John Boyega On Mentoring The Next Generation Of Black Filmmakers

COMPLEX: Why was Converse your partner of choice working on this project?

John Boyega: I think it was, for me, the track record. Obviously, you have to do research into who you’re working with, and they have—especially under the All-Star Program—created a platform and environment for creatives to connect, to improve, and have been doing that consistently. I wanted to collaborate with a brand that we all know of, that has been a part of our culture in one way or another, that we see in the commercial space as well as the normal, and that has that global appeal. But at the same time, a brand that is aware of the emptiness in our industry, the lack of opportunity, and is basically willing to put their money where their mouth is. Myself and Converse, once we spoke a number of times, we got to a point we were on the same page and knew we could do this. 

Converse has definitely been within the community, like with their wider All-Star Program and collaborations with members of markers of the community, from up-and-coming artists to youth-led radio stations like Reprezent, to now working with yourself. 

That’s what excited me as well—it’s been evident. We’re trying to create this ripple effect so we need people to see. It’s a balance of knowing these issues are important, and having the reach and also the funds to get it done.

That leads me onto my next question, which is more of a personal one: what captivated you about filmmaking as a form of storytelling and made you invest in it as a career? 

I think the thing that captivated me was how films made me feel as a ‘normal guy’, when I didn’t know what acting was. It’s a feeling I have never forgotten, knowing that I won’t be able to feel that as natural anymore, being involved in the process. But, I now know 100% what it feels like to entertain someone in the audience when they have no knowledge of film or any of that stuff—they’re just coming in to see a story. Since I felt that, it changed my normal world. I didn’t see the world the same again. I watched feature films, and all of a sudden my life was more dramatic, colourful, and my narrative felt like it was heightened. I was like: “I obviously exist within this realm.” Obviously, not being good at certain things—trying football, trying several different things, and then finding where I actually fit in naturally—was a part of it too.

That is beautiful. I feel that as well, the fact that film can submerge you into a whole new lifestyle and perspective. When did you realise, as an actor and creative, that there was a lack of insight and opportunity for emerging Black talent?

I think I genuinely noticed when I started to work more consistently. I think, at the early stages, I’d do one job, then I’d have to do struggle-struggle, then I’d get another one and we’d do struggle-struggle for a while. I started to work more consistently to basically get a view of how it is in the working environments in the industry. Then, being exposed to these environments and meeting these professional individuals, filmmakers—especially up-and-coming filmmakers from the Black communities—I was educated. I was schooled. People came in and were like, “Yo, this is what the reality is for us: working in this industry.” This is the difference between opportunities somebody outside of the culture would get in reflection of us, and we’re trying as much as possible just to move forward. That really inspired me, and I listened to that. I realised there’s an issue there.