The Opening Gala to the B.U.F.F (British Urban Film Festival) was a spectacular night, with more groundbreaking films in an ever resilient yet diverse world.
The most anticipated was “To Dream”, a film by American director Nicole Albarelli. Indeed, after seeing the trailer, there were expectations that this would be your average gritty British film. However, we were alerted on the night that there would be a few laughs and tears, and by having popcorn from the sponsors Propercorn, we were already set.
The movie is gritty, but it has emotional turmoils and bonds between the two protagonists played by Freddie Throp and Ed Hayter. Their childhood nature of the experience to dream for a better life in their boring world of ‘stairs and flats‘ was something that had a sense of bromance. Not only was Albarelli was able to stem the normal cases of having a ‘not-so-great‘ upbringing (not to mention the mischievous antics that children get up to). But also the film allowed viewers to differentiate as to who was the caring one and who was the funny one.
Adam Deacon‘s performance in this film was one of his greatest after resurrecting from his recent gloom. In his absence, Albarelli highly praised the actor, despite his long suffering over his personal battles during the process of the filming. Which (at first) caused a little fiction, nevertheless, Albarelli saw this as an advantage as it brought certain topics, like mental health into the spotlight. Not only was Deacon “…perfect for the role…”, he was a breakthrough for the film.
This movie showed the ever emotional journeys men go through and the dreams to survive their circumstances. Almost like transcending between two worlds where one wants to elevate to the next. Diana Vickers debut was something different from the norm, as she’s popularly known as a contestant in “X-Factor”. She gave an amazing performance. Who knows? There may be prospects of her in the British film industry. Despite their were essences of a sense of jealousy and remorse, the two protagonists would still stick out their nose for each other, no matter the cost.