BBC Studios actively boosts Small Axe

Small Axe (5 films, 1×125’, 1×80’, 1×70’ & 2×60’), a Turbine Studios production for BBC and co-production of Amazon in the US with Lammas Park and EMU Films, is one of the titles that BBC Studios is actively boosting in Latin America.

Small Axe is directed by Steve McQueen who is also its creator and whom it took 11 since he conceived the idea until he took it to the screen.

This anthology series, which required five years of development and research, has five stories (Mangrove, Lovers Rock, Education, Alex Wheatle and Red, White, and Blue) full of character on family, the community, love, and identity.

“I had conceived it as a TV series, but as it was being developed, I realized that these stories had to be independent, like original movies and, at the same time, be part of a group. After all, Small Axe refers to a proverb from the West Indies that means ´together we are strong´. The anthology, based on the experience of the West Indies in London, is a celebration of everything that the community has achieved against all odds” explains McQueen.

The producer Tracey Scoffield, who participated in a meeting with the media, together with the actors Shaun Parkes (Mangrove), Micheal Ward (Lovers Rock), Amarah Jae St Aubyn (Lovers Rock) Steve Toussaint (Red, White, and Blue), Sheyi Cole (Alex Wheatle) and Sharlene Whyte (Education) and McQueen, believes the biggest challenge was shooting five films in five different locations with five different casts. Each film is completely different in its period and what it looks like” she detailed.