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This review was originally published on September 9, 2024, as a part of our Toronto International Film Festival coverage.

In Hard Truths, Mike Leigh's beautifully humane drama, the writer-director takes us into the lives of an ordinary British Jamaican family with the easily bothered, miserable Pansy at the center. Starring a ferocious and convincing Marianne Jean-Baptiste in an Oscar-worthy performance, Pansy finds a way to quarrel with everyone. The film concentrates little on plot structure and instead slowly peels back the layers of its characters and challenges us to rethink what we know about our elders. Inherently, witnessing a woman propel insults at people is humorous, but sadness layers the script, making it deeply moving.

Hard Truths, released in 2025, is set in post-covid London and follows Pansy, a working-class Black woman dealing with the aftermath of global panic, navigating a fractured psyche amid ongoing personal and societal challenges.

Director Mike LeighRelease...

Hard Truths is the latest movie by acclaimed filmmaker Mike Leigh, with options available for audiences to view it. Mike Leigh is an English writer and director who's been making original films since the 1980s, including critically acclaimed masterpieces like Naked and Secrets & Lies. Hard Truths premiered at 2024's Toronto International Film Festival, where Screen Rant's review praised its outstanding, Academy Award-worthy performances and hard-hitting, emotional script. With the Oscars coming up soon, Hard Truths is a movie to keep an eye out for.

Marianne Jean-Baptiste leads the cast of Hard Truths as Pansy, a woman suffering from mental health issues who takes her anger out on family and friends. Despite everything, her sister, Chantelle (Michele Austin), stands by her and supports her. Mike Leigh's new movie is about family and the shaky connections that bind human beings in the modern world. The film has been praised for...

Paramount+ has released first-look images of the upcoming U.K. original series The Crow Girl with Eve Myles, Katherine Kelly, Dougray Scott and Elliot Edusah.

The six-part thriller, an adaptation of Erik Axl Sund’s bestselling novel of the same name, is produced by Emmy-winning creative team Buccaneer (Irvine Welsh’s Crime, Marcella).

When the bodies of unidentified young men start to show up around the city, beaten and full of the anaesthetic lidocaine, Dci Jeanette Kilburn (Myles) and partner Di Lou Stanley (Scott) are on the hunt for the killer.

With a lack of evidence and pressure to solve the case mounting, Jeanette enlists the help of prime suspect Carl Lowry’s psychotherapist Dr Sophia Craven (Kelly) who offers a fresh but troubling perspective on the case. But with the killer inching ever closer to home, Jeanette and the team are in a race against time to untangle the web of secrets.

Sky has revealed the full trailer for the Sky Original series of a reimagining of the classic western ‘Django.’

Set in Texas in the late 1800s, Django is a jaded cowboy in search of the daughter he thought he’d lost. In following her trail, he comes upon New Babylon, a town at the bottom of a crater, where all outcasts are welcome and where everyone is equal and free. Here, Django discovers that his 20-year-old daughter Sarah is alive and set to marry John Ellis, the founder of New Babylon. Sarah – who blames her father for the death of their family, massacred many years earlier while he was at war – wants Django to leave. But he refuses to give up and does everything in his power to get a second chance with her, becoming a valuable ally for Ellis, who must defend the town from Elizabeth Thurman’s attacks.

"Whatever happens - we're doing New Years together." Gunpowder & Sky has revealed an official US trailer for an indie road trip comedy called Pirates, which opened in the UK last fall. Described as "the world's shortest road movie", following three 18-year-old friends on their journey from North to South London on New Year's Eve 1999. They drive through London in their tiny Peugeot 205 pumping out a live garage set from the stereo and arguing about their Avirex jackets and Naf Naf. Determined to see out the century with a bang they drive from place to place in a desperate search for any tickets for the best millennium party ever. This stars Elliot Edusah, Jordan Peters, and Reda Elazouar, with Kassius Nelson, Youssef Kerkour, Rebekah Murrell, and Aaron Shosanya. We featured two other UK trailers for this last year. The US release is now set for April on VOD after showing...

