Monday
We landed yesterday, but today was the first proper day of Oscar activities, with a screening of Black Sheep for Academy voters at the Museum of Tolerance in Beverly Hills. The MoT is an LA institution dedicated to raising awareness of discrimination and attracts a liberal older audience who love to ask questions. They surrounded us afterwards, many wanting to check that I was OK now. The film is about a time in my life 15 years ago when I moved to an estate in Essex to escape racism and violence and found even more of it out there. I’m a film-maker myself but when I met the director, Ed Perkins, we decided it was better to make a documentary where I could tell my story straight to camera.
When people come up to me after screenings, they seem to need that confirmation that, after the upset the last 27 minutes on screen has provoked in them, everything is alright now. People’s reactions to the film can be intense.
The screenings are strange events – you’re campaigning for votes, but not really allowed to say you are: you have to stay coy and cool. Voting ends tomorrow, and then maybe we can relax a bit.
Tomorrow’s highlight will be meeting up with the fashion designer Ozwald Boateng to get my Oscars suit. This is the kind of unexpected thing that being nominated gets you.
Tuesday
Tonight our team attended the official Oscars documentary event where each team of documentary nominees across features and shorts gets five minutes to talk about their film and show a clip from it. Ed and producer Jonathan were first up.
This is when the reality of being nominated really hits, with a sudden deluge of glamour and prompting thoughts of who you want to meet. I’m hoping I’ll meet Spike Lee. Apparently he knows about the film.
Documentaries aren’t glamorous, they’re often hard grinds. Yet this very personal story is now the reason behind a whirlwind of attention for me. Cameras are being shoved in my face and I’m being asked questions like “What do you want to get out of this week?” The honest answer is to have a bit of a break, eat some good food, have some fun and meet some new people. That didn’t seem to be the answer the camera people wanted … they’d have preferred me to shout: “TO WIN!”
We took a lot of photos with giant statues of the gold Oscar man, pulling a variety of silly (and occasionally serious) faces. There’s something strange about seeing the iconic figure up close. His kitschy pose is everywhere and the more you look at it, especially on gigantic replica statues, the weirder it seems. We tried to mimic his pose – you just can’t get it right.
Wednesday
A quieter day that meant me my girlfriend, who’s here from Canada, could look for some of LA’s best Nigerian food. This is a hiatus period between the end of voting and all the bigger pre-ceremony glitz. You hear about the big gifting parties, where stars are offered absurd free things and vouchers for beauty services … but those companies aren’t so interested in the short documentary nominees. But we want to find a way to get some free Hollywood swag, it feels like it should be part of the Oscars experience.
It was a grey day and felt like the glamour had gone away for a bit after the excitement of last night. But in the evening, we did a screening at Soho House on the Sunset Strip and got an amazing view of LA from up high. As usual, the Q&A after felt emotionally intense. We were asked a lot of questions about what the film says about the state of Britain, which is a lot to ask about something that’s just my own personal story. Reliving this hard experience over and over again in such short succession is really hard.
We talked about how the ceremony would work and realise we didn’t know who was sitting where. Then we went to the party for all the shorts nominees in a little bar. It was intimate, and a good way to speak to some non-documentary people.
Thursday
We know the big parties have started now because we keep reading about them – but how you get invited when you’re in one of the smallest categories is another question. Polite requests to party organisers are met with a firm rebuke: no, the lists closed weeks ago. Lady Gaga probably doesn’t have this trouble. But we’ve decided not to lose any sleep over it – it’s nice hanging out with each other. I’m just grateful for the experience of being here.
Some of our group hiked up to see the Hollywood sign, although it being one of the coldest weeks for decades in LA, no one wants to linger too long. It’s jumpers and big coats for us – not what we signed up for. The evening was a relaxed one away from the Oscars buzz, although our publicist explained a few little details: who gets to go on which red carpet on the day. You imagine it’s one long route for everyone, but it’s not – those who get to set foot on the main drag in front of the paparazzi need to justify their presence and get out the way as quickly as possible before the big stars arrive. Apparently me and the director and producer will get to go on the main red carpet. They say you can’t take your own photo and video on the red carpet, but I bet you can.
We had a first sense of what an Oscar nomination can get you – in a restaurant some of our group were visiting, we were told there were no free tables. When we mention the nomination, one mysteriously opened up.
