主播大秀

Here at 主播大秀 Writersroom we are all about tangible outcomes for writers, and nothing gives us more joy than offering new writers their first 主播大秀 broadcast credit. Following on from the success of we wanted to run a similar project again as it was such a great development opportunity and unique model - what’s not to like about short films for social media that are written, produced and filmed in the space of 5 days…we love a challenge!

So when Asian Network Live was announced in Birmingham it presented the perfect opportunity to tap into talent in the West Midlands and create some exciting short form content. Asian Network, like 主播大秀 Writersroom, shares the same ethos of championing new talent, and with comedy doing so well with their audience across all platforms, it felt like that should be the focus of the project.

We decided we wanted to make short comedy films for social media that celebrated both the city of Birmingham and Asian youth culture. The writers had to set their film in one of the six locations that we’d picked in advance: Rag Market, Digbeth, Brindleyplace, Victoria Square, Ladypool Road, Broad Street. These locations and themes really reflected the diversity of the City and provided a jumping off point for writers. Asian Network DJ, Emily Lloyd-Saini, made a short to help get the word out. We invited writers to apply for our workshop, which was as part of the weekend of , with a first draft script of their 1 minute comedy monologue.

Thirty writers were invited to a workshop on Saturday 17th Feburary where we watched examples of short form comedy, talked about what makes great funny characters, how to structure a one minute comedy film and what works on social media. We were joined by the brilliant Asian Network presenting duo, Mawaan Rizwan and Emily Lloyd-Saini, who shared insights and top tips for writing and performing comedy. Mawaan discussed starting out on YouTube and how his videos amassed millions of hits. Emily spoke about her writing process and applying the “AND WHAT?”mantra to every gag she writes /rewrites to make it even funnier. The writers were then given some writing time to redraft and hone their scripts before handing them in at the end of the day.

At the end of Saturday’s workshop we had some tough decisions to make about who to invite back for day two on Sunday. We settled on ten writers who were given notes on their scripts and had the opportunity to hear them read by actors. While they redrafted again, we auditioned actors. On Sunday evening, we had the tough decision of selecting the six films and cast. This was the bit one writer described as “the Judges houses on the X Factor.” There was lots of discussion and debate, but after much deliberation we were cast and had decided on the six films we shot over two days across Birmingham.

Although it was a pretty full on process there really is something in having such a fast turnaround and intensive few days of workshop, script, shoot and edit. The swift timeline really forces you to focus and feels slightly euphoric at times. But what really made the whole experience a complete joy was the professionalism and talent of all the writers and actors involved.

We really feel we’ve unearthed some brilliant talent and I look forward to seeing them on our screens again very soon!

Watch the films and meet the writers

MOHEEZ MEANS BUSINESS by Kaamil Shah

It was wonderful to work with the 主播大秀 Writerroom and 主播大秀 Asian Network on 'Moheez Means Business.' The character Moheez was inspired by the 'Businessmen' we all know and love and I had a great time developing it with the team over the weekend. As a screenwriter interested in comedy, it was a great chance to see what works in the short, viral medium and I hope to take the lessons learned from the experience into a future writing more comedy. What was particularly inspiring about this scheme was the chance to be in a room so full of talented British Asian writers, and to talk about our ideas and tastes and how we might move the genre forward. It's not something I'll soon forget and I'm very grateful to have done it.

THE LINK by Manjeet Mann

I almost didn’t apply for this opportunity, I don’t see myself as funny, I usually write serious stuff for theatre. But when the opportunity repeatedly landed in my inbox from different people I figured I should give it a go, what did I have to lose? I was surprised and really happy to be long-listed and I felt quite nervous about the workshop. However, all anxieties were quickly put to rest. The first workshop was brilliant. So informative and fun. I learnt loads about writing for comedy, what it takes, the do’s and don'ts and learnt that it’s not as scary as I originally thought. It’s pretty daunting having to re-write, cut, re-write, cut, over the weekend but ultimately it’s a great skill to master. I felt like a real writer by the end of it! The idea of ’The Link’ comes from personal and many of my friends experiences. I was absolutely over the moon when I found out my piece was chosen. I honestly didn’t expect it. The whole experience has given me the confidence to write for the screen and perhaps to stop being so serious, maybe there’s a comedy writer in me yet.

