The Little Red Ball - University independent (acting)

The brief was to create a 1 minute short film based around the word 'unique'. Written and directed by Josh Wright.

Date My Dog - Live studio show (presenting)

I was proud to be a part of this intriguing television format, as the cheesy host for Date My Dog - a show conceived of by Molly Van Der Borgh, an upcoming television talent. The idea behind the programme pitched aimed to find love for one lucky lady, as her three potential partners dating her dog to decide who was committed and could 'handle her hound'.

Congratulations to the team, the contestants, Penny the pooch and especially Molly.
 

One Mile Apart: fitting the profile (opinions)

Stop and Search powers are put in place to protect society. This law give police officers the right to question and inspect any citizen for weapons, drugs, stolen property or anything that could be used in a crime. But how do they deduce who to stop and search? 1. If serious violence could take place, 2. If you are carrying a weapon or have carried one before, 3. You're in a specific location or area. All but the second demand a police officer to use their own judgement and determine from who could be a criminal based on their appearance and body language.

Fitting the profile: Joshua Saunders |  Photography: One Mile Away

A recurring theme I've witnessed with my own eyes has been black teenagers and adults stopped and searched by police, while white friends are allowed to walk by without being searched.

Our country's legal system abides by the foundation that a person is 'innocent until proven guilty' but under the stop and search powers, police officers, and from my experience of West Midlands Police, appear to be targeting black males more than any others race. The apparent profile appears to be a black male wearing a tracksuit, chains, or a hoodie. A profile which naturally must mean an individual who fits that description is carry either a gun or a knife, is a part of gang culture or is simply up to no good.

In Channel 4 documentary Miles Apart, which was released a couple of weeks ago this issue became evidently more apparent. The programme recorded former gang members from Birmingham's Johnson Crew and Burger Bar Boys attempting to cease the warfare, which until recently was still ongoing between the two rival groups, as it has been for the past few of decades.

Throughout the course of the film, West Midlands Police pursued host Dylan Duffus and filmmaker Penny Woolcock. The team filmed during the Birmingham Riots of 2011, and also recorded every interaction the pair had with the police, who demanded their tapes several times and even searched Woolcock's house. Fortunately she had hidden them elsewhere in a friend's China cabinet, or the film may never have been made. West Midlands Police went onto threaten the pair and Channel 4 that if they did not put up a credit at the end of their documentary declaring that the police may have been portrayed in a negative then they would attempt to sue them for a second time. The first unsuccessful court case was for Woolcock's refusal to hand over the film rushes, which they claimed could contain evidence of criminal activity.

In the documentary the police were shown in a negative way, not through editing but via the raw footage depicting police officers searching black males for nothing more than a stereotyped and prejudicial fear that assumes that any black individual fitting the profile could be a danger to society. This unfair presumption widens the gap between police and the society they serve, and in future, instead of trying ban a film which accurately represented action of some officers from West Midlands Police force, they should be accountable, learn from it and change.