Channel 4 drama Britz has been nominated for a Royal Television society (RTS) award within the Best Drama Serial category.

Starring Rizwan Ahmed and Manjinder Virk, it was a two-part thriller about a brother and sister, British-born and Muslim, who are pulled in different directions by their conflicting personal experiences in post 9/11 Britain.

Children’s drama My Life as a Popat is also nominated for that category. The awards will be presented on 19th March at the Grosvenor House Hotel, Park Lane, London.

Welford Primary school is in Handsworth Birmingham, one of the most troubled and racially tense areas in Britain. Today this thriving school has pupils from 17 different ethnic backgrounds. It has never had many white British pupils.

“There’s never been more than 10 within the school community of 480″ explains headmaster Chris Smith. Filmed over the autumn term at the school, The Primary follows headmaster Chris and the pupils at Welford revealing what life is like for 9 year old Nathaniel, 11 year old Alyx and their diverse peer group, Mariam, Saubia, Conrad and Xhosa.

But how is it for 11 year old Alyx whose family have been part of the school for generations and who is now one of only two white British children at the school. “My mums been to Welford my uncles been to Welford, I’ve got my nan who’s the caretaker and then now my granddad who started working here as the assistant caretaker.” As Alyx’s nan explains. ” My children came here and I wouldn’t have asked Alyx to come here if I thought there was a problem, children are children doesn’t matter what sort they are.”

The Primary – to be screened on BBC 2 on Wednesday 12th March – forms part of the channel’s White season: a season of programming focusing on life in twenty-first century Britain for the white working class. Other programmes in the season are: Last Orders, White Girl, Rivers of Blood, The Poles Are Coming and All White in Barking.

The annuals Birds Eye View film festival returns this year to shocase the best work from women filmmakers all over the world. It will feature over 70 events including screenings, workshops and parties at 7 London venues including the ICA and BFI. Two screenings are from India this year.
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The UK Asian Music Awards takes place later this week at the Royal Festival Hall on 6th March. The event will be hosted by actress Preeya Kalidas and Mumbai based B4U presenter ‘VJ Sahil’.

Awards will be given on the night for: Best Album, Best Act, Best Female Act, Best Underground Act, Best Video, Best International Act, Best Newcomer, Best Producer, Best Club DJ, Best Urban Act, Best Radio Show and Best Website. Special awards on the night include Commitment to the Scene and Outstanding Achievement.

Organisers say the winners will be determined by public voting that took place through their website. Continue reading…

Freelance journalist Rahul Verma has a four page feature on acid house and the rise of dance music in India, in the March issue of Mixmag the UK’s longest running dance music magazine. More of Rahul’s ramblings on music, the arts and culture can be found at rebel without a pause.

Under pressure from well known commentators such as Lenny Henry and its own non-executive director Samir Shah, the BBC recently announced it was launching a mentoring scheme to improve the number of ethnic minorities it hired at senior management level.

In a piece in the in-house magazine Ariel, the corporation has announced that 90 employees will join the programme in the next three years. Half will be from ethnic minorities, 18 will be disabled and the remaining 27 posts will be open to anyone.

Steve Kelly, the director of BBC People, said: “Because the BBC believes change is not going to happen any other way it has made the conscious decision … to create and sustain a pool of diverse talent with the credibility, confidence and competence to move into senior management roles.”

Previous coverage: BBC must do more at senior level

“It was like hearing someone being tortured. She was not like a human being: she could only think about the pain. A few million people in India go through that agony. At least 2 million people with cancer and many millions with other diseases who simple suffer and suffer, and their whole family suffers with them, until death eventually relieves them of the misery. Some people commit suicide because of the pain, sometimes people come and beg please kill my husband or my mother or my son, I can’t bear to see this. I think it’s dreadful what people have to go through which converts them from human beings to some sort of animals.” – Dr M.R. Rajagopal Palliative Care physician, Trivandrum

Producer Mukti Jain Campion investigates why, despite producing most of the world’s medical morphine, India’s own people have virtually no access to it and how a hospice in Shrewsbury is helping pioneers of the Indian palliative care movement to overcome the ignorance that surrounds this vital pain relieving-drug.
BBC Radio 4, Monday March 3rd 2008 at 9pm and online at www.bbc.co.uk/radio4 for seven days after broadcast

Leicester based Phizzical Productions unveils its newest production, A Perfect Ganesh, from next month with a tour around London venues.

