BITMx meets the Lion King

BITMx now has a celebrity feature in person of Nicholas Nkuna, star of Disney's Lion King musical. Nicholas will be talking to us about his experience theatre and his thoughts on Black British actors moving the United States. He will also be featured in BITMx Magazine. Watch out.

Interview Marcela

BITMx is in full swing now with the first interview done today. The first interviewee is a Marcela Hervia who is a British actor and writer. Marcela who is of Chilean has worked on several projects including acting the lead role on Lydia Besong's play 'Down with the dictator'. As well as directing a performance at The Edge theatre in Manchester, Marcela also facilitates the project, 'Writing for theatre'. Marcela was very graceful and insightful during the interview process and I hope to bring a snippet to you soon. Stay tuned. Gbenga

BITMx Inspiration

BITMx Inspiration from Magnum N3 on Vimeo.

BITMx Magazine Out Soon!

BITMx magazine aims to project news, stories and experiences of people working in film and television. As an offshoot of the documentary, "Black in the mix" which is currently in production, BITMx will aim to further project some of the issues at the heart of the documentary. The documentary which being directed by Gbenga Afolabi, aims to explore the challenges faced by Black and minority talents in the British film and television industry. Still at base camp, the magazine is in need of contributors who can breathe life into it. So this is an official shout out to writers, actors, photographer, bloggers and anyone interested in the topic to get in touch. To bring the project to life, all hands must be on deck and the director will be happy to work with creatives from all walks of life. BITMx is still a dream but with your help, we can make it a reality. Follow us facebook (search for BITMX) and tweet about us #BITMx. Thanks Gbenga Afolabi Coordinator

By Gbenga Afolabi

Gbenga is currently directing Black in the mix, a documentary that explores the challenges faced by black actors in the UK. #BITMx

Screen Shot 2014-03-18 at 12.08.07Many commentators have for several years lamented the plight of black actors. Black actors where terribly stereotyped in Hollywood, but that is changing. Here in Great Britain, there is little room and those left for black actors are… you guessed it stereotypical as well. The black actor appears to be wallowing in a never-ending cycle of pain and mistreatment, but from who? We are natural victims in the fantasy world of films and in the real world we share, and we appear to be perfectly adapted for the role. It is evident that black people (actors, directors, writers) have just not figured out what we should really be doing. The truth is that no one is going to do to do our dirty work for us. A lot of individual and collective sacrificing is needed. The task at hand is arduous and without immediate remunerations. The problem requires everyone of us from every walk of life to give time and resources. It must be done individually as well as collectively. Screen Shot 2014-03-18 at 12.06.08We must be ready because the film, television and the internet today feeds into our mind, and if all we are imbibing are negative then one can imaging what the future holds?

Money is greatly needed, there is a great need for financiers to rise up to help push forward our art. Everyone has to be involved in the process of rebuilding what we already lost, else, our children’s children will listen to the bad songs we listened to. We live in an amnesic state; we have recollection of any real greatness that is truly down to us. It is almost like someone pressed formatted our minds and we lost our connection to any great past, hence we have no reference point. Many people have spoke about the glass ceiling, the truth is that there is no glass ceiling apart from the ones we created. We must develop a true admiration for ourselves. Screen Shot 2014-03-18 at 12.06.40Life is unbelievably short for all but short and thorny if you are black. The challenges we face today are connected to our forebears, one wonders what our legacy would be. If every black British actor decides to move to America, that is the easy way out. Its good to enjoy individual success but in the end non of it will matter. What we do for others will outlive us.

It is shocking that the only memorable films made by a black British director are Kidulthood and Adulthood. Screen Shot 2014-03-18 at 12.11.56Two film that glamorised our weakness. Where are the financiers, where are the writers, they are some of the missing puzzles. How would it feel if the tables where turned around and we have black commissioning editors, black owned banks and corporation sponsoring both black, white and (everyone in between). The glass ceiling only exists in our minds and we can we can only truly succeed when we transcend the patronizing mentality impose on us by others and firmly embraced by us. We should be at the vanguard position of our problems. Those successful amongst us must remember that there is a greater role to play at home in Britain than elsewhere!

Welcome to Black in the mix

This blog is dedicated to the Black in the mix documentary is currently at the preproduction stage. The director and producer, Gbenga and Sheila respectively are currently working tirelessly to bring in great commentators to feature in the making of the documentary. The documentary which is to be launched in May will explore the notion that black people are not given enough opportunities within the British film and television industry. It will be great to get some of people's thoughts on this idea. Do you think that the British industry can do more to assist black talents. Tell us about your ideas and maybe you could be part of the documentary.