BBC to air controversial banned film Blue Story for first time

Independent

25-02-2025

BBC Three is set to air the 2019 crime drama Blue Story, which was deemed controversial at the time of its release after youth violence broke out in two cinemas.
The acclaimed film, directed by Supacell creator Rapman, follows best friends Marco (Micheal Ward) and Timmy (Stephen Odubola) who find themselves embroiled in a postcode-based gang war in south London.
The film was temporarily banned from all Vue cinemas after a mass brawl broke out at a Birmingham branch of the cinema chain. Police said up to 100 teenagers were involved in the 'major disorder' and officers were left with facial injuries.
The chain Showcase cinemas also banned screenings of the film, while Nottingham's Cineworld also cancelled screenings of all films after a stabbing incident took place in the cinema.
Director Rapman wrote on X/Twitter at the time, saying the film is about 'love not violence'.
'Sending love to all those involved in yesterday's violence at Star City in Birmingham,' he wrote at the time. 'It's truly unfortunate that a small group of people can ruin things for everybody. Blue Story is a film about love, not violence.
'There were also a few incidents earlier this year with the release of Joker. It's always unfortunate, but I hope that the blame is placed with the individuals and not an indictment of the film itself.
'I pray that we can all learn to live with love and treat each other with tolerance and respect.'
At the time, Vue's decision to pull the film sparked huge criticism, leading some to boycott the chain, writing 'No Blue, No Vue' on social media.
In an article for The Independent, Fiona Sturges pointed out that violence had erupted at screenings for other films, such as Bohemian Rhapsody, but it had not elicited the same response from cinemas.
Sturges wrote: 'That Blue Story has been treated as the primary culprit in the Birmingham fracas says a lot about the world in which we live – one in which a film featuring a black cast, made by black filmmakers and about issues overwhelmingly affecting black communities is subjected to greater scrutiny and suspicion than those made by, for and starring white people.'
Vue said in a statement at the time that the decision to pull Blue Story from its venues was 'categorically not' related to race.
Despite the controversy, the film received overwhelming critical acclaim. Writing for The Observer film critic Simran Hans praised the film for 'underscoring the tragedy of corrupted innocence, constricting codes of masculinity and the aftermath of trauma'. It currently has a high 93 per cent score on the review aggregator site Rotten Tomatoes.
Blue Story creator Rapman – real name Andrew Onwubolu MBE – recently reflected on the 'insane' situation surrounding the film's rollout.
He told LadBible of his reaction to the events, saying: 'I went 'that's not fair, I'm an indie filmmaker and this is my first movie' this could have really put me in a position. I was so angry about it. But I wasn't as angry as the people were, the people were outraged by that.'
He added: 'When I think about it now the press that came from that, the next week everyone went to see it in the cinema.'
'It made people want to see it, who wants to see this 'dangerous' movie. It was really hard at the time but everything happens for a reason I guess.'
Blue Story will air on BBC Three at 10.05pm tonight (25 February).