Kwame Kwei-Armah

Did you face any kind of obstacles when you were trying to get into acting and film-making?

I started out by making my own films when I was in my 20s, and I had to look very hard to find access to funding bodies – it wasn’t immediately there. That was the biggest block, for me.

I didn’t know where to look, and then when I did find something, there were so many application forms to wade through. Finding the people who could and would help me is probably the biggest hurdle I had.

How did you get around that?

I overcame most of my problems by networking, as that’s the only way you really begin to get things moving. I was going to meet like-minded people in similar circumstances to me, and that led me to finding the resources I needed.

On one occasion, just talking to different people led me to find out about an award scheme, which I entered and subsequently won – suddenly I had £10,000 to help me make my first film. On another occasion, my cousin, who I was collaborating with, was introduced to a producer called Nadine Marsh-Edwards, who was very helpful and informative and we learned a lot from her.

Do you think there are any particular challenges facing the black community in terms of making their ideas happen?

Apart from the historic problems, the main one is access to funding. That needs to be addressed, and changed.

What good role models would you say inspire young black people?

Anyone who’s believed in themselves, and made their passion into a reality. I was really impressed by MOBO winner Sway, as was my son, who met him last year. He’s down to earth, he’s grounded, and he believes 100 per cent in what he does.

Why do you think it’s important for people to grow up in a culture that makes it easier for them to make their ideas happen?

I travel a lot between Britain and America, and there’s a real difference between the two countries in their attitudes to entrepreneurship. Of course there’s an element of risk involved in starting your own business, but I think it’s important for the UK to start losing its reserve in terms of those opportunities.

We’ve got all this new technology and means of communication now – blogs, podcasts, etc – and people should be taking advantage of that because it can make things so much easier for them.

However, I think the most important thing that’s lacking here right now is attitude. Young people often don’t want to be seen as ‘business people’ or to admit they’re thinking ahead to their future, because being young means it’s hard to think past tomorrow. However, they should be encouraged to change their attitude at education level. That’s the incubation stage, where you absorb so much.

What would you like to see happen?

I’d really like to see more attention in the media given to young entrepreneurs, and the creation of more schemes to help them when they’re starting out. When I was a young filmmaker there was only one place I knew of where I could go for help: The Prince’s Trust. So it would be great to have more organisations like that, more information for people who need it, and more access to funding.

What key things do you recommend young people bear in mind when they are trying to get an idea off the ground?

That they know the right questions to ask, and the right people to ask them of.

What kind of encouragement do you give your children with regards to what they want to do when they leave school?

I encourage them to find the right balance. My 14 year old son, Kwame, wants to be a music producer and set up his own record company, so - because I’m lucky enough to be in a position where I can do this - I introduce him to different people in the music industry, and we sit and talk about all the different aspects of it, eg publishing, producing, etc.

My 10 year old twins aren’t quite at the stage where they know what they want to do yet, but I’ll advise them whatever they want to do.

What’s the best advice you could give to someone who wants to get his or her idea off the ground?

Believe in it. It’s that simple: really believe in it.

Having appeared in Celebrity Fame Academy, what do you think of reality TV as a route to success?

If anyone says to me ‘I want to be famous, I reply, ‘well, famous for what, exactly?’. You have to do something – people have been given a false sense of meritocracy thanks to reality TV shows, but even now the fifteen minutes of fame people can get is shrinking.

Longevity is far more important, and you get that by training in what it is you might want to be famous for, whether it’s music, acting or whatever. Go to school, study the craft, and if you get exposure from reality TV, you can develop from that.