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83. Woolwich Boys


I feel all of a glow. Tonight was everyfilm's first movie premiere.
Ok, it was a low-budget indie movie and there wasn't a red carpet but that didn't stop the feelgood factor of the screening of Woolwich Boys at the Stoke Your Fires Festival.
Indeed, neither did the fact that the evening didn't quite go as planned.
Technical difficulties with the movie's audio stream meant that there were sections where it wasn't in synch but it certainly didn't spoil the movie.
The premiere took plays at the Mitchell Arts Centre in Stoke On Trent and it was a pleasure to see and hear from director Anthony Abuah and the film's star Stanley Chinoso.
I also had a quick chat with festival organiser Marc Wootton. who clearly has the passion to help films such as Woolwich Boys find an audience.
The movie itself gets under the skin of the Nigerian community in south east London.
It is set in 2004 and surrounds the life of a hard-up student from Africa who finds himself involved in a number of scams to help pay for his tuition fees.
Chinoso is a revelation. I was shocked when I saw how shy he was last night because he seems a natural on screen.
He was at his best early in the movie when, stuck in a foreign land, everything is going against him - he cannot finance his education, his home life is miserable and he is being exploited at work.
Gradually, he falls in with the wrong crowd but is never entirely comfortable with the life of crime.
Woolwich Boys is a languid movie...its pace probably reflecting that of life in the Nigerian community in Woolwich.
But it does have humour and edginess
The quality of the acting is surprisingly good considering its budget and its story is engaging. If the technical hitches are sorted (I'd also recommend tightening up clunky black-screen ends to several scenes), it could go on to do well.
Laughs: A couple of chuckles from me, although some audience members were having a right old laugh.
Jumps: none
Vomit: none:
Nudity: none
Overall rating: A comfortable 6/10.

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