The Great British Race Off
The story of Kwabena – a young, black aspiring filmmaker – is told with unlimited creativity and craft in this web-series, self-produced by four film school friends.
Dreaming Whilst Black is a comedy of breadth and depth. It communicates the experiences of Kwabena, a young British Jamaican filmmaker chasing his dreams in London, through sensitively drawn characters living all of life in front of the camera. The 9-part series covers dating, balancing relationships with professional dreams, managing family expectations, the struggle to get opportunities in the film industry, and everyday and structural racism. All of which is grounded in Kwabena’s identity and experience as a Black man, and filtered through his hilarious, surreal, fantastical mind.
In the series, Kwabena is attempting to make his first short film and take that work to festivals. This is the route film students are told will get them opportunities. The show’s own backstory, however, is of four film school friends giving up on this route, coming together to form a collective and putting all their creative energy into this hugely ambitious project. Watching the series, what they achieved on such a small budget is astonishing, and nowhere is this more evident than in Episode 2, The Great British Race Off, where the film industry's structural inequalities of race, gender, and class are laid bare through the metaphor of an elaborate and hilariously unfair foot race.
The episode starts with live sports coverage of 'The Great British Race Off: The Job Hunt', in which four contestants from different socio-economic and ethnic backgrounds compete in a foot race for a job in the film industry- each facing very different obstacles along the way. Returning to reality, Kwabena catches a lucky break and finally gets some on-set experience.
From the YouTube description: 'This episode is a farcical analogy of what it takes for different races and genders to make it in the film industry. In the end, Kwabena gets a job promotion that isn't quite what he expected.'
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Online Video
First came the Cinema Age, then the TV Age, and now the age of Online Video. Digital film created for distribution online is today’s most dynamic, influential screen form. Encompassing much that’s new, from ASMR and Unboxing Videos to Twitch streaming and TikTok twerking, it’s also breathed new life into older film forms, filling our screens with fresh takes on advertising, journalism, satire, public information, campaigning, training and much else that’s been with us since time immemorial, and variously taking the forms of comedy, drama, documentary and animation. It’s become embedded into every aspect of UK (and world) society.
This unique collection of 50 online videos combines iconic highlights of British online video with other examples chosen to illustrate that sheer diversity. All were acquired by the BFI National Archive as part of the Lottery funded Our Screen Heritage programme. Our thanks to the Lottery, and lottery ticket buyers nationwide. for their support of this vital collecting and preservation work.
60 videos in this collection
The Trojan Room Coffee Pot Movie
Online Caroline Walkthrough April 2025
Weymouth 2001
THE BOOO KROO 'WORK IT'
We Like The Moon
Badgers
Howard Davies Carr on Charlie bit my finger - again!
Charlie Bit My Finger - Again!
Paul Weedon on I can’t believe you’ve done this
I Can't Believe You've Done This
CHIP | TIM & BARRY TV | 64 BAR STATEMENT
Scotch Mist
Red Hot Entertainment on Junior Spesh
Red Hot Entertainment - Junior Spesh (ft. Jaxor, Klayze Flaymz, Terra & Ray)
KateModern Trailer
No Through Road
Mandem On The Wall - Episode 1
The Nick Clegg Apology Song: I'm Sorry (The Autotune Remix)
How to Code Music with Raspberry Pi & Sonic Pi
British Gas Rampage
Binaural ASMR Ear Massage & Ear Brushing
Vlogging At 11 Years Old | Zoella
Vlog From The Future #4
Plastic Fork Removed from a Sea Turtle's Nose!
Stapeless Chinese New Year Lantern Tutorial with KOKUYO
Fox chased and saboteur attacked
Rabz Lansiquot on Nyansapo
Nyansapo
Let Refugees Learn
Adjani Salmon & Natasha Jatania on Dreaming Whilst Black
The Great British Race Off
Charity Shop Sue | Part 1 | Sec*hand Chances
Ash Sarkar x Extinction Rebellion: Lovebomb the Cops?
The Evolution of Queerbaiting: from Queercoding to Queercatching
MAWAAN - Mango (Official Video)
207. Slow TV: Narrowboat Cruising along the Macclesfield Canal
Olive and Mabel. Episode 1 - The Dog's Breakfast Grand Final
The Movie Gifs That Keep on Giving
Hannah Witton on The Truth About Sexual Desire
The Truth About Sexual Desire | Hannah Witton
I’m No Havin Children
Lucy Edwards on How Does a Blind Girld Do Her Own Makeup?
How Does A Blind Girl Do Her Own Makeup? #shorts
Mixed Feelings - by Nozomi Tolworthy
Know Your Own Mind and Stand Strong
Some Scots Can't Say "Purple Burglar Alarm"
What Isn't a Video Essay?
Day seven: Which wet lettuce will last longer?
Things I Would Hope Were General Knowledge
Chetna Makan on Cooking with Chetna
Mums Punjabi Kadhi | Delicious Punjabi Pakora kadhi | Easy Yogurt Curry | Food with Chetna
Is There a Trans Person Lurking in Your Bathroom? Message 5318008 to Report Suspicious Activity
STRAND Collective on NATIVES
NATIVES
Waiting List / Nowadays
Check in on Those around You | #WorldMentalHealthDay #youarenotalone
77 Squadron: A Raid Too Far
Everything you wanted to ask about the ancient Roman Empire | History Hotline