Independent entertainment and production company Revelation Films has acquired the worldwide rights to the hit book, I Am Norwell Roberts, the autobiography of the first black Metropolitan Police officer published to great acclaim in summer 2022.
Published as a hard back by John Murray Press in June 2022, the story begins when Roberts joined London’s police force in 1967, finding out he had a new job from a national newspaper headline. From that day forward his face became a symbol - of acceptance, of a diverse police force, of a changing Britain. He was turned into the poster boy for progressive policing - but his day-to-day reality was anything but. His distinguished career culminated in being awarded the Queen’s Police Medal (QPM) for his service in 1996 and in 2016 he was the recipient of the Legend Recognition Award at the CA Awards in honour of dedication to the safety of the black community.
In the first instance, Revelation Films is developing a documentary feature with plans to expand into scripted project, told against a backdrop of social and political events from each decade of Roberts’s life and career. These events will be presented through a mixture of archive news, photography and music that defined the time and will allow the audience to better understand the officer’s struggles and successes within a world that was often very much working against him.
The film will be set against the other ‘firsts’ in the UK black community that coincided with the trajectory of his life as a Windrush generation child and 30-year police career, namely from Sir Trevor Phillips, to Joan Armatrading to Naomi Campbell, the first black woman MP Dianne Abbott to Sir Lewis Hamilton.
“[Revelation Films] was formed on the back of a now iconic film produced with the Terrence Higgins Trust, 30 years on it seems appropriate to be developing another film about a British Icon. It is one of the most inspiring stories we’ve had the honour to develop,” said the indie’s founder Tony Carne.
“The company Norwell has spent his entire life being ahead of the curve and his sheer perseverance has in no small part helped to see significant change in British society. His focus and determination to simply be the best copper he could be, in the most trying of circumstances, ploughed a furrow for the Met to become the much more racially diverse organisation it is today. In a time where we desperately need a new, more compassionate tone to converse, disagree and find common ground, Norwell exemplifies this spirit.”
In the first instance, Revelation Films is developing a documentary feature with plans to expand into scripted project, told against a backdrop of social and political events from each decade of Roberts’s life and career. These events will be presented through a mixture of archive news, photography and music that defined the time and will allow the audience to better understand the officer’s struggles and successes within a world that was often very much working against him.
The film will be set against the other ‘firsts’ in the UK black community that coincided with the trajectory of his life as a Windrush generation child and 30-year police career, namely from Sir Trevor Phillips, to Joan Armatrading to Naomi Campbell, the first black woman MP Dianne Abbott to Sir Lewis Hamilton.
“[Revelation Films] was formed on the back of a now iconic film produced with the Terrence Higgins Trust, 30 years on it seems appropriate to be developing another film about a British Icon. It is one of the most inspiring stories we’ve had the honour to develop,” said the indie’s founder Tony Carne.
“The company Norwell has spent his entire life being ahead of the curve and his sheer perseverance has in no small part helped to see significant change in British society. His focus and determination to simply be the best copper he could be, in the most trying of circumstances, ploughed a furrow for the Met to become the much more racially diverse organisation it is today. In a time where we desperately need a new, more compassionate tone to converse, disagree and find common ground, Norwell exemplifies this spirit.”