The play is a seductive comedy about two middle-aged suburban women, who travel to India, and discover the unexpected.

Continue reading…

The London UK Film Focus (LUFF) will return to the capital from 30 June – 3 July 2008 at the BFI Southbank.

Now in its fifth year, the four-day export event will again provide a platform to celebrate and promote British films and talent to the international market. The strictly by-invitation-only event attracts 150 buyers from all world territories who come to see around 40 British titles.
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Three British women organisers – Kavita Bhanot, Ayesha Siddiqi and Shazia Nizam – have sent a letter to Indian newspapers to protest at their treatment over the Mumbai based literary festival: Kitab. They are now asking British literary personalities to reconsider lending support to the event.

In their letter, they said: “[W]e feel that we were misled by Pablo Ganguli and are very disappointed by his behaviour prior to, during, and subsequent to the festival. We urge you to express your disapproval for this unjust behaviour; to email Pablo on the address above and not to lend your support to Kitab 2008.”

“Lastly, we would like to apologise to all the participants who were also left inconvenienced and disappointed by Kitab 2007 – those who were cancelled on at the last minute, those that were misled, and those who were given lower priorities than their British counterparts – and we assure you that we expressed our concerns about all these factors throughout.”

The three allege that they had been communicating with Mr Ganguli, another British Asian, for the past 12 months, requesting full salaries but to no avail. They say they were forced to pay for expenses out of their pocket and had not been able to claim those expenses back.
More at Hindustan Times

In comments to The Guardian newspaper, Pablo Ganguli is denying all the accusations.

Journalist and photographer Jagdeep Parbha is featuring his exhibition of photographs, on canvas, at the Curzon Soho this month. This exhibition is a series of photographs taken in and around Delhi and Chandigarh. His interests lie in photographing culture and politics in society.

The exhibition is on until 2nd March. More info here.

The BBC announced today that Adrian Van Klaveren will be appointed controller of BBC Radio 5 live and 5 live Sports Extra. He is currently deputy director of news and controller for News Production.

His predecessor, Bob Shennan, was also controller for BBC Asian Network. But the station announced today that Van Klaveren will not take responsibility for Asian Network. Andy Parfitt, controller of Radio 1, 1Xtra and BBC Switch, will remain head of Asian Network – a role he has overseen since December.

London’s Southbank Centre will once again host Daredevas, a performance of some of the best new talent in contemporary Indian dance, in early March. Presented by Akademi, it will feature contemporary interpretations of the time-honoured styles of Kathak and Bharatanatyam.
Tuesday 4 – Wednesday 5 March, 2008 at 8pm; Purcell Room, Southbank Centre, London
www.akademi.co.uk

Female superheroes in hijab, 19th century black musical theatre, global story-telling and one man’s drama as he lives on the fringes of society: just some of the offerings at the Evolved Festival, coming to Arena Theatre, mac and Black Country venues, in the Midlands, next month.

Over the past year, a consortium called r:evolve has been working with Black, Asian, Chinese and Eastern European artists across the West Midlands, with the aim of developing talent and creating fresh and exciting new theatre. The result is Evolved, a festival showcase bringing together talents including Nu Century Arts, Muslim female theatre company Ulfah Arts and mac productions, as well as upcoming artists Dreamscape Theatre Company, Vimal Korpal and storytellers Peter Chand and Chris Lowe.
See: www.r-evolve-theatre.co.uk for the full diary of events.

