BAFTA for UEL film alum
Published
30 October 2024
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University of East London graduate and filmmaker Andy Mundy-Castle has scooped the ‘Best Specialist Factual Programme’ at this year’s BAFTA Television Awards, for his documentary White Nanny, Black Child – which is streaming on Netflix.
Originally made for Channel 5 and co-financed by the BFI Doc Society Fund, White Nanny, Black Child explores the story of how more than 70,000 West African children were fostered, unofficially, by white British families between 1955 and 1995, in a practice known as ‘farming’.
The documentary follows a group of adults who share their experiences of being fostered and the long-term impact the experience had on their lives.
Mr Mundy-Castle said the film, which sprung from conversations with friends within the West African community, took six years to come to fruition with the sensitive topic requiring a deep dive into the history and what it meant to each of the participants.
He said, “We wanted to tell a story about how they lived and worked … something that healed, that documented, and archived this particular part of British history.”

The time spent was well worth it, with the film having been on a journey around the world, seen by millions of people, and influencing popular culture including inspiring a storyline on EastEnders.
For Mr Mundy-Castle, the accolades and acclaim, while “welcome with open arms”, are secondary to the pride he takes in creating purposeful work.
“While awards are milestones for anyone’s career, for me, they've always just been part of the journey and I'm fortunate enough that I've continued to pursue the things that I love, the things that I believe in the most, and [that] get recognised … But I feel like the trajectory in which I'm going is something that has been crafted before and after the BAFTA.”
It was at UEL where that creative journey began, with his lecturers credited for sparking an initial interest in filmmaking.
“What they inspired me to do is think about the broad scope of the media industry and how stories were told, and the … intricacies that went into stories. We studied Errol Morris’ The Thin Blue Line and I remember how much the lecturer decoded the meaning of the film.
I think through my time here [at UEL] as a student, that's really where kind of the inspiration for my career was planted … Obviously, I had to do a lot of things myself to make sure that I pursued the path, but I think the seed was sown here."
Since graduating in 2001 with a degree in media and film, Mr Mundy-Castle has produced and directed more than a dozen documentaries including The Fade, a milestone project created in the early stages of his career, which tells the story of four barbers across the world.
“I was at a junction in my career where I felt like I wasn't getting through with any particular roles that I was applying for. I wasn't getting the right kind of interviews that I wanted on the jobs and programs that I saw were being made for television so I thought ‘OK, I can't break through I'm going to have to do this myself’. And I raised enough money to go around the world and tell [this] story.”
Building on his work as a filmmaker, Mr Mundy-Castle founded his own production company, Doc Hearts, in 2016 with the mission to champion diverse stories and talent through premium non-fiction content.
He advised those wanting to break into the industry to cultivate the same ‘do-it-yourself’ mentality that has guided much of his career.
“Really, really try. Do your research! … I fully understood and immersed myself in everything to do with the people who had made documentaries, the people who inspired the idea of this genre, and the people who are doing it constantly. [I was] constantly feeding myself with ideas around non-fiction storytelling.
“We are now in a very drastic landscape of content which I call the ‘O.K. Corral’ because everyone's trying to fight for attention, everybody is a filmmaker if they want to be … and so you have to set yourself apart.”
Next up for Mr Mundy-Castle is a new feature documentary for Paramount, looking at protest action around the world alongside Southbank Centre Chair and renowned photographer Misan Harriman. The project is one of several unscripted pieces in the Doc Hearts pipeline.
Fancy following in his footsteps? Explore UEL’s Film and Media courses.
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