Hackney has stormed the Oscars, with two films linked to the borough taking home gongs at the 88th Academy Awards. Stutterer, which won the award for best live-action short film, was the first picture to fly the flag for the area at the movie awards in Los Angeles on Sunday.
Benjamin Cleary’s 13-minute-long picture portrays a man trying to overcome a speech impediment to find love. Matthew Needham stars as Stutterer’s leading man, Greenwood Carson, joined by Chloe Pirrie as Ellie, and Eric Richard as Greenwood’s father.
Stutterer
Producer Serena Armitage told Hackney Post the area’s streets played a big part in the film: “It was a perfect setting for the story.”
Ms Armitage said she lived locally with other members of the production team: “We are three housemates who all live in Hackney.”
The location also suited the film’s budget of just £5,000, and the team named the central character after their street, Greenwood Road.
She said Mr Cleary’s best friend had suffered from a stammer, helping to inspire the story. “Ben’s best friend had a stutter. We wanted to make sure we treated the issue correctly – to show it’s not that people with stutters have nothing to say.”
On the film’s Oscars win, Ms Armitage said: “I’m running out of superlatives. It was really surreal, absolutely terrifying but great! And also such an honour. It wasn’t something we were expecting.”
The film’s finale features The Star by Hackney Downs pub and a typography studio in Hoxton.
Mario Denotti, manager of the Hackney Downs pub, said: “To be honest, this news has come out of nowhere – we had no idea the film was being made outside the pub!”
“It’s amazing to hear the film has won an Oscar,” Mr Denotti said. “It shows Hackney is evolving. If you look at what the area was like 15 years ago, it’s like a different planet now.”
Mr Cleary’s Stutterer saw off competition from Ave Maria, Day One, Everything Will Be Good (Alles Wird Gut) and Shok.
Amy
Hackney was also represented at the Academy Awards by Amy, which follows the life and death of singer Amy Winehouse.
Directed by Hackney-born Asif Kapadia, the film won the award for best documentary feature. Speaking to the East End Review earlier this year, he said: “I’m a Hackney boy born and bred.
“Although I don’t live in Hackney right now, you can’t take Hackney out of the man. It gave me the strength to survive.”
The 43-year-old won two Baftas for his 2010 documentary Senna.
Taking over £3 million in its opening weekend, Amy is the highest grossing British documentary of all time.
The film did not receive such high praise from Amy’s father Mitch Winehouse, who has spoken out against the project since its debut last year.
He tweeted the day after the Oscars:
Always proud of my baby. Amy will not get an oscar though. Just Asif Kapadia. That is what this is all about…Asif. He's fooled everybody
— mitch winehouse (@mitchwinehouse) February 29, 2016
Ms Winehouse’s father continued: “I’m not changing my stance just because the film won an Oscar. It’s a negative, spiteful and misleading portrayal of Amy. We will fix this.”
Additional reporting Matthew Field
