Nathalie Emmanuel

“I have selected first The Red Shoes. I have such fond memories of this film. I have a dance background, ballet background, and the metaphor in the movie, the passion for the craft and the art, and how it can drive you insane or like to, you know, desperate, desperate lengths, and so... I won’t talk about The Red Shoes for the whole thing, but we have to move on.”

“Love & Basketball by Gina Prince-Bythewood. This film. Okay, so I probably saw this film... Height of puberty. Suddenly you’re interested in, you know, I was, you know, like, “Oh, look, that boy’s kind of cute.” And I’m– you know, that’s just peak teenage angst. And... It’s so good. The chemistry. Omar Epps, Sanaa Lathan. Just beautiful. Just such great performances. And Gina... I feel like I just rinsed this DVD so much that I broke it.”

“Paris Is Burning. I remember seeing this movie and just being like... I just didn’t know this existed. And this is what’s so powerful about movies, is that you can get pulled into worlds that you didn’t know about, and you see how cultures that start in these small ways, and then it just becomes really normal. Everybody knew what voguing was because of Willi Ninja and, like, the way that we do our makeup now is influenced by the amazing people that are represented in this film.”

“Worst Person in the World. I absolutely loved this film. I think women are often just taught such a limited... We’re socialized to have such a limited view of what we can be or what our lives can be. And I just love this woman who’s got so much agency and so much, like... She makes choices for herself. Like, whether they’re right or wrong, she has the courage to just make them, and... You know, she deals with the consequences of them, but... There’s a real courage that I really loved.”

“This box set of Small Axe by Steve McQueen. This one has a very... Significant and important connection for me because it’s about, you know, Windrush Britain, the Caribbean community coming to the UK after the world war to rebuild the motherland, or whatever. And the experiences of those people that came. And I am a direct descendant of those people who came, and it was really important that somebody told these stories. And Steve McQueen has an amazing, clear mission to tell stories...”