Sean McAllister – A Northern Soul #jedensvet2019

March 21, 2019

Sean McAllister - A Northern Soul #jedensvet2019 fredfilmradio

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PODCAST| Matt Micucci interviews Sean McAllister, director of the film A Northern Soul.

An interview with Sean McAllister, director of A Northern Soul, screened at the 2019 One World International Human Rights Documentary Film Festival in Prague, Czech Republic. After shooting his last film, A Syrian Love Story, in Syria, the British filmmaker turns his attention to his British hometown of Hull and documents the story of a working-class hero: Steve Arnott, a factory worker with a dream to take hip-hop to council estates across the city in 2017, the year that Hull was chosen as UK City of Culture. In this interview, McAllister talks about how he met Arnott and discusses the importance of telling stories about people like him. He also talks about some of his techniques, such as what prompts him to include himself in his own films and some of the things that influence his documentaries when shaping their narratives.

A Northern Soul: Steve loves hip hop and his daughter, whom he sees only once in a while. As a warehouse worker he spends his days carrying out a monotonous job without any hope of improvement and barely gets by on his paycheck. When Hull is chosen as the UK City of Culture 2017 Steve has the opportunity to create an original recording studio using trucks. For some local disadvantaged children it is a chance to experience success through rap and to attract the attention of those around. The director approaches the protagonist, whose life and existential problems are like those faced by thousands of others, with empathy and uses the film to openly reflect even on his own life.