FOLLOWING A world premiere at Sheffield Doc Fest earlier this year, White Nanny Black Child will get its TV premiere on Channel 5 tonight, (October 3) at 10pm.
The 78 minute documentary presents a personal, moving and sometimes unsettling meditation on identity, belonging and the nature of family.
A group of adults share their experiences of growing up as children of Black Nigerian immigrants who were fostered by white British families.
Between 1955 and 1995, over 70,000 West African children were fostered by white Britons, in a practice known as ‘farming’.
Many individuals then had to live, often in silence, with the long-lasting impact of this controversial official policy.
Made in loving memory of acclaimed Brixton artist, Mercury Prize nominated Ty Chijioke. The White Nanny Black Child BAFTA-nominated director, Andy Mundy-Castle said: “The idea to make this film came to me around 2018 when a handful of friends shared that they had gone through this private fostering experience during childhood, which led me to a deep dive in research on the phenomenon.
“One of the people that I spoke to was the late music artist Ty Chijioke who went to my secondary school and was a friend of my older brother. I began making this film with Ty and unfortunately he passed away during the pandemic, which was incredibly tough for the production and almost halted everything.
“I’m glad to say that it didn’t and Ty’s legacy will live on as the film is made in his memory.”
Filmed over six days inside a stately home, nine participants, under professional guidance, discuss their experiences.
Delving into their past and revealing confusion and trauma. For many, this marks the first time they have had the opportunity to connect with others who share a similar childhood.
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7 Comments
A beautiful tribute to those of us who survived and those of us working through THRIVING! Thank you to the amazing production team and Andy Mundy Castle who held us all from the start of this amazing documentary up until NOW! A beautiful tribute to TY Chijoke also. May his Soul be at permanent peace.
“A group of adults share their experiences of growing up as children of BLACK NIGERIAN immigrants who were fostered by white British families.”
Is it really necessary for this Voice Report to state the skin-colour of the Nigerian children in question?
This is an oxymoron; and a relic of England’s Slavery days, when all African were reduced, and debased to the colour of their African skin.
This is something some people are unaware of, I have heard a mixture of good and bad stories and some are so traumatic. It is a long overdue public look into this 70s practice and its sometimes very ulterior motives for fostering these beautiful children.
I am interested in joining a therapy session on this subject as I went through the same thing as a child.
I also interested in a therapy group cause I went through this myself
Crying … I am of Pakistani descent. I was fostered in 1972 at 3 months old until about 4/5. I found my people today.
A beautifully edited film ( see Zeb Achonu) with the whole production team working hard and sensitively to expose the trauma experienced by both the cared for and the better nannies. An huge slice of hidden history with many more stories coming along and more souls to be nurtured even years later . Remarkable documentary.