An NFTS graduating student’s film about the lives of two young men from a Peckham housing estate has been applauded following a special screening in front of a packed audience of MPs, lawyers, youth workers and campaigners in the House of Commons.
The documentary, provisionally titled, Sodiq & Sylvester, is directed by NFTS student Adeyemi, and follows the lives of Sodiq Adeojo who dreamed of becoming a doctor and Sylvester Akpalara, who had a promising career as an athlete ahead of him. Five years later (2012), Sodiq was convicted of murdering Sylvester and is now serving a 30-year jail sentence in Feltham Young Offenders Institution.
Guests at the event MP included former professional footballer Andy Ansah who presented the documentaries Wayne Rooney Street Striker and Ronaldo Tested To The Limit, Peter Herbert OBE from The Society of Black Lawyers, world-leading defence advocate Courtenay Griffiths QC from Garden Court Chambers and Psychologist Dr Marie Stewart MBE among others. Following a lively debate chaired by Diane Abbott MP on the law of Joint Enterprise, a form of secondary liability used when prosecuting gang related crime, there were calls for the film to be shown in secondary schools to raise awareness of the issues among young people.
Adeyemi, who also spoke at the event, said he was heartened by the public response: “It never occurred to me that I could craft a film that would be shown in Parliament and affect people’s view of society. And the story’s not nearly over yet. Sodiq’s appeal is yet to be heard. It is a work in progress. An unfinished story... ”
NFTS Head of Documentary Direction Dick Fontaine said: “It’s immensely encouraging that the passionate commitment of a brilliant young filmmaker who is so intimately involved in this deeply troubling case of ‘joint enterprise’ is being listened to by politicians.”
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Pictured above: Diane Abbott, MP, with Adeyemi at the screening.