Midlands Review of The Tale of the Fatherless
midlandsmovies • July 12, 2021
The Tale of the Fatherless
Directed by Misha Elliott and Stefan Davis
2021
A new thoughtful drama feature comes from directors Misha Elliott and Stefan Davis which covers the complicated challenges and consequences faced without the presence of fathers in life.
Some ominous police sirens open the film before we join a funeral congregation as a young West Midlands man called Tyrell (played by director Stefan Davis) says a sad goodbye to his father.
A voiceover explores the ideas of “becoming a man” yet despite this solemn beginning, Tyrell then joins his girlfriend Janine (Sadé Davis) in an awkward meet-the-parents encounter over a year later. Despite the lighter tone of the embarrassing situation with Janine's pastor father, issues brought up around the dinner table such as responsibility, religion and tradition draw the audience nicely into the themes that will be further explored later in the film.
Elsewhere Rico (Akeem Gibbs) shows contempt as he fights with his mother and another man Julian (Christian Jae) feels put out of place as he clashes with his step-dad Toby (played by Daniel Alexander), forcing him from his home.
The lack of respect – between family, friends and partners – is a thread running through the first act as different relationship statuses create conflict between individuals. We are also regularly reminded of the power of language – the banter that comes across as put downs and insults show the negative effect they can have despite “jokey” intentions.
The concept of possession is also a topic expressed in many different guises, through phrases like “my girl”, “my house” and “my rules”. It’s never “ours” which shows the fractured outlook in so many of their lives. And often Tyrell’s peers discourage his positive steps, which create a divide rather than a supportive environment.
The Runnymede Trust's recent figures indicate that “in Britain almost two thirds of black families with dependent children are lone-mother households (Owen, 2006)”. And Elliott and Davis go to great lengths to represent these mothers as well. Played with gutso and stoicism by Beverly March (as Jackie), Tonia Daley-Campbell (as Sophia) and Claudette Dawson (as Marilyn) these strong black women struggle with the fallout of their sons’ and daughters’ sometimes questionable actions.
And later, the film goes into darker territory with drug deals that look an ‘easy’ route to money, yet leave a trail of violence and death in their wake. With so much chaos around him, Tyrell begins to seek solace in the Christian church who can not only help him, but help him to help others.
The film has an abundance of coming-of-age moments akin to John Singleton’s Boyz N the Hood which also explored the lives of young people stuck in harmful environments. And add to that a dash of Barry Jenkins’ Moonlight, we also see a young man struggling to find who he is as he heads into adulthood.
One slight drawback is the multitude of issues it tries to tackle in one swoop – religion, politics, abuse, relationships, violence, drugs, addiction, life, death, family and much much more. It means just as you are drawn into one topic to explore, the audience are unfortunately moved on to another. However, by including so much it does well to represent how just one single act can permeate all aspects of life – and certainly with huge complexity and no easy answers.
As we near the conclusion, The Tale of the Fatherless shifts its focus to the idea of “change from the inside”. In this movie, one route is via the support of religious community and the church. Whether that route is the right one for all, the film’s positive message seems to be more universal; explaining that no matter what cards society may deal you, there are constructive ways out with the right outlook and responsibility.
Dropping resentment and promoting reunification, the movie is first-rate as it looks at difficult and intricate personal and societal issues throughout. And a host of top performances, including a stellar central role by co-director Stefan Davis himself, deliver the film’s weighty subject matter. In the end, despite an (over-)abundance of issues at times, The Tale of the Fatherless successfully speaks to both the head and the heart about issues facing a black community in modern Britain, doing so with understanding, passion and sensitivity.