BBC presenter Shazia Khan explores the subject of sexuality in the Islamic world, with a BBC World Service programme looking at how the role of modesty in Islamic culture squares with the pressures of sexual imagery on the lives of young, unmarried Muslims. She also explores the role sex plays in Islamic life – how it is celebrated within, but restricted outside, marriage.
Heart & Soul – Sex And The Islamic World
Sunday 17/24 February
Transmission times
Once aired, you an listen again from here.

London based DJ and multi-instrumentalist Bisha could soon be rocking your world, musically. The musician, born to Bengali parents and recently turned 24, has just released her debut album: Nights at the Circus.

There is much undergound hype surrounding this young lady, much of it unsurprising given her debut single: Never Seen Your Face, is brilliant. See the video below. Though, we prefer the bass-laden live performance viewable here. Another good performance of the same track is here.

According to the biography on her website, she was born in Earls Court to a musical family; her mother is still an EMI signed artist. She has studied Sitar at The Ravi Shankar School for Music and has a passion for English & East European folk, progressive pop & electronica. Her inspirations: Ananda Shankar, Wendy Carlos, Vashti Bunyan and Bjork.

She will also feature on Desi DNA tonight on BBC2 at 11:20pm.
[Hat tip: the New York based gossip site Daily Cherez]

Check out:
Her website / Her myspace page

In a hard-hitting speech to the Royal Television Society last week, the comedian Lenny Henry said broadcasters needed to do more to encourage ethnic diversity. He said:

When I started, I was surrounded by a predominantly white workforce. Thirty-two years later, not a lot has changed,” he said in a speech to the Royal Television Society.

How many black British comedians are working on mainstream TV today? One? Two? Ethnic minorities are pitifully under-served. Is there anybody going out to the comedy clubs with their diversity goggles on? Are the researchers casting their net far and wide? This is an area that needs a massive kick up the bum.

This comes not long after BBC’s internal statistics showed that the number of ethnic minorities it employs has fallen slightly recently. That doesn’t even take into account the situation at the top. Yesterday, respected producer Samir Shah, also a BBC non-executive director, said the corporation needed to do more. He said:

The BBC is the most significant player in British broadcasting … and it needs to make a shift because its performance at senior management level is dire, absolutely dire.

Thirty years after Lenny came into the business, there is not one black person, not one Asian person good enough to be a [channel] controller. It is an outrage and I think Lenny’s call for affirmative action is the least we can do.

Some years ago the BBC had about 300 diversity initiatives, but it’s the outcome that matters. We now need to put in place some serious enforcements if we are not to have another speech in another 10 years.

In response the BBC head of diversity, Andrea Callender, told the in-house magazine Ariel that a three-year mentoring scheme for minorities was being put in place. The mentoring scheme will be no quick fix,” she said. “But in three years I would expect participants to feel their careers had been enhanced and mentors to feel they had a wider pool of talent to draw on.”

Are you interested in Bhangra music and its history?
Do you enjoy Theatre and want to learn more about how professional theatre productions are developed?
Want to meet new people and to work with a professional creative team?
Do you live in Berkshire, Buckinghamshire or West London?
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The Dhol Foundation returns with a third album next month, featuring an array of vocalists, instruments and sounds. The album, titled Drums & Roses, has been written by the group’s founder Johnny Kalsi.

He says: “This album has been a release of lots of manifested emotions and feelings I have cooped up. A real weight off my shoulders and a well deserved trophy at the end of it all.” After starting out with the bhangra band Alaap, Kalsi moved on to join and tour with World Music bands from across the globe. In 1989 he launched the Dhol Foundation academy, which has since grown to around 400 students in locations across Britain.

Drums & Roses releases on 17 March 2008 via TDF Records.
Media contact: Pedro Carvalho at FNIK PR: pedro@ethnicnow.com.
www.dholfoundation.com / myspace.com/thedholfoundation

Reena Combo has left as editor of Ikonz magazine, the young writer has confirmed to AIM magazine. She launched the magazine with the help of her team around 18 months ago. It is not certain whether it has a future and AIM has learnt that there is no indication when its next issue will be published.

