Channel 4 commissions The Talk
Channel 4 has commissioned a documentary revealing part of British life that is little known about outside the black community.
The Talk (w/t) is an hour-long programme from Whisper and Cardiff Productions. ‘The Talk’ in the black community is to prepare children for the reality of living in a society where their skin colour marks them out for a lifetime of challenges white people may not understand.
The film will feature a cast of leading black public figures sharing memories of the talk(s) they’ve given or received, contextualised by family archive or an event that triggered the talk such as a prominent death in police custody.
The Talk will be directed by Geoff Small and exec produced by Maxine Watson, with Patrick Younge, managing director of Cardiff Productions and Sunil Patel, CEO of Whisper.
Patel said: “We approached Channel 4 with the idea to co-fund an important film that could help raise awareness of racism and generate change. The Talk (w/t) is set to be a compelling watch on a subject matter that we, as a company, are very passionate about. We have always been committed to creating a company that reflects the diverse society we live and work in – be that BAME, disability, gender or age – but we can always do more.
“We want to help educate, in this case with a thought-provoking, engaging production, and to celebrate the work of black directors, producers, writers and DOPs, such as Patrick, Geoff and Maxine. This film felt like absolutely the right thing to do and it’s good to make it happen.”
Younge added: “This project evolved from an idea of my American partner, Robert Robinson, and has grown through collaboration with Fatima and Channel 4, Sunil and his colleagues at Whisper, Maxine, Geoff and the team. I hope shining a light on this rite of passage for black Britons will help everyone understand how we try to navigate racism and discrimination here at home.”
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