Michael Sales
Check out the film's trailer below
Local film critic Jacob Holmes heads outside the region to the BFI London Film Festival. In our latest Midlands on the Move feature, Jacob shares some helpful hints in a first timers guide to what to expect when visiting these type of events that may be new to local filmmakers and film fans. In 2025 I had the honour of attending the 69 th BFI London Film Festival for a week, I attending premieres for some of my most anticipated films of the year. And even grabbed a press pass too. This wasn’t my first film festival, but this was my first London Film Fest and to be brutally honest, in the build-up, I was nervous! Sadly, I found the BFI and Accreditation websites not very intuitive and quite confusing. So this this article hopes to give some peace of mind and let people know what they can expect when attending such UK festivals - both as a regular guest and as press. Tickets Getting regular tickets can be stressful, akin to a big concert. And in a way it's like the Hunger Games, a survival of the fittest type of vibe. First off, BFI advertise tickets go on sale at 10am in September, which is true but not wholly accurate. Instead, at 9am you head to the website and get put in a waiting room with a random allocated number for when the actual sale start at 10am. At that time it tells you where you are in the queue. If you get lucky, you could wait 15 minutes, but often the wait can be an hour plus. Finally when you can make a purchase, you are let in and can put all tickets into your basket. I have two years of experience with this queue! The first time, I failed completely and all movies I wanted to see were sold out. But this year I had a plan! The key to success is knowledge to how to play the game. Tip 1: For the best possible chances, subscribe to the BFI and become a member. The year membership was £35 at its cheapest. And if you're in the Midlands like I am, outside the festival a membership can be fairly useless unless you go to London often. But what this membership gives you is important. A week before general release there is a presale for BFI members. Not only is this a benefit, it also gives you a crucial second chance. By that I mean if things don't go your way the first time, you can try again in the general sale. And I had to do exactly this. When general admissions came out, I tried again for tickets for Wake Up Dead Man and got my ticket! Tip 2: Quantity. There's nothing against the rules saying you can’t enter the queue on multiple devices! I was placed very low down in the queue in my first year on one laptop, but this year I used my phone, PC, laptop, my friend's laptops AND my friends' devices! But it all paid off. Devices can take 2 hours or only 30 minutes. More Devices = Higher chance of getting tickets. Tip 3: Know the films you want to see beforehand. If you don’t know what films you want to see or when they screen you will be completely lost. Write a timetable - and furthermore, have back up plans. Sometimes you'll click on what you want and it will be sold out, but having a backup plan will be much easier overall. Tip 4: Even if you don’t get tickets, it's not the end of the world. There are plenty of second-hand ticket websites selling tickets at normal (or sometimes cheaper) prices. Websites like Twickets, social media accounts like @LFFstubs on X or the r/londonfilmfestival on Reddit will have second-hand tickets. In fact, I sold one of my tickets on Twickets and had no complaints either. Press passes As you can imagine, this process is very different for industry passes. The biggest issue is tickets go on sale in waves each day. Instead of one go, pass holders book their tickets day by day. Tickets go on sale at 8am two days before, usually taking place on the accreditation app or website. In some ways this is easier, but it's also a gigantic pain. Although it's MUCH easier to get a ticket, do have to wake up every single day to go onto a laggy website and book a few tickets. You may even have to book tickets in the cinema. Another issue can be if you plan to see both general and press screenings. One you book way in advance, but press screenings are booked during the fest. Ticket prices for public screenings vary, but the gala/premiere screenings are usually £30-£40. Whilst the press screenings are completely free, you just have to pay for the pass itself which is around £55.
Developed as part of the anthology, Serial, Royston Vale Road is a slight, comedy-heavy, found footage short directed by Chris Annable, co-owner of the Straight to Video movie memorabilia and tape store in Alfreton.
Dead on Distribution tries to tackle a lot in its brief 17-minute runtime. Taking place just as the VHS market was starting to boom, flooding shelves with low budget horrors, the film satirises the prevailing thoughts of the time.
Continuing the cinema’s excellent reputation for themed events – such as Paracinema and the folk horror day Darkness in the Fields – the Derby Quad put together a programme of local and international found footage films.