In a statement to AIM, Reena said: “Yes, there were a lot of differences of opinions and I felt it was time for me to move on after 18 months. It was a really hard decision as Ikonz was my concept, my idea, but sometimes we have to do what’s best for us and I honestly do feel like I have made the right decision.”

Prior to Ikonz, Reena was editor of Desi Xpress newspaper. She has now taken over as channel controller for the Birmingham based Punjabi World TV. The new station, which launches on 10th March on Sky, will broadcast free-to-air and aim its content at Britain’s Punjabi population.

The third decibel Penguin prize is calling for new writing that explores the experience of having a mixed heritage. The prize, organised by the Arts Council subsidary aimed at increasing diversity in publishing, is a collaboration with Penguin Books. The judges – who include Shami Chakrabarti and Kate Mosse – will be looking for true stories that illuminate the complexities, challenges and joys of having a mixed heritage.

Entries must be non-fiction, however they can be first-person accounts, or about another person’s experience. The competition is open to writers from any background. It was created to discover original writing talent while offering new authors an opportunity to showcase their work. The winning entries will be published in a Penguin anthology in November this year.
More information.

British comedian and writer Meera Syal from Goodness Gracious Me and The Kumars at No. 42 is among the celebrities backing Happy Soul – South West London and St George’s Mental Health NHS Trust’s second festival of film, arts and music (9-15 March). Its aim is to explore mental health awareness among London’s African-Caribbean, Asian and Korean communities. You can join Meera for tea and samosas at the Vestry Hall in Mitcham on Wednesday 12 March.
More on this website.

Sonia Deol, a flagship presenter at BBC Asian Network, will no longer front the digital radio station’s Breakfast Show. A statement issued by Asian Network today said that the decision had been “mutually agreed” between the two.

“Sonia and the station are exploring different opportunities with the Asian Network and we will let you know about these once they are agreed. She is also involved in other TV projects and has recently presented The Big Questions on BBC 1.”

“Jas Rao will continue to present the breakfast show for the next six months and a decision on a permanent replacement will be decided once the new Controller is in place.”

Sonia had been absent from the show since December when she went on a “three week holiday”, and her continued disappearance had prompted speculation within the industry that she may not come back. Some loyal listeners even started a group on Facebook to ask if she was coming back and expressing their concerns.

Tamasha Theatre’s new show, Lyrical MC opens this week at Oval House Theatre. The company is collaborating with South London youth theatre, React, for this unique show that explores how young people negotiate their multicultural differences through language, how they interact and experience life in the multicultural, urban world of school.

The script is based on verbatim text that came from Tamasha’s workshops with drama classes in urban secondary schools.

Performance dates:
Wed 6 Feb, 7.30pm, Oval House Theatre (part of 33% London season)
Thu 7 Feb, 1.30pm and 7.30pm, Oval House Theatre
Tue 26 Feb, 4.30pm, Soho Theatre
Wed 27 Feb, 4.30pm, Soho Theatre
Thu 28 Feb, 4.30pm, Soho Theatre
Thu 6 Mar, 2pm and 7pm , Unicorn Theatre
Fri 7 Mar, 2pm and 7pm, Unicorn Theatre
Tue 11 Mar, 2pm and 7pm, Half Moon Young People¹s Theatre
Continue reading…

Ulfah Arts unveils its debut theatre production in March, doing a short tour of the Midlands area. Danger Gulaam Fatima is storytelling by Muslim women about a heroic superwoman in hijab. She rescues women from bad situations only to find herself in similar places along the way. The performance is in poetry, spoken word and song. According to the company, the characters “go on a journey where they get lost, grow up and get rescued”.

Performances
4 March Bantock House, Wolverhampton, at 7.30pm
6 March Arena Theatre, Wolverhampton at 1pm
13 March Midlands Art Centre (MAC), Birmingham at 8pm
More on: ulfaharts.co.uk