George Lucas’ American Graffiti may not have had the cross-cultural impact of Star Wars, but its structure––the endearingly aimless lives and loves of teenage protagonists over the course of a single night––continues to influence filmmakers around the world. One such example is the new film by Reggie Yates, a writer, director, actor, and TV presenter. His latest, Pirates, is most certainly a winner. Making its international premiere at South by Southwest 2022, the film is a very funny, often sweet, and well-acted trip to London on New Year’s Eve 1999.

This was, of course, the infamous “Y2K” New Year’s. And though there isn’t much talk of technological havoc at midnight, an appropriately end-of-century vibe runs throughout. Where Graffiti had the specter of Vietnam, Pirates is haunted more by a future of unyielding connectivity. Yates smartly drops in some humorous references––a character’s lack of awareness of Google,...

"Gettin' into that party is the only thing that matters!" Picturehouse in the UK has debuted a second trailer for an indie film called Pirates, now playing in cinemas in the UK. Described as "the world's shortest road movie", following three 18-year-old friends on their journey from North to South London on New Year's Eve 1999. They drive through London in their tiny Peugeot 205 pumping out a live garage set from the stereo and arguing about their Avirex jackets and Naf Naf imports. Determined to see out the century with a bang they drive from place to place in a desperate search for any tickets for the best millennium party ever. This stars Elliot Edusah, Jordan Peters, and Reda Elazouar, with Kassius Nelson, Youssef Kerkour, Rebekah Murrell, and Aaron Shosanya. It has earned some great reviews, saying that Yates "captures the brilliance of youth in all its bold foolishness." I want to see this one!

To celebrate the release of Pirates, the anticipated feature-film debut from Reggie Yates, we sat down with its writer/director and stars to find out about the brilliant new comedy set around the end of the millennium.

Set in London at the turn of the millennium, Pirates will take audiences on a hilarious journey back to New Year’s Eve 1999, reviving memories from the 90’s garage scene and Moschino fashion for pure nostalgic cinematic joy.

Written and directed by Yates, Pirates sees him tackle a feature for the first time after some work on shorts and documentaries and it’s a story that has been in his brain for a while and tells us how the film is both a celebration of his own growing pains and friendships as well as a look back at the world in 1999 and how much has changed. He tells he drew from the garage scene,...

Three young pirate radio DJs from London go in search of the New Year’s night of their lives in Yates’s likeable homage to 90s ensemble capers

Here is a likable and easygoing comedy from actor turned film-maker Reggie Yates. It’s a period piece set on New Year’s Eve 1999, featuring flip phones and someone frowning over a copy of the London A-z, muttering how good it would be if someone invented a navigation screen like the ones planes have. It’s also a playful homage to the one-crazy-night ensemble pictures of the 90s (although Yates avoids the freezeframe-voiceover character introductions that became a key cliche of Britfilm around that time), and there’s a clubbing theme that recalls Justin Kerrigan’s Human Traffic, which came out in 1999.

Three lads from London are preparing to enjoy themselves: Cappo (Elliot Edusah), Two Tonne (Jordan Peters) and Kidda (Reda Elzaouar...

Variety Director to Watch Prano Bailey-Bond (“Censor”) and BAFTA-nominated “After Love” filmmaker Aleem Khan are among the 39 filmmakers longlisted in the British Independent Film Awards (BIFA) new talent categories.

The 39 longlisted filmmakers will be invited to join BIFA’s Springboard scheme, a tailored program of professional development, peer-to-peer support, mentoring, networking and skills enhancement aimed to nurture emerging talent as they build on the success of their first features.

The final five nominations in each category will be announced on Nov. 3. Winners will be revealed at the ceremony on Dec. 5.

The longlists:

The Douglas Hickox Award

(Best Debut Director)

Aleem Khan – “After Love”

Matt Chambers – “The Bike Thief”

Prano Bailey-Bond – “Censor”

Jonathan Butterell – “Everybody’s Talking About Jamie”

Sonita Gale – “Hostile”

Jack Clough – “People Just Do Nothing: Big In Japan”

Reggie Yates – “Pirates”

Celeste Bell “Poly Styrene: I Am A Cliché” [also Directed By Paul Sng]

Corinna Faith – “The Power”

Charlotte Colbert – “She Will...

