OUR BOROUGH: LOVE & HUSTLE

Broadcaster: BBC THREE (2 x 44 mins)
Production Company: The Garden Productions
Series Director: Mark Williamson
Producer/Director: Lyttanya Shannon
Series Producer: Kandise Abiola
Executive Producer: Zac Beattie
Commissioning editor: Max Gogarty
Role: Producer

In 2018, the North London borough of Haringey was once again thrust into the spotlight after three young people were murdered within three months of each other in Tottenham and Wood Green. The headlines presented the area and the young people who live in it as a problem, but in this two-part series, young people take control of their own narratives, challenging the assumptions that come with living in their postcode.

Each episode, “Love” and “Hustle”, focuses on the respective journeys of the films’ narrators: Amira and King. They both introduce us to an impressive cast of creators, poets, business people, activists and young black boys trying to navigate getting disproportionately stopped by the police. As they share how they deal with obstacles and breakthroughs surrounding race, class, family, sexuality, and mental health, an intimate and nuanced picture of life in inner-city London emerges.