A fantastic result for Bradford as ‘Bollywood Carmen Live’ has been nominated under the category of ‘Live Events’ for The Royal Television Society Awards. The show was performed in Bradford’s City Park last summer. The show is up against coverage of Andy Murray’s Wimbledon win for the men’s final which was shown on BBC1 and The Ashes which was show on Sky1. The awards will take place on the 18th of March in London.
The live show was a take on French composer George Bizet’s, Carmen, which was, then broadcast live on BBC3. The performance took place in front of a packed audience in City Park and Centenary Square. The cast of the show was a real added bonus to such an outstanding end result. With the likes of Meera Syal, former EastEnders actress Preeya Kalidas, Bollywood star Abhay Deol, Waterloo Road actress Chelsee Healey and Bradford actress Rachel Leskovac, the ambitious production was the latest of the BBC’s outdoor shows, following The Manchester Passion and Frankenstein’s Wedding, staged at Kirkstall Abbey, Leeds.
What made the event extra special were the involvement of many Bradford people, on and off stage. A hundred local dancers took part, and students from the University of Bradford and Bradford College worked with the technical crew and make-up team.
Twin brothers Akeel and Jameel Amini, owners of Ranis Bradford boutique, dressed cast members, and local henna artist Amnah Mahmood did the show’s body art.
It was a real pleasure for us at Bradford City of Film working with the BBC to help in every way possible to make the production work. From finding locations, rehearsal facilities, dancers, crew and hotel accommodation.
To add to this it’s great to see nominated, Peaky Blinders and Utopia, both productions came to Bradford to do part of their filming. These are now both up for Best Drama Series, and Utopia writer Dennis Kelly is up for Best Drama Writer.
City of Film director David Wilson said: “We are delighted that Bollywood Carmen Live has been nominated. It was one of the first large-scale events to be held in Bradford’s City Park, and through City of Film brought together many different organizations.
“As well as promoting Bradford’s film heritage and fantastic City Park on prime time television, Bollywood Carmen Live really proved to the BBC that Bradford was ready for the challenge to accommodate such a huge live production
