Cynthia Erivo tops bill for British Urban Film Festival “Up North, Down South” season. The British Urban Film Festival will kick-off its 19th year with a new season of film programming showcasing West Yorkshire at Rich Mix with the London exclusive screenings of Oluwale (directed by Jeremiah Quinn) and Suicide Kelly (directed by Jordon Scott Kennedy) on the eve of the BAFTA film awards (17 February). Both films premiered in Leeds and Halifax respectively as part of BUFF 2023 last October. Also receiving a London exclusive is Drift on International Women’s Day weekend (9 March) and starring Two-time Academy award nominee Cynthia Erivo as Jacqueline, a young Liberian refugee who lands alone and penniless on a Greek island, where she tries first to survive and then to cope with her past. While gathering her strength, she begins a friendship with an American tour-guide (Alia Shawkat) and together they find the resilience to forge ahead. Directed by Anthony Chen, Erivo also serves as one of the film’s producers (along with Chen). Drift first premiered at Sundance in 2023 and is distributed in the UK by Met Film whose recent history with the British Urban Film Festival includes the hosting of the BUFF awards at Met Film School in Ealing Studios. Met Film School also has a base in Leeds, West Yorkshire. Today’s announcement marks a return to seasonal programming for BUFF which has previously hosted exclusive screenings of Selma, A United Kingdom and Amy. BUFF founder, Emmanuel Anyiam-Osigwe, said: “We are very pleased to launch Up North, Down South and to continue our partnerships with Rich Mix and Met Film. Each partner brings a wealth of experience to the hosting of pre-release screenings and we look forward to their continued support and dedicated audience coverage throughout 2024.”