"Getting into that party is the only thing that matters." "Boys – we're going on a mission." Picturehouse in the UK has unveiled an official trailer for an indie flick called Pirates, just that, Pirates and that's it. This is being billed as "the world's shortest road movie", following three eighteen-year-old friends on their journey from North to South London on New Year's Eve 1999. They drive through London in their tiny Peugeot 205 pumping out a live garage set from the stereo and arguing about their Avirex jackets and Naf Naf imports. Determined to see out the century with a bang they drive from place to place in a desperate search for any tickets for the best millennium party ever. Starring Elliot Edusah, Jordan Peters, and Reda Elazouar, with Kassius Nelson, Youssef Kerkour, Rebekah Murrell, and Aaron Shosanya. Ohhh yeah, this looks rad! Always fun to take a journey back in time...

Picturehouse Entertainment has launched a teaser trailer for the upcoming feature film from Reggie Yates, ‘Pirates.’

Set in London at the turn of the millennium, Pirates will take audiences on a hilarious journey back to New Year’s Eve 1999, reviving memories from the 90’s garage scene and Moschino fashion for pure nostalgic cinematic joy.

Written and directed by Reggie Yates, the film stars relative newcomers Elliot Edusah, Jordan Peters and Reda Elazouar (Outside the Wire) in the leading roles as three best mates, Cappo, Two Tonne and Kidda, trying to break into the music scene through Pirate radio. The film follows the boys as they drive through London in their tiny Peugeot pumping a live garage set from the stereo and arguing about their Avirex jackets and Naf Naf imports. As the eighteen-year-olds step into adulthood, they know their lives and friendships are on the brink of change. Determined to...

Outside the Wire Trailer — Mikael Hafstrom‘s Outside the Wire (2021) teaser trailer has been released Netflix and stars Anthony Mackie, Damson Idris, Enzo Cilenti, Emily Beecham, Michael Kelly, Pilou Asbaek, Louis Boyer, Christine Grace Szarko, Nick Wittman, Alexandra Szucs, Adam Fielding, Elliot Edusah, Velibor Topic, Henry Garrett, and Bobby Lockwood. Crew Alice Allemano, Arash [...]

Continue reading: Outside The Wire (2021) Teaser Trailer: Anthony Mackie is a Covert Android Soldier in Mikael Hafstrom’s Scifi Film...

“You can’t look forward without looking back.” That’s a valuable piece of advice given to the protagonist of “Alex Wheatle,” but it’s also a summation of what director and co-writer Steve McQueen is doing with his extraordinary “Small Axe” series.

With its vivid portrayals of the horrors of institutionalization, “Alex Wheatle” is perhaps most reminiscent — so far — of the McQueen audiences have come to know in films like “Hunger” and “12 Years a Slave.” But even as its lead character endures physical and psychological torment at the hands of authorities, the film is very much of a piece with the ebullience of “Small Axe,” as the ongoing themes of community, music and defiance play a huge role in the story.

The real-life Wheatle published his first novel in 1999, but the film begins in 1981, with Alex going to prison for his role in the Brixton Riots, in which...

The BBC Films-backed project stars ‘Blue Story’, ‘1917’ actors.

The threat of coronavirus has seen production suspended on Reggie Yates’ feature directorial debut Pirates.

The film, starring Elliot Edusah (1917), Jordan Peters (Blue Story) and Reda Elazouar (The Little Drummer Girl), had been filming in London for the last three weeks.

But the spread of Covid-19 has led producers Hillbilly Films to suspend filming, with the backing of financiers BBC Films and the British Film Institute (BFI).

“It is with great sadness that filming on Pirates has stopped,” said producers Polly Leys and Kate Norrish.

“The Covid-19 virus has become a...

Yates’ debut follows extensive television work.

Elliot Edusah (1917), Jordan Peters (Blue Story) and Reda Elazouar (The Little Drummer Girl) have signed to lead the cast of Reggie Yates’ feature debut Pirates, which began shooting this week in London.

Polly Leys and Kate Norrish of Hillbilly Films are producing the project, which was developed with BBC Films and is financed by BBC Films and the BFI.

Written and directed by Yates, the film is a comedy focusing on three friends driving from North to South London on New Year’s Eve 1999 in search of tickets to the supposed hottest party in town.