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Roger Johnson of BBC North West Tonight interviewed me to discuss the newly mastered BBC series Long Live Our England film which was featured in the TV Time Machine event . I co-hosted an evening screening with North West Film Archive & partners Yorkshire Film Archive and the BFI at HOME in Manchester.

The second in the series took place at SODA, Manchester Metropolitan University in February 2024.

The next event is expected to be in November 2024 in central Manchester.

Booking details to be announced.

Garms: Black Culture’s Influence on British Fashion

BET International commissioned the first black fashion documentary to air in the UK .

This was a celebration of 75 years of Black fashion in the UK and I cast hte majority of the talented contributors and liaised with the musicians, designers and writers who appeared on screen, A wonderful list of contributores include Lisa Maffia, Shingai, Samson Soboye, LaBrum, Corteiz, Don Letts, Bianca Saunders and more.

Watch here https://www.channel5.com/show/garms-black-culture-s-influence-on-british-fashion

BBC’s First Ladies: The Story of Women in Hip-Hop

Women are the foundation of the worldwide Hip-Hop movement, from the Bronx to South London to Kingston Jamaica. Their stories are often downplayed, and I sought to change that.

Watch the 3 part series First Ladies of Hip-Hop featuring some of the best rappers in the game including Jazzy Joyce, Sha Rock, Cookie Crew, Monie Love, Millie Jackson, Kevin Powell and Muff. See a clip below featuring one of the true pioneers MC Sha Rock.

WATCH HERE https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p0g4tcw5

Interview with the creative team behind the BAFTA winning film Rocks

Karen speaks to the cast of and to Rocks Director, Sarah Gavron and the writers Claire Wilson & Theresa Ikoko about the development process for the film, and how the team discovered two of the lead cast members, Bukky Bakray and Koser Ali.

Watch the interview with the Rocks Cast.

The lead actor Bukky subsequently went on to win the BAFTA Rising Star Award.

Rocks is available to view on Netflix

Karen talks with Aki Omoshaybi about his film Real

Making his directing debut, Aki Omoshaybi (Star Wars, Riot Club) has created a modestly unfiltered drama about a new couple hiding their true self from one another.

Watch the full interview here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mAeyw4FUNYY&ab_channel=HOMEmcr

You can view the film on Amazon Prime or on the BFI Player platform.

Q&A with the cast of Rocks

Rocks is a drama based on a group of young friends grappling with growing up in London whilst also trying to balance a difficult home life with school.

The lead roles are played by a group of first time actors who workshopped the storylines in a drama group for over 16 months.

Karen had the opportunity to interview this young cast from this BAFTA award winning film.

You can watch the online Q & A with the cast here : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1nm4hoh5MpA&feature=emb_logo

Black Music Legends on BBC iPlayer

BBC Four has made the music documentary series Black Music Legends of the 1980s available on the BBC iPlayer.

The series looks at the stories of some of the most prominent black musicians of the 20th & 21st century.

The three episodes that Karen talent produced are:

This collection has been made available following on from the 2020 Black Lives Matter protests.

When Bob Marley Came To Britain

Watch When Bob Marley Came To Britain on the BBC iPlayer now.

The documentary offers a fresh look at Bob Marley’s time in London making music and connecting with the people of North West London when he came to the UK with his fellow bandmates, Peter Tosh and Bunny Wailer.

In 1972, The Wailers stayed in Neasden. Marley immersed himself into the social unrest of the day time and helped influence change - even in the short space of time.

The early 1970s was a crucial time for the Jamaican group. They would emerge as, arguably, one of the most valued groups of the decade and of all time.

Creativity, identity and mental health

BBC Radio 1Xtra DJ and filmmaker, Mim Shaikh and social entrepreneur Naomi Mwasambili join Karen Gabay to discuss creativity and mental health.

This talk was part of the Sheffield DocFestExchange at Sheffield Documentary Festival’s: Head Space programme in 2018. in collaboration with the Wellcome Trust.

The debate was filmed by Sheffield Hallam University students and edited by Matthew Sturdy.

Black women in music in Manchester, England.

During the 2017 Louder Than Words Festival, Manchester Digital Music Archive hosted a debate with 4 composers, songwriters and vocalists to explore their impact on the national and international music scene, Surprisingly, a rare occurrence as the women are all based in Greater Manchester and 3 of the 4 are Manchester born artists.

Karen Gabay chaired the panel, in front of an audience at The Refuge Hotel. The women openly shared their experiences of navigating the music and nightlife industry,

The guests on the panel included: