This behind-the-scenes film shows the making of Two Black Boys in Paradise, the award winning stop motion short based on a poem by Dean Atta (The Black Flamingo), and narrated by Jordan Stephens.

The film has screenings and nominations at over 60 international festivals to date and an impressive awards tally that includes top prizes at Portland Festival of Cinema, Big Fridge International Film Festival, the Hollywood Queer Short Film Festival, the Ealing Film Festival, the Oscar-qualifying Woodstock Film Festival in New York, the London Breeze Film Festival and the BAFTA-qualifying festivals Thessaloniki Animation Festival, Encounters Film Festival and last week’s Manchester Animation Festival.   The film has also been nominated for Best British Short at the prestigious British Independent Film Awards (BIFA), being held in London on Sunday 30th November. It recently won Best Animated Film at the Norwich Film Festival and Best Animation at HollyShorts London.

Produced by Manchester-based One6th Animation, Two Black Boys in Paradise follows Eden (19) and Dula (18) – two young Black boys on a journey toward self-acceptance. Their love for each other, and their refusal to conceal it, transports them to a paradise free from shame and judgement. Inspired by Atta’s poem from his acclaimed collection There is (still) Love Here, the film explores the intersections of race, sexuality, and identity, tackling the realities of homophobia and racism through a tender, hopeful lens.

Two Black Boys in Paradise is directed by Baz Sells and written by Baz Sells, Dean Atta, and Ben Jackson. The film is produced by One6th Animation Studio, with support from the BFI Short Form Animation Fund, awarding National Lottery funding.  A nationwide initiative, the competitive fund offers ambitious animation filmmakers the chance to access a higher level of funding, which is rarely accessible to short-form productions.

The project also received early development support from actor Ian McKellen and Partizan Films.