the archives
Ackee & Saltfish.
Welcome to the world of two best friends, Olivia & Rachel.
It all began with some saltfish. On a Sunday morning, two best friends head out to get some Caribbean takeaway food in Dalston, East London, for breakfast after Rachel forgets to soak the saltfish but have mixed reactions when they realise several of their go to restaurants are out of business; the first has been turned into a cafe, whilst the other is left boarded up. They return home in awkward silence to play a hilariously hostile game of snap before they get into a heated exchange that gets personal, as they reflect on the changes they are seeing across London. Though their argument is ultimately left unresolved, they silently agree to disagree as they succumb to ordering chinese and moving on with their days.
“Judging from the trailer, it has a loose-limbed, free-flowing, improvisational tone that I found similar to Robert Altman films. Just when you think you know where it's going, it shifts and goes into a different direction altogether..”
— Shadow & Act
Ackee & Saltfish
What you’ll get on-demand access* to:
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The short film for Ackee & Saltfish was first shown at a free community screening hosted by Cecile Emeke & friends at The Dalston Rio in September 2014. The film went on to be release online, as well as being screened at various film festivals from The Trinidad & Tobago Film Festival to The Peckham & Nunhead Film Festival.
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A six part web series was released in 2015, following the same two best friends through various mundane but hilarious moments in their friendship; from trying to get tickets for a concert to breakfast in the morning.
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Cecile Emeke was commissioned to write and direct a one off comedy feed episode of Ackee & Saltfish for BBC, which synthesized the longer form narrative arc of the short film with the intimate and idiosyncratic nature of the web series. The episode titled "The Cat" explored the story of Olivia accidentally stealing a couples cat, who track them down using their cat's camera collar.
*Purchasing access to view the Ackee & Saltfish Archives is intended for educators, researchers and students seeking access for educational purposes only. For all commercial screening and licensing inquiries please email info@cecileemeke.com