*** No Shade is showing as part of the Pan-African Film+ Arts Festival in LA this February – find out more here ***
Clare Anyiam-Osigwe now becomes only the sixth Black British female director in history to have a feature film released in UK cinemas.
The movie – a witty, emotional yet hard-hitting look at colourism in black relationships – has already had successful premieres at the Cannes Film Festival, in Washington and in London, where it opened this year’s British Urban Film Festival (BUFF).
It hits selected Odeon cinemas in the UK on Friday 2 November.
No Shade has also secured a US release from Friday 30 November, at Cinema Village in New York (where it is being distributed by ArtMattan).
Written, directed and starring by Anyiam-Osigwe, No Shade is based on the experiences of Anyiam-Osigwe and her friends – and puts colourism and the problematic nature of skin-tone preference in the spotlight.
I was lucky enough to be invited to see No Shade at the Cannes Film Festival in May this year; you can read my review of No Shade, and my interview with Claire here.
No Shade director, writer and star Clare Anyiam-Osigwe
It’s only 23 years since Ngozi Onwurah secured a release for Welcome II the Terrordome and became the first Black British female director to secure UK cinema distribution.
British audiences then had to wait nine years for the second, with the 2004 UK theatrical release of Amma Asante’s BAFTA award-winning debut, A Way of Life. Assante’s Belle was released in 2013, followed three years later by A United Kingdom.
2014 saw the release of Gone Too Far, directed by Destiny Ekaragha; then in 2015, Debbie Tucker Green become the fourth Black British female director to have a release with Second Coming. Last year saw the release of BAFTA award-winning I Am Not a Witch by Zambian-born Welsh director Rungano Nyoni.
Now Anyiam-Osigwe (born in Islington) completes the list of six.
No Shade explores the hardships of the modern dating world through the dysmorphic presence of colourism as well as the fetishisation of black women. Jade (in an exceptional performance by Adele Oni) is effervescent and relatable.
Sharea Samuels as Andrea and Adele Oni as Jade in No Shade
Successful in business but not in love, the 28 year old Jade has to deal with boyfriend Danny and then a succession of men who criticise her both for her dark skin tone and for her attempts to fit the ideal of beauty they have set her.
Despite Jade’s line up of Tinder flops and her challenges in the friendzone, her beauty, vulnerability and perseverance make her a thoughtful, hugely honest and funny heroine.
Don’t forget to catch the film in UK Odeon cinemas from Friday 2 November 2018 (certificate 15) – you can book tickets at www.noshadefilm.com. Follow the movie on Twitter@noshadefilm and Instagram @noshadefilm.
Featurette about the making of No Shade:
The trailer for No Shade:
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