One Mile Away
“You’re willing to die for a number and some letters.”
In one area of Birmingham, only a few streets separate two warring gangs. The Burger Bar Boys and the Johnsons live parallel lives, sharing the same culture, problems and passions. The only thing that differentiates them is a postcode. Wrapped up in these arbitrary numbers and letters is a host of old gripes, new grudges and the lethal combination of pride, respect and fear that has made the area one of the UK’s most notorious.
Now, a group of high-profile figures within the communities are looking for a truce. Penny Woolcock’s documentary, One Mile Away, explores the futility of postcode battles and charts the uneasy road to peace.
On March 18 2013 BAFTA hosted a screening of Woolcock’s documentary at 195 Piccadilly, followed by a Q&A with the director, Dylan Duffus (D-Boy), Matthias Thompson (Shabba), Simeon Moore (Zimbo) and Joel Eccleston (YT).
Trevor Nelson, who chaired the Q&A, opened proceedings by recalling how some of his past gigs were shut down because of violence between the Burgers and Johnsons. When he first heard about the project, he asked himself, “What brave fool is making this documentary?”
The idea came from Thompson, one of the Johnsons,who approached Woolcock with the idea of using her as a neutral force to negotiate peace between the two sides. He noted that you can’t tell people what to do, but “you can only give them the bigger picture.” Woolcock brought in Duffus, who had worked with her on a previous film, 1 Day, and the project took off from there.
As a well-spoken white woman documenting the lives of black men in the heart of Birmingham’s gangland, did Woolcock ever felt like she was too obvious a target? She argues that it was standing out so much which assured her safety – her murder would bring about a huge media campaign and the killers would go down for 35 years. Meanwhile, boys were dying on the streets without the story ever reaching the national press.
The conversation moved on to gang violence and the culture that drives it. Duffus observes that “to change someone’s entire belief system overnight is difficult.” Moore explains that you might be able to combat gang violence, but it’s the “way of life” that needs to be dealt with.
When asked about the reaction Woolcock and her collaborators received to the filming, she admits that it took her very little time to take on the same ‘us vs. them’ mentality. “Because I was hanging out with [Duffus and Thompson], I was being followed around by the police. I wasn’t used to it. It was interesting to see how quickly I came to see the police as the enemy.” The police attempted to seize Woolcock’s footage as evidence of criminal activity – the fight went to court and she won. “We don’t have police,” adds Thompson, “we have enforcers.”
Music is the thread that binds the documentary together. Reportage-style shots are cut with music video scenes showing the film’s familiar faces out on the street, rapping, singing and doing what they clearly do best. “Music gives people a voice,” says Woolcock. Nelson notes that music is a “legal, legit hustle.” “These kids are workaholics,” he explains. Music gives them something to focus on.
The debate turned to the kind of reaction the film would provoke amongst audiences. Gang violence is an issue that affects everyone, Woolcock says, even if it’s because “you’re having to pay for private school to avoid kids like these.”
“If you can see people living in this hermetically-sealed world – where they think they have to kill each other over postcodes – and you think that does not affect you, then you are wrong.”
Watch a video of Penny Woolcock discussing documentary filmmaking on BAFTA Guru.
Click here to view the trailer for One Mile Away.
![One Mile Away
“You’re willing to die for a number and some letters.”
In one area of Birmingham, only a few streets separate two warring gangs. The Burger Bar Boys and the Johnsons live parallel lives, sharing the same culture, problems and passions. The only thing that differentiates them is a postcode. Wrapped up in these arbitrary numbers and letters is a host of old gripes, new grudges and the lethal combination of pride, respect and fear that has made the area one of the UK’s most notorious.
Now, a group of high-profile figures within the communities are looking for a truce. Penny Woolcock’s documentary, One Mile Away, explores the futility of postcode battles and charts the uneasy road to peace.
On March 18 2013 BAFTA hosted a screening of Woolcock’s documentary at 195 Piccadilly, followed by a Q&A with the director, Dylan Duffus (D-Boy), Matthias Thompson (Shabba), Simeon Moore (Zimbo) and Joel Eccleston (YT).
Trevor Nelson, who chaired the Q&A, opened proceedings by recalling how some of his past gigs were shut down because of violence between the Burgers and Johnsons. When he first heard about the project, he asked himself, “What brave fool is making this documentary?”
The idea came from Thompson, one of the Johnsons,who approached Woolcock with the idea of using her as a neutral force to negotiate peace between the two sides. He noted that you can’t tell people what to do, but “you can only give them the bigger picture.” Woolcock brought in Duffus, who had worked with her on a previous film, 1 Day, and the project took off from there.
As a well-spoken white woman documenting the lives of black men in the heart of Birmingham’s gangland, did Woolcock ever felt like she was too obvious a target? She argues that it was standing out so much which assured her safety – her murder would bring about a huge media campaign and the killers would go down for 35 years. Meanwhile, boys were dying on the streets without the story ever reaching the national press.
The conversation moved on to gang violence and the culture that drives it. Duffus observes that “to change someone’s entire belief system overnight is difficult.” Moore explains that you might be able to combat gang violence, but it’s the “way of life” that needs to be dealt with.
When asked about the reaction Woolcock and her collaborators received to the filming, she admits that it took her very little time to take on the same ‘us vs. them’ mentality. “Because I was hanging out with [Duffus and Thompson], I was being followed around by the police. I wasn’t used to it. It was interesting to see how quickly I came to see the police as the enemy.” The police attempted to seize Woolcock’s footage as evidence of criminal activity – the fight went to court and she won. “We don’t have police,” adds Thompson, “we have enforcers.”
Music is the thread that binds the documentary together. Reportage-style shots are cut with music video scenes showing the film’s familiar faces out on the street, rapping, singing and doing what they clearly do best. “Music gives people a voice,” says Woolcock. Nelson notes that music is a “legal, legit hustle.” “These kids are workaholics,” he explains. Music gives them something to focus on.
The debate turned to the kind of reaction the film would provoke amongst audiences. Gang violence is an issue that affects everyone, Woolcock says, even if it’s because “you’re having to pay for private school to avoid kids like these.”
“If you can see people living in this hermetically-sealed world – where they think they have to kill each other over postcodes – and you think that does not affect you, then you are wrong.”
Watch a video of Penny Woolcock discussing documentary filmmaking on BAFTA Guru.
Click here to view the trailer for One Mile Away.](http://25.media.tumblr.com/0716d312649faaa07eaba7deedc130ca/tumblr_mkbfcrGIjB1rjzbrqo1_500.jpg)
