Actor Daniel Kaluuya‘s directorial debut, ‘The Kitchen,’ made its much-anticipated premiere at the London Film Festival.
The dystopian drama, set against the backdrop of a warped image of London, stars two of the city’s most recognizable faces.
British rapper Kano takes on the lead role of Isaac in this unique portrayal of London, brought to life by the creative minds of Kaluuya and co-director Kibwe Tavares. Additionally, the film features a surprising cameo by Arsenal legend Ian Wright, who assumes the role of a pirate radio station DJ.
The directorial duo imagined a future with no social housing, where residents of ‘The Kitchen’ – the housing estate that gave the film its name – bang pots and pans to alert neighbors of the frequent police raids.
Whilst residents are constantly avoiding eviction and fighting to keep The Kitchen up and running, Isaac is entirely focused on getting out of the rundown estate. His plan to escape to a high-end development across the city gets delayed when he takes recently orphaned Benji into his care.
The story is an emotional social commentary on class and politics, drawing upon themes of surveillance and class struggle found in iconic dystopian literature and film.
‘The Kitchen’ is set to hit both Netflix and cinemas later this year.
