitled Colour Blind to bring attention to a UK audience of the dangers of seeing racism everywhere.Colour Blind had its official press screening at the Odeon Leicester...

also premiering at the festival).

The 2010 festival marked BUFF's 5th anniversary with the screening of 'Sus

SUS

SUS or Sus can refer to:SUS*Saybolt Universal Second, unit of viscosity*Science Undergraduate Society of McGill University in Montreal, Quebec*Scottish Universities Sport, a professional body for university sport...

', based on the original stageplay written by Barrie Keeffe

Barrie Keeffe

Barrie Colin Keeffe is an English dramatist and screenwriter, best known for his screenplay for the 1981 film The Long Good Friday....

and starring Clint Dyer (who also co-produced the movie), Rafe Spall

Rafe Spall

Rafe Joseph Spall is an English actor. He is best known for his roles in the Edgar Wright films Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz , alongside Simon Pegg and Nick Frost. He had previously appeared alongside Pegg and Frost in a 2001 episode of Spaced...

(who went onto star in the BBC 2 drama series 'The Shadow Line

The Shadow Line

The Shadow-Line is a short novel based at sea by Joseph Conrad; it is one of his later works, being written from February to December 1915. It was first published in 1916 as a serial in New York's Metropolitan Magazine in the English Review and published in book form in 1917 in the UK and America...

', Ralph Brown

Ralph Brown

Ralph William John Brown is an English actor and writer, known for playing Danny the drug dealer in Withnail and I, the security guard Aaron in Alien 3, DJ Bob Silver in The Boat That Rocked, and the pilot Ric Olié in Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace...

('Withnail and I

Withnail and I

Withnail and I is a British black comedy made in 1986 by HandMade Films. It was written and directed by Bruce Robinson and is based on his life in London in the late 1960s. The main plot follows two unemployed young actors, Withnail and “I” who live in a squalid flat in Camden in 1969 while...

', 'Huge

Huge

Huge is a word with a common meaning of "Very large". Etymology: Middle English from Old French ahuge, probably from Old Norse haugr. Huge may refer to:* Huge , the fourth album from alternative rock band Caroline's Spine...

') and Anjela Lauren Smith ('Babymother', 24 Hours in London

24 Hours in London

24 Hours in London is a 2000 British crime thriller film from writer-director Alexander Finbow. The film takes place in London in the year 2009.-Plot:...

). Other high-profile screenings included rare video footage of N-Dubz

N-Dubz

N-Dubz are a British hip hop group from Camden Town, London. The group consists of members Dappy, Tulisa Contostavlos and Fazer.N-Dubz were previously signed to Polydor Records before joining All Around the World Records...

in 'The Way We Were' and 'Bad Day', starring Claire Goose

Claire Goose

Claire Goose is a British actress. She is best known for her role as nurse Tina Seabrook in the BBC television drama Casualty and later as DS Mel Silver in Waking the Dead.-Life and career:...

, Robbie Gee

Robbie Gee

Robbie Gee is a British actor, best known for his Desmond's character "Lee Stanley", and for appearing in Guy Ritchie's crime caper Snatch. He also appeared in the movie Mean Machine playing "Trojan".-Hosting:...

& Sarah Harding

Sarah Harding

Sarah Nicole Harding is an English singer-songwriter, actress and model best known for being a member of the pop group Girls Aloud, formed through ITV's reality television programme Popstars: The Rivals...

.

The 2011 festival is being headlined by the UK premiere of 'David is Dying' at London's Trade Union Congress headquarters and stars Lonyo Engele, a former UK garage music artist in his debut acting role.

See also