This summer HOME reflects on the fascinating moments when filmmakers announce themselves as fresh, new storytelling voices, and how stories of youth can so often be the perfect vehicle for a distinctive early-career feature film.
New Voices is inspired by the arrival of Ish – Imran Perretta’s luminous depiction of boyhood, brotherhood and coming of age in Luton – on our screens from Fri 31 Jul, and has been curated by Dan Thorburn, HOME Filmmaker in Residence.
Curator’s note – Dan Thorburn, HOME Filmmaker in Residence
The three films in this season share something beyond their subject matter: each marks a filmmaker finding their voice for the first time.
Clio Barnard's The Selfish Giant, Isaac Julien's Young Soul Rebels, and Molly Manning Walker's How to Have Sex map British youth culture across three decades. From Bradford scrapyards to London's 1977 pirate radio, and sun-scorched package holidays, the filmmakers address the themes of youth with the urgency and conviction that British debuts are famed for.
Matching both tonally and stylistically, my short film Salt Water Town will screen alongside The Selfish Giant - its gritty glimpse into a world hidden in plain sight was a huge inspiration in my early career work.
As I now develop my debut feature film Barfly with the British Film Institute, I find its setting within the Manchester bar scene has immersed me in the music and party culture of my youth. This drew me towards Young Soul Rebels and How to Have Sex; two films which feel like essential touchstones in these worlds, and that understand instinctively that the places young people gather - the dancefloor, the bar, the rave - are not incidental backdrops, but the very heart of who we are.
New Voices is part of Rip It Up – a nationwide season celebrating the changing face of youth rebellion, culture and expression on screen in the UK. Supported by Film Hub North as part of the BFI Film Audience Network, made possible by the National Lottery.
