Former Grange Hill star turned writer and director Amma Asante will introduce her debut feature film A WAY OF LIFE (15) at the MAC from 8.30pm tonight.
Starring Stephanie James, Brenda Blethyn and Michael Conway, and clearly influenced by MAC favourite Ken Loach, Amma's film pulls no punches as it explores racial tension and social deprivation in the South Wales valleys.
The violence is hard to stomach and the language is often raw from a young cast clearly forced to stretch themselves.
But, as a compelling story of how a mixture of youthful arrogance and ignorance can combine to create a cocktail of tragedy, A Way Of Life is a hauntingly-powerful observation of an urban Britain in moral decay. Moreover, this joins Shona Auerbach's Dear Frankie as a very exciting 2005 debut by another British female director full of socially-aware potential.
The winner of the UK Film Talent award at last autumn's London film festival, and now BAFTA nominated for the Carl Foreman Award for the Most Promising Newcomer, Amma played Cheryl Webb in Grange Hill from 1985-87.
