Local film producer tipped for the top

Lambeth-based film producer Yaw Basoah, who is mentored by Small Axe director Sir Steve McQueen, has been named as a Film London Lodestar for 2021.

Lodestars is an annual list noting innovative London creators and practitioners in film, TV and games to watch. They are selected from hundreds of people.

Yaw Basoah established Dark Pictures to produce distinctive films that explore the dark side of human nature.

He has produced well received shorts and recently completed his debut feature, Zero, a collaboration with BAFTA-nominated filmmaker Faye Gilbert, commissioned through Film London’s Microwave project.

In recent years he has been named a Screen Star of Tomorrow, received a British Film Institute Vision Award, graduated from the Ashridge Executive MBA for the Creative Industries as the BFI/Headstart Scholar, and been selected for Breaking the Glass Ceiling.

“Film London has been a fantastic springboard for my career, particularly through the commission and continued support of Zero,” Basoah said.

“The project has enabled me to continue working with a long-term collaborator in Faye Gilbert, but was also a precursor to beginning fruitful working relationships with other creative talent not only in front of and behind the camera, but also with the wider industry.

“I was also honoured to be selected to be part of the cohort of Film London Equal Access Network’s Breaking the Glass Ceiling, which led me to my mentoring relationship with Steve McQueen.

“This too has opened further doors, presented me with some excellent opportunities and provided me with a brilliant network of peers who have become firm friends.”

Previous Lodestars include Blue Story producer Joy Gharoro-Akpojotor, currently on board to produce new BBC drama Champion, director Koby Adom who will be returning for a second season of BBC’s Noughts + Crosses, and director and producer Marley Morrison and Michelle Antoniades, whose debut feature Sweetheart has secured a distribution deal with Peccadillo Pictures after winning the Audience Award at this year’s Glasgow International Film Festival.

Adrian Wootton OBE, chief executive of Film London and the British Film Commission, said: “I’m thrilled to congratulate Yaw on becoming a 2021 Lodestar, selected from an incredibly high calibre of talent that reflects the diversity of London, encompassing a wide range of sectors and practices.

“Lodestars is proving to be a true marker of industry talent, with alumni going on to achieve mainstream distribution and critical recognition for their work – even in this last, challenging, year.

“With global demand for content at an all-time high, I’m incredibly excited by the opportunities that await this year’s Lodestars to tell bold and diverse stories from across the capital.”