Director's self-made film among most watched

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."

He said his writing was inspired by characters he had met on his journey through school and college.

His research into the criminal underworld "really opened my eyes", he said.

"Where I'm from, Sparkhill, Hall Green, we grew up with no money. There was no privileges growing up. The things we would see and witness as we grew, it stuck with me.

"That shaped a lot of dialogue, [and] the themes in the film."

He described Birmingham as a "very colourful place", that he wanted to represent on film.

"I wanted to include all those different elements of different personalities, different people, different cultures and different hierarchies of people.

"You'll see the beautiful landscapes and gritty areas.

"It's a great city, we have a lot to offer and we're here to stay."

Once the film was finished, Ubhi decided to try sending it out to distributors, and got a call back from a producer from Blue Eyes Film.

The producer "took me under his wing", he said.

"It needed a lot of rework to get it to industry standards. I love the film for what it is now."

The film went live on 17 July, and by the next day was trending, the director said, competing with Hollywood blockbusters.

"It kept trending until it hit number one trending a couple of days later… then hit the top 10 most watched in the UK."

Ubhi paid tribute to his "talented" cast and crew, and also his dad, who brought him up.

"I grew up with a single parent and with no money. If it wasn't for my dad, I don't really know where I'd be," he said.

"It just shows you the value of having a positive role model, positive parent in your life."

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