Diamond Bullet Productions
in association with MTV international presents....

.357 IN THE NEWS

By Peter Devonald, Scott Rawsthorne
and Kevin Scrantz

Evening Standard

PICK OF THE NIGHT:

Satellite and Digital: Tuesday 13th September 2005: (page 38)

.357
10.30pm MTV

This insightful, largely fact based fictional short film by Scott Rawsthorne follows the brief, but very grim journey of a deactivated gun, from it’s legal beginnings – bought on the internet by a collector – to it’s eventual home, activated on the streets, with fatal repercussions.

With gun crime rapidly on the increase, this is one of an evening of programmes hosted by MTV (from 9pm) that brings to light this harsh reality. Politicians will also be joining artists including Ms Dynamite for studio discussions about the relationship between gun culture and hip hop.

Kimberley Darke

BBC Online web site

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/music/4163132.stm

Ms Dynamite joins MTV gun debate

Ms Dynamite has been vocal as an anti-gun campaigner
Singer Ms Dynamite is to participate in an MTV event exploring the relationship between hip hop and gun culture.
The R&B star will join politicians and viewers on 13 September for a studio discussion about the rise in gun crime.
The event forms part on an evening of programmes that includes Rap Under Fire - a news special featuring interviews with Dizzee Rascal, 50 Cent and others.
"The evening has been specifically planned to examine all sides of the debate," said Michael Parry of MTV UK.
"It is imperative that MTV brings important issues such as gun culture to the forefront of its viewers' mind."
On the same night the channel will also premiere .357, a short film by director Scott Rawthorne that follows a decommissioned revolver as it is brought back into circulation.
The evening has been coordinated in conjunction with Mothers Against Guns and the Don't Trigger campaign.
Gun crime in the UK rose by 6% in 2004-2005, according to police figures released last month.

Broadcast's website

MTV UK investigates gun crime
Susan Thompson
22 August 2005 10:37

MTV UK is relaunching its news coverage with an extended special on gun crime in the UK.
Guns: An MTV News Special,
to air on 13 September, is a night dedicated to exposing the harsh realities of gun culture and exploring the relationship between the hip hop industry and the rise in gun crime.
In front of a live audience artists Ms Dynamite and Target from Roll Deep will join politicians, and representatives from Mothers Against Guns in a studio discussion addressing the issue of gun imagery in the music industry.
The night will be punctuated with short programmes concentrating on gun crime in the UK along with the premiere of 357, a short film by one of MTV's in-house directors, Scott Rawthorne.
The news special is part of the channel's strategy to give its news coverage a more serious edge. From the beginning of September its two-minute news bulletins aired hourly from 4pm each weekday, will tackle breaking 'pro-social' news stories as the traditional music, entertainment and film news.
A new on air look is being designed and a new distribution deal has been struck with 50 other MTV territories.
MTV News executive producer, Lisa Stokoe said "MTV news bulletins will continue to cover all music, entertainment and film news but we are also re-focusing our efforts on expanding our editorial brief by making extending news specials that are opinion forming."

http://www.voice-online.net/content.php?show=7301&type=1

ARE WE LOSING THE WAR ON GUN CRIME?
BY SADAF MEEHAN

Shock new survey of young people and guns in the UK reveals: 62% of young people have seen a real gun 40% admit they know a gun owner. The battle to steer young people away from the dangers of gun crime is being lost.

The results of a national survey of 700 people by MTV UK – revealed exclusively to The Voice – show how dangerous firearms are now an integral part of young people’s lives and no longer the preserve of dangerous criminals.

REPRESENTATIVE
Most of the 700 respondents to the poll – almost 90 per cent – were under the age of 24, with around 46 per cent between 16-19 and 22 per cent under the age of 16. The respondents were chosen from a variety of backgrounds to provide a representative picture of Britain’s youth.

The survey, which looks at the relationship between gun crime and hip- hop, found that 62 per cent of those questioned had seen a real gun. Over 40 per cent said that they personally know someone who owns a gun.

But more worrying is what the survey revealed about attitudes to the weapon.

Forty per cent of young people said they thought guns were an effective way of intimidating people. And another 25 per cent said they thought it was a good form of self-defence.

Disturbingly, 13.5 per cent of respondents said that they believe that carrying a gun makes the carrier ‘look cool’.

And a huge number of respondents – 93.2 per cent – believe that there are more guns on the streets in the UK now than there were five years ago.

