Lollipop: women have alchemy and agency in this council estate drama that’s the antithesis of poverty porn

By Victoria Mapplebeck, Professor in Digital Arts, Royal Holloway University of London

Ten years ago I was at a preview screening at the British Film Institute (BFI) of short films shot and set in London. My smartphone-filmed short, 160 Characters, was part of the programme and told the story of me raising my son Jim alone.

I was excited to have my film included, but by the end of the night I was a little less euphoric. I was one of only a handful of women directors screening work that night and almost every film in the programme was set on a council estate, featuring one-dimensional characters who were either…

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