Friday
Today we got to hang out with the British consul, a man who lives in a big house straight out of the Fresh Prince and whose job is to promote British film in Hollywood. He was celebrating the British nominees, accompanied by strong gin cocktails, small sandwiches and scones. Richard E Grant popped in briefly, and some of the craft nominees from The Favourite, Bohemian Rhapsody and Mary Queen of Scots were there – and it was finally a bit warmer. I met one of the producers of The Favourite and the man who set up the documentary voting branch of the Oscars.
Everyone seemed to have heard of Black Sheep and they seemed impressed that it wasn’t just the director and producer in our team who were present, but also the person whose story was being told. Apparently some documentary film-makers don’t even thank their subjects when they talk about their films, which seems weird to me.
We got some good tips for the ceremony: take snacks, because you won’t get a proper meal, and prepare to be cold in the air-conditioned room designed to keep people awake. We were also touched that on our way to the event, ITV News released a story including an interview with Damilola Taylor’s Dad, Richard, saying how much he wanted us to win. We hope we’ll do right by him.
Saturday
The day started with one item of exciting if bizarre “swag” - a Ruth Bader Ginsburg action doll given away at brunch. She’s not the icon for us that she is for the Americans, but people keep talking about how the documentary about her, RBG, has the momentum behind it. That and Free Solo.
Today was also the last Q&A we’ll do for a while, at the International Documentary Association DocuDay event. I’m relieved we won’t have to do this again for a while – there’s only so many times in one week you can say the same things. We were on the panel with two other shorts in consideration and the Q&A went by in a flash. We signed posters and had loads of photos taken and then realised this was the last event before tomorrow’s ceremony. It all feels so real.
People keep telling us we have a good chance, but it’s almost impossible to predict with the shorts awards. Voters don’t talk very much about them, they don’t have the publicity campaigns of the longer films and they’re a lot less political. But you can get excited about the positive predictions. Whatever happens tomorrow, it’s just amazing to be here in this surreal bubble. I feel like I’ve been out here for ages and normal life has stopped. Maybe tomorrow we’ll actually get to go to hang out with some of the Hollywood legends. I never thought I’d be saying that.
Sunday
We didn’t win, but the experience of the Oscars isn’t something I’ll forget any time soon. It’s like nothing else I’ve ever done. After a long week of buildup when I didn’t always feel totally connected to the Oscar razzle-dazzle, suddenly comes this day of being totally part of the spectacle.
My girlfriend helped me get ready in the morning, sorting the hair, sorting the jacket, making it all work. Then we met downstairs in the hotel and took a load of photos. It was a warm day and the photos we took by the pool were very Californian – we all looked transformed, like we really were part of the world of Hollywood stars. When you arrive at the Dolby Theater for the event, you feel even more like that. As soon as you get close, there’s streets closed, and when you get out the car, you’re thrown into a world of high-intensity organisation as everyone congratulates you, tells you to get moving, and pushes you towards the red carpet.
The group was split straight away, with me, Ed and Jonathan going in the lane for the main red carpet and the rest of our team taken away from the press scrum. It’s a strange situation. Our publicist takes us from interview to interview in the tiered banks of hundreds of press representatives all squashed in, while crowds of members of the public sit in rows of bleachers watching us. We got there early so we were probably part of the initial disappointment before the real stars arrived.
Finally, after about two hours, we were on our way into the theatre itself, and there the reality of where you are properly hits: loads of giant Oscar statues, loads of beautifully dressed people and a giant staircase taking you up to the bars and the seats. This feels like proper old-school Hollywood glamour and everyone is loving it. Celebrities are everywhere, and you’re constantly trying to figure out who these vaguely familiar faces belong to. I loved it, seeing so many of my idols around me. I spoke to Spike Lee and Barry Jenkins, who were really nice. There’s an incredible magical vibe in the room.
For the ceremony itself, we were down on the ground floor, close to all the action. There’s constant ad breaks breaking up the show but it still feels like there’s a great flow to it. Our category was announced more than halfway through, so there was a lot of waiting around, but I wasn’t that nervous, it was too exciting for that. As our category approached, we were moved with the other short doc nominees to the front of the auditorium right by the stage and you really start to dream. But it wasn’t our name called pit, and we clapped for the team behind Period. End of Sentence, who made a pretty good speech.
And then it’s over. But there’s no time to feel sad or disappointed because there’s the rest of the evening to enjoy - you’re whisked to the main ball and the parties full of people letting loose after the tension of the last weeks and months. Everyone scatters to different places: we had a bit of a dance, and then it’s over like a dream. It’s a shame not to win of course, but the cliche about being a winner just by being nominated is so true after this special day.
