Two Black Boys in Paradise, the beautifully crafted animated short based on a poem by award-winning writer Dean Atta (The Black Flamingo) and narrated by Rizzle Kicks star Jordan Stephens, is returning to its roots next week to take part in the Manchester Animation Festival, which takes place across the city from 9-13 November.
Five years in the making, Two Black Boys in Paradise was produced by Manchester studio One6th Animation and filmed in lovingly crafted stop motion animation in a warehouse in Cheetham Hill. It had its world premiere at the Anima Animation Film Festival in Brussels and, since then, has gone on to take part in over 60 festivals around the world, picking up top honours at the Portland Festival of Cinema, Big Fridge International Film Festival, the Hollywood Queer Short Film Festival, the Ealing Film Festival, the Oscar-qualifying Woodstock Film Festival in New York, the renowned London Breeze Film Festival and the BAFTA-qualifying festivals Thessaloniki Animation Festival and Encounters Film Festival.
Most recently, the film has been nominated for Best British Short Film at the highly prestigious British Independent Film Awards (BIFA), taking place on 30th November. It is also now available to stream on Channel 4.
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“We’re deeply honoured to bring Two Black Boys in Paradise back to Manchester where the journey began,” said producer Ben Jackson. “Throughout the five-year making of this film, which has presented us with some big challenges, Manchester’s inclusive and creative community has provided invaluable vision, support and motivation. To stand within the city’s animation community again – in a festival like MAF that values bold voices and craft and provides so much support to animation film-makers – feels like coming full circle.”
In addition to the screenings at MAF, the beautifully crafted puppets and sets from Two Black Boys in Paradise can be viewed at Waterside Arts’ Meet the Puppet Masters Exhibition, which celebrates stop motion as an enduring and evolving art form and takes place until January 2026.
Two Black Boys in Paradise follows Eden (19) and Dula (18) – two young Black men on a journey toward self-acceptance. Their love for each other, and their refusal to conceal it, transports them to a paradise free from shame and judgement. Inspired by Atta’s poem from his acclaimed collection There is (still) Love Here, the film explores the intersections of race, sexuality, and identity, tackling the realities of homophobia and racism through a tender, hopeful lens.
Narrated by musician and actor Jordan Stephens (The Ex-Wife, Foundation), the film has also picked up celebrity endorsement from figures in the TV and film world including Joanna Lumley, who said: “Extremely original, wonderfully imaginative and heartfelt. I loved it”
Two Black Boys in Paradise is directed by Baz Sells and written by Baz Sells, Dean Atta, and Ben Jackson. The film is produced by One6th Animation Studio, with support from the BFI Short Form Animation Fund, which awards National Lottery funding to champion ambitious UK animators, offering a rare opportunity for short-form productions to access higher-level funding, empowering filmmakers to bring bold and original creative visions to life.
The project also received early development support from actor Ian McKellen and Partizan Films. With its mix of poetry, music, and hand-crafted animation, Two Black Boys in Paradise continues to build momentum, cementing its place among the year’s standout UK animated shorts.
Two Black Boys in Paradise will be screened at MAF on 9th, 11th and 12th November. Full programme here.