HERE COMES THE BRIDE by Mikhael DeVille

I heard about the scheme when someone sent me the link to the 主播大秀 Writersroom Facebook post a few days before the deadline. I read the brief and started to form the character in my head as a caricaturised version of some of the people I grew up with in Birmingham. I didn’t immediately settle on a story and I left the whole thing to marinate in my head. I remember being in bed when the idea started to form. I went from a daunting blank page to about 3 minutes worth of dialogue that I needed to cut down.

The first workshop was a barrage, for want of a better word, of ideas and inspiration. The pressure to use that information to improve our early drafts was huge but the Writersroom team were all so good at succinctly pointing us in the right direction. There was a lot of talent in the room so it was a great feeling to be shortlisted and I felt truly blessed to be one of the chosen writers.

BRUMMIE BAT by Rupi Lal

I’m so proud that my script, my character Brummie Bat was chosen to be made into a 主播大秀 comedy short film.

I also feel so privileged to have been a part of this project working with talented writers and such great professionals gaining invaluable advice and support. I can’t thank enough the 主播大秀 Writersroom & 主播大秀 Asian Network team for including me in the two workshops.

I’ve written a lot of short plays, quite a few Brummie Bat adventures, but the experience I gained in those two days workshopping ideas, drafting & re-drafting my script, editing and cutting, shaping and re-shaping my ideas and all the while ensuring I met the brief, that experience will be one I treasure for a long time. The pressure was on to deliver but it was such a great laugh too...!

I hope you enjoy Brummie Bat as much I did writing it and hopefully in near future, you’ll see more of the first ever Brummie Asian Superhero! “Oh balle!”

HALAL VEGAN by Zita Sattar

As a writer and actor, who also happens to be a Brummie of Asian persuasion, I couldn’t not have submitted a monologue for this project.

I’m passionate about Birmingham. It’s where I live, grew up and what inspires me. The piece is set in Ladypool Road because my dad used to own a Balti restaurant (sadly not in Sparkhill) - but I’ve spent a lot of time there and it feels like home.

I was utterly chuffed my monologue was shortlisted. Working with the folks at 主播大秀 Writersroom was exciting and useful and the creative journey they took us on over the two day workshop was invaluable.

A big thank you to 主播大秀 Writersroom - and to the brilliant actor, Ravneet Sehra and the team who brought the monologue to life.

CHAI & CHIPS by Sabiha Mank 

My submission for Asian Network Live Monologues was my first attempt at writing comedy for film. Coming from a theatre background, I wanted to use this opportunity to challenge myself and write outside of my comfort zone. The funniest moments for me are everyday conversations I have with my friends and cousins, so I decided to write something real and familiar. Finding out that I had made it through to the weekend of workshops and then being shortlisted to the final six was really exciting as it would be my first short film project, as well as my first time collaborating with 主播大秀 Writersroom and 主播大秀 Asian Network. I learnt so much about the comedy and short film process, and met some amazing people on the way. It was a joy to spend the weekend with such talented writers and actors, and the monologues that we all produced as a result of it is something I’m incredibly proud of.

Production Credits

Producers: Abigail Gonda and Usman Mullan

Directors:  Kwame Lestrade (The link, Halal Vegan, Moheez Means Business)
                  Usman Mullan (Brummie Bat, Here Comes the Bride, Chai & Chip)

Production Manager: Celia Morgan

Assistant Producer: Amrit Matharu

Filming AP: Trevor Johnson

Filmed and Edited by: Kwame Lestrade