Production: Flight
Media: Televisual
December 1995
A ?500k film from Hindi Pictures is the first to be produced for Screen Two's 1996 Black Screen season.
Flight is set in the Bengali community of Accrington, and is the story of a 17-year-old girl and her relationship with her father. It has been directed by Alex Pillai and written by Tanika Gupta.
Gupta, whose first radio play was produced in 91 when she reached the final round in BBC Radio's Young Playwrights competition, was one of 600 black writers new to television to submit outlines for Black Screen in 93.
From a shortlist of 36 applicants, six scripts were eventually commissioned by Black Screen series producer Frances-Anne Solomon. Of these six, four will make it to the screen over the next 18 months.
The three films to follow Flight are: When Peggy Su Gets Married, by Kevin Wong, featuring a Chinese woman's choice between dancing and marriage; Good enough for Cary by Ian Rachid, about Cary Grant as a fairy godfather; and the semi-autobiographical Speak Like a Child by Danny Padmore, which follows the relationship of three children.
Following her success with the script for Flight, Gupta is one of three writers adapting Vikram Seth's novel, A Suitable Boy. The 26-part Channel 4 series from David Puttnam and Verity Lambert is to be shown in 97 to celebrate 50 years of Indian independence.
