天美棋牌 Film Club: The Black Cop: A Villain, A Victim and A Hero
鈥淚 joined because I wanted to be white,鈥 says ex-Metropolitan police officer Gamal 鈥楪鈥 Turawa in the BAFTA-nominated short film directed by Cherish Oteka and based on his life. This intimate story of Gamal鈥檚 experience as a police officer is a stark, honest representation of his soul searching journey over the years.
The black police officer who identifies as LGBTQIA+, shared the realities of conforming to a society that didn鈥檛 accept him as he was, forcing him to change himself to fit in. Spending his formative years in the care of foster parents, Gamal鈥檚 perception of himself and the world around him was warped into creating a narrative that would go on to shape his career as a police officer. After being branded as 鈥榦ther鈥, he did everything he could to conform and be seen as the 鈥榥orm鈥, including taking part in some of the behaviours that the police force should actively be stopping. Gamal鈥檚 honesty and self-reflection are a refreshing take on a story that we may not have otherwise heard.
Cherish Oteka, director and producer at NERD Productions, speaks to 天美棋牌鈥檚 Nisna Mahtani about getting to know Gamal, capturing his story and support of The Guardian and BFI that made it happen.
天美棋牌> Gamal鈥檚 story is about the complex challenges that ethnic minorities sadly have to face to this day. How did you come to know Gamal鈥檚 story, and when did you realise that this was something that everybody needed to hear?
Cherish> I first heard about G when I attended a workshop for LGBTQ+ people of colour. During the workshop, there was a breakout session to discuss role models within the community and G鈥檚 name came up. While I didn鈥檛 actually know the details of his story at the time, I reached out to him to generally make contact. G and I built a friendship from there and along the way, he shared details of the challenging parts of his journey. He was keen on sharing his story in the hopes that it could help and inspire other people. I knew that this was an important story of overcoming self-hatred and that is a universal journey that could connect with audiences.
天美棋牌> Gamal is proud of who he is and has taken ownership of himself, his past and his identity - all of which he now uses to help better the lives of others. How has his story impacted you personally, and what impact do you think it will have on others?
Cherish> I hope the impact of hearing G鈥檚 story will be the same for others as it was for me. While G鈥檚 story is shocking and triggering in parts, making the film and meditating on these themes have been healing for me. His story provided an opportunity for me to reflect on pivotal moments I鈥檝e had with my identity and the impact they have had on me. I think everyone can relate to being told directly or indirectly that there are parts of who they are that aren鈥檛 good enough. The intention behind this film is to make conscious what is largely unconscious when it comes to self-hatred.
天美棋牌> Talk us through the timescale of the filmmaking process.
Cherish> Practically speaking, the film took five months to complete from first shoot date to delivery. With that being said, the film was five years in the making and came out of a friendship that grew between myself and the contributor. As well as this, I was pitching the film and faced many rejections along the way before it finally got commissioned by The Guardian and part funded by BFI鈥檚 Doc Society. It鈥檚 been a long journey towards making this film and I鈥檓 so pleased that it is connecting with audiences in a meaningful way.
天美棋牌> The storytelling is captured by dramatised scenarios, real-life pictures and interview-style videos of Gamal. How and why was this the most effective way to tell the story?
Cherish> This story is so unique and is a real exploration of one person鈥檚 defining memories set against the backdrop of pivotal moments in British history. There are some truly unbelievable moments in the film, and it鈥檚 the documentary format that helps to centre this story in reality. Dramatic reconstruction was used to bring audiences into key moments in 鈥淕鈥檚鈥 life, propelling an immersive experience and delving into the subjective nature of memory. Archive is the grounding element of the film and helps to contextualise the memory scape.
天美棋牌> Race and gender identity are common themes in your work. How do you tell stories to people who have so few touchpoints with the issues facing minorities?
Cherish> Identity as a whole is an area that I am interested in and we all have a sense of self. My approach to storytelling is to tell specific stories in universal ways. In that way, whether someone can directly relate to the struggles of marginalised communities or not is less relevant. It鈥檚 ultimately about the emotions that drive our collective experience of humanity and those feelings transcend race, sexuality, class, gender etc.
天美棋牌> There鈥檚 a clear exploration of identity, as well as a rallying cry for equality and inclusion in this film. Why did you choose to centre the story of an individual rather than a group of people?
Cherish> G鈥檚 story alone touches so many important moments in recent British history. From the Black communities鈥 resistance to oppressive policing, to the push for LGBTQIA+ equality and the aftermath of the West African 'farming' phenomenon, where white families took care of Black children outside the remit of local authorities. There were so many important touchpoints in his story alone that allowed us to speak to several bigger societal issues. Because of this, I didn鈥檛 feel like we needed more voices to tell this story. Some of my favourite films are ones that tell big, complicated and nuanced stories through one persons鈥 perspective and that is what I sought to do with The Black Cop.
天美棋牌> What was one aspect that you were eager to include in the final piece?
Cherish> There were two key parts of G鈥檚 journey that I was keen on having in the final film. I wanted to make sure that this is a story of redemption and reclaiming parts of our identity that we have been taught to hate. I鈥檓 interested in the light and the shade of his story and not purely focussing on the challenging parts of his journey but also highlighting how those challenging parts led him to be the inspirational person that he is today.
The second aspect I was keen on having in the film is the universality of this story. While the film is told through the prism of race, policing and sexuality - this story is ultimately about self-hatred and how to overcome it. I was keen on communicating that G鈥檚 story is everyone's story.
天美棋牌> Can you tell us about any challenges that you faced during the editing process and how you overcame them?
Cherish> G鈥檚 journey spans decades and touches on several big and complex moments in recent British history. His journey also involves many emotional traumas and while his account is super subjective, it intersects with a broader context that was and still is being faced by marginalised communities. The challenge in the edit was striking the balance between the different and complicated parts of G鈥檚 journey and communicating them in a way that was easy for an audience to digest in a short film. Ultimately, I had to reflect on what I wanted an audience to leave with and that鈥檚 the message of hope and triumph. With that in mind, all the complexities of his story and how to communicate them became clearer.
天美棋牌> Gamal鈥檚 story is inspiring but heart-breaking. Do you have a message for all the young people of colour out there who are silently internalising many of the same conflicts that he faced growing up?
Cherish> When we think of racism or any other form of bigotry we think of the big events and give little attention to the daily subtle comments and actions that can negatively impact self-esteem. I want us to acknowledge those events, the impact they have and begin or continue a journey of healing.
天美棋牌> Tell us about the audience鈥檚 response to the film.
Cherish> It鈥檚 been so heartwarming to hear from audiences and see how they have deeply connected with the film. It鈥檚 hard to say what my favourite response has been but all of the responses that show the ways in which the film has been a catalyst for personal change have been the best for me. It鈥檚 lovely to hear that audiences are going on their own journeys of healing self-hatred and that the film has contributed to that.
天美棋牌> Can you share any behind the scenes moments with us?
Cherish> The making of the face-painting scene could have been a film in and of itself. It was deeply affecting for the actors and crew and really helped us in gaining a fuller appreciation for the story behind the picture. It was a really interesting day where loads of conversations about identity took place. There were some passionate debates and understandings shared. It鈥檚 a shoot day that will stick with me for a long time.