The survey was commissioned by MTV UK as part of the ‘Don’t Trigger’ campaign they are running with Mothers against Guns and Urban Concepts.

The survey results follow a recent Metropolitan Police report that one in ten London schoolboys had carried a gun in the 12 months leading up to July 2005.

Janice Gittens of Street Pastors, an inter-denominational church body which helps steer young people away from crime says the survey proves the truth of what many campaigners in the black community have been saying about the corrupting effect of hip-hop culture.

PERCEPTIONS
“Many music videos contribute to the perception that carrying guns is cool and I fear that young people are more vulnerable to these messages. That whole ghetto lifestyle that is portrayed and glamourised is what many people aspire to now. Rather than aspiring to be a doctor or a lawyer or some profession that looks boring and looks like it will take a long time, they look at getting immediate gratification.”

Mayor of London Ken Livingstone, who took part in an MTV documentary on hip-hop’s relationship with violence, agrees, saying: “A lot of young people watching [hip-hop] would say, they are my heroes, they are my icons, if they do it, why shouldn’t I.”

Michelle Forbes of the group Mothers Against Guns says that although there is an argument about rap videos being just entertainment, this is being done at the high cost of glamourising violence.

In December 2003, Forbes’ son Leon was murdered following a shooting.

“Mothers Against Guns sees the impact of it on the victims that are left behind,” she said.

“The devastation is profound. Murder is murder regardless, but gun crime has the added problem of carrying a stigma for the victim. People have that instant reaction – he must have done something wrong. There’s that saying, ‘you live by the gun, you die by the gun’ but it’s not true. My son did not live by the gun but he died by it.”

She and other members of the group are now passionately campaigning to rid guns from our communities. They want tougher sentences for those found carrying or in possession of weapons.

“We also believe that replica guns should also be banned because they are toys that kill. Gun violence destroys families.”

But multi-million dollar selling New York rapper Nas thinks the criticism of hip-hop is unfair.

ENVIRONMENT
Quoted in the MTV documentary, Nas said: “Our music reflects our society and where we come from. We are a product, our music is a product, of our environment. With hip-hop, what we do is talk about it.”

And MTV UK, who have scheduled a night of programming to examine the results of the survey also think that it is unfair to lay the blame for the increased presence of guns in this country on hip-hop.

An MTV spokesperson said: “It’s shocking that so many of our audience have been exposed to guns in their communities. Whilst it’s equally shocking that a minority think guns look cool, the vast majority – over half those surveyed – link guns to crime and intimidation.

“This highlights the very real concern young people feel about gun crime and we believe MTV can play a valuable role in raising awareness and provoking thought and debate around these issues,” he said.

The findings are particularly worrying in light of recent high-profile initiatives such as Operation Trident.

The Met Police initiative – which started in March 1998 – has claimed success in many high-gun crime parts of London, particularly where both victims and perpetrators are black.

Officers from Trident have solved 12 murders in the time between April 2004 and April 2005 making an overall success rate of 67 per cent.

Offices have also seized 420 firearms, 1839 rounds of ammunition and large amounts of class-A drugs and cash. They say this is due to working closely with local communities and intelligence-led initiatives to tackle drug dealers linked to gun crime and drug suppliers.

But according to the latest Home Office figures, gun crime in the capital between April and July 2005 has risen by 13 per cent compared to the same time last year.

Detective Superintendent Adrian Hanstock of Operation Trident said: “While it is important to look at information on a year-by-year basis to identify trends, it is often of more value to examine the longer term picture over a number of years.

COMMUNITY
“Five years ago, before Trident existed, shootings and gun-related incidents were at an all time high in London but since then – with the combined efforts of the police, our partners and the community – we have been able to reduce gun crime incidents each year.

“It is also important to realise that gun crime is only a very small proportion of all incidents that happen in London each year, but we will still continue to invest significant time and energy to locate and arrest those involved in these most serious matters that severely disrupt and bring fear to our communities,” Hanstock.

Despite the recent figures he believes that the police are winning the battle on gun crime and said that they have developed strategies to ensure that gunmen know that police will ‘get them in the end.’ Trident is also involved in the ‘Don’t Trigger’ initiative with Mothers against Guns and MTV UK.

Live radio interview with Spin 103 in Ireland: August 22nd 2005

PICTURE ABOVE: COPYRIGHT 2005: CREATION INTERNATIONAL

David Gyasi (playing Kameron, left) and Bruce Jackson (dp, right)

.357 SYNOPSIS AND SCREENINGS

For more info contact pdevonald@hotmail.com

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