Post Cool Britannia and broaching the noughties, a generation of working-class male filmmakers emerged redefining the cinematic landscape of the urban inner city and building humanistic narratives of the small-time gangsters and streetwise top boys in its midst.

Characterised by a mettle and swagger behind and in front of the camera, these newcomer’s short films felt refreshing in their realism and confrontational, unavoidably anchored in identity politics of race and class, tackling the hard-line issues from addiction to police harassment.

These filmmakers and the new class of actors and writers involved in their productions would come to define British cinema and television into the new millennium. We screen early work by Nick Love, Menhaj Huda (Kidulthood), Joe Wright (Darkest Hour), and Mo Ali (Shank) alongside work by writers Vincent O’Connell (ID), Kathy Burke, and the late playwright Sarah Kane (Blasted). Actors who feature include Johnny Lee Miller (Hackers), Ewen Bremner (Trainspotting), Sadie Frost, Ray Panthaki (28 Days Later) and Patsy Palmer (Eastenders).

Programme:

Chris Dada, IC1: White Male, 1993, UK 20 min

Nick Love, Love Story, 1999, UK, 15 min

Vincent O'Connell, Skin, 1995, UK, 12 min

Vincent O'Connell, Sex Crimes, 1996, UK, 15 min

Menhaj Huda, Jump Boy, 1999, UK, 11 min

Joe Wright, The End, 1998, UK, 11 min

Mo Ali, Murkle Man, 2008, UK, 4 min