Film Details
Directed by Obi Emelonye
Screenplay by Obi Emelonye
2022, 97 minutes,
Released in cinemas 26th August
Black Mail Official Website
Cast
O.C. Ukeje as Ray Chinda
Alessandro Babalola as Reuben
Julia Holden as Nikki Chinda
Judy Akuta as Grandma
Raquel Appiah as Kirsty
Critically acclaimed and multi-award winning Nollywood filmmaker Obi Emelonye is set to present the UK theatrical of BLACK MAIL on 26th August, 2022.
In an historic UK first for independent Black British cinema BLACK MAIL will receive a UK wide release across 100 cinema screens, making it the biggest ever release by an independently produced and distributed Black British film to-date.
BLACK MAIL, directed, written and produced by Obi Emelonye, is a poignant allegory for the present times, which sees a ruthless Russian criminal attempt to exploit a compromised victim in a game of cyber cat and mouse that takes everyone to the edge of destruction in this sharply observed thriller.
Obi Emelonye wants us to answer the question; How far would you go to keep your private life private? BLACK MAIL stars Nollywood leading actor O.C. Ukeje (Half of a Yellow Sun, Gone Too Far) as Ray Chinda, an actor and family man trying to stop a private video of himself being leaked online before his professional and personal life are destroyed.
In this fast-moving thriller set in contemporary London, Ray Chinda is being blackmailed by a group of seemingly faceless internet criminals. His acting career has flourished and he wants to protect his legacy at all costs, when hackers start demanding money in exchange for his private files. Realizing he only has twenty four hours before he is exposed, Ray starts the fearless pursuit to stop them.
As Ray struggles to find the gang that are trying to extort him it becomes clear that he is unearthing a wide scale plot involving an international crime lord. His wife Nikki is used to being in the public eye but Ray is convinced that whatever is in the files would be enough to cause her to leave him and take their children. Confiding in his manager Reuben (Alessandro Babalola; Wrath of Men, Top Boy) about the situation, Ray decides to take fate into his own hands and become someone he has only ever pretended to be in movies.
BLACK MAIL takes the audience on a compelling journey with a hero trying ardently to protect the life he has built and help others along the way, inspired by current issues with consent and the artist’s right to privacy.
Winner of the 2021 Best Film Award at the British Urban Film Festival, BLACK MAIL is a slick, provocative crime thriller set to captivate audiences and become the latest must-see film for fans of Nollywood Black British cinema.
The full list of cinemas screening Black Mail click here:
Black Mail - Official Trailer
Claire Bueno
Claire Bueno is a film journalist, presenter and interviewer, having moderated BAFTA, Royal Television Society (RTS), Women in Film and Television (WFTV), and Apple Store Q&As and hosted Comic Con panel talks. Claire is the founder of Premiere Scene Magazine and has had the privilege of interviewing esteemed artists including Tom Cruise, George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Sir Anthony Hopkins, Sigourney Weaver, Emily Blunt, Samuel L Jackson, James Cameron and Andy Serkis.
As a media coach Claire works with leading personal publicists, HBO, Netflix, Sky, ITV, Penguin Random House, the BFI, DDA, MacMillan and Premier, offering practical coaching sessions and safe environment for talent to perfect their interview technique before facing the press. She has extensive experience working with emerging and seasoned professionals and where English is not their first language.
Additionally, Claire is the producer of the critically acclaimed feature documentary CLEANIN’ UP THE TOWN: Remembering Ghostbusters and the upcoming TOO HOT TO HANDLE: Remembering Ghostbusters II.