London Critics’ Circle Film Awards hails ‘Lovers Rock’ and ‘Rocks’

LOVERS ROCK: Up for more awards

STEVE MCQUEEN’S Lovers Rock and Rocks starring Bukky Bakray as Olushola are two of the standout nominations for the 41st London Critics’ Circle Film Awards announced this week.

The nominations across the whole awards are being widely lauded for recognising a significant amount of projects led by women.

Rocks came in for six nominations, while Lovers Rock had four.

A British coming-of-age drama film, directed by Sarah Gavron and released in 2019, Rocks tells the story of a Black British teenage girl in London whose troubled single mother abandons her and her younger brother Emmanuel (D’angelou Osei Kissiedu), forcing them to fend for themselves and try to avoid being taken into care by the authorities, with the help of loyal friend Sumaya (Kosar Ali) and others.

Bukky Bakray

McQueen’s Lovers Rock, which has also been voted as the 2020 BFI Sight & Sound’s Best Film of the Year, is an ode to the romantic reggae genre and to the young people who found freedom and love in its sound.

The film tells a fictional story of young love and music at a house party in 1980.

Amarah-Jae St Aubyn makes her screen debut opposite the BAFTAs 2020 Rising Star Award recipient Micheal Ward.

Shaniqua Okwok, Kedar Williams-Stirling, Ellis George, Alexander James-Blake and Kadeem Ramsay also star, as well as Francis Lovehall and Daniel Francis-Swaby who make their screen debuts.

Although widely hailed as a success some in the UK’s Black community were less enamored.

In the aftermath of it’s BBC release, Marlon Palmer of Kush Films wrote on social media: “In regards to Lovers Rock I have to admit that McQueen and writing team (which included colleague writer and playwright Courttia Newland) made a big mistake in not realising their continuing ‘Cultural Responsibility’ and respect and responsibility towards the many people still alive that lived and adored that era and the possible public backlash that could come from those (older) members of our wider black community (unless they weren’t bothered).

“These people lived and breathed the Lovers Rock era (and still do) and therefore the ‘big boss’ on the production should have played somewhat safer and stuck to a more factual but more importantly positive version of our history and curbed their artistically creative reimaging for this film Lovers Rock.”

The full list of this year’s 41st London Critics’ Circle Film Awards nominations is below:

FILM OF THE YEAR
“About Endlessness”
“Collective”
“I’m Thinking of Ending Things”
“Lovers Rock”
“The Mauritanian”
“Minari”
“Nomadland”
“Promising Young Woman”
“Rocks”
“Saint Maud”

FOREIGN-LANGUAGE FILM OF THE YEAR
“About Endlessness”
“Another Round”
“Collective”
“Les Misérables”
“Minari”

DOCUMENTARY OF THE YEAR
“Bloody Nose, Empty Pockets”
“Collective”
“Dick Johnson Is Dead”
“Time”
“The Truffle Hunters”

The Attenborough Award
BRITISH/IRISH FILM OF THE YEAR
“The Father”
“Lovers Rock”
“Mangrove”
“Rocks”
“Saint Maud”

DIRECTOR OF THE YEAR
David Fincher – “Mank”
Rose Glass – “Saint Maud”
Kevin Macdonald – “The Mauritanian”
Steve McQueen – “Small Axe”
Chloé Zhao – “Nomadland”

SCREENWRITER OF THE YEAR
Jack Fincher – “Mank”
Rose Glass – “Saint Maud”
Charlie Kaufman – “I’m Thinking of Ending Things”
Aaron Sorkin – “The Trial of the Chicago 7”
Chloé Zhao – “Nomadland”

ACTRESS OF THE YEAR
Morfydd Clark – “Saint Maud”
Viola Davis – “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom”
Vanessa Kirby – “Pieces of a Woman”
Frances McDormand – “Nomadland”
Carey Mulligan – “Promising Young Woman”

ACTOR OF THE YEAR
Riz Ahmed – “Sound of Metal”
Chadwick Boseman – “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom”
Anthony Hopkins – “The Father”
Delroy Lindo – “Da 5 Bloods”
Tahar Rahim – “The Mauritanian”

SUPPORTING ACTRESS OF THE YEAR
Maria Bakalova – “Borat Subsequent Moviefilm”
Ellen Burstyn – “Pieces of a Woman”
Essie Davis – “Babyteeth”
Jennifer Ehle – “Saint Maud”
Amanda Seyfried – “Mank”

Queen of Lovers Rock pays tribute to Delroy Washington

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