Manchester Animation Festival Best British Short winner Two Black Boys in Paradise, the beautifully crafted stop motion short based on a poem by award-winning writer Dean Atta (The Black Flamingo), and narrated by Rizzle Kicks’ Jordan Stephens, has picked up two more prestigious awards over the weekend, winning Best Animated Film at the Norwich Film Festival and Best Animation at HollyShorts London.
The wins mark another milestone on the film’s global festival journey, which includes screenings and nominations at over 60 international festivals to date and an impressive awards tally that includes top prizes at 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, Encounters Film Festival and last week’s Manchester win. The film has also been nominated for Best British Short at the prestigious British Independent Film Awards (BIFA), being held in London on Sunday 30th November.
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Receiving the award at Hollyshorts London Atta, poet and co-writer of the film, said: “HollyShorts is an incredible supporter of independent filmmakers, so I’m deeply honoured to pick up this award on behalf of the whole team. Like my original poem, this film is rooted in real life experiences so to see audiences and juries embrace it so whole-heartedly means the world to us all.”
Collecting the award for Best Animated Film in Norwich, producer Ben Jackson said: “Coming just days after winning Best British Short at Manchester Animation Festival, this marks a truly surreal few days for the TBBIP team. We’d like to say a massive thank you to the Norwich Film Festival jury for this accolade which, as ever, we dedicate to our wonderful cast, crew and supporters.”
Produced by Manchester-based One6th Animation, Two Black Boys in Paradise follows Eden (19) and Dula (18), two young Black boys 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.
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, awarding National Lottery funding. A nationwide initiative, the competitive fund offers ambitious animation filmmakers the chance to access a higher level of funding, which is rarely accessible to short-form productions. The project also received early development support from actor Ian McKellen and Partizan Films.
