The Success of Moss Side: Red Carpet Premiere

From Stereotypes to Spotlight. Baka Bah Brings The Success of Moss Side to the Big Screen

For years, Manchester’s inner-city neighbourhood of Moss Side has been framed by headlines about crime and violence. But for filmmaker and Moss Side resident Baka Bah, that is only one chapter in a much bigger, richer story, a story that will soon have its red-carpet moment at Manchester’s Factory International on 6 September 2025! The Success of Moss Side: Red Carpet Premiere

Baka’s debut feature documentary, “The Success of Moss Side”, is a heartfelt counter-narrative to decades of damaging media portrayals. Through intimate portraits of the people who give the area its strength and soul, the film captures the warmth, resilience, and creative energy that headlines often ignore. Watch the trailer for the documentary here and keep reading to find a discount code to get £5 tickets to the premiere!

The Manchester Met film student began work on the project as part of Rise’s Making Great Communities Incubator in 2024. The incubator was a space and opportunity for students to develop a project of their choosing that would positively impact their community, with mentorship and seed funding provided by the university. Baka took this opportunity to change the narrative of his neighbourhood after noticing how the media’s focus on negative incidents was shaping not just public perception, but also his own feelings about home.

“I always had an awkward feeling when mentioning where I come from, and I didn’t like that feeling. It didn’t sit well with me,” Baka recalls. “Whenever I do say where I’m from, I automatically see labels pinging over my head. I see it in people’s reactions – the ‘oohs’ and ‘aahs,’ like, ‘Oh, you’re from Moss Side?!’” But Baka knew there was more to the story and wanted to tell it in a way that came directly from the people who live here.

Filmed over several years, The Success of Moss Side spotlights the neighbourhood’s “unsung heroes.” These include Baka’s auntie, Suwaidu Sanyang, who turned the grief of losing her son, Cheriff Tall, into a testament to community strength, and football coach Ahmed Yassin, whose decade-long youth football programme has helped steer young people away from anti-social behaviour while opening doors to professional opportunities.

To Baka, telling these stories is about more than documenting local life, it is about reclaiming the narrative. “People like to pick up an issue and concentrate on the issue, but I don’t want to do that. I want to recognise there’s an issue because it’s very important to recognise something, but I want to concentrate on the solutions and how we can move forward in understanding what the scope of this issue actually is. Moss Side is a slice of happiness. It’s a slice of joy, a slice of sadness, a slice of endurance, a slice of culture and a slice of difference. I feel like Moss side is an example to the rest of the UK of how people from so many different backgrounds and cultures can co-exist and thrive despite all the adversity society places on them.”

This philosophy extended into the filmmaking process itself. Every frame, from interviews to B-roll footage, came from within the community. Residents were involved in the editing process, ensuring the final cut reflected their voices authentically. “I feel like it’s a much truer representation of the story when you have that kind of approach towards a project.”

When Rise first introduced the Making Great Communities Incubator in 2024, the goal was to find students who could harness their skills to create lasting, positive change. Baka — now a second-year film student — has embodied that vision from day one. Supported in its early stages by Rise as part of Manchester Met’s 200-year celebrations, The Success of Moss Side has grown from a grassroots idea into a cinematic event poised to inspire audiences far beyond the neighbourhood’s borders.

As the lights dim and the first frames appear on the Factory International’s screen this September, Moss Side will finally be seen as Bah sees it: vibrant, proud, and brimming with success stories waiting to be told.

Grab your tickets to the premiere here and use the code: EARLYBIRDSNE at checkout to get yours at only £5! And to follow Baka’s journey beyond, follow him at @snestudios on Instagram.