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The making
of the TV documentary Glass Ceiling-Writer/Director Sol B River
argues that many black artists in Britain have to travel to the
US to do justice to their careers
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The Making
of Glass Ceiling documentary - Writer/Director Sol B. Rivers'
film argues that many black artists in Britain have to travel
to the US to do justice to their careers.
More of you than expected tuned into Glass Ceiling, but inevitably
most missed it because this Channel 4 documentary on the plight
of black British actors and filmmakers was aired at 2.40am on
Sunday 11 March. The programme made news in the Daily Mail, was
choice in Time Out and received mentions in various other papers.
I was well aware of the parameters of making Glass Ceiling. It
was only my second documentary for network television and it was
predestined for the late night slot simply because the commissioners
were Nighttime at Channel 4. It was also very, very low budget.
But I was getting a chance to make my third visit to America within
twelve months and the opportunity to have something aired.
The documentary was billed as: Rodney Charles (actor/model) and
Kolton Lee (writer/director) are two examples of black British
artists who came to the conclusion that England wasn't doing their
talents justice. In Glass Ceiling we travel to New York and Los
Angeles before returning to London. Throughout this journey we
examine the racial barriers that seemingly prevent black artists
from reaching their full potential.
The process of making Glass Ceiling cannot be described as other
than difficult I began preproduction in early December. I was
fortunate to be able to meet directly with an assistant commissioning
editor at Channel 4 before being farmed out to the production
company that actually facilitated the appropriate slot in terms
of production and delivery. I pitched a few ideas to Channel 4
and the facilitating production company before finally settling
on Glass Ceiling. As a documentarymaker I wanted to investigate
the plight of black actors and directors working within Britain.
All I wanted to do was to see and ask what was going on. Simple?
The research period was short and intense, involving 17hour working
days because of the US time difference. Research is vital in any
project. The thing is to ask questions and then ask some more,
but also to listen to the answers. Research was concluded within
two weeks, everything else had to be done on the run. I was to
follow Kolton Lee in NY and Rodney Charles in LA, two former Brits
who were now supposedly living it large in the US. I can remember
the Series Editor saying "if you're going to go to the US,
you have to go now." Prior to that we had got into a difficult
discussion concerning costs. It was thought that I couldn't afford
to film Glass Ceiling in America.This was partially true since
once accommodation and flights were taken into account, more than
half the budget would be gone. Needless to say, I began to lose
weight even before my plane left England.
.. excerpt,
find out more in
bfm Vol 3, Issue 12
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