Voice Of Reason, the feature Abdou Cissé is developing with BBC Film, is becoming increasingly relevant, says its writer/director.

The satirical comedy will follow a far-right UK political campaigner on the eve of a job promotion, who has an accident that leads to the voice of a self-righteous Rastafarian taking over his body. Aiming for “the satire of Four Lions, the cultural relevance of This Is England”, Cissé says the effect of online echo chambers is an influence: “There are so many voices online now, how do we know the thoughts and ideas we have are our own?”

Currently working on the script and in conversation with production partners in the US, it will be a feature debut for Cissé, who has worked in advertising for 10 years including for Nike and Apple. He is one half of ad agency Abdou & Akwasi, with fellow southeast Londoner Akwasi Poku, and is keen to change the perception of advertising directors moving into the narrative world, citing Jonathan Glazer as an inspiration. “You get cast as a storyteller who only cares about visuals, but we work with a visual medium,” says Cissé.

His first short film, 2019’s Serious Tingz, was born from a desire to evaluate masculinity, “how men have held back over generations, and the ripple effects of a smile”. The film’s audio track was played to more than 90,000 prisoners across England and Wales by National Prison Radio, and was broadcast in full on ITV News.

Festival Of Slaps (2023), a reflection on cultural stereotypes through the slap of a Nigerian mother, won the best short Bifa and was nominated for the equivalent Bafta. Cissé says it is “the best representation of the kind of director I want to be”. He has also directed episodes of Theresa Ikoko’s BBC youth drama Grime Kids.

The filmmaker is inspired by the likes of Donald Glover, Ava DuVernay and Barry Jenkins, creatives who are “trying to change the process of making films and how they come out — going beyond the screen”. He is keen to collaborate with other writers while also creating his own material.

“I never feel like any idea is truly one person,” says Cissé. “I come from a creative community — I’m happy as long as the project says something.”

Contact: Christian Ogunbanjo, United Agents

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