Afro Beat

2018, 90 minutes

Cash Man filmed in his bar

Introducing Mala, a handsome and charming thirty-year-old Black African British man born and bred in South London who has finally received a well-respected law degree after years of essays and painful study. Mala, after attending numerous interviews, tests and dreaded group interviews, just cannot land the job of his dreams. While Mala always had fond memories of dance, he’d put them to one side to pursue a more traditional ambition of reading law, practising, earning a wage and having a family. After attending his most humiliating interview to date, he bumps into his old dance partner Fella who is ironically cleaning at the firm he failed to make the grade for. It is Fella's wisdom and words that gives Mala the encouragement to do what he does best and dance. Once Mala receives unwarranted financial advice from his less than sensible friend Passion, he is led down a dangerous path, falling into the twisted loan shark's path Cashman, while his crew is on the way up, there is only a matter before the Cashman aims to bring his entire business and his life down. Mala uses his 'danger money' to set up an Afrobeat group and holds open auditions to find the best talent to compete with against the area's favoured dance troop, ‘The Mango Crew’, for a £100,000 prize. This declaration of 'dance war' does not aid Mala's popularity and sours his relationship with the Mango Crew's leader Aje and puts his entire team at risk as Aje is known for not taking kindly to those that take step on his turf.

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