National Lottery funded film 'ROCKS' is 5*!
25th September 2020
ROCKS is a film about the resilience, joy and spirit of girlhood. Uniquely crafted by a majority female creative team in collaboration with mostly first-time actors.
The film follows teenager Rocks (Bukky Bakray) who fears that she and her little brother Emmanuel will be forced apart if anyone finds out they are living alone. With the help of her friends, she evades the authorities and navigates the most defining days of her life.
ROCKS, supported through development, production and distribution by the National Lottery via the BFI, was released in the UK on 18 September by Altitude. The film, Sarah Gavron’s latest feature following Suffragette (also supported by the BFI), has received outstanding reviews since it opened in cinemas last Friday including 5* from Time Out, Empire, The Daily Telegraph, The Observer, The Guardian and The Times.
A powerful film made with and for young women...
Bukky Bukray (Rocks) said “Most of the time when I go to see films it’s a lot of men and it was really nice to see women everywhere. I want to do some writing and directing, so seeing Sarah, the writers and the camera team being women was really cool. I felt like I could do any of those jobs”.
“It felt so empowering seeing all these women on set, it really made me feel like I could do anything” Tawedah Begum, who plays Khadijah in the film.
ROCKS was written by Theresa Ikoko (winner of the Alfred Fagon award in 2015 for her play Girls) and Claire Wilson (Little Drummer Girl, Gangs of London, The Power), and directed by Sarah Gavron (Suffragette, Brick Lane) and associate director Anu Henriques. Produced by Faye Ward (Wild Rose, Stan & Ollie) and Ameenah Ayub Allen (Dark River, Ali and Ava), with casting by Lucy Pardee and associate Jessica Straker.
The lead cast features an array of new talent, including Bukky Bakray, Kosar Ali, Shaneigha-Monik Greyson, Ruby Stokes, Tawheda Begum, Anastasia Dymitrow, Afi Okaidja and D’angelou Osei Kissiedu.
Read the reviews...
'The result is a gritty but giddying human drama that plays like a glorious mix of ‘Precious’, ‘Girlhood’ and ‘The Blows’ – a huge-hearted coming-of-age story that serves as an inadvertent throwback to the easy-going buzz of hanging out with your friends in the city you call home. And London deserves one of those right now.'- Time Out
'"Real queens fix each others’ crowns”, says a sticker on the wall in Rocks’s home. It’s a message that rings loud and clear through this empowering and ultimately uplifting movie.'- The Observer
'The film feels as fresh, vivid and personal as a diary entry, but it clearly took enormous, patient investment in its young cast, with whom Gavron and her writers (Theresa Ikoko and Claire Wilson) workshopped the story for years before the cameras rolled. The result is the kind of unforced naturalism and quasi-documentary texture that makes the tiniest detail sing.'- The Sunday Times
'Rare and joyful are the times when you stumble across a film that simply can’t be bottled. Where the filmmaker, through the act of really listening to a story and committing to telling it through the right voices, can make a film with such life-altering capabilities that it outshines the work of its more polished, prestigious peers by light years.'- Empire
'A wildly charming celebration of teen potential.'- The Daily Telegraph
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