Still from Pickney

All Films / Soil / Pickney

Pickney

England / 2021 / 15m / English

In-Person: Sun 25 June / 19:00 BST

Online: 23 - 29 June

What is left of family ties when our elders have passed? Michael Jenkins explores loss and new beginnings in this touching short.

Leon wakes from an unsettling dream, calling him to go straight to his grandmother’s house where he discovers that she has passed on. Turned away by his estranged extended family during the Nine Night proceedings, he embarks on a journey of self-discovery, guided by a mysterious figure. Filmed against the backdrop of Bristol’s hills, Pickney (2021), written and directed by Michael Jenkins, traces a young mixed-race boy’s grief and yearning for connection to a family he feels only partially related to. Does the loss of his nan sever the last remaining ties to his Caribbean family, or present an opportunity to reflect and act on the aspects of his life and identity that he feels has been missing?

  • Writer and Director - Michael Jenkins

    Producer - Bex Rose

    Director of Photography - Louie Blystad-Collins

    Editor - Theo Watkins

    Costume and Make Up - Christelle Pellecuer

    Production Design - Elkie McCrimmon

    Sound Design - Richard de Mowbray

    Colour Grade - Jack Offord

    Camera Assistant - Mikael Techane

    Production Photographer - Qezz Gill & Elkie McCrimmon

    Sound Recording - Theo Watkins

    Sound Assistant - Diaz Salmon & Kaden Gardener

    Script Development - Jessica Jones

    For BFI NETWORK:

    Talent Executive - Alice Cabanas, Alix Taylor

    Project Administrator - Ruth Thompson

    Composer - Wilfred De Salis

    Music by

    Me Na Know - Tan Teddy

    Move on - Black Roots

    Pop Off - Donny Bravo

    Mixed by The Sound Town

  • Leon - Ajani Cabey

    Legba - Shaun Clarke

    Danielle - Laura Bayston

    Irene - Nadia Williams

    Lexi - Shelena Artman

    Guy - Craig Lewis

    Nan - Iva Williams

    Sean - Jabari Ngozi

    Dee - Thabo Kona

    Nine Night Singers - Donna Pinnock, Dainty Pinnock, Jacinth Pinnock, Maria Atkinson

    Dog Walker - Vince Pellegrino

    Stunt Bike - Emil Jenkins

  • Captions by Sarya Wu

    British Sign Language by Rachel Jones

    BSL Editing by Tao-Anas Le Thanh

    Audio Descriptions provided by the International Digital Centre

Listen to…

Writer and Director Michael Jenkins talk about Pickney in our Audio Programme, Before the Applause - available wherever you get your podcasts.

Read Response

May death lead us home

A Response to Pickney, written by Memuna Konteh