A director says it is “amazing” to see his independent film which took five years to make reach a streaming service’s top 10 within days of its release.
The feature-length drama, This is Birmingham, tells the story of violence that erupts when a London gang moves in on a local crime family’s drug trade.
Originally intended to be a YouTube short, it was written and produced by Kay S. Ubhi, who grew up in the city, and also stars in the film.
After finding a distributor, it is now available to watch on Amazon Prime. “We’ve had a massive response to it… it’s been amazing, honestly”, Ubhi said.
Ubhi developed his craft though making short films, before taking on the full-length feature. He had seen other independent filmmakers experiencing success with crime dramas, and decided to explore the genre himself.
“I thought I’m not going to wait for another opportunity because I might not get one. I’m going to create one for myself”, he said.
“I didn’t really seek out external funding, I knew I could just do it myself,” he added. “I just tackled it one scene as a time.
“A lot of trial and error, just going out [and] having fun with it. If you have a passion you’ll go out and do it, regardless. It’s not about making money or anything like that.”