Yero Timi-Blu
Directed by
Year
2023
Starring
Busayo Ige - Bisola
Corinna Brown - Ashlee
Adrianna Bertola - Charlie
Krysstina Frampong - Tiyah
Rebecca Dike - Aisha
Bruno Cryan - Tom
Charlie Baker - Harry
Dan Galsford - Mr Flannery
Daniel Adeosun - Malachi
With Tomi Edbowon-Ogunjobi - Ronke
Maisie Smith - Saffron
Navigating adolescence in Benfleet, Essex hasn't been straightforward for British-Nigerian Bisola. She's done her best to fit in, but even her two best friends Charlie & Saffron, who love her to bits, seem to be understanding her less and less recently. However, after an incident at her high school shunts her into the orbit of the only other Black girl in her year - the gorgeous, irrepressible Ashlee, who is everything Bisola wishes she could be - Bisola is plunged into a journey of discovering a whole new side of herself.
Based on writer/lead actress Busayo Ige’s real-life experiences of growing up in the coastal regions of Essex (South East England) - ESSEX GIRLS explores how it feels to be a Black girl in a mostly white regional space, how to find self-love in a sphere that doesn't always accommodate you, the magical power of female friendships and Black girl magic. All wrapped inside a warm, funny, nostalgic vision of 2009 Britain - the era of UK garage revival, Jane Norman bags, and BBM.
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Nathalie Pitters - Director of Photography
Phoebe Platman - Production Designer
Cynthia Lawrence-John - Costume Designer
Bianca Simone Scott - Hair & Make-Up Designer
Amara Rossell - Associate Producer
Hannah Marie Williams - Casting Director
Galina Chakarova - Editor
A.G - Composer
Samira Conteh - Production Coordinator
Caroline Wilson - Production Assistant
Bridget Morris - Casting Assistant
Armstrong Kolawole - Set PA
Nhu Huynh - Set PA
Lily-Mae Gaynor-Smith - Script Supervisor
Ruby Hunt-Jones - Intimacy Coordinator
Sasha Grewal - Associate Legal Counsel
Steven O. Eniraiyetan - 1st AD
Pól Gill - 1st AD
Rowan Hutchings - 2nd AD
Reece Pike - 3rd AD
Catharina Scarpellini - 1st AC
Lou MacNamara - 1st AC
Bernat Bonaventura - 1st AC
Carolina Costa - 2nd AC
Isabella Thompson - Camera Trainee
Lolly Michaels - Camera Trainee
Nathaniel Phillips - Camera Trainee
Sebastien Joly - Steadicam Operator
James “Jibbs” Melsome - Grip
Amaal Said - Stills Photographer
Shahidul Khan - DIT
Shaun Waldie - Gaffer
Aoife Goldsmith - Spark
Luke Halstead - Spark
Dominic Harris - Spark/Driver
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For BFI Network, Film Hub South East
Thomas Wightman - Executive Producer
Niamh Coogan - Project Coordinator
For Surgent Studios
Abubakar Salim - Executive Producer
For Screen South & Creative Estuary
Jo Nolan - Executive Producer
Barbara Welch - Production Manager
Busayo Ige
Written by
Angela Moneke
Simon Hatton
Produced by
Festivals & Screenings
Sundance Film Festival 2024
BFI London Film Festival 2023 - Nominated, Best Short Film
Hamptons International Film Festival 2023
S.O.U.L Fest 2023 - Winner, Best Director
Leeds International Film Festival 2023 - Nominated, Best Short Film
Cambridge Film Festival 2023
London Short Film Festival - Black Country 3.0
British Shorts Film Festival Berlin
Pan African Film Festival
Awards
BAFTA, Best British Short Film - Longlisted