XVI STUDIOS
LONDON’S CURSE (2023)
The issue is there are too many innocent lives being lost to knife crime yet we all sit around and say there’s nothing we can do. So a bunch of teenagers picked up a camera and vocalised the youth’s truth.
A spoken word piece set to address the turmoil knife crime has on a community and how the youth think we should tackle it. Focused on those who can enforce change London’s Curse is an original piece that aims to save lives.
Written & Directed Marcus Austin
Producer Selorm Adonu & Lux
XVI STUDIOS
Interview with the BBC on Knife Crime
Subsequently off the back of the film I was hand picked to debate the issues surrounding knife crime in aims to provide further solutions to the issues.
The Journey of The Film
We gave 35 young people the chance to get involved with film. We gave our community something to get excited for. It took a lot of work but the outcome was for a higher purpose for us. From being screened at BFI, to local schools across the United Kingdom, London’s Curse payed its part in educating vulnerable groups that picking up a knife isn’t an option.
Premiered at ODEON LUX on Holloway Road, London’s Curse went further than just a film. Partnered up with Social activist Youtube Channel Million Youth Media, London’s Curse is on a journey to gain hundreds of young people’s solution to fixing the Knife Crime epidemic. Bringing this film to parliament with all of the young voices on their letter to their government comes full circle to me using film as an outlet to cure grief.
How a passion project impacted government… A film I wrote when I was 18 when a childhood friend was taken away by knife crime, resulted in our film having a campaign empowering young people to give their message to the Government.
Our first project, Me and my Partner at XVI held ourselves accountable to making a piece of work. Funded by the Royal Bank of Canada we went about telling the story of London’s curse. Oh. Initially we failed. We wanted a 30 page superstar movie… But we banded together licked off our wounds and formulated a concise piece of work that can inflict change.
